Born in 1884 David Roitman held position as Chazzan in Vilna, and then later St. Petersburg where he served until the Russian Revolution of 1917. For three years he stayed in Odessa until the situation there became very difficult, and he crossed the border to Romania. From the American Consul in Bucharest Roitman received visas to emigrate to the US. Arriving in America in 1920, Roitman served for two years at Ohef Sholom of Brooklyn, then accepted the post at Shaare Zedek Synagogue of New York. There he remained, with a two year interruption, for eighteen years. During that time Roitman made extensive concert tours of Europe and South America. In 1943, at the age of 59, he died in New York City.