(Jewish Daily Bulletin)
The bill introduced in the Massachusetts legislature granting cantors, now barred by technical phraseology of the law, the right to perform the marriage ceremony, which has been approved by the Committee on legal Affairs, will be shelved at this session of the legislature as a result of a letter circulated to the members of the Legislature asking, in the name of some Orthodox rabbis, postponement of action on the bill to give further opportunity for hearings.
This unexpected action on the part of some of the Orthodox rabbis added to the resentment on the part of the cantors who for years previous to the time the protest was made to the State performed marriages.
The leaders of the Association of Jewish Cantors were closeted with their counsel, former Representative Bernard Ginsburg, with a view of overcoming the objections of the rabbis and gain relief by legislative enactment so that they may not be prevented under the present law from performing marriage.
Unless the Legislature acts at once the bill will die as the State Legislature is planning an early adjournment. The plan of action on the part of the cantors awaiting the outcome of the present bill may include an appeal to the Supreme Court, it was stated.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
