Good morning, so love this chant. Curious if anyone knows who wrote the melody?

Days of Awe at Kol Tzedek

MENTORS
This song came through about a year after a grief ritual where several of us were grieving lack of mentorship in our lives, lack of in tact culture - a sense of cultural orphans - wishing we were waking up to 30 pairs of eyes on us in our youth - longing for village and connection. And then a friend told me, we have to become the mentors we are seeking for the next generations. And I was like “Pum!”
  
lyrics:
we must become the mentors that we are seeking
is also dreaming us, what it is that we are dreaming

to hear more community songs by ahlay, visit: https://www.alexandrablakely.com/songlibrary

Mentors

sung by R' Mónica Gomery, Batya Levine, and Ilana Lerman

Achat Shaalti, traditional Ashkenazi tune by S Mernick

Leylines

I Believe in Being Ready, by Rising Appalachia

This is one (of many) phrases that is said to someone who is in mourning in the Jewish tradition.  And after experiencing personal and communal loss in the last few weeks, these words have been swirling around me. With help from the ancestors, this song came through. --kbf

words to the song:
המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים
HaMakom yenachem et'chem 
b'toch shar avay'lay 
Tzion vee'Yerushalayim.
May you be comforted 

May you be comforted with the mourners of Tzion
And the mourners of Yerushalayim
May you be comforted with mourners everywhere
May you be comforted

****The artwork, which features cloves, salt, tulip petals, straw flowers, glitter, sand dollar, a melach card, and the hebrew words "HaMakom yenachem et'chem" was lovingly created by Rachel Kipnes

Hamakom Yenachem Etchem | May You Be Comforted

Sung with Rachel Chang (guitar + vox)

Lyrics:

I’ve been trying to soften to this life
to let it touch me
'cause I know the fear that braces me is very old
but in my blood I feel the thrum of my ancestors on the run 
and boy sometimes it’s hard to tell it’s not today

But I would like to trust
I would like to believe I’m safe
I would like to let my body lead the way

I’ve been trying to open to this moment,
let it unfold 
cause I know the shame that narrows me is very old
but theres a child in my mind who loved and then got left behind
and boy sometimes it’s hard to tell it’s not today

But I would like to trust 
I would like to believe I’m safe
I would like to let intuition lead the way

May I let the cosmic ocean of love buoy me up
May I let the cosmic ocean of love wash over me
Da da daaaa…. 

Cause I would  like to trust 
I would like to believe I’m safe
I would like to let my body lead the way
I would like to trust 
I would like to believe I’m safe
I would like to let intuition lead the way

I Would Like To Trust

Original song copyright Julie Fowlis, Karine Polwart, Seckou Keita, Kris Drever, Rachel Newton, Beth Porter, Jim Molyneux, Kerry Andrew.

This amazing song of grief and hope was inspired by The Lost Words by Robert McFarlane &amp; Jackie Morris. The book began as a response to the removal of everyday nature words - among them "acorn", "bluebell", "kingfisher" and "wren" - from a widely used children’s dictionary, because those words were not being used enough by children to merit inclusion. But it grew to become a much broader protest at the loss of the natural world around us, as well as a celebration of the creatures and plants with which we share our lives.

Because the original song is so beloved by me and many, I re-imagined a new, quite different arrangement with guitar for Wholehearted Chorus in our 2024 season, Oh Grief, Oh Joy. (Note: this is not a traditional community singing song, as it has loads and loads of words, none of which repeat.)

For more information: https://thebirdsings.com/lost-words-blessing/

The Lost Words Blessing - Alto, Tenor & Baritone

Original song ©Shireen Amini. This is a song created for sharing freely in community.  If you perform or record the song for income,  contact Shireen for permission. Please support the composer's forthcoming studio release of this song!  https://shireenamini.com/

This is a song about taking in support from others in our times of need. Inspired by Resmaa Menakem’s iconic book My Grandmother’s Hands, I first learned this song from Shireen at Song Village in 2022 where I remember my heart opening so wide I just wept in the loving arms of our big, singing community.

Recorded by Lisa Littlebird for Wholehearted Chorus on guitar and vocals with permission from the composer.  Male voice in vocals generated with ConvertKit AI.

