Category Archives: Chants

Getting Perspective: Al har-gavoah

01/05/2008 Alia Meira

Al har-gavoah ali-lach

Get yourself up upon the high mountain. (Isaiah 40:9)

Sometimes it’s necessary to step out of our narrow dilemmas and climb up upon the high mountain. There we can get a better perspective on our difficulties. From that wider perspective we can also learn to cultivate compassion for ourselves. From the high mountain we can bless the valleys of struggle. Sometimes our new perspective can even spark a sense of humor about our lives. We can return to those valleys, inspired, encouraged and renewed.

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 308.

Chants, Liturgy

Sukkat Shalom: Hashkiveynu Adonay

01/05/2008 Alia Meira

Hashkiveynu Adonay Eloheynu L’Shalom
V’Ha’amideynu Malkeynu
L’Chayyim Tovim L’Shalom
Uf’ros Aleynu Sukkat Sh’lomecha
Sukkat Shalom Hebrew text
Oh Lord, Our God, Let us lie down in Peace
Our King, raise us up again to Good Life and Peace
Spread over us a Shelter of Peace. (Liturgy)

This prayer, Hashkiveynu, is considered to be an extension of the Geula, our prayer for Redemption. We cannot be free as a people unless we do the work of liberation each night as we face our fears of the dark, of the unknown, of the enemy within and without.

We do this work by attuning ourselves to the shelter of Peace that is spread over the whole of Life, regardless of passing circumstance.

We have no control over the forms of our life that are always passing away, always changing. That constant flux can be frightening. And when we live from fear, we don’t have access to the depths of our wisdom and the breadth of our love.

And so the practice of Hashkiveynu reminds us of that abiding Presence of Wholeness and Peace that holds all of us within its loving embrace, no matter how the forms of Life come and go.

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

Sukkat Shalom (Hashkiveynu)

For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 248.

Chants, Isaiah

Awakening the Heart: Hitor’ri

01/05/2008 Alia Meira

Hitor’ri, hitor’ri, kumi Y’rushalayim

Awake, Awake, arise Jerusalem. (Isaiah 51:17)

Sometimes, layers of despair can blanket the heart and we feel numb. Then the heart must be awakened. This is a practice of igniting the spark of wakefulness at the center of our hearts, the place that is called Jerusalem. With each repetition, we welcome our core vitality and invite that aliveness to shine out into our lives.

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

Awakening the Heart

For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 306.

Chants, Liturgy, Psalms

Ashrei

01/05/2008 Alia Meira

Ashrei yoshvei vetecha od y’hal’luchah

Happy are those that dwell in Your house; they keep on praising. (Psalm 84:5)

Sometimes our perspective gets very narrow. Our view is determined by “small mind” (mochin de-katnut). From this state, the possibilities seem quite limited, and our sense of who we are and where our consciousness can reach is constricted and finite. From this state, it feels quite natural to complain and be filled with despair about the world.

But then it is possible to step into a wider perspective, to expand into “big mind” (mochin de-gadlut). This is called stepping into the “God-house.” By chanting this sacred phrase we can move into a state of consciousness that is wide and spacious. From here we can feel a sense of limitless possibility. We can feel our awareness reach out to the far edges of the universe, as far as the imagination can touch. From this state, it feels completely right to express praise for everything we perceive. Praise becomes our natural way of being in the world.

May we all radiate with the happiness that comes from knowing that we live in the God-House and may praise pour forth from that knowing.

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

For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 236.

Chants, Liturgy

Freedom and Homecoming: T’ka b’shofar

01/05/2008 Alia Meira

T’ka b’shofar gadol l’chayrutaynu
V’sa nes l’kabaytz g’luyotaynu
Freedom and Homecoming Hebrew text
Sound the Great Shofar for our Freedom
And raise the banner as we all come home. (Amida)

A Chant for Rosh Hashana

These words are part of the daily Amida, but they can be chanted especially for Rosh Hashana as we gather the tribe in celebration of the New Year and all its possibilities. For me this prayer is an affirmation that while we each are sent far and wide to our freedom — to fulfill the destiny we are given. We can also return in celebration and be welcomed home.

To hear the various parts of the chant, use the audio player. 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 242.