Valley of Death: Gam ki elech

Gam ki elech b’gay tzalmavet, lo ira ra

Though I walk through the Valley of Death, I will not fear,
Though I walk through the Valley of Death, my God is near. (Psalm 23:4)

I wrote this chant to help myself and others deal with a difficult time of tragedy. When I encounter “evil” in the world — the premature death of a friend, the terrible suffering caused by madness or terrorism, the injustice of innocents dying, the horrible suffering that “shouldn’t” have been — I may tremble inside, lose my way, or become paralyzed. These words from Psalm 23 have helped me to find the steadiness of God’s presence within me, to find the path of loving, and to move forward again in courage.

To hear the various parts of the chant, use the audio players. To download a part, right-click a note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Valley of Death PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 292.