As a girl, Debbie Friedman loved to sing. Music bubbled up inside her. She continued singing as a teenager and taught herself to play the guitar, even though she couldn’t read music. Time on a kibbutz, where everyone worked and played, and sung and prayed together, inspired Debbie. Could music heal the world and bring people together? She would do what no one else had done before—create Jewish music that would welcome, include, and honor everyone. Some people laughed at her or said mean things, but her songs, weaving English and Hebrew together, touched the Jewish community and brought people together, just like she had dreamed.

As a girl, Debbie Friedman loved to sing. Music bubbled up inside her. She continued singing as a teenager and taught herself to play the guitar, even though she couldn’t read music. Time on a kibbutz, where everyone worked and played, and sung and prayed together, inspired Debbie. Could music heal the world and bring people together? She would do what no one else had done before—create Jewish music that would welcome, include, and honor everyone. Some people laughed at her or said mean things, but her songs, weaving English and Hebrew together, touched the Jewish community and brought people together, just like she had dreamed.

As a girl, Debbie Friedman loved to sing. Music bubbled up inside her. She continued singing as a teenager and taught herself to play the guitar, even though she couldn’t read music. Time on a kibbutz, where everyone worked and played, and sung and prayed together, inspired Debbie. Could music heal the world and bring people together? She would do what no one else had done before—create Jewish music that would welcome, include, and honor everyone. Some people laughed at her or said mean things, but her songs, weaving English and Hebrew together, touched the Jewish community and brought people together, just like she had dreamed.