| Debbie was cited in a book titled "American Judaism" by Jonathan D. Sarna, professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University, as follows: "...Revealingly, Friedman's best-known song, widely introduced into non-Orthodox liturgies, was Mi Shebeirach ("May the One who blessed"), a song of healing. This and other prayers for healing, innovative and traditional alike, acquired new centrality among all manner of Jews in the late twentieth century, women in particular. Some synagogues went so far as to introduce separate healing services into their worship calendars, complete with the laying on of hands. At least twenty Jewish communities around the United States developed Jewish healing centers, most of them affiliated with a new National Center for jewish Healing. The goal, clearly influenced by New Age religious movements, was to help Jews achieve a sense of spiritual well-being, wholeness, perspective, fulfillment or comfort, especially around issues of illness, suffering and loss...." This book is available online or from your favorite Jewish bookseller. |
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| Debbie was cited in a book titled "The Blackwell Companion to Judaism" edited by Jacob Neusner and Alan J. Avery-Peck in an article by Jeffrey K. Salkin as follows... "Debbie Friedman is regarded as the master Jewish songstress of her generation, inheriting Carlebach's mantle and producing a body of spiritually moving work that has galvanized audiences. Ms. Friedman is the principal voice of a new Jewish feminist sensibility and aesthetic, and she has become involved in the healing movement as well." This book is available online or from your favorite Jewish bookseller. |
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| An article appeared in the February 2005 Jerusalem Report reviewing Ann Coppel's documentary film about Debbie, "A Journey of Spirit" Click here to learn more... |
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| Click here to read an article about Ann Coppel's film "A Journey of Spirit" that was published in the Jerusalem Post December 12, 2004 |
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| Click here to read an article about Debbie that was published in the Louisville Courier-Journal September 3, 2004 |
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Click here to read an article about Debbie that was published
in the Berkshire Eagle on July 23rd 2004 |
| Ellen Jaffe-Gill The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles Queen of Soul.....Debbie Friedman, an inspiration for two generations of worshippers...." "When her first liturgical tune popped into Debbie Friedman's head almost 30 years ago, she had no clue that she would become the queen of contemporary American Jewish music." "She is clearly at the forefront of Jewish music," said Alan Eder (from the band, Alan Eder and Friends) "the premier songstress of the Jewish world....Judaism needs good music, contemporary music, music that comes from the heart, music that makes you move, and Debbie provides that." "The impact she's had on Jewish liturgy is undeniable", (Craig) Taubman (creator of Friday Night Live) said. "Whereas she might have done it through the back door, introducing her songs at summer camps and retreats, those people are leaders in the movement now, and the prayer experience they bring to the synagogue is what speaks to congregations today." |
| Rabbi Elliot Dorff University of Judaism, Los Angeles, CA Debbie Friedman's music defines what contemporary expression should be - meaningful, uplifting, deeply traditional and yet new and modern, good for both body and soul. God has blessed us a thousand fold by giving us Debbie Friedman. |
| Hank Bordowitz Reform Judaism Magazine Debbie Friedmans work is a testament to her passion for bringing people together and the power of community united in song. Her melodies have stood the test of time, says Rabbi Allan Smith, director of the UAHC Youth Division. She has given us a gift, a way to express our deepest feelings for our loved ones and our community. Her gift allows us to reach for the heavens. She is a ministering angel singing unto God. |
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My objective is to involve people in the experience. I try to make prayer user-friendly. Because the music is in a familiar genre, people are able to make the connection between the music and the text. The real power is in the poetry of the liturgy, how moving and stirring it can be, connecting us to our deepest and most precious ideas, hopes, and fears.
