Debbie Friedman

Debbie Friedman rewrote the sound of American Jewish worship, composing melodies now sung in Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox synagogues alike — most widely her setting of the Mi Shebeirach healing prayer, which became a fixture at services across the denominational spectrum. She was an early and deliberate advocate for gender-inclusive liturgical language, revising masculine-only references to the divine in music that congregations chose to adopt on its merits.