Elul

Song of the Month

elul

Ayeka means "where are you?" Here's a song for fear, for searching for G!d, for love, for the garden where all is calm. 


Vayikra Adonai Elohim el ha-Adam vayomer lo 
Vayikra Adonai Elohim el ha-Adam vayomer lo 

Ayeka 
Where are you
Ayeka
I heard the sound of you 

Ayeka 
Where are you
Ayeka
the sound of you 

Vayomer et-kolcha shamati ba gan 
Vayomer et-kolcha shamati ba gan

Va-ira 
Ki erom
Anochi
va-echabeh

Va-ira 
Ki erom
Anochi
va-echabeh  


Ayeka 
Where are you
Ayeka
I heard the sound of you 
in the garden, and I was afraid
va'echabeh. 

Translation:

And G!d said to the human, saying to them
Where are you? 
And the human said
I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid,
for I was naked,
so I hid away.

Ayeka

Recordings from Congregation T'chiyah's 2020 High Holiday services, broadcast from The Light Box. 
https://www.lightboxperformance.org/ 

Recorded from livestream by Three Lyons Creative 
https://www.threelyonscreative.com/

PERSONNEL:
Jake Ehrlich - vox + guitar
Raya Samet - vox
Kendra Watkins - vox

8. We Let The Love Wash Over Us

A chant to lean into Elul in three parts

Part one: I'm going deep, deep within, mmmmmm (inspired by the practice of cheshbon hanefesh and teshuva during Elul)

Part two: I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine (acronym of Elul from Song of songs 6:3)

Part three: Whom shall I fear? Nobody! (inspired by Psalm 27, the psalm read/chanted daily during Elul)

Elul Chant 5781

Setting of psalm 27

dedicated to all of us yearning for more life!

Lyrics:
Achat sha'alti me'eit Hashem, otah avakesh:
shivti b'veit Hashem, kol y'mei chayai, lachazot b'noam Hashem, u'l'vaker b'heikhalo.

One thing I ask from the creator, one thing I desire
That I might dwell in Your house all the days of my life
To behold the graciousn​ess of the creator, and to enter Their sanctuary​.

Achat Sha'alti

A Ladino song about this moment between Purim and Pesach, sung by the prolific Bosnian singer, composer and storyteller Flory Jagoda. The song is recorded on her album Kantikas Di Mi Nona, a collection of Sephardic songs from her family and community. 

Pesah a la Mano

Purim, Purim, Purim lano
Pesah, Pesah ala mano
Las masmam si stan faziendo
Los japrakis si stan koziendo
Aman, aman, aman, aman
Il Dio Bendicho mos da mazal
Purim, Purim, Purim lano
Pesah, Pesah ala mano
La nona sta diziendo a los nyetos
Alimpia il puelvo kantones i loz techos
Aman, aman, aman, aman


Passover is at Hand

When Purim, Purim, Purim comes to an end,
Passover, Passover is at hand,
Matzot are being made,
The japrakis are being cooked,
Aman, aman, aman, aman
Almighty God grants us good fortune,
When Purim, Purim, Purim comes to an end,
Passover, Passover is at hand,
The grandmother tells her grandchildren,
To clean the dust in the corners and ceilings
Aman, aman, aman, aman
Almighty God grants us good fortune,
When Purim, Purim, Purim comes to an end,
Passover, Passover is at hand,
The Rabbi tells the aunts,
Not to eat bread for eight days.

Kantikas Di Mi Nona (Songs of My Grandmother)

Adar II 5782 - Pesah Ala Mano by Flory Jagoda

Sung here by D. Maximiliano Moldavsky.

Karev Yom, from the piyyut/liturgical poem "And it Came to Pass at Midnight"/"Vayehi bechatzi halayla" on Pesach. 

קָרֵב יוֹם אֲשֶׁר הוּא לֹא יוֹם וְלֹא לַיְלָה 
רָם הוֹדַע כִּי לְךָ הַיּוֹם אַף לְךָ הַלַּיְלָה 
שׁוֹמְרִים הַפְקֵד לְעִירְךָ כָּל הַיּוֹם וְכָל הַלַּיְלָה
תָּאִיר כְּאוֹר יוֹם חֶשְׁכַת לַיְלָה

Karev yom asher hoo lo yom v'lo lyla 
Rahm hoda kee l'cha hayom af l'cha halayla 
Shomrim hafked l'eercha kol hayom v'chol halyla 
Ta'eer k'or yom kheshkhat lyla

Bring near the day that is neither day nor night. 
Most High, make known that Yours is the day as well as the night. 
Appoint watchmen [to guard] Your city all day and all night. 
Illuminate like day the dark of night.

Nisan 5782 - Karev Yom

Moroccan Yigdal, taught by Laura Elkeslassy

As Sivan begins, we circle the base of the mountain, preparing to receive Torah at Sinai. This nigun by Ben Dreyfus, Rosh Chodesh Sivan, beautifully embodies the journey from preparation to revelation. It’s got three parts–– learn them all here! 

