Howard Wolfin 1948 – 2008
In the 23 years that he lived in Pinner and was a member of Pinner United Synagogue, Howard made a great impact on so many people, on so many levels.
Within a short time of joining the community in 1986, Howard started leading the shul services as a lay chazzan, quickly becoming a regular and popular choice on a Shabbat morning. His style was tuneful and melodic – not a traditional chazzan, but much appreciated as he used the old familiar tunes which many members of the congregation say they remembered from their childhood.
When his own sons became involved with the burgeoning shul Youth Service, Howard helped many other boys learn how to daven and leyen as well as sing prayers such as Anim Zemirot and Ashrei, (traditionally sung in Pinner’s main service by the pre-barmitzvah boys). This involvement led to regular requests to teach boys for their barmitzvah – and so began many happy relationships between Howard and his pupils, all of whom enjoyed his informal teaching style coupled with the very high standards he set for the boys.
And it was not only youngsters who enjoyed learning with Howard – many adult men who wanted to learn how to leyen or sing a Haftorah but had not done so for many years, would ask Howard to help them brush up their rusty skills. In one family, he taught a father with a Haftorah for his 70th birthday, the son for his Aufruf, and the grandson for Anim Zemirot. Helping people in this way gave Howard the greatest pleasure – he was generous with his time and his attention to detail was meticulous, as we hope you will hear when you listen to the extracts online.
Pinner Shul continued to need new daveners and Howard progressed to teaching others how to daven, with his special tunes still to this day identified particularly with him, especially the Song of the Negev, which became his signature tune for the Shabbat Musaf Amidah. Many young adults from Pinner are now able to daven Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services having been taught by Howard; although he is still sorely missed, not only by his family and friends, but by the whole community, this online resource of his tapes and CDs is a fitting legacy to the many hours he spent in teaching and inspiring others.
Use it. Enjoy it. Pass it on.