By Ariel Root Wolpe, performed by Rabbis Sam Blustin and Ariel Root Wolpe

Hineni muchan um'zuman 
Behold, I am ready and prepared

l'kayem mitzvat aseh shel s'firat ha'omer k'mo shekatuv baTorah.
To fulfill the mitzvah of counting the omer, as it says in the Torah

Hineni Muchan Um'zuman (I am Ready)

Ruach Neshama is a collection of songs of soul and breath. These songs employ traditional texts, lyrical midrash and the meditative practice of the nigun—the wordless melody—to open our hearts to the ever-present guidance and compassion within. They strive to paint the wisdom and words of our ancestors on a canvas of body and nature, and to ask the question: What is my soul calling for? What teachings do Earth, Song, and Spirit offer me? 

Free sheet music found at arielwolpe.com/sheetmusic 

Many thanks to the incredible musicians who shared their voices on these tracks: to Kendra for being my sister in life, love and music, to Deborah for sweet harmonies and infinite padding, to Jon for relinquishing his time and office space for recording, to Gayanne for sharing my passion for musical connection to earth, and to my mother Valerie for her ongoing guidance in sound, song and spirit. Thank you to my Rising Song cohort Rebekka, Gedalia, Eitan, Batya, Rena, and Sam, for the never-ending inspiration, support and friendship that have lifted my spirit and my offerings to the world. To Don Godwin for mixing and editing these layered tracks, to Eliyahu Sills and Will Robertson for instrumental offerings, and to Josh Fleet for his logistical support. This album would not exist...  more
credits
released August 8, 2021 

All music composed by Ariel Root Wolpe, Hebrew text from Jewish liturgy and Tanakh. 
Music direction by Joey Weisenberg and Ariel Root Wolpe 
Harmony direction by Deborah Sacks Mintz 
Produced by Joey Weisenberg 

Recorded outside and in home-studios in Atlanta, GA, Philadelphia, PA, and Berkeley, CA. 
Engineered by Joey Weisenberg and Jon Mitchell 
Mixed and Mastered by Don Godwin 
Artwork and Layout by Sol Yael Weiss. 

Singers and Musicians: 
Ariel Root Wolpe - lead vocals, acoustic guitar 
Kendra Root Wolpe - vocals 
Deborah Sacks Mintz - vocals 
Valerie Root Wolpe - vocals 
Jon Mitchell - vocals, djembe (track #8) 
Joey Weisenberg - bass, percussion, guitar, baritone ukulele, piccolo, drum programming, vocals 
Will Robertson - bass (track #7) 
Eliyahu Sills - flute (track #2) 
Rising Song Institute Vocalists: Rena Branson, Rebekka Goldsmith, Eitan Kantor, Gedalia Penner, Sam Tygiel, Batya Levine, Gayanne Geurin (track #5) 

www.arielwolpe.com 
www.risingsong.org 

A Project of Hadar's Rising Song Institute: Cultivating Jewish spiritual life through song. 

"Ruach Neshama" sponsored by Wilderness Torah 
"Yedid Nefesh" sponsored by Ahavath Achim Synagogue 
"Hineni" sponsored by Adath Israel on the Main Line 
"Vatikach Miriam" sponsored by Congregation Or Hadash 
"Waking Up Nigun" sponsored by Har Zion Temple
license

Ruach Neshama

Kiddush Levana

Waking Up Nigun

Mima’amakim (Psalm 130)

Light My Soul

Vatikach Miriam

We Are Whole

Hineni (Isaiah 65)

Yedid Nefesh

Bashem Hashem (demo)

גַּל־עֵינַ֥י וְאַבִּ֑יטָה נִ֝פְלָא֗וֹת מִתּוֹרָתֶֽךָ׃ 
Open my eyes, that I may perceive
the wonders of Your teaching.
גֵּ֣ר אָנֹכִ֣י אַל־תַּסְתֵּ֥ר מִ֝מֶּ֗נִּי׃ 
I am a sojourner 
do not hide from me.

-based on psalm 119

Gal Gal (Psalm 119)

A new song for our rainy season: Tefillat ha-tal v'geshem, prayer for dew and rain. It is inspired by the line that we begin saying the first day of Pesach (passover), when we add the phrase "mashiv haruach u'morid hatal"--who causes the wind to blow and the dew to fall-- in each recitation of the Amidah, our daily personal prayer.

