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May 7, 2004
A community together
Debbie Friedman brings her inspiration to the Chan.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
This month, to celebrate Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day,
and our community's seniors, the Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation
is presenting popular folk musician Debbie Friedman in concert at
the Chan Centre.
A singer, songwriter and guitarist, Friedman's melodies and lyrics
can be found almost everywhere, including videos, children's books,
Haggadot, prayer books, teaching manuals, healing and self-help
books and on the Internet. While many performers may claim to appeal
to all ages and walks of life, Friedman really does. Her "The
Aleph Bet Song" appears in the Barney in Concert video
for kids and her renowned version of the healing prayer, "Mi
Shebeirach," was in an epsiode of Strong Medicine on the Lifetime
Channel.
Friedman, who has recorded 19 albums, has had a remarkable career,
spanning more than 30 years, with more to come. And it all began
with a melody that came into her head one day, as she was taking
a bus to meet her parents somewhere.
"I didn't feel that I could write lyrics and I decided, instead
of that, I would set the music to a prayer, to my favorite prayer,
the v'Ahavtah, Though Shalt Love," Friedman told the
Bulletin in a phone interview. "Having done so, I then,
a few weeks later, taught it to a group of kids who were on a retreat.
"At that time, we were doing funky services, we called them
creative services. We used Peter, Paul and Mary songs and James
Talyor songs and Joan Baez songs, because we were more social action
oriented than anything. What happened is I taught the song and the
kids stood there, they had their arms around each other and people
were crying while they were singing this prayer.
"I realized something strange, something really powerful is
happening here," she continued. "Here we are singing our
own prayers, our own words, and this isn't Joni Mitchell or Peter,
Paul and Mary or Judy Collins, this is a tefilah, this is
a prayer, this is our heritage and we're reclaiming it. And we can
give it voice, whereas in the past, it was read.... That was a major
turning point."
Arguably one of Friedman's most inspirational and influential songs
is "Mi Shebeirach," which was written in the late 1980s.
"I wrote it for a woman who was celebrating her arrival into
her golden years and wanted to embrace them with joy instead of
terror," said Friedman. On the day of the celebration, Friedman
said she sat down at her piano and picked up a traditional siddur
and read the Mi Shebeirach prayer. She translated it into English
and called a friend who was going to be officiating the service
to confirm that what she had done was OK. After a couple of language
changes, the song was complete.
At the service, four people held up a tallis, each holding one of
its corners, said Friedman. "I asked if there was anybody who
would like to come forward, who would like to be a part of this,
who would like to be blessed under the tallis to experience the
blessings of healing and well-being, who felt that they needed that.
And there was this mass exodus [from their seats]. They all came
forward and when I looked out there, 175 seats – the whole
kehila, the whole community – the whole congregation
was empty, they were all underneath this tallis. That was the beginning
of the healing service."
It's hard to believe that someone who has impacted so many people's
lives didn't know what she career path she wanted to take.
"I didn't know what I wanted to be," said Friedman. "Honest
to God. I have followed the progression, I have followed the course
wherever this has taken me. I haven't gotten in the way." She
admits to helping things along, by recording CDs and putting
her music out there, but says she hasn't pushed. Perhaps
her success is due to the fact that she loves what she's doing,
even after all these years.
"I find it completely and totally inspirational," said
Friedman of her singing/songwriting career. "For me, it's not
singing. For me, it's about the people, it's about the prayer. It's
about using music and using text, using prayer, using Talmud, using
Psalms, using whatever approach ... to awaken my consciousness,
to help reach to other people to help them awaken their consciousness,
so we can stand together as a community and be strong. And to erase
the denominational lines that separate us so that we can be in force,
so that we can stand together in a world that's just so fragmented
and filled with negativity and hatred."
Friedman performs at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on
Tuesday, May 18, 8 p.m. Tickets are $36 before May 10 and $45 after.
They are available through the Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation,
604-261-5550, or through Ticketmaster.
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