Debbie Friedman: She will be missed

Published on January 25, 2011

Composer, Jewish liturgist, singer-songwriter, prayer leader extraordinaire, member of the lgbt community--Debbie touched our lives in ways too many to count. It was Debbie Friedman who taught the liberal Jewish world to pray for healing and just as there were special prayers offered worldwide (including at BCC) over the last few days for her healing, so now will there be prayers offered with the intent to comfort the many who mourn her loss, and to bring her soul to rest under the wings of Shekhinah.

Debbie Friedman Tribute Services in SoCal

Published on January 14, 2011

Tribute services for the Debbie Friedman throughout Southern California.

And She Shall Be a Blessing

Published on January 11, 2011

“I am a Jew because in spite of all the hatred and violence in this world, I believe we must hope and live together as if the world were sheltered beneath the wings of the Shekhinah,” Debbie Friedman wrote as part of her response to the final words of journalist Daniel Pearl in “I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl,” compiled and edited by Ruth and Judea Pearl, the writer’s parents, and published by Jewish Lights Publishing.

Debbie Friedman Funeral - Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011, 11 am [RECORDED VIDEO]

Published on January 10, 2011

Debbie Friedman's funeral will be live streamed from Temple Beth Sholom in Santa Ana, CA on Tuesday, January 11th, 2011 at 11am (PST) at this page. Friedman died Sunday after being hospitalized in Orange County for several days with pneumonia. She was 59.

Remembering Debbie Friedman: A collection from community leaders

Published on January 10, 2011

Debbie was more than a singer, songwriter and performer; she was a teacher.

I first met Debbie at the third Conference on Alternatives in Jewish Education at UC Irvine in August, 1977. Many of the 700 people there had never heard of her; I knew that she was a song leader working in Texas. Stuart Kelman, Joel Grishaver and I asked her to close the conference. What she did with the audience of educators that evening was absolutely magical. She told us she was proud to be a Jewish teacher. She was funny, with a twinkle in her eye. She sang us a little song she had written for her religious school kids - "Aleph, Bet, Veit." Then, "Not by Might, Not by Power." Then, "Miriam's Song." And on and on. She insisted "this isn't a performance, let's sing together." And sing we did. She taught us the words; she repeated the melody until we had it. She got us on our feet, arms around each other. We were uplifted and inspired.

Remembering Debbie Friedman: Rabbi John Rosove

Published on January 10, 2011

I have known Debbie for 35 years, since we were on staff together at Camp Swig.

Remembering Debbie Friedman: Rabbi Paul Kipnes

Published on January 10, 2011

I read on Twitter that Debbie Friedman had died. The Jewish world has lost one of the leading lights in Jewish music. I am heartbroken. Debbie opened up my heart and soul to holiness and the Holy One. And now she is gone.

Remembering Debbie Friedman: Chazzan Danny Maseng

Published on January 10, 2011

Yesterday morning, at 5:49 a.m., my friend and teacher Debbie Friedman left the world. I’m not sure what is an appropriate time to leave, but I’m quite certain she left too early.

Remembering Debbie Friedman: Aviva Rosenbloom

Published on January 10, 2011

I’ve always considered Debbie to be a genius – even when colleagues were putting down her music as “camp” music or “just for kids.”

Debbie Friedman on writing music, lyrics [AUDIO]

Published on January 10, 2011

The following audio clip is a short statement recorded by Debbie Friedman for the Milken Archive in 1993.

Remembering Debbie Friedman: Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Published on January 10, 2011

Debbie was an amazingly gifted singer and songwriter. Most knew her through her incredible Jewish music. I had the privilege of knowing her not only through singing and her music, but as my teacher. When I was 12 years old, I was already teaching religious school music at Temple Israel in Memphis, Tenn. The Sisterhood of the Temple invested in my skill and talent and sent me that June to SoFTY camp at Jacobs Camp. SoFTY was the old NFTY name of the Southern Region of the North American Federation of Temple Youth, the Reform Jewish Youth Movement. I wasn’t in SoFTY yet, I was still in middle school not high school. Debbie was songleading at SoFTY camp. It was 1972. I was sent there specifically to learn from her how to songlead! And I did. She taught me technique and style and songleading tips. In private classes! And there began a special friendship that would last these many years. It was that first exposure to her and her music that ultimately helped propel me toward the rabbinate.

Remembering Debbie Friedman: Rabbi Anne L. Brener

Published on January 10, 2011

For years, I would end my workshops on grief and healing with Debbie’s rendition of the Kaddish, one of her early and less well-known melodies.

Turn my mourning into dancing

By Rabbi Laura Geller
Published on January 10, 2011

My first encounter with Debbie was in 1986 at the Simchat Chockmah ritual for becoming an elder she helped create and lead for the feminist Biblical scholar, her friend, Savina Teubal. Two moments in the ritual took my breath away. The first was in the middle of the ceremony, when Savina put on a kittel, the traditional burial shroud. Without words, that robing communicated the powerful truth that everything changes, and that although this new stage of Savina’s life would someday end with her death, she could continue to be a blessing.

Remembering Debbie Friedman: Michele Breslauer

Published on January 10, 2011

I am a Debbie Friedman Jew. There is no one who has influenced me more in my Judaism than Debbie.

Hundreds memorialize songwriter Debbie Friedman

Published on January 10, 2011

Just hours after Debbie Friedman’s death, more than 400 people turned out for a memorial service for the popular songwriter who is widely credited with reinvigorating synagogue music. Friedman's funeral is scheduled for Tuesday, near Los Angeles. The memorial event, held Sunday night at the JCC in Manhattan, had been slated originally as a healing service to offer prayers for Friedman, who was hospitalized in Southern California for several days with pneumonia.

Remembering Debbie Friedman: Evan Kent

Published on January 10, 2011

Debbie's music provided the soundtrack for much of my adolescence -- my summers at camp and my years as a member of our synagogue's youth group. When I had the privilege of working with her for a week at the URJ Kallah in Santa Cruz, I truly gained insight into her genius and her creative process. I also realized that Debbie was one of the most spontaneous people with whom I have ever worked. Although song sessions and tefillot had been planned well in advance, what the congregation witnessed was never what we had discussed. She felt the mood of the congregation and on the spot would suggest we sing a different melody or prayer -- and she was always right -- she had this uncanny sense of being able to gauge the "kahal" and to adapt to the moment.

Remembering Debbie Friedman: Geraldine Mund

Published on January 10, 2011

Today Debbie Friedman died and I am deeply touched by this. Beyond a feeling of empathy of all that she went through in her life and the loss of her great talent, it makes me think of her impact on my own religious experience.