Category Archives: Liturgy

Betrothal: V’Erestich-Li Olam

01/05/2008 Alia Meira

V’Erestich-Li L’Olam
V’Erestich-Li B’Tzedek
Uv’mishpat, Uv’chesed, Uv’Rachamim
V’Erestich-Li B’Emunah
V’yadaat et Yah
Betrothal (Tefillin) Hebrew text
I will betroth you to Me forever,
I will betroth you to Me with justice,
and with impeccability, and with love, and with compassion.
I will betroth you to Me in faith.
And then you will know God. (Hosea 2:21-22, liturgy)

Tefillin Practice: The Seven Channels of Commitment

When I put my tefillin on each morning, I am connecting myself to the whole of life, to the Source of All, and to God as Beloved. I can get so caught up in the details of my life that I am in danger of losing my wide perspective, forgetting myconnection to the Whole of the Cosmos. This binding of vows that I give and receive is meant to set me on a path of Remembrance. My commitment has within it the requirement to stay open to the flow of blessing so that it flows through me into the world. That flow happens through seven distinct channels. As I wrap the tefillin I am checking to see if each of those channels are open. It is a diagnostic practice that will allow me to know where the spiritual work of the day might be focused. If I find a channel that is blocked or a channel of flow that is weak, then I might focus my loving attention on that aspect of my life and see how I might repair the channel. As I sing the words of betrothal and wrap the tefillin, I am checking in to each of these seven channels, and connecting up to the Great Source of Blessing.

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

Betrothal

For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 232.

Chants, Liturgy

Guard My Tongue: Elohai n’tzor

01/05/2008 Alia Meira

Elohai n’tzor l’shoni may-ra

My God, guard my tongue from evil. (Siddur)

With this practice I call on my God — that compassionate, sensitive and supreme awareness within me, to help me as I strive to speak with kindness and clarity. I know that one careless word can do a lot of damage.

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

Guard My Tongue

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, 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.