Religious singer Bracha Jaffe books Jerusalem hall for women only
New York nurse by day, singer by night, this Orthodox performer only belts it out for the ladies
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
It’s a women’s only audience for religious singer Bracha Jaffe, a New Yorker who will perform February 23 at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center.
While gender-segregated events sponsored by public entities were recently ruled illegal by Israel’s attorney general, private events such as Jaffe’s concert can cater to one gender only.
Jaffe, who covers her hair and performs only with her all-women’s band, Zahav, works by day as a nurse practitioner, while singing in venues around the US and Europe.
Given the strictures regarding religious women singing in front of men, Jaffe sings for women only. The same goes for her social media accounts, which she makes available only to women.
Jaffe is a 33-year-old mother of five, who grew up in Brooklyn in a cantorial family and took voice lessons from age 11.
“It was unheard of at the time in our circles — girls didn’t take voice lessons then. But my parents were modern thinkers, and it was about what made me happy,” she told Glamour Magazine in an interview last year.
Jaffe began performing for local women’s events while in nursing school and like other religious women singers, used a private Instagram account to publicize herself.
Now Jaffe has five music videos and more than 18,000 followers on Instagram, and told Glamour that she may want to start an Orthodox female record label.
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