Hagida li she’ahavah nafshi

Tell me, my only love… (Song of Songs 1:7)

In this practice, we open a conversation with the Beloved, asking the One we love to respond with Presence, guidance, and intimacy. By chanting these words, we are turning towards the Great Mystery. The answers may come through the silence in the stirrings of the heart or through the portents and wonders of this world. And then we must listen, and open the inner eyes to see. And then we must follow the signs and the glimpses we are given.

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

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

• Tell Me: Melody  
• Tell Me: Harmony  
• Tell Me: Mix  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Tell Me PDF.

Sh’chorah ani v’navah b’not Yerushalayim

I am dark and beautiful, oh daughters of Jerusalem! (Song of Songs 1:5)

This practice explores our shame and leads us to glory. We live in a world that turns dark skin into a humiliation. Through love and dignity, we overcome that mistreatment, heal the wounds that have been inflicted by oppression, and step into our unique beauty and power. We proclaim that glory to the world through the “Daughters of Jerusalem,” who witness us with love, and reflect back to us our truth.

The music of the chant moves back and forth from a minor to a major key expressing the complexity of this journey to self-realization, which is, ultimately, God-realization.

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

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

• Dark and Beautiful: Melody  
• Dark and Beautiful: Harmony  
• Dark and Beautiful: Mix  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Dark and Beautiful PDF. For the musical notation, Dark and Beautiful Notation PDF.

Moshkayni acharecha narutzah

Take me with you, let us run together! (Song of Songs 1:4)

Sometimes I think of myself as someone who has an idea… and then I want to “run with it.” My enthusiasm for life and for the creative process just kicks in. With this practice, I am saying to God, “Let’s run together!” Be with me as my joy, as my spacious awareness. Let me know You as the mystery that draws me into this next adventure, and accompanies me through every danger.

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

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

• Let Us Run Together (melody)  
• Let Us Run Together (harmony)  
• Let Us Run Together (mix)  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Let Us Run Together.

Harini et marayich; Hashmi-ini et kolaych
Ki kolaych arayv u-maraych naveh

Let me see who you really are; let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet and your face is radiant. (Song of Songs 2:14)

The normal way of being is to live inside our thoughts about the world. We see what we expect to see. We’re busy trying to figure out how to use the world or protect ourselves from it. We are identifying threats or allies. We are comparing and categorizing. We are planning our next step. When those thoughts quiet down or cease being the focus of our attention, suddenly the world appears.

Surprisingly, it is more bright and beautiful and radiant than anything we could have imagined. Colors delight. Our curiosity is kindled. We can engage with what is before us and receive its gift, enjoying both the blessing and the challenge of this world. When we are paying attention and can become receptive, God’s true face appears as this world. In a moment of inner stillness, we can relax, enjoy and open as the sounds of this world become music.

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

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

• True Face: Melody  
• True Face: Harmony  
• True Face: Mix  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click True Face PDF. For the musical notation, see True Face Notation PDF.

Kol Dodi Dofek, Pitchi-li
Achoti, Rayati, Yonati, Tamati

The voice of my Beloved is knocking, Open to me!
My Sister, my Friend, my Dove, my Pure One. (Song of Songs 5:2)

My Beloved is knocking at the door of my heart, saying “Let me in, open to me; You have shut me out; you have locked the door.” And I am knocking at the door of a larger Reality saying “Let me in, open to me; I have been imprisoned here in my dream of separation.”

With this practice we establish a pathway of covenant through four stages of connection:

• My sister — my own flesh — my secret identity in God revealed to me as myself.
• My Friend — love stirring in me and reaching out to the Divine Other.
• My Dove — my special and precious one — my heart begins to melt in the sweetness of encounter and connection.
• My Pure One — I melt into the One who has embraced me.

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

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

• Pathway of Covenant Melody
• Pathway of Covenant Harmony
• Pathway of Covenant Mix

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Pathway of Covenant PDF.
To download the chant’s notation, click Pathway of Covenant notation PDF.