Ki Atah m’chayay hamaytim, umaymit chayyim

For You revive the dead and bring death to the living.

Standing in the presence of the mystery of Life and Death, I am both lifted up and humbled. I address myself to that Mystery, open my heart and stand between Life and Death. I honor the journey beyond this known world into the world-to-come, the Beyond that awaits us all.

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.

• Life and Death 1  
• Life and Death 2  
• Life and Death Mix  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Life and Death PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 245.

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

Da Lifnay mi atah omayd

Know before whom you stand! (adapted from Talmud, Brachot 28b)

These words are inscribed on many synagogue walls and are meant to remind the congregants of the seriousness of prayer. In the past I’ve dismissed this phrase as being too stern, too much like “Big Brother” watching and judging. Yet now, when I chant this phrase, an entirely new meaning emerges. The verb yada to “know” also means to “be intimate with” (to know someone in the Biblical sense).

As I chant, I am called into intimacy with The Great Mystery who stands before me. That Mystery is disguised as this world, as my life. As I stand before that Mystery I am called into my power, in order to fully engage. The veil between me and the world-as-God drops away, and I can experience the intimate knowing that I am not a separate observer, but rather an integral part of The Mystery of existence.

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

• Standing Before the Mystery  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Standing Before the Mystery PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 247.

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

Tivu Tivu Ushpizin ila-een, Tivu Tivu Ushpizin Kadishin

Sit down, sit down, Exalted guests; Sit down sit down holy guests!

A Practice for Sukkot

At the beginning of the High Holy Days, the Days of Awe and T’shuva, I do a practice of asking myself, “Who Don’t you want in your Sukkah?” Who have you thrown out of your heart? Who would you rather avoid? For whom do you hold a grudge?… Then I know what my work will be for those days of Forgiving. By the time Sukkot comes, I want to be able to invite the whole world into my Sukkah, and into my heart.

It is the custom on Sukkot that besides inviting our neighbors and friends, we invite our ancestors and the archetypes they represent, into our Sukkah, and into our hearts. With this chant I extend that invitation and open to the energies of my ancestors, who come to sit beside “all my relations,” who have been re-united by our loving and persistent spiritual work.

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

• Ushpizin  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Ushpizin PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 244.

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

(A Shabbat Mincha Practice)

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.

• All Is One 1  
• All Is One 2  
• All Is One Mix  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click All Is One PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 243.

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

V’Haviayni l’shalom mayarba kanfot ha’aretz
Uriel! Mi’cha’el! Rafa’el! Gavri’el!

(Bring us in peace from the 4 corners of the Earth.)

4 Archangels chant

This phrase comes from the paragraph before the Sh’ma and I use it to prepare myself for that moment of focused attention that the Sh’ma is meant to be. I gather in all the disparate energies so that I can stand in Oneness and receive the mystery of Unity. For me, the archangels personify the energies of each of the direction, the four winds that blow into my life and make me whole.

• When I face East and call in Uriel, I am opening to the New and allowing myself to be renewed.
• When I face the South and call in Mi’cha’el, I am calling in warmth, comfort, love and constancy, and allowing myself to be held in that love.
• When I face the West and call in Rafa’el, I am opening to a vision of where I am called, and allowing the healing power of my path to transform me.
• When I face the North and call in Gavri’el, I am opening to the power of my ancestors and receiving the challenges of my life with grace and courage.

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

• Gathering In  

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Gathering In PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 235.

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