Towards Joy & Transformation | Sukkot & Simchat Torah 5781

sitting in a circle singing niggunim

Nigunim (for singing with our kishkes)

Sowing & Reaping | Sukkot & Simchat Torah 5782

Ein od, Ein od...

Aleinu leshabeach laAdon haKol, laTet g'dulah l'yotzer b'reshit 
She'lo asanu k'goyei haAratzot, ve'lo samanu k'mispchot haAdama 
She'lo sam chelkeinu kahem 
VeGoraleinu k'chol hamonam 

Ein od, Ein od...

VaAnachnu korim uMistachavim uModim 
Lifnei Melech Malchei haM'lachim haKados Baruch Hu. 

She hu note shamaim veYosed aretz 
UMoshav yekarov bashamaim mima'al 
USh'chinat uzo b'govhei m'romim 
Hu Eloheinu ein od 

Ein od, Ein od...

Emet Malkenu efes zulato 
KaKatuv B'Torato v'yadata hayom vahashevotah el levav'cha 
Ki Adonai Hu HaElohim 
BaShamaim MiMaal VeAlHaaretz Mitachat Ein Od. 

Ein Od, Ein od...

Vene'emar: vehayah adonai lemelech al kol ha'aretz, bayom hahu yiheyeh adonai echad u'shemo echad.

Ein od, Ein od

Aleinu Ein Od (Peter Avniel Salzman)

Joy Niggun (Nava Tehila)

Vocals - Batya Levine
Percussion - Simcha Halpert Hanson

Nechama - Batya Levine

Part 1: 
May this body be a bridge for the healing of this land
May the river flow through us cleansing greed from our hands

May this body be a bridge for the healing of this land
May the river flow through us cleansing grief from our hands

Part 2:
We are, we are born from the water
We are, we are made from the land

Teach us, teach us, oh Great Mother
To bring, to bring peace to this land

Lyrics: Part one is inspired by Said Abdallah; part 2 by Theresa Martin
Melody: Theresa Martin

May This Body Be A Bridge

and end of meal, during labor, child protection jewish psalm

psalm 126 shir hamaalot, those who sow in tears shall reap in joy 

sung with sara batya levine

shir hamaalot

Chabad nigun named after it's author, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn who was also known as the "Tzemach Tzedek," which means "sprout of justice."

Tzemach Tzedek Nigun

singing resilience into beloveds - our selves, our loves, our communities, our interconnection

ani l'dodi v'dodi li
ha'ro'eh ba'shoshananim (bashoshanim ha'ro'eh)

source: song of songs 6:3
translation: I am to my beloved, and my beloved is to me, who shepherds in the roses

Ani Ldodi

A melody sung throughout the Let My People Sing! Summer 2018 retreat. Recorded by the LMPS Core Team (Noam, Margot, Mó, Ilana, Batya)
Let My People Sing! is fundraising to sustain our vibrant, liberatory, songful project & you can DONATE here! :
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=15428700

Tzemach Tzedek Nigun - Chabad - LMPS 2018

Tu Bshvat Nigun by Batya Levine sung live at Let My People Sing! 2018.

LMPS 2018

Tu Bshvat Nigun - Batya Levine - LMPS 2018

there is a concept in Jewish thought, that in a person's life, they need to have both hishtadlus and bitachon, learning to balance the two.

hishtadlus is personal effort, bitachon is trust.

this song is a tribute to the power and endurance it takes to do our own unique work in this lifetime.

photo by batya levine

Hishtadlus Nigun

You can purchase the Elul album, which was compiled, recorded & edited by Anat Hochberg & Matt Goldfield here:
https://elulmusicproject.bandcamp.com/releases
This album features a beautiful collection of original songs for Elul by various contemporary Jewish musicians.

This song came through in the forests of the Blue Hills, which is on the land of the Massachusett tribe. Sometimes it may seem that all of our leaves fall down, onto the forest floor, and our branches lie bare & exposed in the cold wind. Shedding tears and the things that no longer serve us, we are stripped down to our most basic selves. This leaves us vulnerable, and it naturally opens up a space for teshuva, a return to self. Because we are the water, earth, fire and wind, and we can call on these powers, to help us through.

LYRICS:
all the leaves have fallen down, have fallen down
all the leaves have fallen down, have fallen down

i am the water, earth, fire & wind
dig deep my roots and return again
i am the water, earth, fire & wind
return again

CREDITS:
from Elul: Songs for Turning, released September 7, 2017
Batya Levine: vocals
Anat Hochberg: vocals
Micah Shapiro: djembe, vocals
Album Art: Roz Freeman

Elul: Songs for Turning

All The Leaves

Artist: Karisha Longaker of MaMuse (low harmony added later by Thrive Choir)

Sung at a (mini) song circle on December 11, 2018 on Chinook land/Portland, OR.

