Debbie Friedman hospitalized in ICU; nation-wide online service motzei-Shabbat
Singer Debbie Friedman Is Hospitalized
By Ben Harris (JTA
Published January 06, 2011.Breaking News
Songwriter Debbie Friedman has been hospitalized in Orange County, Calif.Friedman is reportedly sedated and on a respirator, according to an email sent Wednesday from the West Coast office of the Union for Reform Judaism. The email asked that prayers be said on Friedman¹s behalf, as well as for her mother, sister and aunt.
A spokesperson for the URJ told JTA the union has received no further updates on Friedman¹s condition.
An immensely popular singer and songwriter, Friedman, who is in her late fifties, is widely credited with reinvigorating synagogue music by introducing a more folksy, sing-along style to American congregations. In 2007, she was appointed to the faculty of the Reform movement¹s cantorial school in a sign that her style had gained mainstream acceptance.
She is best known for her composition "Mi Shebeirach," a prayer for healing that is sung in many North American congregations.
David Morgenstern reports to the Jewish-Music mailing list:
"I would like to pass on a request to all members of the community neither to send emails to Debbie or her family nor to call the hospital, which has been inundated already beyond their capacity to receive them. We will be sure keep you up-to-date on her progress until such time as she can receive visits and communications."
Cantor Lois Welber adds:
"There will be a nation-wide online service for Debbie Friedman tomorrow night, after Shabbat at 6:00 pm PST actually 6:12PST, 9:12 EST), at the following UTube link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbgtVBaT2i4"