There Is So Much Magnificence

Vocals - Batya Levine
Percussion - Simcha Halpert-Hanson

I'm Gonna Get Through  - Batya Levine

Elohai Neshama by Sol Weiss

Tree Nigun by Noam Lerman, used at many Let My People Sing! gatherings.

Tree  Nigun - Noam Lerman

brich rachamana malka d'alma mar'ei d'hai pita
thank you, thank you, 
thank you for this beautiful food, 
may it nourish us to build a world that's whole.
*a close translation of the aramaic: blessed is the merciful one, sovereign of the world, creator of this bread.*
**art (woodburned challah board) by batya levine**

Brich Rachamana (aftermeal blessing)

Inspired by nomadic years, the wisdom of the body and nervous system, change, Somatic Reality: Bodily Experience and Emotional Truth by Stanley Kelemen, the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess community, and the Judaism of my ancestors. Received to the tune of Avinu Malkeinu, a traditional Jewish High Holidays prayer. 

Deep gratitude to my teachers, community and bright and well ancestors: Taya Shere, Ibrahim Baba, my parents, Zaide, Grandpa, the Romanian women, Kohenet and so many more. Thank you.
lyrics
Slow down, child, slow down 
Slow down and listen to the wind 
All comes together; all falls apart 
Forming anew your beating heart 

Slow down, child, slow down 
Slow down and draw yourself near 
The rocks are your keepers 
Tell them your stories 
Now it is safe to be here 

A river flows from within you to where you will go 
The current carries you home 
Let your life unfold 

Slow down, child, slow down 
Slow down and you will receive 
Life wants to meet you where you are 
Not where you think you should be 

A river flows from within you to where you will go 
The current carries you home 
Let your life unfold 

Slow down, child, slow down 
Slow down and you will be shown 
The love that was always lifting you up 
You are never alone 

A river flows from within you to where you will go 
The current carries you home 
Let your life unfold 

Slow down child, slow down (x4) 

Slow down, child, slow down 
Slow down and listen to the wind 
All comes together; all falls apart 
Forming anew your beating heart

Slow Down / The Mother's Response (Demo)

Artist: Miner
I learned this song at Let My People Sing 2019.

Sung at a song circle on September 15, 2019 on Chinook land/Portland, OR.

Part 1:
Let the wave wash over me
Let the wave wash over me
I am already under
Let the wave wash over me

Part 2:
There will be better days

**Photo credit: Sarah Snyder!

Let The Wave (Miner)

Melody by Sol Yael Weiss, harmonies by Aly Halpert

Words brought by Batya Levine, text from the very end of the Shmoneh Esrei / Amidah (silent standing prayer in every Jewish service): Y'hiyu l'ratzon imrei fi v'hegyon libi lefanecha adonia tzuri v'goali

"May these words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be favored in your presence, eternal One, my rock and redeemer." 

Dedicated to Ratzon: Center for Healing and Resistance in Pittsburgh PA, and all of us working to build the world we know is possible.

Y'hiyu L'ratzon

kol ha olam kulu gesher tzar meo'd 
the whole entire world is a very narrow bridge
and the main thing to recall 
is not to fear fear itself

<3

gesher tzar

I wrote this song in the midst of shock and grief at the murder and loss of Gabrielle Gottlieb from the Romemu community and the world. She was a fan of my music and was kind whenever I saw her, asking my family about me, and watching. 

Gabrielle was a healer, an energy worker, a woman deeply aware of the power that lies in the body. She wasn’t just gentle, just kind— she was a warrior. Gabrielle was running in the last moments of her life, trusting her guts, trusting her body, and trying with all she had to find safety and freedom. Her loss remains a gaping hole in the world, and justice has still not been served. 

In this song, I keep in mind those in abusive relationships, those in unsafe homes, those parenting themselves in treacherous environments, and those whose traumas of abuse and sexual assault are bubbling to the surface in this time. I commit to working to create systems to address harm and create circles of love and care wherever I dwell. 

A word about trusting the body— as someone with a chronic disability, trusting my body completely is no simple task. My body needs a lot of help to keep working! If you’re singing this song and find that these words don’t sit right in the moment, I hope they might serve in other moments. And if not, I love you and see that pain. I wrote these words in deep gratitude to that thing that sits deep, deep within my body, under even the parts of my body that need help to function— that gut instinct that keeps me safe with all its might. 

Thank you to my partner Noam Lerman for joining me in song and strength!

Lyrics:

Days when I don’t trust my family
Days when I don’t trust my friends
I trust my body, deep down in my core 

Days when I don’t trust my leaders
Days when I don’t trust my teachers 
I trust my body, deep down in my core 

Days when I don’t trust my lover
Days when I don’t trust my God
I trust my body, deep down in my core

Oh my body, oy oy oy oy 
Oh my body oy oy oy oy
I trust my body, my shaking body
I trust my body, deep down in my core

Oh my body, oy oy oy oy 
Oh my body oy oy oy oy
I trust my body, my brilliant body 
I trust my body, deep down in my core 

Oh my body, oy oy oy oy 
Oh my body oy oy oy oy
I trust my body, down in my kishkes 
I trust my body, deep down in my core

I Trust My Body

https://fb.watch/3eSSURrJSb/

We will not underestimate 
our power any longer—
we know that together, we are strong.
Like drops of water shape the rocks 
as they rush down the falls,
we know that together,
we are strong.

שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה שִׁבְּ֒חוּ גְאוּלִים לְשִׁמְךָ עַל־שְׂפַת הַיָּם יַֽחַד כֻּלָּם הוֹדוּ
Shira chadasha shibchu ge'ulim l'shimcha al sfat hayam, 
yachad kulam hodu
"With newborn song, liberated people praised Your name on the lip of the sea. All were one in thanks." -Jewish Liturgy

May it be so.

Production by Eitan Kantor
Art by Sol Yael Weiss
Music and English Lyrics by Rena Branson
Hebrew Lyrics from Jewish Liturgy

Virtual Choir:

Aly Halpert
Anat Halevy Hochberg
Ari Yovel
R' Ariel Root Wolpe
Ariel Shapiro
Arielle Rivera Korman
Aviva Chernick
Batya Levine
Binya Kóatz
Caryn Shebowich
Chloe Telfeyan Glickman
Cole Krawitz
Dori Midnight
Eitan Kantor
Gedalia Penner
Grace Gleason
Itai Gal
JB Levine
Pastor John Bergen
C' Jessi Roemer
K' Keshira haLev Fife
Margot Seigle
Marigo Farr
Mariyama Scott
Marques Hollie
May Ye
Molly Bajgot
R' Mónica Gomery
Nissa Mai Rose
Nnedinma Umeadi
R' Noam Lerman
Patrece Dixon
Rachel Chang
Rebecca Peretz-Lange
Rebekka Goldsmith
Reem Rosenhaj
Reuben Shachar Rose
Riv Ranney Shapiro
Rowan K. Ching
Sadie Gold-Shapiro
Shana Salzberg
Sol Yael Weiss
Yaara Perczek
Yasha Shapiro
Zuriel Biran

Let The Wave (Miner)

Ary Solomon

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