Chants, Psalms

Day and Night: Yom l’yom

Yom l’yom yabiya omer, v’laila l’laila y’chaveh da’at
Day and Night Hebrew text
Day after day pours forth speech, night after night declares knowledge (Psalm 19:3)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 19 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

God speaks through the movement of Time. Through the cycles of Day and Night, meaning is expressed, wisdom is revealed. We chant these words in order to open our eyes to this mystery. We dance to the rhythms of Night and Day and allow the sacred Word to move us, and to pour out through us. True Knowledge is made real as we dive again and again into Night. Each Day returns with new opportunities for the Holy Word to manifest in our lives.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Day and Night PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 275.

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


Chants, Liturgy

Oh Wondrous Healer: Rofei chol

Rofei chol basar umafli la’asot
Wondrous Healer (Rofay kol) Hebrew text
Oh wondrous Healer of all flesh! (from the Morning liturgy)

As part of our morning blessings we acknowledge the miracle of healing. It is the Divine spark within me that gives my body the intelligence to heal itself. That amazing intelligence is at work at this very moment. With this practice, I recognize my body’s capacity for self-healing and I activate that Divine Healing power that is latent within each and every cell.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Oh Wondrous Healer PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 233.

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

Chants, Scripture

Sweet as Honey: Va’ochlah

Va’ochlah va’t’hi v’fi kidvash l’matok
Sweet as Honey Hebrew text
So I ate, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. (Ezekiel 3:3)

God gives the prophet Ezekiel a scroll that is inscribed with lamentations, moaning, and woe and then commands him to eat the scroll. We are each given a life that is inscribed with the full range of what it means to be human — from the highest joy to the deepest depths of grief. God says that the scroll of our lamentations must be eaten, digested, and transformed within us. Otherwise we will be carrying a heavy burden.

This 3-part chant is designed to be chanted in a supportive spiritual group. Each participant lays on the altar a story of their own time of lamentation. Instead of carrying around that story, can we offer it up, into the vibrations of this chant, to be digested and transformed?

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 Sweet as Honey PDF.

Chants, Psalms

From the Depths: Mima’amakim

Mima’amakim k’raticha Yah
From the Depths Hebrew text
From the Depths I call to You, Oh God. Hear my Voice! (Psalm 130:1)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 130 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

For me the practice of chanting is about finding those Depths from which to call, thereby unlocking the treasures of passion, longing, love and wisdom at my core. Slavery is the state of being trapped on the surface. I find my freedom by opening to the possibilities of the infinite space within. Calling out to God is a practice of dropping down into those infinite depths and allowing my deepest and truest expression to emerge.

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 From the Depths PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 274.

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


Chants, Liturgy

Shehechiyanu

Shehechiyanu, v’kiymanu, v’higiyanu lazman haZeh
Shehechiyanu Hebrew text
Oh Mystery, Grace unfolding, Oh Miracle, it’s You alone,
Oh Mystery, Grace unfolding, Oh Miracle, Who brings us Home. (Shehechiyanu)

A Meditation on this Moment

There is a blessing that is said whenever we realize the miracle of this present moment. We bless God who gave us Life, sustained us and brought us to this very moment. We say this blessing when we do something for the first time, to honor and express the wonder of having arrived. In meditation, I experience each moment as a momentous arrival. My whole existence has led me to this very moment — the culmination of my Life thus far, where I am privileged to experience the fullness of this NOW. God who is that miraculous force of Grace unfolding has brought me Home. In encountering and honoring that force of Homecoming, I turn and receive the gift of my life.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Shehechiyanu PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 239.

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