My First Song in Hebrew & English
Performing in Hebrew was a huge block for me…
I just avoided it. I know my accent is super, super American sounding. Even though I started studying Hebrew years ago (think Hebrew 101 at the University of Michigan), I still can’t claim to speak Hebrew anywhere near fluently. When people asked me if I perform in Israel, I would always feel a little embarrassed and answer, “Only to English speakers.”
I went to an event last year with Tony Robbins, a motivational speaker, and while having a honest moment with myself, I decided that I wanted to change this reality for myself, face this challenge and start creating material that I could perform for Hebrew-speaking children.
I realized that here I am, a positive, Zionistic, female, religious performer, and I want to be able to offer what I have to give to Israeli children. It’s important that children see role models from different backgrounds. The fact that I have an American accent and my Hebrew is “kacha kacha” (so-so) is who I happen to be. And not being afraid to be me, to be a little different, putting my positive energy out there for kids – that itself is something to give!
It’s also an opportunity to work in the other direction, to incorporate more Hebrew language with my English-speaking audience. So I took the Pesach song from our “Jewish Holiday Celebration” DVD and created a Hebrew-English version of it, with a new video to go along with it. It’s a first step, and a big personal accomplishment!
(Thanks to my husband David for the lyrics and filming, Chanale Fellig-Harrel for recording the vocals, Yaniv Dabach for editing, and producers Sharon, Dikla, and Yuval from “Ha-Derech Sheli.”)
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Happy Passover! Chag Sameach!
