Ahavti

10/22/2008 Alia Meira

Ahavti ki yishma Adonai et koli tachanunai

I Love, because God hears my voice, my supplications. (Psalm 116:1)

How do I become a lover? How can I grow my love? This mysterious and powerful phrase from Psalm 116 begins with the word “ahavti” I love… but it doesn’t tell us the object of that love. I interpret this to mean that what will follow is the prerequisite for becoming a lover. When I feel perfectly heard, when my voice is received and my yearnings are acknowledged, then something in my straining heart relaxes. When I let go of the struggle to be heard, then my heart becomes spacious, open and responsive.

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 Ahavti PDF.

Chants, Psalms

Rosh Hashanah Chant: Ashrei HaAm

09/08/2008 Alia Meira

Ashrei HaAm yodeya T’ruah Adonay B’or panecha y’haleychun

Oh God, Happy are the people who know the blast of the shofar;
they walk in the light of your presence. (Psalm 89:16)

What kind of “Happy” is this? Certainly not the happiness of superficial pleasure — a lifestyle of Denial that masks a terrible truth, and not the ‘la-di-da’ happiness that keeps life bland and safe. This is the kind of “happy” that is a dynamic force waiting quietly at our center, the deep joy for existence itself.

The blast of the shofar can break open the shell that imprisons that inner joy. When that joy is freed, it becomes a light that shines regardless of circumstance. And that joy is our power. It is the power that moves us as “we walk in the light of God’s presence,” as we walk with integrity, courage, commitment, as we walk in beauty.

May the blast of the shofar shatter the rigid walls that imprison our true joy.

May the wail of the shofar open our hearts and send us with compassion to profound forgiveness.

May the call of the shofar inspire each of us to respond with our unique love as we rise to the challenge that is set before us this year.

This practice can be done as a dance of stillness and movement. As you chant Ashrei HaAm yodeya T’ruah Adonay, stand very still and listen, raising your arms to receive God’s presence with the word Adonay. Then, with the words B’or panecha y’haleychun, do a mindful walking meditation around the circle. This practice can be done as a round with two concentric circles.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Rosh Hashanah Chant PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 276.

Chants, Psalms

Even in the Darkness: Zarach BaChoshech

08/28/2008 Alia Meira

Zarach BaChoshech Or LaY’sharim, Chanun v’Rachum v’Tzadik

Even in the darkness a light shines for the upright, gracious, compassionate and just. (Psalm 112:4)

The light that we shine sustains us through the Darkness, through difficult times. That light awakens in us (and in others) the qualities of Grace, Compassion and a Passion for Justice. This 3 part round is a practice of affirming and strengthening that shining inner light, as we face hard challenges, and scary times.

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

Even in the Darkness

For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 268.

Chants, Psalms

Supported: Samuch libo

08/28/2008 Alia Meira

Samuch libo lo yira (masculine)
Samuch liba lo tira (feminine)

Heart supported, fearless. (Psalm 112:8)

This is a practice that cultivates a path to fearlessness, one that I had not imagined possible. On this path, we open ourselves to the feeling of being completely supported. As we relax, expand and lean into that sense of being held and supported, our hearts open in fearlessness.

You can also do this practice with a spiritbuddy, gently placing one hand on the front of their heart and one hand on the back of their heart. As your spiritbuddy dances slowly to the chant, follow their movements giving them a sense of heart support in their dance. Then switch places.

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.

For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 269.

Chants, Scripture

Praise: The Force of Healing and Salvation (R’fa’ayni Yah)

06/15/2008 Alia Meira

R’fa’ayni Yah v’ayrafay;
Hoshiyani v’ivashay’ah ki t’hilati atah.

Heal me, God, and I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved… for my praise is You. (Jeremiah 17:14)

I cry out from the depths of my suffering, and in the moment when my cry reverberates, I know that I am healed, made whole, embraced in the arms of Love. I call out from the apprehension of being lost, and in my calling, I hear the truth of how connected I have always been and always will be. My prayer of longing becomes praise. My asking becomes receiving. In my prayer I know God as the Transforming Force that moves through me. My praise is that Force.

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 Praise PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 262.