Sofi Tsedaka

Sofi Tsedaka
סופי צדקה‎
Born (1975-10-26) 26 October 1975 (age 49)
Holon, Israel
NationalityIsraeli
Other namesSofi Sarah (סופי שרה‎)
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actress
Political partyThe Greens (2006)
Spouse
Roni Azran
​
​
(m. 1997; div. 2002)​
[1]
Children2[2]

Sofi Tsedaka (Hebrew: סופי צדקה; born (1975-10-26)26 October 1975), also known as Sofi Sarah (סופי שרה), is an Israeli singer and actress.

She has acted and sung on various television shows and children's video cassettes throughout her career and has also released several musical singles on Israeli radio. Tsedaka voiced the character Ella of Frell (played by American actress Anne Hathaway) in the Hebrew dubbing of the 2004 film Ella Enchanted. In 2017, she produced a documentary about her experience with leaving the Samaritan community and adopting Judaism.[3][4][5] She has also released a religious CD track titled Bereshet (בְּרֵאשִׁית, Bərēšīṯ), which contains the initial verses of the Samaritan Pentateuch.[6][7]

Early and personal life

Tsedaka is originally a Samaritan from the city of Holon, where she was born in 1975. Although the Chief Rabbinate of Israel recognizes Samaritans as ethnically Jewish (i.e., Israelite), the historic question of the community's Halakhic Jewishness has been controversial. At the age of 18, she initiated her conversion to Judaism, along with her sisters. Her given name is Sofi, a name her father intended to reflect her status as the last of his daughters (sof, lit. "end" in Hebrew; sofi, lit. "final"); when she finalized her conversion, she was asked to take a Jewish name in addition, which she did in adopting the second name "Sarah" (שָׂרָה).[3] Later, after becoming fully Jewish at the age of 21, she married Roni Azran, an Israeli Jew.[8][3] The couple had a daughter in 1997 before divorcing in 2002.[2] Tsedaka also has a son, born in 2011.[2]

Political career

In the 2006 Israeli legislative elections for the 17th Knesset, Tsedaka stood for The Greens,[9] but was not elected.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Sofi Tzadka". IMDb. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Steinberg, Jessica. "A former Samaritan faces the music of her complicated roots". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Steinberg, Jessica (16 March 2017). "A former Samaritan faces the music of her complicated roots". Times of Israel. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  4. ^ McGregor, Grady (23 October 2017). "Israel's Sofi and the Baladis brings ancient sounds with contemporary twist to Dickinson". The Dickinson Press. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  5. ^ "BBC World Service - Heart and Soul, The Good Samaritan, Sofi Tsedaka says she will always be a Samaritan but knows she will never be allowed back". BBC. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  6. ^ "A formerly good Samaritan". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 22 March 2007. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Israeli singer embraces her past". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  8. ^ Levy, Liat (12 September 2010). "אחרי הפיצוץ הגדול: סופי צדקה מתפייסת עם השומרונים" [After the big explosion: Sophie Tsadaka reconciles with the Samaritans]. www.nrg.co.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  9. ^ "No Kidding: Sophie Tzedaka Goes Green". Haaretz. Retrieved 15 June 2023.


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