Amalia and Julia met in Jerusalem in the fall of 2024, when both were studying in immersive one-year programs. It only took a few jam sessions to realize that their musical collaboration would be a defining feature not only of their shared year in Israel, but of their careers and lifes’ work.
The tensions and complexities of the war-stricken Middle East, which they experienced up close, challenged them to compose music in response to stress and trauma. Their work weaves these experiences together with Torah learning, justice work, and deep prayerful practice. Rooted in midrash, liturgy, Tanakh, and modern Hebrew poetry, their musical style offers a pathway into spirituality and Jewish tradition that remains open and accessible to Jews of all backgrounds. Their repertoire includes songs in English, Hebrew, and wordless nigunim, helping bridge gaps of linguistic and liturgical practices across diverse Jewish communities.
The duo began productions on their first studio album, BaMerchav, in the late spring of 2025, and are excited to release it to the public in the summer of 2026.
Amalia Zeitlin
Amalia was raised in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she developed passions for music, Judaism, and social justice from a young age. She received degrees in violin performance from Boston University (B.M.) and New Mexico State University (M.M.) and studied abroad at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. In 2017, Amalia co-founded Camerata Del Sol, a professional chamber music ensemble in Las Cruces, NM, and served as its executive director for its first six seasons, overseeing the production of over 200 concerts. Amalia is also passionate about Jewish song, prayer, and ritual, and has led services and song circles in congregations across the United States since 2014. From September, 2025 through February, 2026, Amalia served as an Arts and Culture Fellow at the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, where she led creative and traditional minyanim, facilitated song circles, and taught musical shiurim for her cohort and the wider community. Amalia also serves as a Nava Tehila Levite and makes frequent appearances with the Zam’ru Ensemble from the Fuchsberg Center in Jerusalem.
Julia Sabra
Julia Sabra is a Hebrew College Rabbinical student, singer-songwriter and musician currently living in Boston. As a classically trained musician from South Florida, Julia found her doorway into Judaism through music. She has worked as a song leader and cantorial soloist, traveling to unite communities internationally. She is passionate about prayer leadership and using music as a tool to inspire and amplify the voices of those around her, particularly through writing and teaching her own musical settings of liturgy and Jewish texts. During the 2024-2025 academic year, Julia lived in Jerusalem where she studied at Pardes and served as a Nava Tehila Levite.