Tutoring | Planning | Officiating
Your Jewish Life Cycle
Whether or not you are affiliated with a synagogue, I will work with you to create (and officiate, if you choose), a personalized, meaningful, and memorable experience.
About Avital Lazar
A native New Yorker, I graduated from Occidental College in Los Angeles with a B.A. in Liberal Arts and music composition in 2003. I received my Cantorial Investiture in May 2008 after completing a Master’s of Sacred Music at the HL Miller Cantorial School at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City. I proudly taught 6th grade Jewish Studies at a prominent New York City Day School for 8 consecutive years beginning in 2008. I have been preparing students for B’nai Mitzvah for nearly two decades.
An award winning vocalist and composer, I have performed extensively throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Also a commissioned composer, I have had new works premiered by members of both the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestras. In 2005, my work was included in “Jewish Mosaic” as part of the Music off the Walls series, a project of the Brooklyn Museum and Brooklyn Philharmonic. Again in 2006 and 2007 I was asked to write music for the Jewish community of Brooklyn, NY in conjunction with the Brooklyn Philharmonic.
As an invested Cantor
I can help you to create the lifecycle event of your dreams
My Services Include:
Officiating Weddings
As an invested Cantor, I am available to officiate or colead your Wedding ceremony. I will help you to create your own unique and memorable ceremony. I can bring in elements of a traditional Jewish wedding and/or integrate new and old traditions. This is your wedding day and I want to help you have the ceremony that you envision.
Tutoring and Officiating Bar/Bat Mitzvah Ceremonies
I specialize in working with bar and bat mitzvah students who range in Hebrew knowledge (from none to fluent) and cater to individual learning needs. I am available for in-person lessons in New York City, as well as remotely via Zoom, Skype or FaceTime.
Officiating Baby Namings
I will work with you to design and officiate a ceremony that matches your family’s philosophical and parenting views. I specialize in contemporary and alternative ceremonies for both baby boys and girls.
Testimonials
What my students and their parents have to say about me
Avital tutored me for my Bat Mitzvah, and it was so much better than I thought it would be. She’s a great teacher, is really nice, and was very patient with me. She also felt like more than a tutor to me. She would listen when I needed to talk about my school or issues with my friends, and was a really positive support in my life. I still keep in touch with Avital, and she’s always happy to hear from me even though my Bat Mitzvah is over. Thank you, Avital!!!!
I have been going to Hebrew School classes for a long time and Avital has not only been a great teacher but she is my favorite teacher. Avital was always kind, helpful, calm, funny, comforting, and very easy to learn from. For example, I was not always a fan of learning Hebrew and prayers, but after the first few weeks of working with Avital I always looked forward to Sunday mornings. Also, when I did not understand something she found a very simple and entertaining way for me to learn it. Thanks to Avital I feel very confident with my Hebrew reading. Avital is an amazing teacher, and I wish she could be my teacher every year.
Avital was my teacher in religious school in the sixth grade. In a class where students had a multitude of different Hebrew reading levels, Avital managed to teach each and every one of her students at their own pace. By the end of the school year, every student was prepared with the prayers needed for their bar or bat mitzvah. Avital even helped some go above and beyond, learning more prayers than there were in the curriculum. As a student, coming to Hebrew school became something that I enjoyed because learning became fun. Following seventh grade, I worked with Avital teaching Hebrew as a madricha in sixth and seventh grade classes. Being on the “other side,” I saw how Avital taught students based on their capabilities. She is very patient with students that may have a more difficult time learning, while also challenging those who learn at a quicker pace. All in all, Avital makes learning Hebrew prayers for a bar or bat mitzvah fun and interesting while being able to cater to the educational needs that a student possesses.