Chanting helps unleash Spirit and promotes vibrational alignment. Breathing into sounds, we engage our physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual realms, inviting the possibility of transformation.
Click here to see my upcoming schedule of chanting sessions.
For Passover:
I Will Bring You Out
וְהוֹצֵאתִי, וְהִצַּלְתִּי, וְגָאַלְתִּי, וְלָקַחְתִּי
V’hotzeiti, v’hitzalti, v’ga’alti, v’lakachti.
I will bring you out, I will deliver you, I will redeem you, take you as My own. (Exodus 6:6-7)
Chad Gadya
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=M37dxg6cbhc&list=RDAMVMM37dxg6cbhc
From Shifting Edge (adapted from Chava Alberstein’s Chad Gadya) by Juliet Spitzer
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Chanting Through The Omer
THE OMER SONG
The Omer Song
https://open.spotify.com/album/1Ur5BwBWS3wbNp7zAXjM2n?highlight=spotify:track:3Herwz65aRkuHKdmeAJSwi
by Juliet Spitzer, performed by MIRAJ
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Hineini/ I Am Here
May be chanted before the Blessing for Counting the Omer
Click here for Rabbi Yael Levy’s Opening Prayer and Blessings for Counting the Omer
ABBREVIATED ANA BEKOACH–to be chanted after Counting the Omer, to clear our channels and untie the tangles
Kabbalistic prayer attributed to Rabbi Nehunia ben HaKana (2nd c. Sage), said to encompass the 42-letter name of The One. Music by Ovadia Hamama; English adapted from translation by Reb Zalman Shachter-Shalomi.
Ana bekoach, g’dulat yemincha, tatir tz’rura
Kabel rinat amcha sagveinu, tahareinu nora
Accept our prayers, and hear our cries
Oh, Knower of Secrets
Shavateinu kabel, ush’ma tza’akateinu
Yode’a ta’alumot
Baruch shem k’vod Malchuto l’olam va’ed
Through time and space, Your Glory shines, Oh Majestic One
Shavateinu kabel, ush’ma tza’akateinu,
Yode’a ta’alumot
-adapted from the English translation by Reb Zalman Shachter-Shalomi
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More complete Ana B’Koach–to be chanted after Counting the Omer, to clear our channels and untie the tangles.
WORDS TO ANA B’KOACH TRANSLATION
Ana bekoach, g’dulat yemincha, tatir tz’rura
Kabel rinat amcha sagveinu, tahareinu nora
Source of Mercy, with loving strength, untie our tangles.
Your chanting folk, raise high, make pure, accept our song.
We, who are seeking oneness with You,
Please keep us, keep us safe
Cleanse and bless us, infuse us ever with loving care
Gracious Source of Holy Power, do guide Your folk
Sublime and Holy One, please turn to us
We of holy, holy chant.
(Ana, ana bekoach…)
Accept our prayers, and hear our cries
Oh, Knower of Secrets
Shavateinu kabel, ush’ma tza’akateinu
Yode’a ta’alumot
Baruch shem k’vod Malchuto l’olam va’ed
Through time and space, Your Glory shines, Oh Majestic One
Shavateinu kabel, ush’ma tza’akateinu,
Yode’a ta’alumot
-adapted from the English translation by Reb Zalman Shachter-Shalomi
WEEK ONE: CHESED/LOVING-CONNECTION, GRACE
Color (according to Rabbi Yonassan Gershom’s system): Purple Body Part: Right Hand of Mercy
CHANT:
V’Nahar Yotzei Mei Eden/A River Flows From Eden
וְנָהָר יֹצֵא מֵעֵדֶן, לְהַשְׁקוֹת אֶת-הַגָּן V’nahar yotzei mei Eden, l’hashkot et haGan.
A river flows forth from Eden to water the garden. (Genesis 2:10)
Like the primordial river pouring forth from Eden, we are ever-washed by the abundance of Divine Chesed, the Unending Love and Connection that is ours, simply because we are!
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WEEK TWO: GEVURAH/ DISCERNMENT, DISCIPLINE, BOUNDARIES, STRENGTH
Color (according to Rabbi Yonassan Gershom’s sytem): Blue Body Part: Left Hand of Justice
CHANT:
Listening to the Voice Of Wisdom by Rabbi Shefa Gold
Ha-lo Chochma tikra, u-t’vunah titayn kola
Isn’t it Wisdom calling and Understanding raising her voice! (Proverbs 8:1)
Ashrei Adam shomay-a li
Happy is the one who listens to me. (Proverbs 8:34)
As we continue along the path of spiritual refinement, we must tune in and listen for The Voice, in order to discern and judiciously follow the Truth and Wisdom called for in this moment, here, now.
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WEEK THREE: TIFERET/BALANCE, BEAUTY, HARMONY
Color (according to Rabbi Yonassan Gershom’s system): Green. Body Part: Heart
CHANT:
Make Room for the Unexpected by Juliet Spitzer
harchivi, harchivi, harchivi m’kom ohalech
הַרְחִיבִי מְקוֹם אָהֳלֵךְ
En-Widen the place of your welcoming places. (Isaiah 54:2) (Adapted from Shefa Gold translation)
We gently stretch and expand into the spaces of our heart, allowing more and more room as we “ready ourselves to accept transfusions from the heart of the Divine.” (Rabbi Min Kantrowitz)
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WEEK FOUR: NETZACH/ENDURANCE, VICTORY, ETERNITY
Color (according to Rabbi Yonassan Gershom’s system): Yellow. Body Part: Right leg
CHANT:
A Spirit of ‘Yes!’: V’Ruach Nachon by Shefa Gold
V’Ruach nachon chadaysh b’kirbi
Renew within me a Spirit of “Yes!” (Psalm 51:12)
We are at the halfway point on the journey through the Omer period. If we want to accomplish or overcome anything, we need a balanced measure of persistence and a “Spirit of Yes!” to keep us moving forward.
