Cantor Vera Broekhuysen has served as cantor at Temple Emanu-El of Haverhill, Massachusetts, since June of 2016 and is delighted to begin serving the Temple as its spiritual leader in July of 2018.
As an educator, Cantor Broekhuysen brings guitar and drum into the classroom to infuse Hebrew language learning with music. Cantor Broekhuysen is also passionate about the beauty and vocal connectivity of early music and folksong and brings her experiences with Village Harmony (Vermont, international tours in the Caucasus Republic of Georgia) and Studio Sixteen (Toronto) to her cantorial work.
Cantor Broekhuysen deeply values opportunities to pursue both spiritual enrichment and social justice in interfaith environments. She is a member of the Greater Haverhill Clergy Association and a founding member of the Merrimack Valley Sanctuary Network, which came together in the spring of 2017. While in cantorial school, Cantor Broekhuysen led an interfaith, cross-campus singing group (through the Center for Inter-Religious & Communal Leadership Education at both Hebrew College and Andover Newton Theological Seminary) and co-created a series of events and workshops exploring the female voice in relationship to text and spiritual authority within Judaism and Islam.
Cantor Broekhuysen is a member of the New England Board of Cantors, where she currently serves as secretary. In March of 2018, she helped organize, and performed in, “From Out of the Storm: Cantors Respond to Devastation,” a successful benefit concert on behalf of the Jewish communities in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands who were impacted by Hurricanes Maria and Jose. This event was cosponsored by Temple Beth Zion of Brookline, MA.
Cantor Broekhuysen completed her undergraduate studies in music history and theory at the University of Toronto and was ordained by Hebrew College in June of 2016, when she also earned her Masters Degree in Jewish Education. She lives in North Andover, Massachusetts, with her husband and two sons.