Miriam Israeli (; born 1966), also known as Miri Israeli () is an American-born lyricist and singer of

contemporary Jewish religious music For the purposes of this article, “contemporary” refers to the period from 1967 (Six-Day War, Israel's Six-Day War) to the present day, “Jewish” refers to the various streams and traits of Judaism practiced. Many Orthodox Jews use the t ...

. Her biggest hits are "''Ima Tagidi Li''" ("Mother, Tell Me"), "''Yesh Tikvah''" ("There Is Hope") (co-written with

Ari Goldwag Ari Goldwag (born 1979) is an American Orthodox Jewish singer, songwriter, composer, and producer of contemporary Jewish religious music, as well as an author and teacher living in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel. He was a soloist for the Miami Boys C ...

Massery, Sarah. "Women to Know: Miriam Israeli". ''

Ami AMI or Ami may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *AMI (Romanian singer), a Romanian singer and songwriter *AMI-tv, a Canadian TV channel **AMI-télé, the French-language version *AMI-audio, a Canadian audio broadcast TV service *''Ami Magaz ...

'', January 14, 2015, pp. 14-15.), and "''Tikvah LeYeled''" ("Hope for the Child"). She performs internationally for women-only audiences.

Biography

She was born and raised in Borough Park,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, where she graduated from

Bais Yaakov Bais Yaakov (, also Beis Yaakov, Beit Yaakov, Beth Jacob or Beys Yankev; ) is a genericized name for full-time Haredi Jewish elementary and secondary schools for girls worldwide. Bais Yaakov, started by Sarah Schenirer in post-World War I K ...

Academy High School. After her marriage, she

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

to Israel and began composing songs for the Song Nights held at the Beth Jacob Jerusalem seminary. It was for one of these events that she composed "''Ima Tagidi Li''" ("Mother, Tell Me"), which became internationally popular in Jewish girls schools and camps. She also started an after-school choir for English-speaking high school girls. She released her first album of songs in 1999; however, her songs on this and a subsequent album were recorded by male vocalists per the directive of her

Rav ''Rav'' (or ''Rab'', Modern Hebrew: ) is the Hebrew generic term for a person who teaches Torah or is a Jewish spiritual guide or a rabbi. For example, Pirkei Avot (in the Talmud) states (1:6) that: The term ''rav'' is also Hebrew for ''rabbi ...

. Her songs have been recorded by

Benny Friedman Benjamin Friedman (March 18, 1905 – November 24, 1982) was an American football player and coach, and athletics administrator. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Friedman played college football as a halfback and quarterback for the University of ...

Yaakov Shwekey Yaakov Choueka, better known by his stage name Yaakov Shwekey () is an Orthodox Jewish recording artist and musical entertainer. He is of Egyptian and Syrian Sephardic heritage from his father's side; and Ashkenazi from his mother‘s side. Famil ...

, and others. She performs her own songs in concert tours for women- and girl-only audiences in the United States, England, and Israel. She is also a freelance writer and author of a serialized diary, "Music Maker", for ''

Mishpacha ''Mishpacha'' () - Jewish Family Weekly is a Haredi weekly magazine package produced by The Mishpacha Group in both English and Hebrew. History ''Mishpacha'' is one of the four major English-language newspapers and magazines serving the Hared ...

'' magazine.

Personal life

Miriam and her husband have 11 children; they reside in the

Romema Romema (, ''lit.'' Uplifted) is a neighbourhood in northwest Jerusalem, just off the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway at the main entrance to the city. It occupies the highest hill in Jerusalem. Romema is bordered by Kiryat Mattersdorf and Mekor Ba ...

neighborhood of

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 ...

Discography

* ''A New Experience in Song'' (1999) * ''Amen'' (2010)

References

External links

"''HaKotel''" (The Western Wall)
Music and lyrics by Miriam Israeli
"''Ima Tagidi Li''"

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

of Stony Brook video {{DEFAULTSORT:Israeli, Miriam American Orthodox Jews American lyricists Israeli lyricists Jewish American songwriters American expatriates in Israel 1966 births Living people Orthodox Jewish women musicians 21st-century American Jews