Lyrics:
We shall be known by the company we keep
By the ones who circle round to tend these fires
We shall be known by the ones who sow and reap
The seeds of change, alive from deep within the Earth

It is time now
It is time now that we thrive
It is time we lead ourselves into the well
It is time now
And what a time to be alive
In this Great Turning we shall learn to lead in love
In this Great Turning we shall learn to lead in love

We Shall Be Known (MaMuse, low harmony by Thrive Choir)

Bobover Wedding Niggun

3/22/20 
Batya Levine, Rena Branson, Aliza Schwartz, Tamar Sandweiss-Back, Becky Havivi

Simcha Nigun/Yifrach B'yamov (Chabad? Vizhnitz?)

Batya Levine, Rena Branson, Aliza Schwartz, Tamar Sandweiss-Back

Shalom Aleichem (Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Sheva & Jai Uttal)

Tzemach Tzedek nigun - recorded at Let My People Sing! 2018

Nigun Esh - Mizmor Ledavid (Psalm 29)

I have a deeply reverent relationship with Birkas Kohanim and it feels *very* edgy for me to even make, let alone share a recording of it. This prayer feels too potent, too powerful, too real for internet listening. It's meant to be done in ritual, in person, in community, with deep attention and channeling. And yet... with yirah(reverence/fear/awe) & emunah(faith) I'm choosing to share this recording - knowing that so many don't or haven't had access to this ritual - with the intention of it being a tool for learning, a healing salve, and a small taste of this ritual - especially in these times when we can't gather as we used to. 
In this recording I sing the "call" of the prayer, as if I am the shaliach tzibur (prayer leader) and I do not do the "answer" which would be done by the Kohanim in the congregation. I also say "ado-shem" instead of "adonai" to avoid saying the name of G!d in this recording. The melody is a traditional Ashkenazi melody I grew up with. 

Birkas Kohanim, The Priestly Blessing, is a ritual that goes back to Temple times when Kohanim (priests) would use this ritual to bless the people. In many Jewish communities today it is still practiced - traditionally by those with Kohen lineage for the congregation. It is often referred to as “nesiat kapayim,” meaning the raising of hands or as “duchenen,” a Yiddish word, referring to the platform Kohanim often stand on when they bless the congregation.  Birkas Kohanim is (I believe)one of the only rituals left from temple times that we still practice today as it was done then.

Every yuntif, my mom and I would make sure to get to shul in time for Birkas Kohanim, no matter what. Her father, my Zaydie, was a Kohen, and on Pesach, he would walk around to the various shuls in town to make sure they had a Kohen to do Birkas Kohanim. If they didn’t, he would stay and do Birkas Kohanim with them. He wanted everyone to get those potent blessings. I have vivid memories of being blessed by my Zayde, my uncle, and all the Kohanim at shul each year. In Ashkenazi tradition, it is only done on the shalosh regalim (three pilgrimiage holidays) and the yamim noraim (high holidays). From a young age I could feel the immense spiritual power of this ritual as it reverberated through my body and soul, and I still do...every time. 

Text from Shmot/Numbers 6:23-17
Traditional Ashkenazi melody
The words used are from the Torah, they are the words Hashem/Spirit/Godexx commanded the Kohanim to use to bless Bnai Yisrael.

יְבָרֶכְךָ ה' וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ
Yivarechicha adonai v’yishmirecha
May G!d bless you and protect you

יָאֵר ה' פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ
Ya’er adonai panav eilecha vi’chuneka
May G!d illuminate their face for you and be gracious to you

יִשּא ה' פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשם לְךָ שָׁלום
Yisah adonai panav eilecha v’yasem licha shalom
May G!d turn their face towards you and establish peace for you

Birkas Kohanim // The Priestly Blessing - Traditional Ashkenazi Melody & Nusach

Sung with chickens at Linke Fligl, 10/1/20
http://linkefligl.com/

Linke Fligl Nigun

Grateful for this little melody coming to me from the pages of my siddur one summer morning.

Ma tovu ohalecha Yaakov, mishk’notecha Yisrael
How lovely are your tents [people of] Jacob; your sanctuaries [people of] Israel.

Simcha Nigun/Yifrach B'yamov (Chabad? Vizhnitz?)

A Queer Nigun Project