HIGHLIGHTS: Sari Lightman and Romy Lightman (Tasseomancy) priestessing, Johnny Spence's femme dirge synth. "Ancient source of kindness warming the new cold corners of our life …"


DESCRIPTION:

If the high priests were the gatekeepers to the true name of God, and to all of the esoteric threads of Jewish life in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, and if only those high priests — after a series of ritual purifications — were permitted to recite the Priestly Blessing, then what did those cloistered and guarded utterances and rites sound and feel like? What were the ASMR sensations ascending the spines of the priests as they gathered in ecstatic, private devotion? How did reciting the true name of God re-arrange their cells, driving out chaos and anxiety, instilling a vibrant, luminous array? 

This iteration of the “Priestly Blessing” addresses its recipient in the feminine conjugation and refers to the feminine presence of the divine, the Shekhina. It is a tactile blessing — the text asks God to envelop the person receiving the blessing until peace emanates. Parents recite this blessing to their children on Shabbat —the Sabbath — placing their hands on their foreheads. The blessing is complementary to the rabbinic lore that on the Sabbath, those who approach the day with sacrality receive a “second soul.”  For a moment, let us imagine this text is animate, that upon being sung — with the intention of blessing its recipient — it starts to swirl like a benevolent cyclone, gently lifting up everything and everyone in its path, carrying it for a time, and placing it back down on the earth enlivened.  
 

תְּבָרְכֵךְ יְיָ וְתִשְׁמְרֵךְ

כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן

תֵּאֵר יְיָ פָּנֶיהָ אֵלַיִךְ וּתְחַנֵּךְ

כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן

תִּשָּׂא יְיָ פָּנֶיהָ אֵלַיִךְ

וַתָּשֶׂם לָךְ שָׁלוֹם

כֵּן  יְהִי רָצוֹן

May God, the divine spirit, bless you, protect you, surround you in light, and bring you peace.

Daniela Gesundheit - Priestly Blessing / Birkat Kohanot ברכת כהנות

Non-denominational devotional pop music from Toronto / Los Angeles. 

Daniela Gesundheit - Priestly Blessing / Birkat Kohanot ברכת כהנות

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