Hope, Healing...
Friedman will help Hebrew School celebrate 100 years
By Christopher Hall • September 3, 2004
Special to The Courier-Journal Louisville, KY


"People need to see the ugliness and the bad things in the world wars, famine, hatred," said Debbie Friedman, perhaps the pre-eminent figure in contemporary Jewish music. "And they need to know they can do something about it," she said. That's part of what she hopes people will take away from her Labor Day concert at the Iroquois Park Amphitheater.

"We are not powerless. We have the capacity to really turn the world around. We can do it if we want to and if we try," said Friedman earlier this week in a phone interview from Manhattan. "That sentiment, while it may sound trite and overused, is true and not being addressed enough today."

While Friedman may not be a household name in every home across America, she is revered in the Jewish community for her songs of hope and healing. Her song "Mi Shebeirach," based on a Hebrew prayer for healing, has become a staple in synagogues across the country, according to Phyllis Shaikun, a spokeswoman for the Jewish Community Federation of Louisville.

The Louisville Hebrew School is bringing Friedman in as the headliner for its 100th anniversary celebration at the amphitheater, at the intersection of New Cut Road and Kenwood Drive.

Friedman, who described herself as "the Amy Grant of the Jews" to help the non-Jewish understand her music, has performed at the National Cathedral in Washington and several times at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

She will perform around 2 p.m. Monday; local band Cansei Yona will open for her at 1.

The 100th anniversary celebration will begin with a picnic at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults; $20 for senior citizens; $15 for high school and college students; and free for children of middle-school age and under. Tickets will be sold at the show or in advance at (502) 459-1695.

Friedman said she's happy to be making a return visit to Louisville, where she last performed several years ago.
"It's such a great town, and there's such a wonderful spirit there. I'm absolutely looking forward to coming back."