Guitar & melody vocals by Rachel Chang
5/23/2021

Nigun Tishrei by Nava Tehila

Rising Song Records is excited to share the first single from Rabbi Ariel Root Wolpe's forthcoming album Ruach Neshama. This collection of original songs celebrating the connection between music, nature, and Jewish wisdom will be available on digital platforms everywhere on Rosh Chodesh Elul (August 9, 2021).

Contribute to Ariel's crowdfunding campaign to get early access to the whole collection while directly supporting the talented artists who made this beautiful music: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rabbi-ariel-root-wolpe-s-rising-song-record#/

Listen to this single and the title track, "Ruach Neshama," on Bandcamp: https://arielrootwolpe.bandcamp.com/

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
Joey Weisenberg - bass, percussion, guitar, baritone ukulele, piccolo, drum programming, vocals
Will Robertson - bass
Eliyahu Sills - flute
Rising Song Institute Vocalists: Rena Branson, Rebekka Goldsmith, Eitan Kantor, Gedalia Penner, Sam Tygiel, Batya Levine, Gayanne Geurin

www.arielwolpe.com
www.risingsong.org

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

Ruach Neshama

Waking Up Nigun

Waking Up Nigun - Rabbi Ariel Root Wolpe

Cantor Josh and I recorded this outside at Hava Nashira 2022 in Rena Branson's session, where we recorded music to send to folks who are currently incarcerated. This tune is an original composed by Marni Loffman in late 2021, as a form of music medicine during a period of difficult emotions. This song is a prayer, a reminder, an affirmation and a protest. We remember that we are not solely defined by our external circumstances, that are context does not have the power to take our ability to heal from us, or our ability to find wholeness. A reminder that we have agency, power and the strength for healing, even in the simple act of getting through a single moment.

Thank you to Cantor Josh Breitzman from Beth Elohim for the harmonies, beautiful vocals and encouragement!

You Are Strong Enough Ft. Cantor Josh Breitzer

re. 7Rana inst.

Bina Niggun (Joey Weisenberg)

Shiru ladonai shir chadash; shiru ladonai kol ha'aretz. 
Shiru ladonai barechu shemo; basseru miyom leyom yeshu'ato. 
Sapperu bagoyim kevodo; bekhol ha'amim nifle'otav. 
Ki gadol adonai umhullal me'od; nora hu al kol elohim. 
Ki kol elohei ha'amim elilim; vadonai shamayim asa. 
Hod vehadar lefanav; oz vetif'eret bemikdasho. 
Havu ladonai mishpechot amim; havu ladonai kavod va'oz. 
Havu ladonai kevod shemo; se'u mincha uvo'u lechatzrotav. 
Hishtachavu ladonai behadrat kodesh; chilu mipanav kol ha'aretz. 
Imru vagoyim adonai malakh; af tikkon tevel bal timot; yadin amim bemesharim. Yismechu hashamayim vetagel ha'aretz; yir'am hayam umlo'o. 
Ya'aloz saday vekhol asher bo; az yerannenu kol atzei ya'ar. 
Lifnei adonai ki va; ki va lishpot ha'aretz. 
Yishpot tevel betzedek; ve'amim be'emunato.

Shiru L'Adonai: Psalm 96 (Carlebach)

From services on 5/26/17
Higaleh nah uf’ros chaviv alai, et sukkat shelomach 
Tair eretz mikevodach, nagilah v’nismechah bach. 
Maher ahoov, ki va moed, v’choneni kimei olam

Last Fridays @ AES

Higaleh Na (Shir Yaakov)

:שִׁוִּיתִי יְהוָה לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד (Shiviti Adonai L'negdi Tamid) “I place God before me always.” –Psalms 16:8
Havayah, Ahavah (Experience, Love... aka alternative words for God)

Shiviti  (Nava Tehila)

Melody by IfNotNow member Arielle Korman and her father, Jerome Korman. This English translation is by Arielle. 
Rabbi Hillel, Pirkei Avot, Ethics of our Ancestors 1:14. 
?אִם אֵין אֲנִי לִי, מִי לִי? וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי לְעַצְמִי, מָה אֲנִי? וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו, אֵימָתַי

Im ein ani li, mi li? 
Uchshe’ani l’atzmi ma ani? 
V’im lo achshav, ematai?
Im lo achshav, ematai?

If I am not for me, who will be? 
If I am just for me, what does that make me? 
And if not now, then when? 
If not now, then when

Im Lo Achshav / If Not Now

by Bernice Johnson Reagon (adapted by Toshi Reagon, I think)

Let your light shine, shine, shine
There is someone down in the valley tryin' to get home
It may be one and it may be two, it may be me and it may be you
(Call + response)
1: Tryin' to get home
2: Let your little light shine

Let Your Light Shine (w/ Harmony)

Marei Cohen niggun

IfNotNow is a movement led by young Jews to transform our American Jewish community’s support for the occupation into a call for freedom and dignity for all. Learn more about the songs we sing in our movement here: http://bit.ly/2mIZUks
>on singing songs from other movements of today and from the past:
We are lucky to have the songs of our own Jewish traditions -- they are for us to sing.  Some of us have ancestors who have been deeply involved in movements across the world for social change for generations, both as those directly affected and as allies.  We are also singing their songs. 
And.
We recognize that this can easily turn into cultural appropropriation, particularly when we do not have direct links. So, before we sing a song we have a practice of honoring where it comes from: we share the movement, the struggle, or the people who birthed this music. Singing these songs is one way of acknowledging that we’re in a long line of movements for justice. 
We continue to create new movement songs. We write new lyrics. We get inspired by old text- Jewish and non-Jewish.  We do not simply translate movement songs into Hebrew in order to connect with them. One possibility instead is to incorporate Jewish text with similar themes and vision. 
From the beginning, IfNotNow leaders have been building relationships with leaders from Cosecha, BlackLivesMatter, The Dream Defenders, and other movements through the Momentum Community where we have been creating and sharing our songs with each other. Diversity keeps our movements strong and interconnected. We understand this as an ecological system of access, ancestries, struggles and strategies for resistance. Song is part of the way we arrive in interdependent relationship. We are building a culture that is accountable, compassionate -- and vibrant as all hell. Please honor the history of each song -- learn it, share it. 
We will lift each other up.

Im Lo Achshav / If Not Now

IfNotNow

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