All posts by Alia Meira

Chants, Liturgy

Going Up With Joy: V’sham nashir

V’sham nashir shir chadash u’vir’nana na’aleh
Going Up With Joy Hebrew text
And there we will sing a new song; with joy we will go up. (from Tzur Mishelo)

KZ5 Chant (7/2012)

These words are from the last stanza of Tzur Mishelo, a Shabbat hymn that was composed and compiled between the 11th and 16th centuries under the guidance of Rabbis Isaac Luria and Israel Najara. It is a reflection upon and praise of Shabbat and is thought to be an introduction to Birkat Hamazon (Grace after Meals) on which the first three stanzas are clearly based. Some believe this zemer to have originated with the Tannaim, the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the mishna, from approximately 70-200 CE.

This is a practice of letting the joy in our voices raise us up into sacred space.

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 Going Up With Joy PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 251.

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

Chants, Scripture

Ascending: V’al bamotai

V’al bamotai yadrichayni
Ascending Hebrew text
He prepares a path for me upon the High places. (Habakuk 3:19)

As I investigate my own vast inner spaces, I am shown pathways of exploration. The High places are my own capacities for love, forgiveness, courage, wisdom, compassion, perspective, curiosity and humor. God prepares the pathways to those places through the beauty of my world, through the gifts of my inheritance, through the stories of those who have walked this path before me, even through the humbling power of my mistakes. I chant these words as a reminder that I am guided on this path. I chant these words to affirm my commitment to embrace the possibilities of the extraordinary.

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 Ascending PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 254.

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

Chants, Psalms

Pure: Kol mish’barecha

Kol mish’barecha v’galecha Alai avaru
Tahor Hu, T’horah Hi
Pure Hebrew text
All of Your breakers and Your waves have swept over me.
He is pure; she is pure. (Psalm 42:8)

Every moment can be received as a point of transition and an opening into whole new world. As I step into who I am becoming, I need to be washed clean of prejudice, expectation, disappointment and limited perspective.

This chant was written for Taharah, specifically the part of the ritual where water is poured over the body. It is also a wonderful chant for the practice of Mikvah — ritual immersion, or any ritual of purification.

The breakers and waves that cleanse us can also be understood as our life-experience. Through living and learning we are returned to our essential purity.

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 Pure PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 293.

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

Chants, Isaiah

Garments of Salvation: Sos asis

Sos asis badonay tagayl nafshi belohai,
ki hilbishani bigday yesha
Garments of Salvation Hebrew text
I will rejoice in God who has dressed me in the
garments of Salvation. (Isaiah 61:10)

The Prophet Isaiah compares us to the bridegroom and the bride, decked out in our finery, bejeweled and shining in glory. What if each morning we claimed our rightful place of dignity, splendor and brilliance? This is a practice of rejoicing in our inheritance. This is a practice of matching up our outer countenance with our royal inner radiance.

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 Garments of Salvation PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 313.

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

Chants, Liturgy

Life and Death: Ki Atah m’chayay

Ki Atah m’chayay hamaytim, umaymit chayyim
Life and Death Hebrew text
For You revive the dead and bring death to the living.

Standing in the presence of the mystery of Life and Death, I am both lifted up and humbled. I address myself to that Mystery, open my heart and stand between Life and Death. I honor the journey beyond this known world into the world-to-come, the Beyond that awaits us all.

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 Life and Death PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 245.

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