Kulach yafa rayati, u’mum ayn bach

You are all-beautiful, my friend,
There is no blemish in you. (Song of Songs 4:7)

Being “in love” means to experience an extraordinary state of heightened sensitivity and expanded perception. From that state we can know the truth of an underlying perfection that holds, supports and suffuses this imperfect world. When I am “in love,” there is really no particular object of that love, yet everything that I touch or see or taste becomes the focus of that love. When I am “in love,” even the most difficult challenges are received as messages and goads to go deeper, see wider, and surrender more fully.

This practice is an opportunity to taste that state, and then remember the glimpse we have received, so that glimpse can be our compass as we traverse this path of love.

To view context from Shir HaShirim through the Love at the Center project, click Shir HaShirm (Tzav).

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

• Perfect (melody)  
• Perfect (harmony)  
• Perfect (mix)  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Perfect PDF. For the musical notation, click Perfect notation PDF.

Mi zot olah min-hamidbar

Who is that rising from the wilderness… ? (Song of Songs 3:6)

I open to the Mystery that rises up out of the wilderness, responding to the call of the unknown. Who is this? She is the Shechina, the Divine presence who was hidden and is now making herself known, rising into my awareness. Who is this? She is my soul rising like fragrant incense towards the heavenly expanse, offering herself up to the Oneness.

To view context from Shir HaShirim through the Love at the Center project, click Shir HaShirm (Terumah).

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

• Rising from the Wilderness  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Mi Zot Olah PDF.

Shir Delight: A Journey Through the Song of Songs ©2004 Rabbi Shefa Gold. All rights reserved.

B’yom chatunato u’v’yom simchat libo (HAYOM!)

… on his wedding day,
the day of his heart’s rejoicing. (TODAY!) (Song of Songs 3:11)

We are called to come out (from our blindness and complacency) to gaze upon King Solomon (the truth of our wholeness) who wears the crown that his mother (Shechina, the Divine imminence) gives him on this day that celebrates the marriage of all duality. This is the day of our heart’s rejoicing! The day when we see through the illusions of separation; and the truth of Unity is made known… Oh, that’s TODAY.

To view context from Shir HaShirim through the Love at the Center project, click Shir HaShirm (Vayakhel).

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

• Today (melody)  
• Today (harmony)  
• Today (mix)  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Today PDF. For the musical notation, click Today notation PDF.

Tocho ratzuf ahavah

Within, inlaid with love (Song of Songs 3:10)

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by filling the cracks with a golden lacquer, thus making the bowl even more unique and valuable by illuminating rather than hiding its imperfections. The Daughters of Jerusalem, our companions on the spiritual path, can help us perfect this art, as we navigate this world with our broken hearts.

There is a danger of hiding those cracks or filling them with shame or despair.

Instead, our practice is to enter deeply into the depths of our heart, acknowledge its flaws and brokenness, and then fill those broken places with the gold of love: pouring compassion, tenderness and kindness into those vulnerable places.

To view context from Shir HaShirim through the Love at the Center project, click Shir HaShirm (Ki Tisa).

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

• Inlaid with Love (melody)  
• Inlaid with Love (harmony)  
• Inlaid with Love (mix)  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Inlaid with Love PDF. For the musical notation, click Inlaid With Love notation PDF.

M’tza’uni hashomrim hasov’vim ba’ir

Then the watchmen who circle the city find me. (Song of Songs 3:3)

I like to think of the watchmen who circle the city as Awareness itself, circling though the mind that is in the process of settling into its center. Awareness is another name for God. When I find my stillness, I am found by the Beloved. And then I hold him close and bring him, as blessing, to my innermost chambers. There the past that is within me can be illuminated and purified. When I chant these words, I remember how I was lost in rumination and fear… and now I am found, restored to my wholeness through the miracle of Awareness.

To view context from Shir HaShirim through the Love at the Center project, click Shir HaShirm (Mishpatim).

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

• Found (melody)  
• Found (harmony)  
• Found (mix)  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Found PDF. For the musical notation, click Found notation PDF.