Category Archives: Psalms

Goodness: Hodu l’adonay

07/21/2010 Alia Meira

Hodu l’adonay ki tov, ki l’olam chasdo

Give thanks to God for essential goodness; His kindness endures forever. (Psalm 106:1)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 106 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

By giving thanks, we open our hearts to, receive, and acknowledge the essential goodness of Reality itself. As we open to the flow of Divine kindness, everyone and everything becomes our ally. By giving thanks we enter the perspective that sees the whole world as conspiring to shower us with blessings.

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 Goodness PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 237.

Chants, Psalms

The Heavens: HaShamayim

05/22/2010 Alia Meira

HaShamayim misaprim k’vod Ayl

The Heavens open up and tell Your Story,
Of sun and clouds and storm, of wind and Glory. (Psalm 19:2)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 19 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

Where I live in New Mexico, the skies are my great entertainment and inspiration. With this practice, we watch the sky and receive from its wide expanse and changing colors, the story of God’s expanse and the Truth of Impermanence. You can try this practice lying back on a grassy field with your chant-buddies, looking up at the sky and receiving the amazing story that the Heavens tell. (If you do this practice at night you can substitute stars for sun.)

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 The Heavens PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 275.

Chants, Psalms

Day and Night: Yom l’yom

05/22/2010 Alia Meira

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.

Day and Night

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.

Chants, Psalms

From the Depths: Mima’amakim

04/10/2010 Alia Meira

Mima’amakim k’raticha Yah

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.

Chants, Liturgy, Psalms

Morning Blessings

02/16/2010 Alia Meira

Adonai matir asurim, Adonai pokayah ivrim
Adonai zokayf k’fufim, Adonai ohayv tzadikim
Morning Blessings Hebrew text
Ahal’lah Yah b’chayai

Oh God, who sets the captive free,
who opens the eyes of the blind to see,
who heals the lame and
loves the just.
I will praise Yah with my life! (Psalm 146:7-8 and Psalm 146:2)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 146 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

As my morning blessings, I acknowledge the Force that sets me free from the bondage of habit and conditioning. I thank the One who opens my eyes to what were once invisible realms. I feel myself lifted up and healed by that Power, as the best in me is seen , known and loved.

Then I make a commitment to praise Yah with my life as I become a channel for that force of liberation, enlightenment, healing and 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.

Morning Blessings

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Morning Blessings PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 234.