Diana Klein is sending a message of gratitude for the Almighty and of self-appreciation.
The singer-songwriter, 43, is a rehabilitation psychologist, wife, and mother of four. And now she has just released her new Hebrew single, “Tova Me’etzem Heyotekh” (“the good virtue of your being”).
Klein’s music is deeply spiritual and is connected to her faith and biblical sources. Her creative path stems from a search for meaning in life, deep interpersonal connections, and a belief in the power of voice and sound, which accompany the processes of healing, hope, and growth.
From a young age, Klein was drawn to singing and music, but as she told In Jerusalem, she felt that she needed a more stable profession first, so she pursued another one of her interests and became a rehabilitation psychologist. Many years later, feeling fulfilled in both her professional and family life, she was still longing for spirituality. She found it through singing and creating her own songs.
“I needed a hug from God,” she said. Klein began writing and composing personal songs born out of prayer. Her songs explore the connection between brokenness and redemption, and the ability of the female voice to bring comfort, healing, and hope. In her songs, she also strongly embraces gratitude.
Three years ago, besides writing her own music, she began to build a community for other religious musicians. She said that what she could easily find in Jerusalem, didn’t exist in her hometown of Petah Tikva, so she decided to gather female musicians and vocalists around her. Jewish tradition forbids women from singing in front of men, so as a religious Jew, Klein formed an all-female band and performs live exclusively for female audiences.
Klein, along with her ensemble Strings of the Soul, comprised of women with diverse musical backgrounds, presents acoustic music combined with sounds used in healing treatments. Together, they have created a sensitive and profound musical space that allows for an emotional and spiritual journey. During the performance, each musician is given space for personal expression, guided by Klein’s delicate yet powerful voice. Her music can evoke images of ancient Hebrew music from biblical times, but, she said, it is also inspired by Celtic musical traditions.
“The good virtue of your being” – that is a long name for a song.
Yes, but the original, in Hebrew, is shorter: ‘Tova Me’etzem Heyotech.’ I’m very excited about this single because it completes the album. This is my first album; there will be eight songs, all mine.
Your musical debut came after 40, relatively late in life. Were you singing before?
I was always singing in choirs or solo – but covers, not my songs. I became a creative singer and songwriter only about three years ago; that was a period in my life when I began to feel worried about things that were happening in the world.
Even before Oct. 7?
Before. After the COVID pandemic. I began to ask questions about things that are happening, and I felt sad. I felt that I wanted God to hug me. I was with myself.
What do you mean by that?
I am a psychologist, and I have tools for encouragement and motivation, but I needed something else – something spiritual. I needed a hug from God.
Then I thought to myself, maybe I will perform a song that I love. I started looking for it on YouTube. But nothing was close to what I wanted… It’s hard for me to explain exactly what I needed. And then I saw the ‘Mizmor Le’Todah,’ from Tehilim [“A Song of Thanks,” which refers to Psalm 100 in the Book of Psalms]. I saw it, and I wanted to sing it.
Not just cover with my mouth, but to sing it. I couldn’t find anything [musical] that I liked, so I went to the piano and started to write it myself, for the first time.
With ‘Mizmor Le’Todah,’ I realized that God is sending me an answer to my need for my praise: that I need to be in a place where I can thank God for creating everything. I felt gratitude for [being able to] create, to sing, and to pass it on.
How did you know how to compose? Did you study music before?
Very basic. I learned to play the piano for two years as a child – that’s all. But I have it intuitively; I hear the music.
And did you learn how to sing?
Yes, from the first grade. And I was singing in the choir from the age of nine. The school was only for girls. In that choir, I got solo parts very quickly, and I liked it – I sing in soprano and mezzo-soprano. I was a shy girl, but in singing
I felt that I could express my unique voice in the world.
So, it helped you to overcome your shyness. What does the singing give you now?
I feel the connection to myself when I sing. In a metaphorical way, it allows me to express my own voice in the world, and the singing gives me strength, and I can express my love.
I think I connect to the love for myself, and when you are connected to your love for yourself, you can connect to God, and you can connect to others – and you can let them feel the love of God through you.
Is this what you want people to take from your concerts?
Yes. In the last three years, I have been ‘upgraded’ to being a creative singer. So, I write and compose songs. I hear the music in my ears; I feel that God is sending me the music.
A very spiritual process of creating. Listening to your music and the lyrics you have written, I felt that your songs are not just spiritual but also healing in a way. You aim to give strength, as I understand. And what’s unique in your performances is that you perform with other female musicians exclusively, and your audience is only women. How did it happen?
