[In this pic is Batya and our next daughter Hadassa.]
My daughter Batya is a composer. She’s been writing songs since she’s 12. Her first one was a surprise to us, then the second and the third. Soon it became apparent that there was a huge amount of music in this child. She stated with piano and moved on to the harp and now the guitar.
As the years went by (she’s 18 now) her vision crystallized and she began to dream of giving her music over to people in a way that would open their hearts. [It works on me, ever time she sings me a new song I start crying!] Recently she made a friend, Jenny whose voice is so soulful and whose heart is so beautiful that she brings Batya’s songs to life like never before. The two of them sound like magic together.
I’m so happy for her. It’s unbelievable pleasure seeing your child’s dreams come true. They’re also getting a ton of help and encouragement from supportive musicians in our community.
In this video is a clip of our 6th and 7th kids, Levi and Neshama singing Batya’s latest. They had only learned it that day or the day before but I was so eager for everyone to hear it that I asked them to perform it at our Chanuka get together.
You may wonder why Batya is only playing guitar and not singing.That’s because part of Jewish modesty is that men don’t listen to women singing (live). In a group is okay and so is a recording, but the heart and soul that go into a live performance is a kind of intimate exposure that we save for our nearest and dearest.
In the meantime, these girls are singing their hearts out. Stay tuned for videos on their fundraising page. inLIGHTin has been born!