Debbie Friedman, Jewish Folk Singer, Dead at 59

Highly influential Jewish folk singer Debbie Friedman died on Sunday, Jan. 9 due to complications surrounding pneumonia. According to the Associated Press, the singer-songwriter was admitted to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, Calif., on Jan. 3 and succumbed to an infection.

"She was a musician and a composer and traveled a great deal and fatigue is a normal course of that lifestyle," Jerry Kaye, a family spokesperson said. "She was looking for ways to better understand them herself and by doing that, she made it so much more available to anyone."

Throughout her recording career, Friedman released 20 albums, with her work receiving international attention with its incorporation into modern day synagogue traditions. The Minnesota native worked to blend folk music, a la Joan Baez, with traditional Hebrew styles, and she's best known for her musical version of 'Mi Sheberach' (the Prayer for Healing).

In 2010, Friedman released 'As You Go on Your Way: Shacharit-Morning Prayers' and worked as a teacher. She was scheduled to appear in Dallas, Texas and Charlotte, N.C. at the end of March and beginning of April.

"Twenty-five years ago, North American Jews had forgotten how to sing," said Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism. "Debbie reminded us how to sing, she taught us how to sing. She gave us the vehicles that enabled us to sing."

She is survived by her mother and two sisters. Funeral services are scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 11, in Santa Ana, Calif.