Violin Like That
An interview with Ariella Zeitlin
By Penina Taylor
In the Jewish world, it’s very common to play Jewish geography when starting a conversation with someone. In this case, it was more like a short stroll down memory lane. I have known Ariella Zeitlin since she was about 13 years old, and she grew up with my daughter, but that doesn’t make this interview any less exciting. Ariella represents much of what UNORTHOBOXED is about. She’s a young woman who has pursued an incredible career as a violinist and singer, travelling the world, making people happy, and living authentically – sometimes unsure of exactly what that should look like, and occasionally looking back and wondering, “What on earth was I thinking?”
Ariella grew up in a religious home, although during the course of her lifetime her parents have slowly become more and more strictly observant – what Israelis call “Haredi”. This came to a head during her teenage years when she (as she puts it) was “needing to push the boundaries.” So, when she left home at 17 to go to seminary in Israel, she was not keeping Shabbat, but decided to use her experience at seminary as a period of self-rediscovery as she tried to figure out exactly who she was, and what she wanted her Jewish expression to look like. It was during that time that she met her future husband, and so she also started thinking about what she wanted her family to look like in terms of religious observance.
Today, she says, her relationship with Judaism is very spiritual. She prays from the siddur every morning, and she says she does her best to follow halacha, but admits that it seems to be the very things that challenge her the most are the very things that others see. They are the external trappings of Jewish observance, rather than the internal connection. The things that are the hardest for her are things like not singing in public or dressing more modestly. In fact, she had one of those “aha” moments recently where she realized that others might misinterpret what they are seeing. Ariella had been in Vienna where she had filmed a music video for one of her original songs which will be featured on her upcoming album. Later, as she was watching the video she realized that although she had felt comfortable wearing what she had worn for the video, to the onlooker it didn’t actually represent how she felt and she thought that perhaps she could have made a better choice.
But she is very clear that although she grew up in a community where there was a huge emphasis on the idea that what you wear is a reflection of who you are, people who think that way are missing the boat. There is so much more to our relationship with God than how we dress. Yes, it is a part of that relationship, but only a small part of a very complex and multi-faceted relationship. Being souls with a body, not bodies with a soul, means that the most important part of who we are is what is happening on the inside, not on the outside. And most of the people that she has surrounded herself with recognize this.
Ariella started playing the violin when she was about seven years old. She comes from a very musical family. Her grandfather was the famous violinist Zvi Zeitlin who was the head of the string department of University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music for 45 years, and both her parents are musical as well. She recalls that during her childhood her parents regularly hosted musical parties – in their home, in their sukkah, for birthdays, really any reason to celebrate was a reason to celebrate with music. Ariella remembers from a very young age going with her father to visit old age homes to play music for the residents. So, she’s got music coursing through her veins, and it’s no wonder she became an accomplished musician herself.
I asked Ariella if growing up in an Orthodox community like Baltimore, she ever got the message from the community that it was immodest for a woman
to play a musical instrument in public. She said that the first time she recalls experiencing anything like that was when she was about 18. It was the summer after she came back from her year in seminary in Israel. She had just played at a wedding where the Moshav Band was performing. It turned out that they were having a concert the next day and they invited her to join them on stage at their concert. It was like a dream come true for her as they were her “idol band”. Her parents insisted on asking the rabbi if this would be OK and she was told that no, it was not appropriate for her to perform on stage with the band. Well, being a rebellious teenager (as she puts it), in the middle of the concert she ran home and grabbed her violin and then joined the band.
Although most of the opportunities she had to play were at events for women, she never really felt like she was being discouraged from playing. In general, she remarks, it’s only within the Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) community that instrument playing is considered inappropriate for women.
Ariella has played literally thousands of songs in both live performance, as well as on YouTube, and many of her recordings are also available on Spotify. During our talk together I asked her about a beautiful song she wrote and which has an incredible music video. The song is called Incandescence and it tells a part of the Chanukah story. But while it’s awesome to make videos that tell a story like Incandescence, the amount of time and resources required to create something like this isn’t worth it to her. She’d much rather invest all that energy in creating more music than in trying to make a spectacular video. When I asked her if all of her music tells a story, she said no, not at all, most of the time she just creates what she feels. Ariella says that she thinks in sound rather than in words or pictures, but her biggest challenge is to share her music in a way that people will connect with – not everyone connects directly with the music – so she spends a lot of time thinking about how to share her work on social media, and this involves not just the music, but visuals as well.
