First of all, it's a political blog and yes, some of our politicians can become embroiled in sexual escapades (Elliot "Shpitz" Spitzer and his #9). Secondly, if you want sex as a topic, believe me, there are many more other intersting and weird sites to go to.
But this item caught my eye if only because I am acquainted with the four gentlemen. Four, you ask?
Read on:-
World-Famous Cantor Allegedly the Target of Entrapment Plot
Scheme Said To Have Involved Hidden Hotel Camera
Naftali Hershtik, the cantor of the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem, has been the target of an entrapment scheme allegedly orchestrated by one of his former students, according to information obtained exclusively by the Forward.
The rumors began weeks ago, when Israeli papers reported that an unnamed cantor had been lured by a young woman into a hotel room wired with a hidden camera, in an attempt to trap the cantor in a compromising position. The Forward has learned from sources close to the case that the target of the entrapment was Hershtik — one of the most famed and respected cantors in the world — and that the man being accused of arranging the plot is Israel Rand, a former student of Hershtik’s.
Photographs of Hershtik, 60, and the young woman, taken by a hidden camera, were sent anonymously to Hershtik’s employer, the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, in an apparent attempt to have Hershtik fired, according to synagogue officials. The Great Synagogue suspended Hershtik, but has since reinstated him, and its officials there are now defending the star cantor.
“It’s a classic case of entrapment except for one fact — that, to my knowledge, the chazzan [cantor] did not fall into that trap of any consequence,” said Rabbi David Fuld, president of the Great Synagogue’s board. Fuld said he reviewed photographs that were sent to the synagogue and that they showed “nothing of significance” that happened between Hershtik and the young woman.
...The scandal turns the spotlight onto the universe of star cantors, where celebrity and flamboyant artistry intermingle with the demands of religious piety...in 1984 Hershtik co-founded the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute, a school that trains cantors in the classical style, and which has taught many of today’s most important and celebrated cantors, including Yitzhak Meir Helfgot, Eric Moses and Gideon Zelermeyer.
One of those students was Rand, who is still listed on the school’s Web site as one of its prized students...According to his Web site, Rand is currently the chief cantor at the Great Synagogue of Ramat Gan for the High Holidays. In a twist worthy of soap opera, his old position at Schneier’s operation is now held by Netanel Hershtik, Naftali Hershtik’s son and a prominent and respected cantor in his own right.
...On March 17, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that a young woman claiming to be a graduate student in musicology approached a “world leading cantor” and asked to interview him for a paper on “cantorial art and liturgy.” She allegedly called him several weeks later with follow-up questions and asked him to meet her at her hotel.
Pictures taken by a camera in the hotel room were then sent to the Great Synagogue, arriving sometime before Rosh Hashanah of 2007. Great Synagogue officials familiar with the contents of the tape contested a report in Yediot Aharonot claiming the tape depicted a sordid sexual affair.
There was “no passionate sex,” said Zelli Jaffe, vice president of the Great Synagogue’s board, who told the Forward he has seen the entire tape. “No sex.”
...Over the Sabbath of March 28 and 29, Hershtik and the choir from the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute appeared at the New York Synagogue before a packed audience. Although most of the singing was done by the institute’s students, and by Netanel Hershtik, Naftali Hershtik did lead a few prayers, demonstrating his still-powerful tenor voice. Both the Friday evening and Saturday morning services closed with duets between the two Hershtiks.
Jaffe said he expects Naftali Hershtik to lead services at the Great Synagogue this coming Sabbath.
Naftali Hershtik has performed concerts and has led cantorial classes at the Begin Cneter wehre I work. Israel Rand ate with us at the same table and performed at a Shabbat last February a year ago in Tel Aviv. Rabbi Fuld is a well-known educator who I know and I've met also with Zelli Jaffee. I have most of Helfgot's recording, though.
I am not a real cantor - although I do led the congregation occasionally - and I have never been invited to a hotel room by any woman, young or old, so I can't comment on that element of the story.
On the other hand, I have heard and read of dalliance stories. After all, would I go to a hotel room (!) to meet a music student?
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