Waiting (Dom)

Dom l’Yah v’hitcholayl lo
Graphic: Waiting/Dom in Hebrew
Be still/silent and wait for God. (Psalm 37:7)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 37 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

Our spiritual maturity depends on the ability to be still, to be silent, and to live at ease with uncertainty. Waiting for God means we are not in control of the timing of life’s unfolding or the flow of Grace. Yet we can find our stillness and open to that flow. The word for waiting וְהִתְח֢וֹלֵֽ֫ל shares a root that is related to dancing, writhing and birthing… so that stillness is found through intense movement. Our silence is found through dynamic sound. And we find our patience by surrendering to “what is,” moment by moment.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Waiting (Dom) PDF.

Praise It All

Y’hal’lu et-shaym HaVaYaH,
Ki-nisgav sh’mo l’vado,
Hodo al-aretz v’shamayim
Graphic: Praise It All in Hebrew
Let them praise the essence of Existence,
for that essence alone, is sublime;
This splendor infuses the Earth and the Heavens. (Psalm 148:13)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 148 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

I sing Hallelu-Yah to lose myself in the Mystery, to open to the unnamable. With each Hallelu-Yah, I am lifted up out of my small separate self into the larger Self that is united with the One. I sing to open the eyes of my heart that I might see the miracle that was, is and will be, always before me. I sing to give myself away.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Praise It All PDF.

Teach Me

Lamdayni la’asot r’tzonecha
Graphic: Teach Me in Hebrew
Teach me to do Your Will. (Psalm 143:10)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 143 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

With this practice, I am asking for guidance. I have a deep yearning to be useful, and to know how my small part might fit into the whole of this Great Work of transformation.

  • How do I enter the dance?
  • What tiny yet unique part can I play in the vast symphony of Life?
  • How can I harmonize my small will with the Great Will of the Divine unfolding through Creation?

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Teach Me PDF.

A New Song

Shir Chadash ashirah lach
Graphic: A New Song in Hebrew
I will sing You a new song. (Psalm 144:9)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 144 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

There are two aspects to this practice that will unlock its medicine.

  1. I will sing this song TO YOU, God. I will address my joy, passion, longing, artistry and enthusiasm to You, God, alone. Others may overhear our conversation and enjoy it, but I am focused on giving all of myself to YOU.
  2. My song is ever-new and ever-renewing itself. Even if I sing this song a thousand times, this time it is new — emerging from this very moment of blessing.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click A New Song PDF.

Free My Soul!

Hotziyah mimasgayr nafshi l’hodot et-sh’mecha.
Graphic: Free My Soul in Hebrew
Free my soul from prison,
that I may praise Your name. (Psalm 142:8)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 142 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

My soul is imprisoned by fear, by rigid forms that I have inherited, and also by constricting forms that I have made for myself. My soul is imprisoned by my conditioning, by perceived limitations that have been place on me and also by forms that I have placed on myself. My soul is imprisoned by habits of judgment, expectation and reactivity. When my soul is set free, I return to my true depth and breadth; I expand into my Divine identity, and my very being becomes a praise of the One.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Free My Soul PDF.