Sofi Tsedaka (; born ), also known as Sofi Sarah (), is an Israeli singer and actress. She has acted and sung on various television shows and children's video cassettes throughout her career and has also released several musical singles on Israeli radio. Tsedaka voiced the character Ella of Frell (played by American actress

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, Her accolades include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime ...

) in the Hebrew dubbing of the 2004 film '' Ella Enchanted''. In 2017, she produced a documentary about her experience with leaving the

Samaritan Samaritans (; ; ; ), are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Hebrews and Israelites of the ancient Near East. They are indigenous to Samaria, a historical region of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah that ...

community and adopting

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. She has also released a religious CD track titled '' Bereshet'' (), which contains the initial verses of the

Samaritan Pentateuch The Samaritan Pentateuch, also called the Samaritan Torah (Samaritan Hebrew: , ), is the Religious text, sacred scripture of the Samaritans. Written in the Samaritan script, it dates back to one of the ancient versions of the Torah that existe ...

Early and personal life

Tsedaka is originally a

from the city of

Holon Holon (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. In , it had a population of , making it the List of cities in Israel, tenth most populous city in Isra ...

, where she was born in 1975. Although the

Chief Rabbinate of Israel The Chief Rabbinate of Israel (, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. It was established in 1921 under the British Mandate, and today operates on the basis of the ...

recognizes Samaritans as ethnically Jewish (i.e.,

Israelite Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

), the historic question of the community's Halakhic Jewishness has been controversial. At the age of 18, she initiated her

conversion to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( or ) is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Thus, by convertin ...

, along with her sisters. Her given name is Sofi, a name her father intended to reflect her status as the last of his daughters (''sof'', lit. "end" in Hebrew; ''sofi'', lit. "final"); when she finalized her conversion, she was asked to take a Jewish name in addition, which she did in adopting the second name "

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...

" (). Later, after becoming fully Jewish at the age of 21, she married Roni Azran, an Israeli Jew. The couple had a daughter in 1997 before divorcing in 2002. Tsedaka also has a son, born in 2011.

Political career

In the 2006 Israeli legislative elections for the 17th

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

, Tsedaka stood for The Greens, but was not elected.

References

External links

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Lone Samaritan
Documentary about Sofi Tsedaka on YouTube 1975 births Living people People from Holon Converts to Judaism Israeli television actresses Israeli voice actresses Samaritans Jewish Israeli actresses Jewish Israeli singers 20th-century Israeli actresses 21st-century Israeli actresses 20th-century Israeli women singers 21st-century Israeli women singers 20th-century Israeli Jews 21st-century Israeli Jews {{Israel-actor-stub

Early and personal life

Political career

See also

References

External links