Legacy

A few hours ago, Debbie Friedman passed away.  For those who knew her, she was a unique person with an absolute gift.  But for most Jewish kids, she was the creator of countless songs that are indelibly linked to our days in youth group.   As a Reform Jewish kid growing up in the NFTY (well, NEFTY…) system, events were punctuated by the music — and the songleaders that led crowds of us from prayer to peace to future potential.  My career working in the music industry was sparked in no small part by those songs and the community that was built around them.

In retrospect, it seems so utterly uncool to be sitting on the ground, in a friendship circle, singing songs based upon prayers and psalms written thousands of years ago.  At one level, it was the ultimate “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” moment.  But thinking deeper, it wasn’t as cliche-ridden as it seems now.  Much of that is due to Debbie Friedman.

She wrote music that let the big picture make sense.  Her tunes allowed a bunch of kids — nervous about their own destinies, and overcome with emotions they didn’t understand yet — to connect their religion with their personal beliefs.  Suddenly Judaism wasn’t old men with long beards.  Instead it was something that positively influenced our daily lives.

As I think about it, Debbie’s music was the ultimate negotiator.  It brought the voice of both sides first into focus and then into agreement.  And while I’ve forgotten so many of the details of that time in my life, I remember every nuance of her music — all learned during my days in NEFTY.

Later on, I learned what I already understood from those days:  music is a way of stamping a time and a place into your permanent memory.  It’s an audible lesson in what your life was like at a very specific time.   Debbie Friedman’s music didn’t merely “give voice to a generation.”  That’s too simple.  Her songs gave us hope, optimism, and affirmation.  While there are others, no one came close to the sheer volume of tunes that are sung around the world to this day.

Zichrona v’livracha D’vorah bat Fraydl v’Gavriel…