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WEEK FIVE: HOD/SPLENDOR, MAGNIFICENCE, GRATITUDE
Color (according to Rabbi Yonassan Gershom’s system): Orange. Body Part: Left leg
CHANT:
Behold the Wonders! by Juliet Spitzer
Gal eyani v’abeetah niflotecha
גַּל-עֵינַי וְאַבִּיטָה– נִפְלְאוֹתֶיךָ
Open my eyes that I may see Your wonders! (adapted from Psalm 119:18)
The two-step process embedded in Hod involves pausing, becoming still- to be able to recognize and acknowledge with humility the intricacies of The One’s emanations in the created world. Once we have raised our eyes to notice the world around us, we break out in grateful cries at the wonder of all that is!
Gratitude by Juliet Spitzer
Hodu l’Adonay ki tov, ki l’olam chasdo
הוֹדוּ לַיהוָה כִּי-טוֹב: כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ
Give thanks to G!D for the Goodness, His kindness is everlasting. (Psalm 136:1)
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WEEK SIX: YISOD/CONNECTION, FOUNDATION, GENERATIVITY
Promise of Connecton: V’hit’halachti by Shefa Gold
Color (according to Rabbi Yonassan Gershom’s system): Red. Body Part: Genitals
CHANT:
V’hit’halachti b’tochachem, v’hayiti lachem Lelohim
הִתְהַלַּכְתִּי, בְּתוֹכְכֶם, וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם, לֵאלֹהִים
And then, I will walk within/among you, and I will be your God (… and you will be my people). (Leviticus 26:12)
Toward the end of the book of Leviticus, we are reminded how to live in connection with Earth, ourselves, and one another. We are grounded in this moment, noticing that our roots go down deep and our branches push into the future. The Mystery accompanies all of us, always, and all is One.
“By doing this practice, we are receiving that promise and opening ourselves up to the web of Creation.” (Shefa Gold)
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WEEK SEVEN: MALCHUT-SHECHINAH/ INDWELLING PRESENCE, DIVINITY, SOVEREIGNTY
Color: White. Body Part: Feet
CHANT:
Rise Up! Kumah Yah by Juliet Spitzer
Kumah Yah, Hoshiyeini Elohai, Kumah Yah
קוּמָה יְהוָה, הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי אֱלֹהַי
Rise up, YHVH [from within, where my Power resides]; save me [and I will do my part]! (Psalms 3:8)
The final, seventh week of the Omer period is akin to the seventh day of the week. Here is where we accept and absorb what the past six weeks have yielded, and try to integrate what we have received with what we hope to manifest. This sefirah contains within it the transcendence of Malchut and the imminence of Shechinah. The Guidance and Inner Connection of Malchut/Shechinah remind us that we are never alone-we need only turn inward to greet The Mystery.
CHANTING FOR THE MONTH OF ELUL AND BEYOND
ACHAT SHA’ALTI
From the first day of the Hebrew month of Elul through the Days of Awe, Ashkenazic Jews recite Psalm 27 twice daily. Verse 4 is an expression of our yearning to feel The One’s Presence at this moment, in every moment.
אַחַת, שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת-יְהוָה– אוֹתָהּ אֲבַקֵּשׁ: Achat sha’alti mey’Adonai, Otah avakesh
שִׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית-יְהוָה, כָּל-יְמֵי חַיַּי Shivti b’veit Yah, kol y’mei chayai
לַחֲזוֹת בְּנֹעַם-יְהוָה, וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלוֹ Lach’zot b’noam Adonai, u’l’vaker b’heichalo
I seek only one thing, one thing alone: to connect to this moment. Nowhere else. Only this. Nothing less. My palace in time. (translation by Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg)
CHANTS AND SONGS
Light These Lights
The Journey Continues The Ma’yan Passover Haggadah)
by Juliet Spitzer
*The deeply personal and heart-felt prayers, originally written in Yiddish and recited by Jewish women from the 16th century on,
are known as techines.
Yearning for The One
Pitchu Li
“Open for me the gates of The One, I will go through them and praise Yah.” (based on Psalm 118)
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A Prayer for Peace
Harmony
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=PGN-ygesNag&list=RDAMVMPGN-ygesNag
from Shifting Edge (Juliet Spitzer); performed by SheWho
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I am a trained Hebrew Chant Leader and hold regular chanting gatherings in tune with the Jewish calendar. Like the river that flows from Eden to water our gardens, we use Hebrew and English chant to nurture and internalize the rhythms and cycles of the season, month or weekly Torah reading. I also co-create chants for individualized use and for rituals marking sacred moments in your life.
Chant is the marriage of sound and silence. In chant, they are joined in love and beauty.
—Rabbi Shefa Gold
