All posts by Alia Meira

Chants, Isaiah

Through the Waters: Ki ta’avor

Ki ta’avor bamayyim itcha ani,
u’va’n’harot lo yishtafucha
Through the Waters Hebrew text
When you pass through the waters, I am with you, yes, I am with you.
I won’t let the rivers overwhelm you, I will be with you. (Isaiah 43:2)

The Waters represent the times of transition, as we pass from slavery to freedom, from womb through birth into our lives, from life through death into the Sea of Oneness or into the embrace of The Beloved. The important thing is not to fear, to know that God’s Presence is and has always been with you… through every transition, through every 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.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Through the Waters PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 312.

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

Chants, Psalms

Whose Face? Al tastayr

Al tastayr panecha mimeni
Whose Face? Hebrew text
Do not hide Your Face from me. (Psalm 27:9)

I begin chanting this prayer with insistence and passion because I long to see and know The Face of God in all things, in all people, in all places, in all blessings, in all predicaments. After a while it feels as if God is chanting these words to me, saying, “I have been here all along; it is you who have been hiding. Show your face to Me. “ And then I enter the subtle state that I call “The Holy Confusion.” Whose Face? Mine? God’s? Both? Neither? Or does God look out from my face? Or do I look out from God’s face?

If I chant long enough I may be able to rest in this holy confusion, and bathe in its questions and come to the state of Un-knowing that leads to Wisdom.

This is a 3-part round.

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 Whose Face? PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 291.

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

Chants, Isaiah

Heralds of Peace: Ma navu

Ma navu al he-harim raglay m’vasayr mashmiya shalom.
Heralds of Peace Hebrew text
Oh how lovely — our footsteps on the mountain; we are Messengers; we are Heralds of Peace (Isaiah 52:7)

This chant came to me as I opened to an intention for Pilgrimage to The Holy Land. As I chanted these words from Isaiah, I felt a definite shift from being a victim of circumstance to being a “Messenger” — empowered, deployed, inspired and open to the flow of Mystery. With each step on the mountain, I plant blessing (the goodness that is in me); and with each step, I receive the blessing of “The Place,” that I might take that blessing home and share it with 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.

< For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 310.

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

Chants, Isaiah

Delight: Az Titanag

Az Titanag al Havayah
Delight Hebrew text
Then you will delight in God (Being itself!) (Isaiah 58:14)

The Prophet Isaiah admonishes us to live a Life of Justice and Love. He warns us that our complacency and complicity in the injustice of our time, will obstruct the Divine flow. Then he tells us about the treasures of Delight that await us…

“If only you would truly celebrate Shabbat, And put down your business, your buying and selling and bargaining and scheming with the resources that were never yours to begin with, If you would delight in the restful sanity of Pure Being, Then you are delighting in Me Participating in the holiness of God. Then I will set you on the high places, So you can get some perspective, So you can truly enjoy the precious inheritance of the life I have given you.”

I chant these words (using Havayah, a word that points us towards Being itself, to stand for the unpronounceable YudHayVovHay) and let waves of Delight wash me up onto the highest shores, where I can celebrate the persistent Radiance of Being that shines out through the ever-changing content of my life.

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 Delight PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 312.

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

Chants, Psalms

Heart Walk: Et-halaych

Et-halaych b’tam l’vavi, b’kerev bayti
Heart Walk Hebrew text
I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart. (Psalm 101:2)

To find the integrity of my heart is to return to its innocence, simplicity, and wholeness, and then live my life from that place. When Life gets complicated, tangled up and overwhelming, it’s time to “go for a walk.”

Et-halaych is a reflexive verb (to take yourself for a walk) that describes a way of living that is self-aware. I must take this walk within my own house, first, if I am to manifest that integrity in the world. My own house might mean the workings of my inner life or the life of my family and intimate relationships, or the sacred realm of “HOME.”

This practice is a walking meditation.

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 Heart Walk PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 288.

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