Hebrew College Currents Vol. 4 No. 1

She starred in Roman Polanski’s The Pianist, in HBO films and television. But Jessica Kate Meyer, 32, forfeited a promising Hollywood career to pursue another lifelong dream—to become a cantor through HC’s Cantor–Educator Program. Passionate and determined to succeed, she has received a Wexner Fellowship to support her in her journey.

“It was love at first sound,” says Meyer, remembering the day, as a five–year–old, when she first heard her cantor pray. A seed was planted; she knew she wanted to be a cantor. But her path toward realizing that dream has been anything but traditional.

Active in an all–women’s Shakespeare company while an undergraduate at Wellesley College, Meyer fell in love with Hebrew as a Middle East studies major. When she graduated in 1996, she combined both interests and moved to Israel as a Shatil volunteer with the Jewish–Israeli/Palestinian–Israeli youth theater company, Peace Child.

Meyer eventually returned to the United States, toured nationally with a Shakespearean company and applied for graduate school at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London. At Webber Douglas, she heard from her sister that Roman Polanski was directing a movie based on the book The Pianist. Meyer immediately read the book and felt a strong connection to the younger sister, Halina. She called Polanski’s office about the role, and was cast in the part within two months.

“It was an incredible experience,” she says. “From traveling the U.S. doing grassroots Shakespeare to working with one of the most brilliant directors alive and immersing myself in Warsaw.” Meyer interviewed many Holocaust survivors to determine how to play her role.

When The Pianist opened in 2002, Meyer was finished with school and moved to Los Angeles to work in film, television and theater. She also became involved with IKAR (the root, the essence), a Jewish spiritual center led by Rabbi Sharon Brous, named to the Forward 50 for distinguished leadership and social activism. Rabbi Brous encouraged Meyer to teach and work with children as well as sing and lead services. “I found a connection to prayer, to God and to the community as a whole,” she says. “It felt like I found what I’d actually been looking for—like I found home.”

While Meyer’s passion for the Jewish community solidified, her excitement for acting waned. Although she wanted to play meaningful Jewish characters in film, she was often called for roles that were stereotypical. “After The Pianist, I learned that Hollywood really lacked creativity,” she says. “It felt like a soulless environment; it was very exciting when I finally had the guts to leave.”

As Meyer began pursuing her childhood dream of becoming a cantor, she sought a place that would provide a similar social justice environment as IKAR. She found it at Hebrew College. “It is such a unique and striving community, invested in the issues affecting not only Jewish people, but all people,” she says.

Hebrew College’s transdenominational approach and the CEP’s dual degree also attracted her. “HC’s cantorial program is the only one that felt vibrant and exciting to me,” she says. A violinist as well as a singer, she looks forward to immersing herself in Jewish texts and music. Ever modest, the Wexner Fellow says, “I have everything to learn.”