Source is the Aramaic Brikh Rachamana Malka d'Alma Marei D'chai Pita

Suri Go'ali Yah
Maher v'ha Hesh Pedut, 
Ya'aleh Yefefiyah

Adapted from a traditional Sephardic adaptation of "tzur Yisrael," Rock and Redeemer of Israel, rise up and bring redemption. Rise up, it says, Beautiful One. 

Suri Goali Yah (Hillel Tigay)

Commissioned by Footsteps (footstepsorg.org)
Sung with Batya Levine on electric guitar & harmony

We are whole just as we are
And we will go where our truth calls
We may not know just where the path goes
But we’re coming home to who we are

Thanks for your love, but I don’t need your worry
If you think you know what’s better for me
It’s good to learn to trust myself, and feel safe to be myself
With support from community

We are whole...

Our ancestors wouldn’t want us to suffer
They would want us to thrive
And when we find what brings us joy and meaning
They’d shep naches [feel pride] for our lives

We are whole...

Please don’t make me into a symbol
And I will try not to flatten you either
We are infinitely complex creatures
And we deserve to be known

We are whole...

Yes we're coming home to who we are [x3]

Coming Home To Who We Are

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

Higale Na

Sung with Rachel Chang (guitar + vox)

Lyrics:

I’ve been trying to soften to this life
to let it touch me
'cause I know the fear that braces me is very old
but in my blood I feel the thrum of my ancestors on the run 
and boy sometimes it’s hard to tell it’s not today

But I would like to trust
I would like to believe I’m safe
I would like to let my body lead the way

I’ve been trying to open to this moment,
let it unfold 
cause I know the shame that narrows me is very old
but theres a child in my mind who loved and then got left behind
and boy sometimes it’s hard to tell it’s not today

But I would like to trust 
I would like to believe I’m safe
I would like to let intuition lead the way

May I let the cosmic ocean of love buoy me up
May I let the cosmic ocean of love wash over me
Da da daaaa…. 

Cause I would  like to trust 
I would like to believe I’m safe
I would like to let my body lead the way
I would like to trust 
I would like to believe I’m safe
I would like to let intuition lead the way

I Would Like To Trust

Greif and Love by Sarina Partidge
Grief moving through me
Let my body
Feel the waves of love and grief

Grief, grief and love
Let me feel it all

Purchase this track & hear more music from Sarina: https://sarinapartridge.bandcamp.com/  
Support Sarina's work: Patreon.com/sarinapartridge 
Sarina's Website: https://sarinapartridge.com/

Photo by Jess Benjamin, taken at Let My People Sing! Summer Retreat 2023

Grief and Love - Sarina Partridge

Psalm 97

אוֹר זָרֻעַ לַצַּדִּיק וּלְיִשְׁרֵי לֵב שִׂמְחָה

Or zarua la’tza-a-dik 
Ul’yishrei lev simcha 

Ya dai dai... 

Simchu tzadikim bAdonai 
VeHodu le'zecher kod'sho 

Ki eem’cha m’kor chaim (x3) 
B’or’cha nir’eh or 

For with you is the Source of Life 
In your light we see light
credits


https://shiryaakov.bandcamp.com/track/or-zarua

Or Zarua, tune by Shir Yaakov

Music: Unknown
Lyrics: Rabbi Shefa Gold (there is another verse in Aramaic from the Babylonian Talmud, same melody: brich rachamana, malkah d'alma, mar'ei d'hai pitah)
I learned at Adamah (Jewish Farming Fellowship) in 2014.

Sung at a (mini) song circle on January 22, 2019 on Chinook land/Portland, OR.

Lyrics:
You are the source of
Life for all that is
And your blessing
Flows through me

You Are The Source (Lyrics: Rabbi Shefa Gold, Music: Unknown)

Sefirat Ha’Omer Niggun
Words: Liturgy for Counting the Omer
Music: Shir Yaakov Feit, Zach Fredman, Yosef Goldman
Musical Direction: Yosef Goldman, Joey Weisenberg

Open My Heart is an album of original Jewish devotional world music. 

The eclectic soundscape of this album reflects my mixed Ashkenazi, Yemenite, and Syrian-Turkish heritage, and my own diverse influence. On the album you’ll hear echoes of Chassidic devotional songs; the microtonal scales and instrumentation of Arab classical music; colors of jazz, funk, and Klezmer; Ashkenazi prayer modes; Sufi chanting; and rhythms that I learned playing in my hometown of New York with musicians from around the world. 

