Judith Gerzi’s soul music blends her Sephardic roots with chassidic notes
Growing up frum in a very musical family in Edgware, London, before it was the religious hub it is today, I was the quiet one, the one who was too shy to sing loudly. My mother sang opera, my grandfather and brother are chazzanim, but though I loved music, I had no confidence. As a teen, I finally started to come out of my shell, only to realize that there were absolutely no venues for a frum woman to sing.
When I married my husband, who plays too many musical instruments to count, I loved that our home was full of music, but it was intensely painful for me that I couldn’t find an avenue to share the music within me.
My husband had always wanted to make aliyah, while I was hesitant. One year, we visited Israel over Pesach, and my heart was touched. Driving home from work one day shortly after, I felt an aching emptiness, and when I reached home I announced to my husband, “That’s it, we’re moving.”
Ironically — since these things can’t ever be in sync — he then said, “Wait, what?” In his work as a lifestyle consultant and music instructor, he’d built relationships with towering mentors and would be giving up a lot to start fresh in a new country.
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