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Name: Cantor Mary Feinsinger

Occupation: Cantor for Rossmoor Jewish Congregation, Monroe; a voice teacher, accompanist, composer and conductor of the Broadway at the 92nd Street Y Chorus of 75 members.

Address: Manhattan

Family: Divorced. Son Ezra, 28, is a music promoter who lives in the Bronx.

Community activities: Former tenant organizer for the Met Council on Housing in New York City.

Hobbies: "I'm teaching myself to play the guitar and spending time going to as many New York ethnic restaurants I can find."

Self-portrait: "Music for me is my working definition of God. Music is the proof of the existence of God. I've written liturgical music and it was published by Trancontinental Music. I've been into music since I've been a kid. My late uncle Nathan Feinsinger was a founder of the Aspin Music Festival in Colorado in 1949. As a child, I spent summers there and it strongly influenced my desire to study music at Julliard, where I graduated with a master's in voice and was also member of the Julliard piano accompanist staff. I've been lucky to always have job in music -- arranging, composing, conducting, teaching, and performing."

Motto: " 'Life is one challenge after another; no sooner than you solve one, another comes along.' I had it translated into Latin -- to me it sounds better that way. I have it on a plaque in my studio."

Greatest accomplishment: "I've had many professional accomplishments, including performing at Carnegie Hall, and singing in Yiddish at the Reagan White House. One of the biggest high points for me was getting into the Wellsfleet, Mass. band after studying trumpet for three months. As a result of learning to play the trumpet I now play the shofar during the High Holidays."

Bad habits: "I tend to get overly upset and work hard not to be pessimistic about things."

Favorite TV: "Through Netflix I'm able to see 'House,' 'Mad Men,' '30 Rock,' 'Dexter,' and 'The Office.' I can play the guitar while I'm watching TV news."

Favorite food: "Living in New York with so many restaurants. I can only say I love Jewish food I wrote a song about Jewish food that I love listing: cream cheese, lox, hot biali, noodle kugel, slice of chally, kishke derma, hot pastrami, and lots of matzah brei. I love food. The question should be: What food don't you like?"

Best childhood memory: "A letter my mother wrote that she later read aloud to my cousin and me. It was something ordinary -- about standing on line in a store. She delivered the words in such a way, she had us rolling on the floor. I wish I had the letter. It started an appreciation for humorous writers like Robert Benchley, James Thurber, and Woody Allen."

People don't know that: "When my son was young and when he went to bed, I became a champion Tetris player. I would play Game Boy and achieved great skill."

Last book I read: " 'Mannahattan: A Natural History of New York City,' by Eric Sanderson. The recreation of what New York looked like when Henry Hudson first saw it in 1609. I'm also reading the book 'Manhattan in Maps 1527 to 1995,' by Paul Cohen and Robert Augustine -- another beautiful book."

The biggest asset in the local Jewish community: "The sense of community and responsibility for one another. It's a group of people who really care about one another."

The biggest problem in the local Jewish community: "I wish there was a way for people to retain their Jewish identity without the xenophobia that goes along with it that says 'Us versus them.' I don't like the aspect of religion that says 'We are the best' excluding others from the group."

If I had more time, I would... "Spend more time playing the guitar, playing jazz and scat singing."