My Rock and My Redeemer: Atah Tzuri

03/26/2011 Alia Meira

Atah Tzuri v’Go-ali

You are My Rock and My Redeemer (adapted from Psalm 19:15)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 19 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

These two names of God describe the process of liberation. When I know God as “My Rock,” I am feeling the loving support that holds me; I am leaning into a sense basic trust in Reality. From that sense of trust I can receive God as “My Redeemer.” I can allow the force of liberation to move me; to send me to new challenges and into the unknown.

As I address myself to these two Divine aspects I can allow the feeling of support to send me towards liberation, towards opening, flowering, and self-realization. The steady rock beneath me allows me to take that necessary “leap of faith.”

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

My Rock and My Redeemer

To download the PDF file for this chant, click My Rock and My Redeemer PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 294.

Chants, Psalms

Valley of Death: Gam ki elech

01/14/2011 Alia Meira

Gam ki elech b’gay tzalmavet, lo ira ra

Though I walk through the Valley of Death, I will not fear,
Though I walk through the Valley of Death, my God is near. (Psalm 23:4)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 23 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

I wrote this chant to help myself and others deal with a difficult time of tragedy. When I encounter “evil” in the world — the premature death of a friend, the terrible suffering caused by madness or terrorism, the injustice of innocents dying, the horrible suffering that “shouldn’t” have been — I may tremble inside, lose my way, or become paralyzed. These words from Psalm 23 have helped me to find the steadiness of God’s presence within me, to find the path of loving, and to move forward again in courage.

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 Valley of Death PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 292.

Chants, Psalms

A Spirit of ‘Yes!’: V’Ruach nachon

12/29/2010 Alia Meira

V’Ruach nachon chadaysh b’kirbi

Renew within me a Spirit of “Yes!” (Psalm 51:12)
[Click (or tap) to see the entire Psalm 51 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985).]

The ruach nachon that I’m in need of renewing is the remembrance of the “rightness” of the reality before me. When my spirit can fully agree to and accept “what is,” then I am empowered to rest in the truth of this moment and walk through the doors of transformation that open. I need this renewal because I sometimes fight with the truth of “what is” and that is an exhausting and losing battle. (Inwardly I say, “Oh, no! I don’t like what this is.” And I can get stuck there in my “oh, no!”) When the spirit of “Yes” is renewed in me, I lean into the mystery of this moment and look for the doors of opportunity and transformation that open in response to my curiosity, and in response to my agreement to accept the challenge of my Life.

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 A Spirit of Yes PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 291.

Chants, Shir HaShirim

Beloved: Ani l’dodi

12/28/2010 Alia Meira

Ani l’dodi v’Dodi li

I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine. (Song of Songs 6:3)

God as this world holds me in Her loving embrace. I belong to The Whole. I am an integral aspect to Everything-that-is. I belong. And that wondrous mystery I call God is central to all I see, all I do, all I know, all I am. With this chant I raise up my awareness and attune my vibration with the truth being totally accepted, and totally beloved… flowing with the Divine Will, lifted up into the arms of the Infinite.

To view context from Shir HaShirim through the Love at the Center project, click Shir HaShirm (Shelach Lekha).

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 Beloved (Ani l’dodi) PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 255.

Chants, Liturgy

Under the Wings: Va’ani matzati

11/19/2010 Alia Meira

Va’ani matzati menucha mitachat kanfay HaSh’china

Under the Wings of Shechina I have found my rest.

I wrote this chant in honor of Sukkot. I imagine sitting in my Sukkah under a delicate roof of branches that give me a glimpse of the vast deep blue sky. The Divine Presence also protects me, yet allows me to see through her wings and connect with The Beyond.

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.