Some of the “traditional” liturgical melodies Jews sing during synagogue services originated centuries ago. Others originated in our lifetimes — often thanks to one singer-songwriter named Debbie Friedman.
Friedman’s melodies can be found in Reform, Conservative and Modern Orthodox synagogues alike, bringing a modern folkie twist to age-old prayers like oseh shalom and mi-she-berakh.
Ever since Friedman died in 2011 at the age of 60, her inheritors, including Rabbi Michael Farbman, have worked to honor her memory and keep her new-take-on-old-tradition approach alive. Farbman has helped organize an annual concert of Friedman and Friedman-inspired music on the anniversary of her death; this year’s free concert is scheduled for this Sunday, Feb. 12, at Tower One/Tower East starting at 10 a.m. Students from five different area Jewish religious schools will perform, as will the “house band” from Temple Emanuel, where Farber serves as congregational rabbi, often strumming his guitar from the pulpit.
Friedman, a feminist who helped bring more female voices into Jewish communal ritual, was inspired by the folk music revival of the 1960s, strumming her guitar to original compositions and new melodies to the words of traditional Hebrew prayers.
Paul Bass Photo
Farbman in the WNHH studio.
In an appearance on WNHH radio’s “Chai Haven” program — during which he performed some of the music to be heard this Sunday — Farbman spoke of how in “the old country,” synagogues used to send young men out into the streets to collect then-modern melodies to graft onto the prayers. Many of those melodies, which were based on late 19th and early 20th century classical music, feel like the “traditional” versions of prayers sung in American shuls today.
When Friedman emerged on the scene, some people predicted that her melodies would “never transition into the synagogue” from the campfire, Farbman observed. Instead, modern congregants often embraced new ways to connect with prayers — part of the role music plays in meeting the challenge of finding “a way for tradition to touch our souls,” Farbman observed. That challenge dates back to the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem in 70 CE, he said.
Friedman’s will not be the only folk-style melodies performed on Sunday.
“If we are going to celebrate Debbie’s legacy, we cannot just sing her songs,” Farbman said.“She inspired the next generation,” urging songwriters “to express Jewish music they way they saw it,” rather than the way she did.
Click on or download the above audio file to hear the full episode of “Chai Haven” with Rabbi Michael Farbman, who also discussed growing up in the former Soviet Union during the period of glasnost.