Debbie Friedman |
| Debra Nussbaum Cohen Moment UJA Young Leadership Conference Co-Chair, Lynn Sachse Schrayer No one does it like Debbie. Her music and her message, which is a mixture of spirituality, intelligence, sensitivity, and neshama (soul), are though provoking but not threatening. Debbie was way ahead of all of us with this. There is only one time when Friedman says she really feels her soul being nourished: when she is standing on stage watching hundreds or thousands of people open up before her eyes and find something they werent even sure they were looking for. |
| J.J. Goldberg The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles Her success is finally forcing cantors to take notice in the Conservative movement...Two years ago, the Cantors Assembly invited her to its convention as a guest performer. This year, she's been given a higher honor, invited to compose for the cantorate....(Rabbi Dan) Freelander of the UAHC thinks it's inevitable though. 'The transition to an American nusach is fully underway,' he says. 'In 100 years American Jewish music will sound nothing like the traditional Jewish music of Eastern Europe. ' What it will sound like, probably, is Debbie Friedman. |
| Debra Nussbaum Cohen Lifestyles The lady with an angels voice soothes the troubled souls of our time. She has been called the high priestess of Jewish Healing&Today Debbie Friedman has become the hottest performer to hit the Jewish music scene since the late, much beloved Shlomo Carlebach. As Friedman played and sang, (at the Council of Jewish Federations General Assembly) buttoned-up, mainstream Jews, exhausted from running between seminars on budget cutbacks and speeches by Israeli political figures, joined hands with strangers and enthusiastically sang along to lyrics that most were hearing for the first time. At most of her concerts, people start humming along about 6 bars into a song even if they have never heard it before." |
| Greta Biegel Los Angeles Times Debbie Friedman, a top performer of Jewish music has a way of melding melody and story&.Friedman also takes pains to insure that the language she uses is inclusive, addressing not only men and women, but also the disabled and those who are different from the norm. |
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What I do is respond to text. A friend of mine calls my music, musical midrash&&.In the text that I am working on at the moment, one particular phrase will go over and over in my head as I am working on a particular text. I write about what comes to my mind in relationship to these words, lyrically and musically. Hebrew has its own internal passionate music. I think the Bible has merit for all humanity and that is the point from which I write&.I think weve spent enough time capitalizing on our differences, and I think its time that we spend time on what we share in common. Debbie Friedman |
| Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman Hebrew Union College, Co-Founder of Synagogue 2000 "No one - really, no one - rivals Debbie Friedman in providing contemporary Jewish spirituality with music that gives worshippers their voice. Here is a musical genius wed to Jewish authenticity and a keen sense for what today's men and women seek both artistically and religiously in the 21st Century." |
| Irv Lichtman Billboard For Debbie Friedman, you've got to be Jewish to write her songs, but you don't have to be Jewish to get their message of universal understanding. |
| Susan Josephs Hadassah Magazine &her debut at Carnegie Hall&which drew nearly 2,000 people despite blizzard conditions underscored the feeling that after years of climbing, Friedman had made it to the summit. |
| Rahel Musleah Jewish Woman The most tangible example of incorporating healing into Jewish life is the expansion of the Mi Shebeirach during Shabbat morning services. The prayer, recited for those in need of healing, has been popularized by performer and composer Debbie Friedmans touching melodic version. Many synagogues stop for a moment for congregants to recite individual names. That naming of names acknowledges a need for connection and creates a sense of community, one of the main tenets of healing. |
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We climbed inside each word and between each line looking to be enveloped and comforted; acknowledging our fragility and our brokenness&..We knew we were alone and yet not alone, that we were in a community; and however isolated we might have felt before, we were now part of something much greater. Prayer saves me&.Its a place to get angry and a place to find comfort. It offers inroads to the way out - and its as much for the caregiver as it is for the person who is ill." Debbie Friedman |
| Rabbi Samuel E. Karff Congregation Beth Israel, Houston, TX &a uniquely gifted performer and composer. To experience an evening with Debbie is a rich treat. |
| Rabbi Alexander Schindler Past President, Union of American Hebrew Congregations Debbie is really an extra-ordinary asset to Americas Jewish community, one of its spiritual giants&When all is said and done, music and poetry are the languages of religion. Debbies words and songs make the spirit soar. |
| Booklist The songs of the prolific and popular Debbie Friedman are staples around campfires and in classrooms and synagogues. |
| The Baltimore Jewish Times Singer-songwriter, Debbie Friedman The Queen of Souls breathes new life into ancient prayers. "Says Peter Yarrrow of Peter, Paul & Mary, whose LPs Ms. Friedman strummed along with as a teen, "Debbie is the inheritor of a great legacy. I've sung with her and watched her perform many times, sometimes in the wee hours at spontaneous gatherings during Jewish education conferences. Hers is the music of jubilation and confirmation. It is a call to community and commonality that rages against the darkness and spreads light." "She's really the first woman contributor of note to popular Jewish musical liturgy," says Dr. Marc Michael Epstein, professor of Jewish Studies at Vassar College and a descendant from a long line of cantors. "She broke the barrier of the staid, hymnic renditions of Chanukah music, without being avanat-garde. It's neither the grave, solemn renditions of the 19th century nor the childish melodies of the earlier portion of the 20th century." |
