Shir Chadash ashirah lach

I will sing You a new song. (Psalm 144:9)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 144 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

There are two aspects to this practice that will unlock its medicine.

1. I will sing this song TO YOU, God. I will address my joy, passion, longing, artistry and enthusiasm to You, God, alone. Others may overhear our conversation and enjoy it, but I am focused on giving all of myself to YOU.
2. My song is ever-new and ever-renewing itself. Even if I sing this song a thousand times, this time it is new — emerging from this very moment of blessing.

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

• A New Song (melody)  
• A New Song (harmony)  
• A New Song (mix)  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click A New Song PDF.

Hotziyah mimasgayr nafshi l’hodot et-sh’mecha.

Free my soul from prison,
that I may praise Your name. (Psalm 142:8)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 142 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

My soul is imprisoned by fear, by rigid forms that I have inherited, and also by constricting forms that I have made for myself. My soul is imprisoned by my conditioning, by perceived limitations that have been place on me and also by forms that I have placed on myself. My soul is imprisoned by habits of judgment, expectation and reactivity. When my soul is set free, I return to my true depth and breadth; I expand into my Divine identity, and my very being becomes a praise of the One.

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

• Free My Soul! (melody)  
• Free My Soul! (harmony)  
• Free My Soul! (mix)  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Free My Soul PDF.

Amarti LaYah, Ayli atah,
Ha’azinah Yah kol tachanunai

I said to the LORD: You are my God;
Incline your ear, Oh Yah, to the voice of my supplication (Psalm 140:7)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 140 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

This practice begins with the affirmation of a core relationship with the Great Mystery. By surrendering to that relationship, we are humbled, and we become aware of our complete dependence. We need a connection to the wholeness of life in order to become whole ourselves. And so we call out to that Divine Wholeness, asking for mercy, connection, and compassion.

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

• Incline Your Ear (melody)  
• Incline Your Ear (harmony)  
• Incline Your Ear (mix)  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Incline Your Ear PDF.

Hallelujah. Ha’l’lu et shaym HAVAYAH,
Ha’l’lu avday HAVAYAH

Praise the essence of Divinity;
give praise, oh servants of the One. (Psalm 135:1)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 135 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

I sing Hallelu-Yah to lose myself in the Mystery, to open to the unnamable. With each Hallelu-Yah, I am lifted up out of my small separate self into the larger Self that is united with the One. I sing to open the eyes of my heart that I might see the miracle that was, is and will be, always before me. I sing to give myself away.

I sing Hallelu-Yah to honor, magnify and glorify that glimpse of miracle that is given to me each morning in the dawning light of day, in the steady beat of my heart. I sing Hallelu-Yah to exalt and bless and celebrate the simple fact of existence.

Praise whittles me down to my essence, purifies me of trivialities, washes away my worries. Through praise, I remember who I am and what my life is for. Through praise I am transformed.

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

• Ha’l’lu (melody)  
• Ha’l’lu (harmony)  
• Ha’l’lu (mix)  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Ha’l’lu PDF.

S’u-y’daychem Kodesh u’varchu et Yah

Lift your hands into holiness
and bless the What is/God. (Psalm 134:2)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 134 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

The mysterious unpronounceable name of God can be understood as BEING itself. When we bless God, we are blessing “What Is.” And if we are to bless God/what is, in this very moment, we must lift our hands into holiness. Raising our hands in blessing, requires using our earthly instruments to touch the heavenly realms. Our hands then become the channels with which we transmit holiness into the world. Every touch becomes a blessing.

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

• Lift Your Hands (melody)  
• Lift Your Hands (harmony)  
• Lift Your Hands (mix)  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Lift Your Hands PDF.