God’s 4 letter name contains within it past, future and present, but during the great suffering and despair of slavery the name that God gives for Godself is unambigiously rooted in the future: Eyeh Asher Eyeh, I will be what I will be. This name resonates as a promise to God’s people that there will be a future at all. In our own moment of impending climate catastrophe we stare down the muzzle of a gun of our own making. We have rendered ourselves largely powerless to stop it. In this moment of despair we too must come to know God in the future tense. This song is an anthem of hope for the future of humanity. It is a plea to turn back to God and a plea that God will not abandon Their creations to the greed of the wealthy and the powerful. That God’s life giving power will echo through time and space and invert this world of brokenness once again.

Eyeh Asher Eyeh (Demo)

Genesis 1:2 בראשית א:ב

וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם

"...and the earth then was welter and waste and darkness over the deep and God's breath hovering over the waters..." (trans. Robert Alter)

Bereshit Rabba 2:4 בראשית רבה ב:ד

"Reish Lakish solved the Verse...By what merit is the spirit of redemption made usable and brought into the world? The answer can be found in the verse: "...Hovers over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2) - meaning that it is by the merit of teshuva (repentance), which is likened to water, as it is said, "Pour out your heart like water." (Lamentations 2:19)." (trans. Sam Tygiel)

released August 5, 2021

Songs written by Sam Tygiel

Sam: Vocals, acoustic & electric guitar on Eitz and Mei Tehom, produciton on Mei Tehom
Eitan Kantor: Production, arranging, vocals and strings on Eitz
Rebekka Goldsmith: Vocals on Eitz
Stephen Wilson: Album Art

Mei Tehom

Eitz

Requiem Lux - Pie Jesu

Requiem Lux - Lachrimosa

Requiem Lux - Absolve, Domine

Requiem Lux - Kyrie

Shir Mizmor L’vnei Korach
A journey through the worlds of Jewish Prayer

	“Moshe is true and his Torah are true!” The words ring in my ears over and over again. Even after our prayers ended, their shadowy imprint still haunts me. The ragged anger and confusion of my siblings fills every word. The vision still feels as fresh and real as the moment it happed; the ground closing in on my family and pulling us down, sinking further away from Moshe and Aharon, standing impassive and aloof, looking down from above. I step away from the massive stone, the one that keeps back the depths and preserves the world as it is and gaze at the beautiful ruin that surrounds our company, the magical, wave like quality of the stone playing strange tricks with the actual water that surrounded us here in the deepest reaches of creation. (PIrkei deRabbi Eliezer 10:9, BT Sanhedrin 110a)  It was within this strange trick of light that I saw the figure of a man standing, leaning against one of the broken columns of the worldly Temple. I realized he had been watching our strange ritual. He was not the first guest to visit us here, but he was the first human to come alone. When Jonah prayed with us, he had been brought by one of the servants of Leviathan. As I stared, the man walked towards me and spoke, “Peace be upon you.” I responded in kind, the fear rising in my mind, not knowing what kind of apparition or messenger I might have encountered. He spoke again, 
	 “Why have you entered this ruin?” 	 
	“To pray,” I responded tentatively. When he did not reply right away, I continued, “My family and I pray here every day that we might merit to be lifted from this place along with the ruin of Jerusalem when the time of God’s redemption arrives.” 
He nodded and asked, “Why didn’t you pray on the road?” (Berakhot 3a)...

Horaini Hashem (Demo)

Shir Mizmor L’vnei Korach
A journey through the worlds of Jewish Prayer
 

	“Moshe is true and his Torah are true!” The words ring in my ears over and over again. Even after our prayers ended, their shadowy imprint still haunts me. The ragged anger and confusion of my siblings fills every word. The vision still feels as fresh and real as the moment it happed; the ground closing in on my family and pulling us down, sinking further away from Moshe and Aharon, standing impassive and aloof, looking down from above. I step away from the massive stone, the one that keeps back the depths and preserves the world as it is and gaze at the beautiful ruin that surrounds our company, the magical, wave like quality of the stone playing strange tricks with the actual water that surrounded us here in the deepest reaches of creation. (PIrkei deRabbi Eliezer 10:9, BT Sanhedrin 110a)  It was within this strange trick of light that I saw the figure of a man standing, leaning against one of the broken columns of the worldly Temple. I realized he had been watching our strange ritual. He was not the first guest to visit us here, but he was the first human to come alone. When Jonah prayed with us, he had been brought by one of the servants of Leviathan. As I stared, the man walked towards me and spoke, “Peace be upon you.” I responded in kind, the fear rising in my mind, not knowing what kind of apparition or messenger I might have encountered. He spoke again, 
	 “Why have you entered this ruin?” 	 
	“To pray,” I responded tentatively. When he did not reply right away, I continued, “My family and I pray here every day that we might merit to be lifted from this place along with the ruin of Jerusalem when the time of God’s redemption arrives.” 
He nodded and asked, “Why didn’t you pray on the road?” (Berakhot 3a)...

Ani Yishenah (Demo)

Moishe Emes (Demo)

Arranged and performed by Rebekka Goldsmith

Photo by Rebekka Goldsmith

Chana's Song (Rebekka Goldsmith version)

Earthless Movement 4: Distraction and Torture From Mental Images

The deceased has now achieved a magical body with which she can choose to go anywhere at anytime, however the key to recognizing and becoming liberated from the between experience is know that being “here” is the enlightened state. At this point the protagonist is also beset by a host of distracting and grotesque mental illusions, including, but not limited to, pain at the estrangement of her previous lives (and her previous acquaintances),  her own decapitation and the consumption of her brain by demons. The way to liberation at this point is through meditation, the idea of which is represented musically by a fugue. 

Earthless - Mvt 4: Distraction and Torture from Mental Images

Sam Tygiel is a musician, prayer leader and myth-weaver who draws on the rich narrative and musical traditions of Judaism to create emotional openings for people to experience connection, curiosity and healing through Jewish ritual.

Profile photo by Lev Ami 
Background photo by Sam Tygiel

Sam Tygiel

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