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When somebody calls me to do a seminar, concert, workshop or a teachers workshop, I tell them that if we have the privilege, then we also have the responsibility of giving something to those before whom we stand&We must give them a piece of Torah or knowledge - something which they can apply to their lives to enrich their lives. "I live for those moments when people sing out and connect and create this sense of community and camaraderie&.thats where its at. Thats the best part." Debbie Friedman |
| Rahel Musleah Lilith When Debbie Friedman wrote the words to Miriams Song&.at the age of 27, she was one of a handful of Jewish women composing and performing Jewish music. Today, dozens of Miriams have grabbed their timbrels and in Friedmans words, they have chosen to say hineni here I am. |
| JTA The Chicago Jewish News It was practically a kumsitz at Carnegie Hall. As everyone stood swaying arm in arm, singing along with Debbie Friedman, the warmth and sense of community even as the snows of the worst blizzard in decades swirled outside was more like a summer evenings' campfire than a singers debut at the famed venue. Not every performer can turn the tension of her first appearance in the august concert hall into a cozy and intimate experience. Friedmans ability to draw people in seems to be one of her great gifts as a performer and at the heart of her success for attracting a growing audience to her prayerful music. |
| Nancy Churnin Dallas Morning News Ms. Friedman says she and her music are not changing in order to win a wider audience. Rather, more people are open to hearing her spiritual messages sung in a uniquely American idiom of folk, jazz and blues. |
| Jonathan Mark The New York Jewish Week Much of her music is instantly appreciated, as simple and absorbing as the best of Raffi, making it accessible for children as well as parents. Many of her songs are sung partially in English and Hebrew making them fine teaching songs. Friedmans new version of the Alef Bet Song has been immortalized by Barney and friends on the Barney in Concert video, and the producers of Baby Songs released a video of her rollicking version of the Chanukah story. Many of her fans believe her songs are going to be the Oyfin Prepitchuks of the 21st century, putting children to peace in the dark. Its an astounding thought, she says. Nothing could give me greater pleasure than knowing some of my songs could put a child to rest. "At the same time, her more serious, adult, yet equally serene, compositions - such as the ethereal reworking of the Mi Shebeirach prayer for those who are ill, and the Lchi Lach blessing to Abraham and Sarah to go to an unknown land that God will show have become the musical centerpiece and inspiration for many of the 'healing services' that have become popular around the country. |
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People are hungry for it, really hungry. For a sense of spiritual connectedness&Jews of every age are looking for a place to live their Jewish lives and to put their Jewish hearts."
Debbie Friedman |
| Lesley Pearl Jewish Bulletin of Northern California "...Friedman's music transcend(s) one generation to another and appeal(s) to listeners across the globe. She combines the universal with the personal, adds a strong melody, sings in a haunting voice - and creates tunes that become ingrained in your consciousness." "It is obvious that Friedman loves being Jewish. Her music, steeped in Jewish tradition, evokes memory and forces you to connect with your own private joys in Judaism - no matter how deep they may be buried." |
| Rebecca Gutterman JewishFamily.com If Friedmans only gift was making Jewish liturgy accessible and engaging through music (and saving at least one eleven-year-old girl from death by homesickness (at camp) in the process!), it would be more than enough. Yet there is more. There is a constant sense of movement in her work, born of the urgency to wed what is most compelling in contemporary life to what is most beautiful in Jewish tradition. |
| Simon Rosenblatt Temple Kol Hamidbar, Sierra Vista, AZ Debbies talent, always so evident, is a special God-given gift. Debbie can infuse a spirit into a gathering that can only be understood by experiencing it. Its a special feeling, one that elevates the spiritual plane of the participants. Truly, as Debbie said, we did share a special time and place with her. For a short time on this special night, Centennial Hall was indeed a makom kadosh, a holy place. |
| Alicia Svigals Jewish Currents Friedman is a gifted writer with a genius for memorable, beautiful and well-crafted melodies. Her songs are deceptively simple and seductively singable. Her intention is to inspire her audience at home and in the concert hall to participate, and they do so every time&some of her songs have become classics, which many people dont realize are by a young, living composer. |
| Bonnie Langston Daily Freeman Bonnie Meadow, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Dutchess County&first heard Friedman on tape in the 1980s. She found Friedmans music very easy to warm up to. Some of it was moving and deeply touching. Some of it was downright funny. Some of it was designed to teach you while you had fun&.But the landmark experience for me was when I heard her perform live&.Despite the many hours I had spent listening to and singing her music, I didnt realize the impact this woman and her music could make, live in concert&What Friedman did was amazing. She caressed us with her prayers. She touched our hearts. She lifted our spirits. She made us laugh and made us cry. She got us to remember the deep center from which springs forth all the work we do in our respective Jewish communities. |
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I feel like the day I forget who is sitting out there and why I am doing what I am doing, Ill need to stop doing what I am doing. What I experience from the community and what the community experiences from me is circular. I think performers can only be as effective as the people before whom they stand. What comes out of the people is ultimately what nourishes the soul of the performer and allows you to give back. Debbie Friedman |