Although all that is required is that the announcement of this phrase be made in the service, over time, piyutim (poems) centering the theme of water were added to the liturgy. This song draws from language from these piyutim.

Lyrics:

Rain fall on me
Wash me clean
Sooth my face, and soak my feet,
Morid, morid

Dew shower the earth
Sing our joyous rebirth
Sooth my hands, and soak my seed,
Morid, morid

Libracha v’lo likalala, amen
Lichaim v’lo limavet, amen
Lisova v’lo lirazon amen, amen!

לִבְרָכָה וְלא לִקְלָלָה. אמן:
For blessing and not for curse. Amen
לְחַיִּים וְלא לַמָּוֶת. אמן:
For life and not for death. Amen
לְשובַע וְלא לְרָזון. אמן:
For plenty and not for scarcity. Amen

Mashiv haruach umorid ha-gashem
Mashiv haruach umorid ha-tal 

 מַשִּׁיב הָרוּחַ וּמורִיד הַגֶשֶׁם/הַטַל
Who causes the wind to blow and the rain/dew to fall.

Tefillat HaTal V'Geshem - Ma'alot Live

A track from my upcoming album, "My Teachers" at http://arielwolpe.com/rabbi

The lyrics of this song are inspired my Psalm 77, a soulful Psalm of Asaph.

Vocals: Root & Kyle Lemle
Guitar: Root
Cello: Nicole Boguslaw

Produced by Jon Mitchell


Listen Sweet One

A classic niggun attributed to Rav Yisrael ben Eliezar, ZTsL, the Baal Shem Tov from the coming album "Candle Light: a collection of niggunim" at http://arielwolpe.com/rabbi

Sung by Ariel Root Wolpe, Nat Rosenzweig, and Jon Mitchell

Besht Niggun

Little Bird is a track on the upcoming album "My Teachers" by Ariel Wolpe. Get the album before 8/22 at http://arielwolpe.com/rabbi

Cello: Nicole Boguslaw
Drums: Kirk Benttinen
Electric Guitar: Jon Mitchell
Vocals and Acoustic guitar: Ariel Wolpe

Little Bird

Ya'aleh From Selichot

Psalm 51

lev tahor b'rah li elokim
v'ruach nachon chadesh b'kirbi.
al tashlicheni milfanecha 
v'ruach kodsh'cha al tikach mimeni.

create for me a clean heart, dear God
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
cast me not away from your presence
and take not your holy spirit from me.

Lev Tahor

There She Goes

This summer I flew to Boston for a retreat with a group of young Jewish entrepreneurs in the Beloved Builders network. Each of us, in different ways, are pursuing a new vision of jewish life, and we took turns leading sessions for each other. Halfway through the retreat, a new song emerged for me. It began:

Will you take my hand  And help me understand?
Don't judge me, don't leave me  Just help me understand.

And then a quote from Mishnah Pirke Avot: 

Ezehu chacham - who is wise?
Halomed mikol Adam - one who learns from every person. 

I was in awe of the deep vulnerability I found in my colleague’s sessions. I felt that I was part of a broader community that shared my passion and values and cared enough to share deep feelings. Many of these entrepreneurs had, like myself, felt outside of Jewish life at some point. But each had stayed open hearted and committed to building the kind of community they could be a part of. 

Lyrics:

Will you take my hand
And help me understand?
Don’t judge me, don’t leave meJust help me understand.

Please tell me the truth
In words sweet and brutal
Open my eyes, to the lies
And help me understand.

Eze hu chacham? (who is wise?)
Halomed mi’kol adam (one who learns from every person)

I’m not afraid to change
Release the fear and shame
Can you see me? Can you believe?
And help me understand.

There is something new
That I can teach to you Come, let's transform
Let’s leap together into the unknown.

Eze hu chacham? 	(who is wise?)
Halomed mi’kol adam. (one who learns from every person)

Come, let's transform Let’s leap together into the unknown.

Help Me Understand ~ Demo

Written and performed in memory of my Zadie, Gerald Isaac Wolpe, יצחק גרשון בן שלום דו ושרה, who passed away six years ago today on the 24th of Iyaar. 

