Rika Zaraï (; 19 February 1938 – 23 December 2020) was a

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...

- Israeli singer and writer.

Early life

Rika Gozman (later Zarai) was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. Her father came from

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

(now

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

) in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, and her mother from

Valozhyn Valozhyn or Volozhin (, ; ; ; ; ) is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Valozhyn District. It is located northwest of the capital Minsk, on the Valozhynka River in the Neman, Neman River basin, and the begi ...

(now

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), then in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. She passed her baccalaureate at the age of 17 and enlisted directly in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

, a year before her compulsory service would have drafted her. She attended the Jerusalem Music Conservatory where she obtained a first prize in piano. During her 18 months of army service, she was appointed producer of the entertainment troupe of the IDF Central Command. At the aga about 20 she married Hungary-born composer-songwriter , with whom she has daughter Yael (Yaël Bolender). Later she divorced and married French musician Jean-Pierre Magnier. On November 9, 1969, she was the victim of a car accident. The singer sank into a coma for six days and remained immobilized in a cast for eight months. Despite a reserved medical prognosis, she recovered completely after three years. It was during her painful convalescence that Rika composed, as a snub to her suffering, the song ''Balapapa'', with joyful lyrics and which would be a great success. In addition to her musical career, Rika Zaraï distinguished herself in the promotion of herbal medicine from the 1980s. After having studied alternative medicine for eleven years, she published under her name in 1985 a book ''Ma médecine naturelle'' (English: ''My natural medicine''), which has sold 2 million copies. Its positions in this field have met with strong opposition, particularly from French pharmacists. On June 3, 2008, Rika Zaraï was hospitalized urgently following a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. She was placed in intensive care at the

Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital (, ) is a charitable hospital in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. It is part of the AP-HP Sorbonne University Hospital Group and a teaching hospital of Sorbonne University. History The Salpêtrière ...

, suffering in particular from partial paralysis on the left side of the body.

Music career

In the 1950s, the Israeli writer,

Aharon Megged Aharon Megged (; 10 August 1920 – 23 March 2016) (Hebrew calendar, Hebrew year 5680) was an Israeli author and playwright, a winner of multiple literary awards. Biography Aharon Greenberg (later Megged) was born in Włocławek, Poland. In 1 ...

, wrote a musical for the IDF Central Command entertainment troupe about five soldiers falling in love with five country girls. In 1956, it was produced commercially by the

Ohel theater Ohel Theatre (, ''Teat'ron 'Ohel'') was a Hebrew-language theatre company, active between 1925–1969 in Mandate Palestine and Israel . History Ohel (Hebrew for "tent"), originally known as the Workers' Theatre of Palestine, was established in 1 ...

starring Rika Zarai. The music was written by her husband Yochanan Zarai, with lyrics and melodies by

Naomi Shemer Naomi Shemer (; July 13, 1930 – June 26, 2004) was a leading Israeli musician and songwriter, hailed as the "first lady of Israeli song and poetry." Her song " Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold"), written in 1967, became an unoffic ...

. In 1969, Zarai rose to fame with her songs ''Casatschok'' and ''Alors je chante'', the French version of

Vivo Cantando "" (; "I Live Singing") is a song recorded by Spanish singer Salomé with music composed by María José de Ceratto and lyrics written by Aniano Alcalde. It in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969 held in Madrid, and became one of the four joint wi ...

. She went on to have a successful career in Europe,A game of fives

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

where she popularized Israeli classic songs such as ''

Hava Nagila "Hava Nagila" (, ''Hāvā Nāgīlā'', "Let us rejoice") is a Jewish folk song. It is traditionally sung at celebrations, such as weddings, Bar and bat mitzvahs, and other Jewish holidays among the Jewish community. Written in 1918, it quickly ...

'', ''

Yerushalayim shel zahav "Jerusalem of Gold" (, ''Yerushalayim Shel Zahav'') is an Israeli song written by Naomi Shemer. Often contrasted to Israel's national anthem, Hatikva, the original song expressed the deep longing of many Jews to return to Jerusalem's Old City of ...

'' and ''

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four times in the Christ ...

''. After publishing other books in the 1990s and continuing to study health, she returned to singing in 2000 with the album ''Hava''. She sang at the Queen in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 2000, and the oriental version of ''Hava nagila'' was successful in nightclubs where she sang until 2004. On February 3, 2020, twelve years after her stroke, she sang in public during the Night of the Depression party organized by

Raphaël Mezrahi Raphael was an Italian Renaissance painter. Raphael or Raphaël may also refer to: Music * Raphael (band), a Japanese rock band active 1997–2001 * ''Raphael'' (opera), an 1894 opera by Anton Arensky *Raphael (musician), American musician and c ...

at the

Folies Bergère 150px, Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg">Walery, 1927 The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the arc ...

in Paris. Zarai sang in Hebrew, English, French, Italian, Spanish and German. She lived in Paris but visited Israel periodically.

Discography

*''Chante Israël'' (1962) *''Rika Zaraï'' (1964) *''Un beau jour je partirai'' (1967) *''Alors je chante'' (1969) *''Moi le dimanche'' (1971) *''Les Dessins animés'' (1973) *''Chansons d'Israël'' (1973) *''Ma poupée de France'' (1975) *''Dad li di'' (1979) *Chante l'ami (1982) *''L'Espoir'' (1983) *''Sans rancune et sans regret'' (1985) *''Story'' (1988) *''Hava'' (2000) *''Quand les hommes'' (2007)

Published works

* ''Ma médecine naturelle'', Michel Lafon, 1985 * ''47 recettes de plantes'', Mangina, 1986 * ''Soins et beauté par l'argile et les plantes'', Mangina, 1987 * ''Mes secrets naturels pour guérir et réussir'', J-C Lattès, 1988 * ''Ces émotions qui guérissent'', Michel Lafon, 1995 * ''Le Code secret de votre personnalité'', Michel Lafon, 1996 * ''L'espérance a toujours raison'' (mémoires), Michel Lafon, 2006

References

External links