Songs to honor the water, which is threatened by Enbridge's Line 3 tar sands pipeline. Learn more about how to protect water, land, climate, relatives, and Anishinaabe treaty rights at stopline3.org

[Track image is "urchatz" illustration from Bend the Arc Jewish Action's Liberation Haggadah.]

Nibi songs

jewish nature songs

jewish meal play list

by Aly Halpert

chorus and bridge from an Arundhati Roy quote.

recorded by Aly Halpert (voice & guitar) & Margot Seigle (backup vocie)
November 9th, 2016

lyrics:
the policemen have thrown away their guns
they kiss their sons and their daughters and their souls are at peace
no more black boys black girls trans women dying
no more reasons that could ever justify their loss 
and mothers send their teens out at night 
to breathe the sweet summer air and exhale on the ground
the earth was made for them
the earth is made for them
she is on her way
and no one can be silent anymore
every death is a death that my family mourns 
we've traded in our numbness and all of our fear
to fight for the lives we now hold dear
and everyone has come to greet the reckoning
the place where our hearts got smaller and smaller 
now grows to hold the pain
the brokenness that leads to pain
she is on her way
another world's not only possible
on a quiet day I can hear her breathing
and when the world we're dreaming is ours
we'll be tall inside
there will be no more question
as we pray and sing
that we have each other and what that means
we'll finally get to be together
stare with our hearts at what has been
and find some place of home
she is on her way"

She is On Her Way

let the rain soak soak soak your clothes
let the rain seep seep into your bones
let the rain drench drench drench your soul
let it in

*with the help of a bat and an egret and the pond in a powerful summer storm*

storm song

asher lo hayam

this is a fragment of a longer phrase "asher lo hayam v'hu asahu" from psalm 95, which roughly translates as "g!d is/is of/has the sea and g!d made it"

collage by chani nicholas
https://chaninicholas.com/horoscopes/

Asher Lo (by Matthew Goldfield & Batya Levine)

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)

A slow song brought to you by the waters of the Webatuck swamp - Schagticoke / Mahican land. 

Water provides life. From the rain, the dew, the ocean, water heals and holds, and sings so many songs through us. I am grateful to the waters for being such a teacher, and invite you to honor them with this song.

The hebrew at the end is the traditional prayer said for a Mikveh, ritual immersion or bath:

Barukh atah Adonay Eloheynu ruach ha-olam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al ha-t'vilah.

Blessed are you, source of creation,  of the universe, who sanctifies us through mitzvot and has shown us immersion.

lizard popping bubbles

Great Waters

Artist: Kate Sutherland

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:
When I am waiting out a storm
I come back to my breath
When I am waiting out a storm
I come back to my heartbeat

Part 2:
Mmm, madeo, madeo
Mmm, madeo, madeo-o

**Photo credit: Sarah Snyder!

Waiting Out A Storm (Kate Sutherland)

with the help of hashem ~

this is a song for rain inspired by tefillat hageshem (prayer for rain). as we closed out sukkot this past sunday at sunset, we welcomed in a one line change in our daily liturgy: praying for rain instead of dew. we'll do this for another five to six months and switch back to dew, following  the waxing and waning of our ancestors crop growing and harvest cycles. 

this chag season i’ve had some powerful experiences with sunshine and rain. we had sun when we’ve needed it dwelling outside in our impermanent hut; rain when we were ready and the car was completely packed. sun during the day biking and walking to shul and town; rain now that the sun has set on simchas torah and i am writing this. I know we won’t always be that lucky, especially in the climate crisis, to have just the right amount of rain at just the right time. this prayer for rain is invoking that spirit of hope and timing — that we may have rain in the right places and the right times. that spirit will remember us, and won’t hold back water. 

happy rainy season, y’all.

tefillat hageshem

Song by Kate Sutherland (we altered the wordless part to be a bit more Jewish sounding)
Sung by Mónica Gomery & Batya Levine

When I am waiting out a storm I come back to my breath
When I am waiting out a storm I come back to my heartbeat

yum ya da da dai

When I Am Waiting - Kate Sutherland

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

Tishrei Nigun - Nava Tehila

Artist: Saro Lynch-Thomason

Lyrics:
There are more waters rising
This I know, this I know
There are more waters rising
This I know
There are more waters rising
They will find their way to me
There are more waters rising
This I know, this I know
There are more waters rising
This I know

There are more fires burning...

There are more mountains falling...

I will wade through the waters
This I know, this I know
I will wade through the waters
This I know
I will wade through the waters
When they find their way to me
I will wade through the waters
This I know, this I know
I will wade through the waters
This I know

I will move with the fires...

I will rebuild the mountains...

*Note: Saro's lyrics are "I will walk through the fires" - I changed them to "I will move with the fires"

More Waters Rising (Saro Lynch-Thomason)

Origin:
We don't know who wrote this song, if you do, please let us know in the comments!

This song came to our community through folks who learned it at a Let My People Sing workshop taught by the farmers at Linke Fligl. 

This version is a collaborative audio recording created by NSP members. Folks sang individually into their phones and computers, and then we edited the audio tracks, weaving all the voices together. We created this recording for a Musical Tu Bishvat Seder in 2021, hosted by Hadar's Rising Song Institute.

Singers: Sarah Beth Alcabes, the Balis family, Jen Liebschutz, Lauren Spokane, Tyler Benjamin, Atid Kimelman, Miriam Ginsberg, Marni Loffman, Ike Swetlitz, Sofie Werthan, Sam Waxman, Akiva Wolberg, Ori Clemons, Elana Orbuch, Mira Smith, Aliza Wasserman, Yael Kiken, Becca Vogel, & Leah Muskin-Pierret

Audio Editor: Miriam Ginsberg

Words:
I am a wave
I am a wave
Make me the sea
Make me the sea

I am a seed // Make me a tree
I am a mountain // Make me a stone
I am a breeze // Make me a storm
I am a ____ // Make me a ______

I am a Wave

The New Synagogue Project is building a spiritually vibrant, radically inclusive synagogue that reflects our vision for a world of justice, equity, and liberation. Our community is being created by and for families with kids, couples and single people, queer and trans people, disabled and chronically ill people, D/deaf and hard of hearing folks, interfaith families, Jews of color and white Jews, Jews from many religious and secular backgrounds, and anyone interested in exploring and experiencing Jewish life. 

We believe communal singing is an incredibly powerful way to pray, connect with each other and ourselves, and find healing. Singing infuses our services and gatherings, and we are always looking for new ways to create vibrant, songful experiences. Come sing with us!