Yes, it’s very unique, and I am very proud of that. When I started that stage for women in Petah Tikva, I also created the ensemble Strings of the Soul, with only female musicians (on harp Rebecca Arki-Amar; violin Pnina Weintraub; piano Michal Wilmersdorf; flute Tal Malka Michaeli; second voice and guitar Yahel Klat; healing sounds/drums Susan Eklove; kamancha Haleliya Yehezkeli).
It all happened because I was trying to understand where I could meet more women like me, creating songs, singing.
In Jerusalem, there were many opportunities for meeting [religious female] musicians and doing things together, but where I live in Petah Tikva, there was nothing. So, I started creating a stage for women who wanted to get together and sing in Petah Tikva. Now there are 300 women in my group from all over Israel.
Professional and non-professional?
Yes, but with time the non-professional ones become professional because I let them feel that we are in a comfortable zone.
Real women power – in music! Have you worked with male musicians?
Yes, always, because they are everywhere. But it’s another energy… I think women are the strength that leads the world, and we need to pass [the message that] we are very soft and gentle and heavenly, and we have compassion.
Many observant women don’t sing in front of men. Is this an issue for you?
It’s a problem, yes. I grew up traditional, but later on I became more observant. So, my concerts are only for a female audience.
The women’s time?
Exactly!
Your songs are often very relevant to our Israeli reality – and in the past two years, unfortunately, the war. In November 2023, you released the moving song ‘Kol Ehad Hu Olam’ (‘everyone is a world’), dedicated to young female reservist Adi Odeya Baruch, killed in Sderot in October 2023. Did you know her personally?
I knew her mother, whom I met through my group, at the selichot concerts that I gave. Adi, when she died, was almost 23 years old. Her mother sent me two songs, the lyrics written by Adi; I combined them into one. The first tells about how everyone, every person is a star, every person is in the world – and when he [or she] passes away, we, the people that stay here, realize how much we loved them and how much they were the moon.
When did she write this?
Three years before she was killed.
And she never released it?
No, she wrote just the lyrics. Her mother sent it to me, and I composed the music. At first, I didn’t know how I could record it… But during the shiva, when I was driving there to comfort the family, the music came to me.
I am singing and reciting, reading parts of Adi’s words out loud. They are powerful and also give strength because she’s saying there that if I die one day, I want you to be happy, and I want you to appreciate life, and embrace life.
And if you feel that you miss me, you can look at the sky, and you will know that I am in a good place.
How do you not cry when you read this in the middle of your concert?
I once performed it, and her mother was in front of me, so I cried. I can’t say… I also feel that we, all the women in
Jewish communities, especially in recent years – women who are sending their children to the army – and in this period of time, it’s very hard, and I think we all need a hug; we all need an understanding of ourselves.
Both as a psychologist and a singer/songwriter, you aim to help others cope with various problems in life. Do you use singing in your psychological practice as well?
Not in the practice, but my patients know that I sing.
Before our meeting, you asked me if there would be a photographer because ‘you have to put yourself in the image of a singer.’ Your question made me think: Do you have separate lives/identities as a mother, a wife, a psychologist, and as a singer? Are there different Dianas?
No, we are one human being, and we have to put all our pieces together. So, if I’m a mother, a rehabilitation psychologist, a singer, and I believe in God, then I’ll put it all together and give it to people. I give my heart, give my soul.
Your background is spiritual and ethno-oriented singing; but listening to your songs, I thought they were very much classical Israeli. How would you define your singing style?
I feel that I have a touch of everything. I’m even inspired by Celtic music.
Now that you said it, I can see those influences… In your new single, you wrote that you are good just by being. Is that your life motto?
Yes, we all need, every human being, to understand that about themselves. I want my songs to be healing for others and to give courage and appreciation. As women, we need to realize that [even] more than the men and to appreciate ourselves and say thank you for ourselves – and send love to yourselves. You should stand up, don’t apologize for your existence, and dance the movement of your life.
In my work as a psychologist, I have met women who were always angry about themselves, what they did or didn’t do, or about the things that they felt ashamed of. I hear it all the time. I think those feelings are very universal. So, I wanted to give something to those women.
How many of your children are girls? Do they sing, too?
They do. I have two daughters, 19 (who is doing National Service), and 17, and I have two boys, 13 and 9.
How do you balance it all?
I get this question all the time. People ask me how I have time for myself, and then I tell them that I don’t feel that I work at all. I think that when you do something you love, you don’t feel it’s work; you enjoy what you are doing, and I don’t need additional time off.
What would you want to say to other women for upcoming International Women’s Day (March 8)?
That every day should be Women’s Day. I wish every woman would start every day by giving herself a gift and being grateful for herself, for who she is and what she does, instead of waiting a whole year until Women’s Day to say thank you.
Diana Klein’s concerts will be celebrating International Women’s Day at Beit Hayotzer, Tel Aviv Port, on March 10; and at Lakes Community Center in Ashkelon on March 19.
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