Szerman, Pinchas

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SZERMAN, PINCHAS

SZERMAN, PINCHAS (1887–1942), ḥazzan. Born in Staszow, Poland, he sang as a boy with his elder brother, Abraham Isaac, then ḥazzan in Krashnik. Szerman studied in A.B. *Birnbaum's school for ḥazzanim in Czestochowa, and in 1909 was appointed ḥazzan sheni (assistant ḥazzan) at the Tłómacka Street Synagogue in Warsaw. Holding this post until the outbreak of World War ii, he served together with the chief ḥazzanim, Gershon Sirota and Moshe Koussevitzky, and the choral directors Leo Loew and David Eisenstadt. Szerman was held in high esteem not only for his flexible baritone voice and his unaffected style, but also for his learning and character. He was one of the founders of the Aggudat ha-Ḥazzanim (Cantors' Association), in Poland, and served as its president and the editor of its journal Di Khazonim Velt.