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.