Category Archives: Chants

Chants, Liturgy, Psalms, Scripture

The Saving Power of God-Consciousness: Shiru Ladonay

Shiru Ladonay kol ha’aretz, Ba’s’ru mi’yom eyl yom y’shuato
Shiru la’shechina kol ha’aretz, Ba’s’ru mi’yom eyl yom y’shuateha
Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, HalleluYah!
The Saving Power of God-Consciousness Hebrew text
Sing to the Lord, everyone on Earth,
Announce His Salvation daily!
Sing to the Indwelling Divine Presence,
Announce Her Salvation daily!
Praise Yah! (Chronicles 16:23, Psalm 96)

I chant these words to both the masculine and the feminine aspects of God as I call forth an awareness of the Divine Presence that shines forth from the daily miracles of my life. I am saved by the light of this awareness.

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 The Saving Power of God-Consciousness PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 247.

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

Chants, Isaiah, Liturgy

Kedushah: Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh

Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, Yah Tziva’ot,
M’lo chol haAretz K’vodo
Kedushah Hebrew text
Holy, Holy, Holy, Mother of Multiplicity,
The whole world is filled with your glory! (Isaiah 6:3)

This is the beginning of the Kedusha, an important and oft-repeated section of our liturgy which describes the prophet Isaiah’s vision of the angels who are chanting to one another. The Talmud (Sotah 49a) says that “The world is maintained by the Keushah.” This is an important proof-text affirming the power of chant.

When I chant the words Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, I lift myself up into the angelic realms, reaching beyond my normal perceptions into the subtle vibrations of “Holiness.” When I chant the words Yah Tziva’ot, I open my crown chakra and allow those high and holy vibrations to pour down into my body, filling me. When I chant the words M’lo chol haAretz K’vodo, I let the eyes of my heart open my physical eyes until I can see and point to the Presence of God everywhere.

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 Kedushah PDF.

Chants, Scripture

Planting and Harvesting: V’nat’u ch’ramim

V’nat’u ch’ramim v’shatu et yaynam, v’asu ganot v’achlu et p’rihem.
Planting and Harvesting Hebrew text
And they will plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof,
And they shall make gardens and eat the fruit of them. (Amos 9:14)

The prophet Amos gives us a vision of what it feels like to harvest the rewards of our intentions, love and work, to drink the wine and eat the fruit of what we have planted. Now, what would it mean if with this out-breath, I planted a vineyard, and with the very next in-breath, I drank the wine thereof. And with this out-breath I made a garden and with the very next in-breath, I am nurtured by the fruit of that garden? This is the practice that Amos gives me.

As I exhale, I direct my presence and love into the world. As I inhale the very next breath I harvest my Life’s bounty, drinking in its wine and integrating its fruit.

Once you have mastered this breathing pattern, reverse it. Allow the vineyard that you are to be planted by God on the inhale. Breathe out the wine of your life in generous response. Let the garden of your life be planted on the inhale. And as you exhale, give the world your fruits.

Let the chant inspire you in this practice.

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 Planting and Harvesting PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 262.

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

Chants, Isaiah

Shining: Kumi ori

Kumi ori ki va oraych u’ch’vod Adonai alayich zarach
Shining Hebrew text
Arise and shine for your light has come, and the Glory of God is shining upon you. (Isaiah 60:1)

I chant these words at sunrise, letting the slanted rays of the sun awaken my own hidden light. The sun becomes my teacher, as I learn to shine. In awakening my own light I am better able to see and call forth the light in others and to celebrate their light.

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 Shining PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 308.

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

Chants, Liturgy

Pilgrimage Practice: L’yerushalayim Ircha

L’yerushalayim Ircha B’rachamim Tashuv
Pilgrimage Practice Hebrew text
To Jerusalem Your city with compassion You will return.
(from the Daily Amida)

I composed this chant in preparation for a trip to Israel. I use this sacred phrase to open me to the call of Pilgrimage.

Richard Niebuhr (quoted in The Art Of Pilgrimage by Phil Cousineau p.14) says, “Pilgrims are persons in motion, passing through territories not their own, seeking something we might call completion, or perhaps the word clarity will do as well, a goal to which only the spirit’s compass points the way.”

Every pilgrimage is a journey inward, even if we travel clear across the world. We can use this chant, which is a “double round,” to prepare ourselves for pilgrimage, for journeying inward towards the Center of Awareness.

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 Pilgrimage Practice PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 242.

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