What gives cantors the power to build peace? How do their musical and spiritual gifts contribute to everyday peacebuilding? Can they heal our broken hearts? Can they transform our prejudices?

Everyone can build peace. A cantor with goodwill can harmonize our differing voices amidst divisions, cacaphony, and turmoil. On this Yom Kippur, I brought the powerful voice of Hazzan, Psychiatric Social Worker, and Peacebuilder Emanuel C. Perlman to remind us of the forgiveness of the Divine.

You come from a well-known family: Cantors Perlman. Your father was a highly respected hazzan, and your brothers are also hazzanim. 

My late father, a revered Hazzan Ivan, passed down more than tradition. He ignited a calling within his four sons. My three brothers and I didn’t simply inherit the role of a Hazzan; we claimed it as our sacred duty. Together, we’ve shepherded over a million Jewish souls through life’s passages: births and burials, weddings and mourning, healing and remembrance. Our voices from bass one and two, to first and second tenors blended as one family instrument, each note a prayer, each harmony a testament to the Divine work that chose us as much as we chose it.

What inspired you to blend music, psychiatric social work, and peacebuilding?

As a hazzan, I bring both a spiritual and musical framework that speaks to the deepest human needs for meaning, reconciliation, and moral clarity, using the universal language of music to bridge divides, essential foundations for any lasting peace. My training and practice as a psychiatric social worker equip me to understand the psychological roots of conflict, from trauma and cognitive distortions to the breakdown of trust, and to apply evidence-based interventions that restore individual and collective resilience.

As an Ambassador of Peace, I operate in the realm of cultural diplomacy, bridging divides through dialogue, symbolic action, and the creation of safe relational spaces where adversaries can move from entrenched positions toward mutual understanding. This integration of pastoral care, clinical insight, and diplomatic engagement enables me to address conflicts on multiple levels, psychological and social, while honoring the dignity of all parties. I’ve learned that peace is spiritual, psychological, and relational: harmony from difference, justice from accountability, and compassion over hate. I’ve seen it build one relationship at a time, rippling to transforming communities.

As the founder and CEO of Destination Peace, your core principle strikes a chord in me: “No toddler, no child, no teenager, no mother or father, no creation of God is disposable anywhere on this planet! Never… ever!”

Through Destination Peace we aim to build lasting global peace through the transformative power of music, cultural exchange, and universal human connection. We strive to create safe, apolitical platforms where people from all backgrounds can come together in harmony, while respecting their unique identities and beliefs. Every toddler, child, teenager, mother, father, and........

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