For more information: https://thebirdsings.com/gather-your-resilience/

Gather Your Resilience by Shireen Amini - ALL PARTS

VERSE:
Meh asita? Kol demei achicha
tzoakim eylai min ha’adama.

Meh asita? Kol demei achicha
tzoakim eylai min ha’adama.

CHORUS:
Ayeka? Ayei achicha? Ayeka?
Ayeka? Ayei achicha? Ayeka?

BRIDGE 1:
From the ground I  hear them calling, your brother’s blood.
What can grow here?
What have we done? 

From the soil I hear them calling, your sister’s blood.
What can grow here?
What have we done? 

BRIDGE 2:
From the ground I hear them calling, your sibling’s blood.
What can grow here?
What have we done? 

From the soil I hear them calling, our family's blood.
What can grow here? 
What have we done?

Ayeka - Aly Halpert

Niggun Tishrei - Nava Tehila

Multiple melodic phrases with harmonies and inter-locking rhythms carrying the message of generosity and the power of giving.

Abundance

Inspired by nomadic years, the wisdom of the body and nervous system, change, Somatic Reality: Bodily Experience and Emotional Truth by Stanley Kelemen, the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess community, and the Judaism of my ancestors. Received to the tune of Avinu Malkeinu, a traditional Jewish High Holidays prayer. 

Deep gratitude to my teachers, community and bright and well ancestors: Taya Shere, Ibrahim Baba, my parents, Zaide, Grandpa, the Romanian women, Kohenet and so many more. Thank you.
lyrics
Slow down, child, slow down 
Slow down and listen to the wind 
All comes together; all falls apart 
Forming anew your beating heart 

Slow down, child, slow down 
Slow down and draw yourself near 
The rocks are your keepers 
Tell them your stories 
Now it is safe to be here 

A river flows from within you to where you will go 
The current carries you home 
Let your life unfold 

Slow down, child, slow down 
Slow down and you will receive 
Life wants to meet you where you are 
Not where you think you should be 

A river flows from within you to where you will go 
The current carries you home 
Let your life unfold 

Slow down, child, slow down 
Slow down and you will be shown 
The love that was always lifting you up 
You are never alone 

A river flows from within you to where you will go 
The current carries you home 
Let your life unfold 

Slow down child, slow down (x4) 

Slow down, child, slow down 
Slow down and listen to the wind 
All comes together; all falls apart 
Forming anew your beating heart

Slow Down / The Mother's Response (Demo)

Elul: Songs for Turning

Elul Niggun by Aly Halpert

Ufros Aleinu chant

We Shall Sing

K'mei Nahar

Tzur Mishelo - Peter Avniel Salzman z''l (sung by Magevet) - contemporary

This is a chant grounded in the resilience, courage, and hope of our Jewish ancestors, reminding us that when we fight for life and for justice, we are weaving ourselves with all justice-fighters who came before us. No fight is too big for our fierce and courageous hearts. 

As the story goes: In 1939, Nazis surrounded a group of Jews from Lublin, Poland, backed up against barbed wire and ordered them to sing to their own execution. One man began to sing: "Mir veln zey iberlebn, iberlebn, iberlebn” —"We will outlive them.” The song took hold among the entire people, who, as they awaited their deaths, began to dance. They danced with joy, with resilience, with a life that could not be destroyed by fascism, militarism, or genocide. The commander saw this resilience. He recognized their defiance. They continued, even as the SS troops charged at them. Most lost their lives that day. And some lived to tell this story. We are here. We will outlive them. We will join forces and voices with others to fight so we can all outlive them, together (thank you, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice!). 

Vocals: Avra Shapiro
Melody: Avra Shapiro
Arrangement: Avra Shapiro & Nadav Simon 
Bass: Matt Coglianese
Drums: Nadav Simon
Violin: Mallory Linehan
Production and Mixing: Nadav Simon
Mastering: Steve Marek 
Recorded and Mastered at Cybernetic Meadow
Art by Micah Bazant (poster can be bought here: https://www.micahbazant.com/buy-art/we-will-outlive-them).

Ufros Aleinu chant

Kol Tzedek

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