All posts by Alia Meira

Sowing Our Tears: HaZorim

HaZorim b’dimah b’rinah yik’tzoru
Sowing Our Tears in Hebrew
Those who sow in tears will reap in joyous song. (Psalm 126:5)

Some tears lie fallow. They dissolve into dust or splatter on pavement, and are not planted. These tears leave us bitter and exhausted. Yet, when we know our tears as precious, they can be carefully and tenderly planted. We can do this planting for one another by giving each other the kind of attention that creates the fertile ground for tears. By acknowledging the value of grief as tears flow through us, we can plant each tear as a seed of joy. Our grieving can wash us clean, open the ground of our hearts, and clear the way for new life, new song, and surprising joy.

With this practice I reach into the stored memories of grief. I re-encounter my own tears, shed and unshed, and know my tears as precious seeds that can grow into greater love and compassion for myself and others. As I chant these sacred words, I let the power of my grief pour through my voice and presence. Memories fuel my intention – the intention to surrender to the power of transformation.

To hear the chant, use the audio player. To download the chant, right-click the note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

There’s no PDF file for this chant, but it appears on page 17 in The Magic of Hebrew Chant.


The Magic of Hebrew Chant ©2013 Shefa Gold. All rights reserved.


For in Joy: Ki v’simcha

Ki v-simcha tate-tzay-oo,
Oo-v-shalom toovaloon.
For in Joy Hebrew text from Isaiah 55:12
For in joy will you go out,
In peace be led across the Land,
Mountains and hills will burst into song,
And the trees of the field will clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12)
(CLAP!)

This is a practice that sends me to my life! It is joy that moves me into the world and it is joy that opens my ears to the song that Creation is singing.

To hear the chant, use the audio player. To download the chant, right-click the note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click For In Joy PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 309.


The Magic of Hebrew Chant ©2013 Shefa Gold. All rights reserved.


Davkah

Davkah nafshi acharecha, bi tamchah y’minecha

Davka in Hebrew
My soul with love goes after You;
while your strong hand supports me. (Psalm 63:9)

This is a practice that illuminates the paradoxical nature of my spiritual practice. I am seeking, reaching, longing for Devekut, which is God-consciousness, awareness of ultimate connectivity. With all my love I follow the glimmers of the Divine, bringing my heart, soul, commitment, effort, skill, wisdom and grace to the adventure.

On the other side of the paradox I lean back, and surrender into the Divine embrace. I totally relax to receive this support. I open in the stillness to the gift of this moment and let myself feel held, encouraged, nourished and supported.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Davkah PDF. To download the chant’s notation, Davkah Notation PDF.

Romemu

Romemu YHVH (Havayah, Adonai, Shechina) Elohaynu

Raise up the Truth; lift up our love; honor the God within us. (Psalm 99:5)

Fred Rogers favorite quote was from Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince. He had it framed and hanging on a wall in his office. The quote is: “What is essential is invisible to the eyes.”

When we exalt God in prayer, we are raising up, lifting up, and honoring that which is essential. Through our loving attention and passionate expression, we are making that essential spark of Divinity, visible and known. When we share that essential Divinity through prayer, it makes itself available to us as Truth and Love, so that we can live from the highest essence that is in us.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Romemu PDF. To download the chant’s notation, Romemu Notation PDF.

Mourning into Joy: V’hafachti

V’hafachti evlam l’sason
Mourning into Joy Hebrew
I will turn their mourning into Joy. (Jeremiah 31:12)

Hardship and heartbreak are inevitable in this life. Yet they don’t need to make us hard or broken. We can use our experiences of grief and suffering to ennoble rather than embitter us. Through the fires of sorrow, we can be tempered and formed into beings of light, vision, hope and an exquisite joy. Through all of our suffering, we can be opened to the preciousness of this moment of possibility.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Mourning into Joy PDF. To download the chant’s notation, click Mourning Into Joy Notation PDF.