The purpose of the Jewish Music Heritage Project is to document, catalog, and disseminate one of the great sacred musical traditions of the world, namely that of the Eastern European Synagogue, which is now in real danger of being lost forever.

The music of the Eastern European synagogue is Judaism's major classical musical heritage. While so much of Jewish history and culture has been preserved so that it can be passed down and shared with future generations, Judaism's sacred musical tradition has simply never been comprehensively documented, nor have its component elements been presented within an organized and centralized resource.

The preservation and renewal of this vast, yet vanishing treasury of synagogue music perpetuates a central segment of the rich cultural history of the Jewish people in general, as well as that of Jewish life in pre-Holocaust Eastern Europe in particular. It is the quintessential spiritual and artistic embodiment of centuries of Jewish life and history.

The Jewish Music Heritage Project may be the last chance to rescue a uniquely important and major component of Jewish culture and history from near-certain extinction. It will be the vehicle for ensuring that this magnificent legacy is recovered and forever safeguarded for posterity.