Meet Rena
I am a Jewish composer, ritual leader, and educator who uplifts personal and collective healing through song.
I write melodies for prayer and action that accompany people through vulnerable moments.
My work invites us to slow down, listen more deeply to ourselves and each other, explore our voices along with our fear and shame, and replenish our energy for transformation. I offer workshops, concerts, prayer services, singing circles, song commissions, and 1:1 lessons in Jewish Studies and music. I am also a devoted student of Chassidishe nigunim (traditional Hasidic melodies), which provide a musical language for expressing the ineffable. I have released two original albums, Love Is the Ground and In Doing & In Dreaming.
Listen to “Healer of the Brokenhearted”
This grief song features Rebekka Goldsmith, Batya Levine, Joey Weisenberg, and Sam Weisenberg, filmed by Shmulie Lowenstein, mixed and mastered by Will Robertson.
Watch Concert Livestream
Hosted by the Weitzman Museum & Hadar’s Rising Song Institute
This concert features my debut album as well as original performances by other queer Jewish musicians: Rachel Chang, Dr. Koach Baruch Frazier, Aly Halpert, Marques Hollie, Joni Sidharta Leibovic, and Marni Loffman, emceed by Rabbi Mónica Gomery.
Learn More About רינּה / Rena
I am named after my great-grandmother. In Hebrew, Rena means a ringing cry of joy.
Joy is not only happiness; it is aliveness and דבקות (dveikut/s, or seamless merging) with the present moment, whatever it may hold. While children often access this experience more easily, adults can also feel profound aliveness through crying out in song. We can create safety for each other to try.
I’ve facilitated this exploration through A Queer Nigun Project, the Rising Song Residency, Linke Fligl, Let My People Sing, Mitsui Collective Kollel, the Dorot Fellowship, Hava Nashira, Keshet, Dayenu, and many other organizations and synagogues. I currently make home on Cherokee land in Asheville, North Carolina.
Let’s connect about how I can help bring joy to your community!
Support Music As Spiritual Care
My music is a public offering of spiritual care, and money should never be an obstacle to people enjoying it. However, I appreciate receiving compensation for my work whenever possible. Please consider purchasing my music!
Photos by Jess Benjamin