By Ariel Root Wolpe
Performed by Ariel and Carolyn Tong

Yellow Road

photo by Carla Bagdonas

lyrics, guitar and vocals by ariel

reaching across the divide
but i hit the glass
no crack in the past i was dressed with
but a tear from my navel to my throat
born to be ripped from the journey unlit

whats underneath the frosted cloths
and the miles of time?
i’m a bursting heart in my child mind
but now its all tied up
the stitches hold me in when i start to erupt

reaching across the divide

reaching across the divide
I touch the vast 
kaleidoscope of your tears
see these eyes? their cries?
we are not alone, i share it with you

out in the open, under the skies
its a hopeful human step
of wind breaking and re-healing
in our breath

reaching across the divide: 
break free/through 

Reaching Across The Divide (demo)

Capo 5

Am /// G /// F /// Am ///
Yedid nefesh, Av harachaman, 
meshoch Avdach el Retzonach. 
Yarutz avdach kemo ayal, 
yishtachave mul hadarach. 

Em / Am / Em / Am /
Ye’erav lo yedidutach, 
Am /// F ///
yabababa bibi bo
Em / Am / Em ///
minofet tsuf vechol ta’am. 
G  /// F /// Dm / Em / Am ///
aiyadadai, aiyadadai, aiyadadaidai do

Yedid Nefesh (for A Rainy Day) By Ariel Wolpe

The morning of October 27th, 2018, I learned about the shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh right before I got up on the bimah to lead services. I held those killed, their families, and everyone present in my prayers throughout the morning. And on my walk home, a new tune came to me for Psalm 130, which we recite when we are so distraught and desperate that all we can do in the moment is call out for help. The words are:

מִמַּעֲמַקִּ֖ים קְרָאתִ֣יךָ יְהוָֽה
אֲדֹנָי֮ שִׁמְעָ֪ה בְק֫וֹלִ֥י תִּהְיֶ֣ינָה אָ֭זְנֶיךָ קַשֻּׁב֑וֹת לְ֝ק֗וֹל תַּחֲנוּנָֽי

Out of the depths I call You, Havaya. 
Adonai, hear my voice,
Let Your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.

Channeling our suffering into song and prayer is the beginning of the road to healing and change. I hope this tune offers you some comfort and can give you strength to keep moving forward, keep working against hatred and bigotry, keep transforming our world into a place of peace and love for one another and the generations to come.

It’s a long road, but we are walking it together.

Live video: https://www.facebook.com/ariel.wolpinator/videos/10156655589016280/

Karaticha Psalm 130

According to Kabbalah, Yesod is the foundation upon which God has built the world. It also serves as a transmitter between the sephirot above, and the reality below. The light of the upper sephirot gather in Yesod and are channelled to the Shechinah, the earthly plane where we dwell.

Yesod Niggun

Lovers Niggun by Ariel Wolpe and Mikey Pauker

Lovers Niggun

A new L'dor Vador tune! Sung to the prayer at the end of the kedusha in the amidah.

L'dor Vador

For most of the COVID quarantine, I have been sick. It has been physically and emotionally challenging to attend now-virtual class as usual, do my various jobs as usual, take care of my one and a half year old full time (not as usual), and all the while wondering what I am sick with, and whether it has unknown affects on the 16 week old baby-to-be in my womb.

One morning I woke up and even though I could barely speak, this tune came out of me. So I composed a new Modah/Modeh Ani for the voiceless, for the solitude of quarantine, for those of us struggling to insert a bit of hoda’ah, gratitude, into a difficult situation. Because we know that naming the blessings that we have in our life, while it may not change what is around us, brings light and hope into our inner world. 

Join me in beginning each day with Modah/Modeh Ani, to whatever tune you know. And if this tune moves you, download this track and sing along with me in the mornings. 

Together we can give thanks to all the little pieces that make life worth loving.

Modah Ani For The Voiceless

Spirit Sounds: A Collaboration of Inter-Faithful Musicians brings you inter-religious music from Atlanta, Georgia. Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Baha'i and Atheist musicians collaborate on song composition and performance, jointly connecting with history and tradition while addressing modern religious challenges and questions. Spirit Sounds reveals how music, reflection, spirit, and creativity cultivates faithful friendships across diversity, and opens up a musical world of emotion and connection to inspire every listener. Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Will Robertson at Gallop Studios, Atlanta, GA [Except tracks Common Ground and Find Your Own, engineered by Kevin Cryderman]. Cover design by Mariangela Jordan.

Ariel Root Wolpe

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