Thank you for sharing this! Your voice is so beautiful, it breathes a whole new dimension to this blessing 

Elohai Neshama by Sol Weiss

Healing Song by Kestrel Feiner-Homer

Daily praise song that celebrates all who live in the home of the divine (our sacred planet). Words from tradition, music by Aly Halpert. Creative consultation from Batya Levine.

Written for Linke Fligl, a queer Jewish chicken farm and cultural project in Millerton, NY, for their Sukkot gathering, 5779. (linkefligl.com)

Lyrics 
Hebrew(from traditional Jewish services)
Ashrei yoshvei veitecha, od y'hallelucha, selah!

English (by Aly Halpert)
I sing for you
I sing for what is holy and is true
I sing for all creation, for life and liberation
Everyday anew

Aly Halpert's Album

Ashrei

Written by Aly Halpert on a summer morning 5778 at Eden Village Camp
Recorded on garageband spring 5779

original text:
modah/modet/modeh ani l'fanecha, ruach chai v'kayam 
(I am grateful before you, eternal living spirit)

english lyrics by aly halpert:
I was made for this morning
I was made to be here
All the life inside me is a gift
so we may heal

I was made for this morning
I was made to be here
All the life around me is a gift
so I may heal

I was made for this morning
I was made to be here
All the life inside me is a gift
so I may heal

I was made for this morning
I was made to be here
All the life around me is a gift
so we may heal

Modah Ani (morning prayer)

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)

Sung with Batya Levine

הָ֭רֹפֵא לִשְׁב֣וּרֵי לֵ֑ב וּ֝מְחַבֵּ֗שׁ לְעַצְּבוֹתָֽם
מוֹנֶה מִסְפָּר לַכּוֹכָבִים לְכֻלָּם, שֵׁמוֹת יִקְרָא

Harofei lishvurei lev um'chabesh l'atzvotam 
Moneh mispar lacochavim lechulam shemot yikra

Healer of the broken-hearted and tender of our wounds
You account for every star and call each one by name

Healer of the Brokenhearted/Harofei Lishvurei Lev — Psalm 147 + Interpretive Translation

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

Vocal accompaniment and production by Baci Weiler

I will carry you through these changes
V'ad seva ani esbol
(When you turn grey, I'll still carry you/be patient with you/bear you) 
- Isaiah 46:4

(((It's odd to do this as a duet because to me, it's about learning to hold myself and have my own back, and sometimes feeling like the universe is holding me too.)))

I Will Carry You/V'ad Seva — Inspired by Isaiah 46:4

Origin:
Melody by Nava Tehila
Sung by Batya Levine
Art by Naomi Weintraub & Etai Rogers-Fett

Tishrei Nigun - Nava Tehila

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

Batya Levine

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