I’m thrilled to share that I’m recording Ahavat Hadassah*, my first full album of traditional Yemeni Jewish music. This project has been many years in the making, and it represents a deep personal and artistic journey—one that I’m excited to finally bring to fruition. A project like this takes a community to create. Read on to learn how you can be a part of bringing Ahavat Hadassah into the world!

[*Ahavat Hadassah is the title of a traditional Yemeni piyut (liturgical poem) by R’ Shalom Shabazi that will be featured on the album. The title can be translated in several ways - my favorite translations are “Love of the Shechinah (the in-dwelling presence of God)” or “Love of righteousness.”]

Who I Am & How I Arrived at This Music

My name is Anat Halevy Hochberg. I’m a musician, educator, and recording artist. I grew up steeped in European classical music and Ashkenazi Jewish prayer traditions. These sounds shaped my early musical language, yet in my 20s I found myself wondering about the traditions of my ancestors on my Yemeni side (shout to my mom Elisheva and grandparents, Sara and Haim!).

It was initially challenging to find out with whom I could study this music, so I started off by learning songs Ofra Haza had recorded. I eventually found my teachers, Lea Avraham, Amitai Aricha, and Tom Fogel, and I began dedicated study with them. Over the past five years, I’ve come to learn music and songs that I wish I’d grown up singing. This learning has become an important part of my life: musically, spiritually, and personally. My aim is to honor my ancestors and community through preserving tradition and sharing my fresh takes on this music.

Why This Album Matters

Yemeni Jewish music is a vast and textured world. It contains two strands:
• The women’s tradition—secular songs sung in Arabic, an oral tradition
• The men’s tradition—religious poetry in Hebrew, the texts preserved in writing within the diwan, a collection of liturgical poetry

I’ve been studying and singing from both, learning not only melodies but also the cultural lineages that shaped them.

This work is also part of a much larger movement: I am part of a growing community of Mizrahi Jews and artists who are reclaiming traditions that were weakened or lost through migration, assimilation, and systemic erasure. Re-enlivening this music takes devotion, care, and community—and this album is one contribution toward a fuller, richer, and more accurate Jewish cultural landscape.

How You Can Support

I’ve already felt so held by community in this journey—by those who have come to listen, learn, and celebrate this music with me. To bring this album to life, I’m inviting you to join me as a supporter.

Your contributions will directly fund the musicians, producers, engineer, and videographer, as well as the recording, mixing, mastering, and distribution needed to make this album happen. Community-supported music is how many artists are creating work today, especially projects like this that are artistically vital but not financially lucrative.

If you’re able, I would be deeply grateful for your donation. And if donating isn’t possible right now, spreading the word is an enormous help.

Ahavat Hadassah will be released on Teimah Records, a new label that supports artists to record & release Jewish music with a deep reverence for all life - more on that coming soon!

Thank you for helping bring this music into the world. Your support means more than I can say.

Album team

Anat Halevy Hochberg - musical direction, production, vocals, guitar, keyboard

Yoni Avi Battat - musical direction, production, violin, oud, vocals

Fabio Pirozzolo - percussion

Evan Carley - bass

Yosef Goldman - vocals and translation consultant

Joel Edinberg - recording engineer

Shmulie Lowenstein - video and photo

Molly Bajgot - fundraising consultant

Aly Halpert - record label support

Ahavat Hadassah is being produced by Teimah Records, a fiscally sponsored project of Beloved Builders, a 501c3 non-profit. All donations are tax-deductible and go directly to the production of Ahavat Hadassah.

Photos: Emily Glick and Dan Hochberg

Support Ahavat Hadassah: An Album of Yemeni Jewish Song by Anat Halevy Hochberg