Sung by Rabbi Mó

Sivan 5782 - Rosh Chodesh Sivan, by Ben Dreyfus

אַנְעִים זְמִירוֹת וְשִׁירִים אֶאֱרֹג
כִּי אֵלֶיךָ נַפְשִׁי תַּעֲרֹג

נַפְשִׁי חַמְּדָה בְּצֵל יָדֶךָ
לָדַעַת כָּל רָז סוֹדֶךָ

ANIM ZEMIROT V’SHIRIM E’EROG
KI EILECHA NAFSHI TA’AROG
NAFSHI CHAMDA B’TZEL YADECHA
LADA’AT KOL RAZ SODECHA

I WILL PLEASANTLY SING MELODIES AND WEAVE SONGS
FOR MY SOUL LONGS FOR YOU.
MY SOUL FINDS COMFORT IN THE SHADE OF YOUR PALM
DISCOVERING YOUR ENDLESS DEPTHS AND MYSTERIES.
-RAV YEHUDAH HACHASSID

Chaverai Nevarech

Elul 5783: Anim Zemirot by R' Josh Warshawsky

Mixed By Michael Klicos
Mastered By Subvert Mastering
Artwork by Nate Gonzalez at The Moon Life

Free Download

Pesah Ala Mano - Flory Jagoda (SOOHAN Remix)

we are good.
we are flawed.
we are the breath of an imperfect god.

returning to self. returning to source.
god is change. god is growth. the process, in all it's beauty and all it's mess, is god.

collage art by Chani Nicholas

we are good we are flawed

Elul: Songs for Turning

Elul Niggun by Aly Halpert

Live recording from September 21 2019 Selichot service + concert, Ascend at Night: A Selichot service of contemporary and ancient music

September 21 at 8:30pm
Homewood Friends Meeting Baltimore, MD
Co-sponsored by East Bank Havurah

Selichot opens the season that asks us to dig deep, crack our hearts open, and pour out our yearning. Combining traditional Selichot liturgy (Ya'ale, Avinu Malkeinu) with contemporary secular music (Fleetwood Mac, Leonard Cohen, Lake Street Dive), the service opens channels to the heart work the new year calls for. Expect opportunities for quiet reflection, full throated singing, performance, and grounding ritual.)

Musicians:
Megan Beller, Fiddle
Ever Hanna, Lead vocals
Ethan Hasiuk, Drums 
Joe Magar, Bass
Laurie Spector, Guitar

Featured vocals:
Lena Amick
Molly Amster
Miriam Avins
Charley Beller
Erin Kelly
Ilana Newman

Selichot 5779

Shiviti, Nava Tehillah

I wrote this song in the midst of shock and grief at the murder and loss of Gabrielle Gottlieb from the Romemu community and the world. She was a fan of my music and was kind whenever I saw her, asking my family about me, and watching. 

Gabrielle was a healer, an energy worker, a woman deeply aware of the power that lies in the body. She wasn’t just gentle, just kind— she was a warrior. Gabrielle was running in the last moments of her life, trusting her guts, trusting her body, and trying with all she had to find safety and freedom. Her loss remains a gaping hole in the world, and justice has still not been served. 

In this song, I keep in mind those in abusive relationships, those in unsafe homes, those parenting themselves in treacherous environments, and those whose traumas of abuse and sexual assault are bubbling to the surface in this time. I commit to working to create systems to address harm and create circles of love and care wherever I dwell. 

A word about trusting the body— as someone with a chronic disability, trusting my body completely is no simple task. My body needs a lot of help to keep working! If you’re singing this song and find that these words don’t sit right in the moment, I hope they might serve in other moments. And if not, I love you and see that pain. I wrote these words in deep gratitude to that thing that sits deep, deep within my body, under even the parts of my body that need help to function— that gut instinct that keeps me safe with all its might. 

Thank you to my partner Noam Lerman for joining me in song and strength!

Lyrics:

Days when I don’t trust my family
Days when I don’t trust my friends
I trust my body, deep down in my core 

Days when I don’t trust my leaders
Days when I don’t trust my teachers 
I trust my body, deep down in my core 

Days when I don’t trust my lover
Days when I don’t trust my God
I trust my body, deep down in my core

Oh my body, oy oy oy oy 
Oh my body oy oy oy oy
I trust my body, my shaking body
I trust my body, deep down in my core

Oh my body, oy oy oy oy 
Oh my body oy oy oy oy
I trust my body, my brilliant body 
I trust my body, deep down in my core 

Oh my body, oy oy oy oy 
Oh my body oy oy oy oy
I trust my body, down in my kishkes 
I trust my body, deep down in my core

I Trust My Body

Sung to the tune of "V'haviotim," a melody/zemer originally written for Isaiah 56:7

Elul 5783: Anim Zemirot by R' Josh Warshawsky

Kol Tzedek