Uvacharta Bachayyim

I have set before you Life and Death, blessing and curse. Choose Life! (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Not just every year, week or day, but every single moment we can choose Life. This means choosing to let go of a negative thought or judgment; it means choosing to live with uncertainty; choosing the kind word or generous attitude; choosing to let go of tension and relax. In every moment we can choose to “be chosen” by God for the best possible Life, for the life we were meant to live fully. In each moment, we can choose to accept the gifts, challenges, opportunities and responsibilities that we are being given.

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.

• Choose Life 1
• Choose Life 2
• Choose Life Mix

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Choose Life PDF. For the musical notation, click Choose Life Music.

Mikvay Yisroayl Havayah

God is a Mikveh for Israel. (Jeremiah 17:13)

I spent my 60th birthday soaking in some lovely hot springs in New Mexico, with the intention of being purified of the past and reborn into a new time, a new decade, a new era in my life. In the springs I sang these words from Jeremiah. I surrendered to the Divine waters, letting them wash away regrets and worries, letting them open me to the miracle of this moment and a clear, clean, expansive hopeful way forward.

And I remembered that we are always immersed in God, which means that we can relax and be floated, held… and ultimately dissolved in God. (…sigh!)

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.

• The Divine Mikveh Melody  
• The Divine Mikveh Counter-Melody  
• The Divine Mikveh Mix  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click The Divine Mikveh PDF.

Va’asu li mikdash, v’shochanti b’tocham

Make for Me a Holy Place so that I may dwell within, among, between them. (Exodus 25:8)

For me this is a central commandment of Torah. It is my life’s purpose. I know that when I make my heart, my body, my energy field, my relationships, my communities, my world into a Mishkan: a dwelling place for the Divine Mystery. Then God will indeed be invited to dwell within. My heart becomes a holy place when I bring attention, care and healing to its unending capacity for love and connection. My body becomes a holy place when I honor its rhythms, listen and respond to its messages, and know its perfection. My energy field becomes a holy place when I attend to its integrity, transparency and resilience. My relationships become holy places when I meet others with compassion, curiosity, openness and truth. My communities become holy places when we connect with each other in service, humility, joy and friendship. My world becomes a holy place when I open my eyes to beauty and my heart to meaning and purpose.

When I chant I am building a holy place so that in the silence after the chant, Shechina (God’s indwelling Presence) can enter. Each chant becomes a model for how I might build and strengthen the Mishkan of heart, body, energy field, relationship, community and world.

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.

• Building The Holy Place Round  
• Building The Holy Place Descant  
• Building The Holy Place Mix  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Building the Holy Place PDF. For the musical notation, click Vaasu Li Mikdash Music.

Ma y’h’yu chalomotav (Ma y’h’yu chalomoteha)

[Let’s see] what will become of his dreams? (Genesis 37:20)

When Joseph’s brothers throw him into a pit they ask this question in a way that is mean… but the practice here is to reclaim that question. Imagine a holy altar and sit in front of it. Then, remember being a very young child. What was the very first thing that you remember wanting to “be when you grew up.” Place the image of your earliest dream along with all of your youthful enthusiasm and sense of possibility onto the altar in front of you. Then chant these words. At the end of the chant ask yourself the question, return to the image and ask, “What has become of my dream?” Notice the images and feelings that emerge. Reclaim the energy of your first dream.

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.

• Dreaming 1  
• Dreaming 2  
• Dreaming 3  
• Dreaming Mix  

Aish tamid tukad al hamizbayach; lo tichbeh

Fire always shall be kept burning on the altar; it shall not go out. (Leviticus 6:6)

Inside our hearts is a flame that must be kept burning. That fire is our passion for Life, our yearning for God, our curiosity about the mysteries, our sparkle of humor, our enthusiasm for the Work. We keep that fire burning by engaging in spiritual practice, by surrounding ourselves with beauty, by giving and receiving love and support, and by fully connecting with what (and whom) we love.
It is crucial to bring attention to that flame on the altar of the heart – to feed that fire and to guard it with loving vigilance.

(I composed this chant during the last days of Chanukah as I lit the candles and took their flames inside me.)

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.

• Fire on the Altar (Parts)  
• Fire on the Altar Mix  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Fire on the Altar PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 265.

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