Rika Zaraï ( he, ריקה זראי; 19 February 1938 – 23 December 2020) was a

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Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

singer and writer.

Early life

Rika Gozman (later Zarai) was born in Jerusalem. Her father came from

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

(now Ukraine) in the Russian Empire, and her mother from Valozhyn (now Belarus), then in Poland. She passed her baccalaureate at the age of 17 and enlisted directly in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

, a year before her compulsory service would have drafted her. She attended the Jerusalem Music Conservatory where she obtained a first prize in piano. During her 18 months of army service, she was appointed producer of the entertainment troupe of the IDF Central Command. On November 9, 1969, she was the victim of a car accident. The singer sank into a coma for six days and remained immobilized in a cast for eight months. Despite a reserved medical prognosis, she recovered completely after three years. It was during her painful convalescence that Rika composed, as a snub to her suffering, the song ''Balapapa'', with joyful lyrics and which would be a great success. In addition to her musical career, Rika Zaraï distinguished herself in the promotion of herbal medicine from the 1980s. After having studied alternative medicine for eleven years, she published under her name in 1985 a book ''Ma médecine naturelle'' (English: ''My natural medicine''), which has sold 2 million copies. Its positions in this field have met with strong opposition, particularly from French pharmacists. On June 3, 2008, Rika Zaraï was hospitalized urgently following a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. She was placed in intensive care at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, suffering in particular from partial paralysis on the left side of the body.

Music career

In the 1950s, the Israeli writer, Aharon Megged, wrote a musical for the IDF Central Command entertainment troupe about five soldiers falling in love with five country girls. In 1956, it was produced commercially by the

Ohel theater Ohel Theatre (, ''Teat'ron 'Ohel'') was a Hebrew-language theatre company, active between 1925–1969 in Mandate Palestine and Israel . History Ohel (Hebrew for "tent"), originally known as the Workers' Theatre of Palestine, was established in 192 ...

starring Rika Zarai. The music was written by her husband Yochanan Zarai, with lyrics and melodies by Naomi Shemer. In 1969, Zarai rose to fame with her songs ''Casatschok'' and ''Alors je chante'', the French version of Vivo Cantando. She went on to have a successful career in Europe,A game of fives

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

where she popularized Israeli classic songs such as '' Hava Nagila'', ''

Yerushalayim shel zahav "Jerusalem of Gold" ( he, ירושלים של זהב, ''Yerushalayim Shel Zahav'') is an Israeli song written by Naomi Shemer. Often contrasted with the official anthem Hatikva, the original song described the Jewish people's 2,000-year longing t ...

'' and ''

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' ( ; he, ''haləlū-Yāh'', meaning "praise Yah") is an interjection used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four tim ...

''. After publishing other books in the 1990s and continuing to study health, she returned to singing in 2000 with the album ''Hava''. She sang at the Queen in Paris in 2000, and the oriental version of ''Hava nagila'' was successful in nightclubs where she sang until 2004. On February 3, 2020, twelve years after her stroke, she sang in public during the Night of the Depression party organized by Raphaël Mezrahi at the Folies Bergère in Paris. Zarai sang in Hebrew, English, French, Italian, Spanish and German. She lived in Paris but visited Israel periodically.

Discography

*''Chante Israël'' (1962) *''Rika Zaraï'' (1964) *''Un beau jour je partirai'' (1967) *''Alors je chante'' (1969) *''Moi le dimanche'' (1971) *''Les Dessins animés'' (1973) *''Chansons d'Israël'' (1973) *''Ma poupée de France'' (1975) *''Dad li di'' (1979) *Chante l'ami (1982) *''L'Espoir'' (1983) *''Sans rancune et sans regret'' (1985) *''Story'' (1988) *''Hava'' (2000) *''Quand les hommes'' (2007)

Published works

* ''Ma médecine naturelle'', Michel Lafon, 1985 * ''47 recettes de plantes'', Mangina, 1986 * ''Soins et beauté par l'argile et les plantes'', Mangina, 1987 * ''Mes secrets naturels pour guérir et réussir'', J-C Lattès, 1988 * ''Ces émotions qui guérissent'', Michel Lafon, 1995 * ''Le Code secret de votre personnalité'', Michel Lafon, 1996 * ''L'espérance a toujours raison'' (mémoires), Michel Lafon, 2006

References

External links