Debbie Friedman’s “Shalom Aleichem” – A Living Memorial
This Week in the Shabbat Corner, by Beth Am Congregant Lisa Rauchwerger
FRIDAY, JULY 5 TO SATURDAY, JULY 6

It’s been over two years since my friend Debbie Friedman z’’l tragically passed away on January 9, 2011, and I still miss her deeply. She was as wickedly funny and irreverent in private as she was spiritually uplifting and inspirational in public. She never got a chance to record her new version of Shalom Aleichem, the hymn traditionally sung Friday evenings to welcome the Shabbat angels, but she confided in a friend, “I think this is going to be my legacy. This is going to be bigger than Mi Shebeirach,” referencing her melody for the prayer for healing that has become hugely popular in liberal communities
throughout the country and beyond. Here is a link to Debbie singing her version of Shalom Aleichem informally at a chavurah Shabbat dinner in December, 2010, a month before she died. May this haunting melody be learned and passed on, as a living tribute to her memory. 

Debbie Friedman z’’l, performs at a chavurah Shabbat dinner, December 2010