One day, several years ago, Ariella got a call from the staff at The Voice (Israel) inviting her to compete on the show. Although it wasn’t something she was actively looking to do, she gave it some considerable thought and decided to go for it. Because, she says, if she hadn’t acted on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, she’d probably regret it for the rest of her life. But, before she agreed, she consulted with several Dati Leumi (Modern Orthodox) rabbis about whether or not she could even do it halachically. She spent a lot of time going over the texts and learning what the halacha really says regarding a woman singing in public, and whether or not there was any room for it to be permissible. In the process, she learned that there’s a lot more ambiguity in the halachot than most people realize, and some of it is about cultural norms. When you live in a society where men are used to hearing women’s voices (not necessarily singing, but in general), that changes the entire context of the discussion. In the end, she got the go-ahead and says it was a great experience, it was a lot of fun, and she’s glad she did it. But she also says she wouldn’t want to do it again.
Even though she was very into learning the halachot of kol isha (a woman’s voice) at the time, when she was done, she was happy to leave it alone. “I’m not a fighter”, she says – she’s not on a personal crusade to change the way Orthodoxy regards women singing or performing in public. She doesn’t feel that fighting is her role in the world. She says she still doesn’t have a problem singing in a mixed audience, but it rarely comes up, so for the most part it’s been a non-issue. She says being a woman is hard enough, she doesn’t want to add that battle to her list of daily challenges. But regarding the show, she had a great time – and that’s kind of her aim in life, whatever she does, she wants to have a great time doing it. When she changed her mindset and decided that no matter what happens in life, she would have a great time, her professional life skyrocketed. It’s amazing how being “all in” affects every aspect of your life.
While being on TV did open a few big opportunities for her, it was just one thing in a long line of many that have shaped her career. Now, she regularly travels around the world to perform.
When asked who is the most exciting person she has performed with, she named Moshe Peretz who is an Israeli singer and composer. Moshe is currently serving as a judge for the first season of X-Factor Israel, so that’s a pretty big deal. She’s also done a song with Dan Elbaz, which she says was a lot of fun. But her focus has not been playing with famous people. Her focus is trying to balance making a living and spending time with her family, while also staying sane (not an easy prospect!).
When asked if she considers herself a role model for Jewish women, she hesitated. She doesn’t consider herself a role model, but it seems as though that’s what she’s become. And even though it’s scary to say it, she does admit that being a role model is really part of the bigger vision she has for her life. But, she says, there’s a lot of pressure in admitting that. She brushes it off by saying that in her book you aren’t really a “role model” until the whole world knows you and she’s not there. Yet.
But being a role model doesn’t just have to mean pushing boundaries, like being an observant woman who performs for mixed audiences. She’s had plenty of opportunities to perform for all-female audiences. She explains that some of the biggest concerts she’s performed have been all women – thousands of women, in fact. Ariella notes that when she thinks back to her childhood, she recalls that there were very few female singers, and today there are many women singers and musicians and they are making a living, producing videos, and it’s amazing that the opportunities are there for an observant Jewish woman to express her creative talents, and to make a living out of it if she wants, no matter where on the “Orthodox” scale she falls. She’s quick to note that in the Ultra-Orthodox world there is a major effort to provide opportunities for girls and women to perform and express their creative talents, even though it is in an all-female environment. These spaces are being created, and it’s a wonderful time to be alive.
Although Ariella likes performing in productions and concerts, she says that the thing that she most enjoys is performing at an event – “I love a party,” says Ariella.
When I changed my mindset and decided that no matter what happens in life, I would have a great time, my professional life skyrocketed. It’s amazing how being “all in” affects every aspect of
your life.
– Ariella Zeitlin
When asked about her plans for the future, Ariella made reference to her piece Incandescence and how she really loves the beautiful, epic, classical style of that song. She says she moved away from it for a while because she wanted to be “cool”, but when she thinks about it, she’d like to get back into that. And she has an album coming out very soon – she says she’s working on the last piece of it now. She loves the fact that this album features a wide variety of styles, with dance music, Middle Eastern music, Jewish music, and a few other styles. She says there’s a lot of stuff happening in there, there’s something in it for everyone. It’s nice to put out an album, but with nearly 100,000 listeners on Spotify, Ariella is already a star. Not only can you listen to Ariella on Spotify, you can also check out her YouTube channel – they each have some stuff that’s not on the other. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
Ariella is a classical crossover violinist, DJ, and singer who specializes in event entertainment. She is available for bookings and if she’s not the right fit for your event, she’ll make sure that you are connected with the right people!
For Inquiries: violinlikethat@gmail.com or 054-237-5025
Photo credit (in order of appearance):
Instapix, Shabi Kedem, Michael Loubotin, Instapix