For Debbie Friedman

Towards the end of the article that we read for tomorrow morning's class, Nadell mentions Debbie Friedman. While I can assume that this was not meant as a "throw-away" line, I wanted to make sure to expand the record a bit.

Debbie (זצ״ל) is in large part responsible for the way that Reform worship and music looks throughout the country, and for many melodies that are now understood as "traditional" throughout the world. (For example, I have heard Orthodox yeshiva buchers singing Havdalah to the "traditional niggun" which they don't even realize was composed by Debbie...)

Her personality was electric, riveting, and yet made each and every person feel as if their voice mattered. She was the antithesis to the silencing of voices, and her impact was much, much more than Miriam's Song. She was teaching at HUC here in LA before she died, and her albums have sold over half a million copies.

I will always be grateful to have learned from Debbie. Her memory remains a blessing for me, and the breadth and depth of her influence continue to grow. If you'd like to learn a little more about her influence on Reform music and thus Reform Judaism, take a look at this tribute video from the URJ from 2008: