You Are My God: Eli Atah

07/13/2013 Alia Meira

Eli Atah v’odeka Elohai arom’meka

You are my God and I will thank You; Oh my God, I will exalt You! (Psalm 118:28)

This is a practice that has the power to raise your vibrational frequency, allowing a greater flow of life-force through your body and mind. Turning to God in gratefulness allows us to then raise up the Divine spark in our world. When we raise up that Divine spark, we can move to an even more refined level of gratefulness. With this practice, we can spiral into new places of joy, ease, peace and harmony, while staying grounded in an immediate experience of this moment’s grace.

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.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click You Are My God PDF. For the musical notation, click You Are My God Music.

Chants, Liturgy

Gratitude and Hope: Modim anachnu Lach

01/10/2013 Alia Meira

Modim anachnu Lach… Me’olam kivinu Lach.
Gratitude and Hope Hebrew text
We Thank You… We hope for You always. (Amida)

In the 17th blessing of the Daily Amida (and the 6th blessing of the Shabbat Amida) there is a paragraph that begins with a prayer of thanks and ends with a prayer of hope. I wondered about the relationship between gratitude and hope.

There have been times in my life when I have struggled with a sense of hopelessness, and I knew that re-establishing my hope was absolutely essential to being able to take the next step on my spiritual path. But, where to begin? Perhaps gratitude might be a doorway. At other times I can’t find my gratitude, but there is a glimmer of hope within me. Might I follow that glimmer and walk through the doorway of hope into my gratefulness?

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

Gratitude and Hope

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Gratitude and Hope PDF. For the musical notation, click Gratitude and Hope Music.

Chants, Scripture

Fire on the Altar: Aish tamid

12/21/2012 Alia Meira

Aish tamid tukad al hamizbayach; lo tichbeh
Fire on the Altar Hebrew text
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.

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.

Chants, Psalms

Always With You: Va’ani Tamid

12/04/2012 Alia Meira

Va’ani Tamid Imach

I am always with You.
Though my heart is troubled and I’m filled with dread
I turn to face Your Mystery
Though I’ve been lost inside my head
I open to Eternity. (Psalm 73:23)

The highest Jewish ideal is attaining a state of constant D’vekut, an uninterrupted awareness of God’s Presence, even as we are immersed in the experience of this precious world. My addictions and cravings, my doubts, fears and worries, my plans and regrets often pull me away from that awareness- that D’vekut.

This practice is a vow, a commitment, and a re-dedication to the possibility of D’vekut. I chant directly to God, the great underlying and encompassing Mystery… and through my bold address, I strengthen my commitment to turn again and again towards the Divine Expanse.

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

Always with You

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Always With You PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 297.

Chants, Scripture

A New Covenant: Natati

11/08/2012 Alia Meira

Natati et-Torati b’kirbam, v’al-libam echtavenah

I will put my Torah into their inmost being
and inscribe it upon their hearts. (Jeremiah 31:33)

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God promises to make a new covenant. It will be different. You will find this one inside you. A covenant is always a two-way agreement… so when I chant these words, I am expressing my own commitment, so that I can stand up in partnership with the Divine force of Love.

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

A New Covenant

To download the PDF file for this chant, click New Covenant PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 263.