Meet Robyn Solovei of Long Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Robyn Solovei.

Hi Robyn, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. My mother was the last born Jewish child in the small village of Marburg, Germany in December of 1936, at the onset of WWII. While my grandparents managed to survive the atrocities of the war by escaping to South Africa, most of their families were murdered by the Nazis. My father, who was ten years my mother’s senior, had immigrated with his family from Latvia to South Africa in 1940, when he was four years old. He became a competitive weightlifter and apprenticed in the diamond business. My parents met on a blind double date, and the rest was history. My dad had always dreamed of coming to the United States, and we immigrated when my brother Howard and I were very young, and landed in Long Beach in the summer of 1967, when I was 3 1/2 years old. It was extremely important to my folks that we grew up learning about this dark part of history, and I decided at a young age to proliferate the lives of those that were senselessly lost so that their memory would live on, even though their physical presence no long remained; those I would only have the privilege to know through story. Up until my son started preschool at the Alpert JCC in Long Beach in 1997, I was working along side my father in the wholesale diamond business, (coloring grading at the ripe old age of 6)!! The JCC had no one that had knowledge of Jewish music that could also connect with very young children. I had been working part time at various Jewish camps, schools, and synagogues as a music specialist and song leader since I was a teenager, so I began volunteering along side a friend. Soon I was asked to come on board as the Judaic Specialist for their ECE Dept. and my vocation and my avocation flipped! My personal credo became “Tolerance begins when ignorance ends”. I realized what a big impact I could have and I knew that the best place to start was with the youngest in our community. I truly believe that love is inherent, and hate is ascribed. As humans we are so fearful and wary of what we don’t understand, that we often don’t seek out the information that would educate us and allay our fears. As Jews, we are a very small minority that is often misunderstood, ostracized, and persecuted all for a lack of knowledge. It became my mission to educate, enlighten, explore, engage and share our beautiful cultural that is based on love all, regardless of their faith and lifestyle. Back in 2001, a 5 year old gifted me with the name Ha’MoRobyn, buy compounding the words “ha morah” (the teacher in Hebrew) with my name, and it stuck. Leave it to the children! I have been in the field of Early Childhood Education for almost 50 years, and have been rockin’ the littles officially since 1999. Since that time I have been blessed to effect thousands of children and their families through music and story. I have recorded two CD’s: “HaMo’Robyn….just in case”, and “Kosher Style”, and have been honored by the community for my work including commendations from Mayor Bob Foster, State Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, and Senator Diane Feinstein. I was also invited to sit, along with my mom, on the floor of the State Assembly during the annual recognition of survivors of the Holocaust, and we were privileged to be part of a video that was shown during the ceremony. I was honored to be asked to sing a prayer of healing at the luncheon for survivors following the ceremony. I also received the Lainer Distinguished Educator Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Education from the BJE (Builders of Jewish Education) in 2018. I never want to stop performing, educating, and sharing the message that we are all God’s creatures, and we have so much to learn from each other. The love that I get back is sometimes overwhelming. I know that it’s the least I can do for those I never knew.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have been truly blessed to have been given the gift to positively influence and motivate people to be good humans. There were two major life incidents that put “HaMo’Robyn” on hold, but both times, stepping back into who I am and who I was meant to be has been amazingly healing.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an actor and a comedian as well, so I have been able to marry my absolute passion for Judaism and children with these talents to make important life lessons fun and accessible. One of my favorite things to do is to act out a Bibliodrama , play all the characters with kooky props, and interweave music that is interactive. If you learn something through song, it’s very hard to forget! I’ve also been told that I’m just shy of a cartoon, which I take in the most complimentary way. I am really just a big kid at heart, though I’m actually quite small, and I think the kids are drawn to that. Most of the littles will tell you that I am the silliest person they know, and all the while their minds are absorbing the values of kindness and inclusion. Right now I am working on making video content…time to get with the times. Look for me in the belly of a whale very soon!

What was your favorite childhood memory?
one, of many….

Growing up I had a best friend named Heidi that got a guitar as a gift and I was incredibly envious. I pined for that instrument for almost a year, knowing that my family did not have the money at that time to spend on either the guitar or the necessary lessons. In the meantime my Mom went to the local Goodwill and found a big old acoustic that some hippie had drilled into to try to make it electric, not just once, but like 6 different holes on the face of the guitar. She bought it for 75 cents, got some groovy stickers (it was 1971), and plastered them over the holes. When I walked into their bedroom the morning of my 8th birthday, there it was! I still remember the feeling of joy that washed over my entire body. I have included a picture.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hamorobyn.com

Image Credits
photo credit for main photo Scott Smeltzer Photography