Between Faith and Art: On Music, Memory, and Inner Truth

A food or sound that takes you back to childhood

“The opening songs of the children’s TV shows we watched when we were very young. In general, I don’t have a good memory, and I barely remember the actual content, but I can sing by heart the theme songs of The Smurfs and Mrs. Pepperpot.”

Three items you would take with you to a deserted island

“Something to write with, maybe a computer, a guitar, and probably food as well.”

Your guilty pleasure

“Gnocchi or good pasta ravioli.”

What helps you recharge after a hard day

“Rest, of course. It might sound like a trivial answer, but that’s what really helps. I also love watching high-quality content and art that feels fresh, meaningful, and deep. Those things give me air to breathe.”

What people don’t know about you

“That I don’t have a good memory at all. I hardly remember anything and don’t have many memories from the past. It’s a kind of defense mechanism that helps me not take life too heavily.”

What scares you the most

“That something might happen to my family.”

When was the last time you cried

“I don’t cry very often. I can cry from an article I read that mentioned a moving moment, or from something I watched that really shook me, but I don’t often cry about myself.”

Something you would like to improve about yourself

“To be more giving and more generous. I live in a community where acts of kindness are very significant, and I don’t feel I meet the standard. For me, kindness can be bringing a meal to a new mother, visiting an elderly and lonely neighbor, or giving someone a ride. It doesn’t need to be something big.

“I see very busy mothers who manage to combine their lives with acts of kindness, and I have living examples of people who are kindness in motion. When I see them, it gives me thoughts of self-reflection. I tell myself, ‘This is possible, it’s not beyond reach.’”

The most honest moment you had speaking with God

“This week, after lighting the Shabbat candles, I had a very real conversation with God. It was a conversation without observing myself from the outside. I was fully inside it. It was deeply cleansing, and I felt afterward like I had just finished a successful therapy session.”

A dream you haven’t given up on

“Writing a book. I’m good at short pieces of writing, but I don’t want to publish a book made up only of columns. Several times I’ve sat down and tried to begin, but I don’t have the patience required. In my view, people who manage to write books are a certain type of person. For example, I have friends who, ever since school, loved investing time in studying, and today they’re fashion PhDs in New York. I’m good at many things, but sitting down and persevering with long-term writing works against me.”

A quality you value in people

“Integrity and a desire for truth.”

A person who is no longer alive you would like to sit and talk with

“Devorah the Prophetess. I would like to have a deeper discussion with her about the path, about the source of things, and perhaps also talk about the issue of women’s singing.”

What you would like to leave behind in this world after 120 years

“I hope to have many children and grandchildren, and to get to know them as much as possible. I also hope that my music will continue after me. Music lasts forever, and that’s a beautiful thing.”

The work you are most proud of

“I feel very connected to the song I composed based on the poetry of Zelda, and in general I feel deeply connected to Zelda, whom I refer to as ‘a righteous memory for a blessing.’ I composed the song as part of a project called An Island in the Maelstrom, in which women sing Zelda’s poetry.

“As part of the project, we staged a wonderful performance in the Neve Tzedek neighborhood of Tel Aviv, and for me it was a defining moment. It was the first time, after many years in the world of religious return, that I performed again in a place that for me symbolized the stronghold of Tel Aviv secularism. I performed there alongside Din Din Aviv and Ruchama Ben Yosef, together with secular artists. Even my non-religious family members could come and watch, and I felt there was a real connection between all worlds.”