Jewish Funerals

In our hour of sadness we turn to our faith, our community and the kind words of others. Funerals and memorial services are a time to grieve the life of a loved one, to tell their stories in public and to offer and receive the love of others.

As your clergy, I will connect you to our tradition and our many time-honored rituals. I meet with you and your family and begin to learn about your loved one. I accompany you on this sacred journey as you say farewell. We read from the Biblical Psalms and other readings, ancient and modern. My hope is that these bring you comfort that begin the healing of your mourning hearts. With attentive listening and gentle guidance, we begin to heal our broken hearts.

We honor our loved ones by allowing ourselves to feel the pain. It is natural to grieve and honorable to shed a tear.

I draw on my cantorial training and years of experience when we sing songs from our tradition, melodies ancient and modern, chant and prayer. Music that honors your love and dignifies the ceremony, music that expands the soul, to cry, to smile a little.

The funeral service honors your love and your respect. In our brokenness we search for wholeness.

Psalm 23 – Adonai Ro’i:

My youngest grandson had his Bar Mitzvah in October at Lakeside Congregation in Highland Park. His performance was flawless due to the preparation, encouragement, kindness, and support of Cantor Davis. The service was filled with the melodious voice of Cantor Davis as he chanted the Hebrew prayers and Torah portions. When I looked at the Cantor’s face as he sang, the emotions he felt were magically transferred to me, and it filled my heart with joy and abundant love for our Jewish traditions.

Eileen & Myron Berkson

Cantor Michael Davis encouraged me, an ‘elderly congregant’ to embark on the joyful journey of a bat mitzvah. He did it with patience and humor and I was reminded of the warmth and the strong connection of my very Jewish background my father would have been proud!

Bluma Kaplan

Rabbi Davis conveys a warmth through his words and his music that draws people in and helps them remember the joy of Judaism, their own family history and their culture.

Marcy Kamen

Cantor Davis has always been so much more that just a wonderful Cantor with a beautiful singing voice, but, in addition, his having been raised in Israel in a deeply religious family has added to his rich background in Judaica and his own gift of teaching skills combine to make it a privilege to take classes and study with him.

Joyce Lyon

Jacob and I can’t begin to express how happy we are to have had you involved at our wedding! Honestly, it was the best day of our lives! We had so much fun and you were such a pleasure to be with you have a very calming presence. You spoke so eloquently and everyone was impressed with how great the ceremony was.

Angelica Marconi

Rabbi Cantor Michael Davis’s warm welcoming love of music, Judaism, and peace encouraged my son to be involved in our Congregation and to participate as a musician in concerts, Shabbat services, and with holiday and special events. My son learned about Tikkun Olam and what it means to be a part of our Jewish Community.

Debi Shandling

Cantor Michael Davis officiated my wedding at the Field Museum, and did a beautiful job. The ceremony was the perfect length, and was super personal and meaningful. We live in California and so can’t speak to the quality of the synagogue itself, but I can say that Cantor Michael is really inspiring, a great Jewish educator… not to mention that he’s a great cantor with a spectacular voice.

Allison Mickel