I combine these diverse elements into a unique Jewish World Music that is deep and prayerful, filled with aspiration and yearning, heartache and joy. This is music for listening, for singing together, and for praying.

This album was recorded live off the floor (with minimal overdubbing) in the sanctuary of the Germantown Jewish Centre, in Philadelphia, bringing together some of my favorite musicians/ spiritual artists for a 3-day immersive session and capturing the energy that can only from playing together live.

There’s an old Jewish saying that words expressed from the heart are received wholeheartedly. The songs on this album are the prayerful expressions of my heart. I hope that it will move you, and maybe even open your heart, as it has mine.

TRACKS: 

LECHU (“Come, Let Us Sing Joyously”) 
Words: Kabbalat Shabbat Liturgy, Psalms 95:1-3
Vocal Arrangement: Ayo Awosika, Yosef Goldman

SEFIRAT HA'OMER NIGGUN
Words: Liturgy for Counting the Omer
Music: Shir Yaakov Feit, Zach Fredman, Yosef Goldman
Musical Direction: Yosef Goldman, Joey Weisenberg

GESHER (“The Bridge”) 
Hebrew Words: Rabbi Nachman of Breslov; English Words: Yosef Goldman
Vocal Arrangement: Ayo Awosika

EIN OD (“There is No Other”)
Words: Aleinu prayer (Deuteronomy  4:39, Zechariah 14:9)


YEDID NEFESH (“Soul Mate”)
Words: Elazar Azikri, Shabbat Liturgy
Music: Traditional Sepharadi-Yerushalmi (Maqam Sigah)
Musical Direction: Zach Fredman

OPEN MY HEART
Words: Rami Shapiro, Yosef Goldman
Vocal Arrangement: Ayo Awosika


ELIYAHU HANAVI (“Elijah the Prophet”)
	Words: Liturgy for Havdalah
	Music: Annie Lewis & Yosef Goldman
(written for the bris of Shir Emet Goldman)

Shalom Aleichem ("Welcoming the Angels")
Words: Liturgy for Shabbat Evening Meal
Music Direction: Yosef Goldman & Joey Weisenberg

Ki Lo Na’eh ("To You All Praise is Due")
	Words: Passover Haggadah 


OPEN MY HEART WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING AND DOWNLOAD DECEMBER 3, FROM RISING SONG RECORDS
risingsong.org/buy

Produced by Yosef Goldman & Joey Weisenberg 
Music Composed by Yosef Goldman* 
Musical Direction by Yosef Goldman*
Engineered, Mixed, and Mastered by Don Godwin
CD Design/Layout: Lisa Weinberger, Masters Group Design

*Except where noted.


PERSONNEL: 
Yosef Goldman—Lead Vocals
Chava Mirel—Vocals
Deborah Sacks Mintz—Vocals
Megan Gould—Violin
Joey Weisenberg—Electric Guitar, Mandolin
Zach Fredman—Guitar, Oud
Uri Sharlin—Piano, Keyboards, Accordion
Daniel Ori—Double Bass, Electric Bass
Rich Stein—Percussion
Arturo Stable—Drums, Percussion

Special Guests: 
Dan Blacksberg—Trombone (#8)
Ertuğrul Erkişi—Tambur (#4,# 9) 
Aslıhan Erkişi—Classical Kemençe (#4,# 9) 
Don Godwin—Tuba (#8)
Annie Lewis—Lead Vocals (#7)
Micah Shapiro—Backing Vocals (#7)


Recorded live off the floor at Germantown Jewish Centre in Philadelphia, April 2019

Filmed versions of some of these songs will be available on YouTube and at www.yosefgoldman.com, filmed by Shmulie Lowenstein.

Sefirat Ha'Omer Niggun

Lev Tahor

A dedication to the new possibility that is emerging in & out of this time, to dreaming into existence the world to come, and to the resilience needed to get us through what is to come until then. 

Written on the 29th of Kislev/ 7th night of Chanukah, 5781 

Or chadash (new light)

The light is returning 
The light is leaving

Dream with me little baby

You Are The Source (Lyrics: Rabbi Shefa Gold, Music: Unknown)

Ary Solomon

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