Chants, Psalms

Whose Face? Al tastayr

Al tastayr panecha mimeni
Whose Face? Hebrew text
Do not hide Your Face from me. (Psalm 27:9)

I begin chanting this prayer with insistence and passion because I long to see and know The Face of God in all things, in all people, in all places, in all blessings, in all predicaments. After a while it feels as if God is chanting these words to me, saying, “I have been here all along; it is you who have been hiding. Show your face to Me. “ And then I enter the subtle state that I call “The Holy Confusion.” Whose Face? Mine? God’s? Both? Neither? Or does God look out from my face? Or do I look out from God’s face?

If I chant long enough I may be able to rest in this holy confusion, and bathe in its questions and come to the state of Un-knowing that leads to Wisdom.

This is a 3-part round.

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 Whose Face? PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 291.

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