About
Batya Levine (they/them) uses song as a tool for cultivating healing and resilience in their work as a communal song leader, musician, shaliach tzibur (Jewish prayer leader) and cultural organizer. They believe in the liberatory power of song to untie what is bound within us, and sustain us as we build a more just and beautiful world. Batya is a co-founder and the Director of Programs at Let My People Sing!. Batya offers song, ritual, and workshops in a variety of communities, and they compose original music made of Ashkenazi yearning, queer heart-medicine, and emunah (faith/trust). Batya is also a lover of the ocean, queer dance parties, and puns.
As a lifelong student of Jewish song, ritual and practice, Batya supports people to dig into the juiciness of Jewish tradition for the sake of healing and connection. This work is especially important for those of us who have felt disconnected, alienated or marginalized from Jewish tradition and within Jewish community. Rooted in the traditional wisdom and ruach (spirit) of their Modern Orthodox upbringing, Batya is dedicated to building a vibrant Judaism that simultaneously reaches backward and forward in time, and is wide enough for our whole selves.
“Batya’s music has carried, held and healed me and the communities I live and love in. Like the blessing and prophet they are, Batya breathes new life into ancient words and sets liturgy on fire, embodying both the humility and wisdom of a learned Chazzan and the wild aliveness of a queer dance party. I am so grateful for the gift of these songs especially in these dire, heartbreaking times. We need these songs and this powerful voice now, more than ever, to support our hearts, bodies, and spirits as we sing, dance, work, fight, and pray our way towards the world we are dreaming of.”
Pictured: Batya, age 5 wearing a fabulously clashing outfit and posing with a blue vintage guitar from their father’s guitar shop, Larkstreet Music.