Sung with Grace Gleason, Chol HaMoed Pesach 5781/2021

Love is not a receding horizon we reach for
Love is the ground, love is the ground on which we lay (x2)

Worthiness is not a mountaintop we strive toward
It is the field, it is the field in which we play (x2)

אַהֲבָה רַבָּה אֲהַבְתָּנוּ, ה’ אֱלקינוּ
חֶמְלָה גְּדולָה וִיתֵרָה חָמַלְתָּ עָלֵינוּ

Ahava raba ahavtanu Hashem Elokeinu
Chemla gedola viteira chamalta aleinu

[Translation: With abundant love You have loved us, Divine One
With overflowing compassion You have compassioned on us]

Ahava Raba (Love is the Ground)

A simple all-and-response song of welcome to all the states our hearts might be in as we gather. I encourage you to sing this on your own with your own words - how is your heart right now? Welcome in.

Welcome in, wild hearts
Welcome in, wild hearts
Welcome in, wild hearts
We will sing our way to wholeness
We will sing our way to wholeness

...and tender... seeking... grieving... courageous... & wild hearts

Welcome In, Wild Hearts

I am of this Earth, I am of this sky
And the seasons turn, and so do I
I am made to change, I am made to bend
I am made to break and to grow again

Of This Earth

Roadblock  by Debbie Nargi-Brown

Part 1 
This is a roadblock, not the end of the road
When I get knocked down, I get back up again

Part 2
I don’t care what you’ve been told
Now is the time to take back control
This is not the end of your dreams
Life is not, what it seems

Part 3
Faith, Hope to Believe
Faith, Hope to Receive

This is a live recording at Song Village 2022.

Roadblock

This I know: 
That my body is a vessel for the song
Let the drum beat through me
Let the great bells ring through me
Sing through me

Vessel for the Song

threshold

romemu | aly halpert and molly bajgot

This recording was made in community with the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir NYC

Healing Is Possible by Orion Johnstone

Bele Mama - From Cameroon, in West Africa

This is a great ice-breaker of a song! The perfect opener. It gets your group singing in harmony in a matter of minutes. Possible meaning is "Mama come out and play!" When I first learned this, I learned that it was from the Torres Straight Islands and that it meant "Beautiful Earth." The more research I do, the more I find that it's actually from West Africa and has traveled and traveled far and wide. Enjoy!

This song is in the public domain
Arrangement by Heather Houston

To learn the individual parts to this song, please visit my Public Song Library:
https://heatherhoustonmusic.com/sisters-in-harmony-song-library/

Lyrics:

Bele mama, bele mama ee ay
Bele mama, bele mama ee ay
Bele mama, bele mama, bele mama, bele mama,
Bele mama, bele mama ee eh

Bele Mama - All Parts

Artist: Peter McKenna
I learned it from Adamah (Jewish Farming Fellowship) in 2014. 

Sung at a song circle on January 1, 2019 on Chinook land/Portland, OR.

Part 1:
There is so much magnificence in the ocean
The waves are comin' in
Waves are comin' in

Part 2:
Wash me away
So that all that's left is love
Great Spirit

Part 3:
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Part 4:
Hallelu, Hallelujah (x3)

Magnificence (Peter McKenna)

Artist: Miner
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:
Let the wave wash over me
Let the wave wash over me
I am already under
Let the wave wash over me

Part 2:
There will be better days

**Photo credit: Sarah Snyder!

Let The Wave (Miner)

JEWISH COMMUNAL SINGING FOR HEALING AND LIBERATION
Let My People Sing! is a cultural project expanding the ancient and transformative practice of Jewish communal singing. We gather in multi-racial, multicultural and genderful Jewish community, uplifting songs and leaders historically and ongoingly pushed to the margins. Together, we transmit and reclaim diasporic Jewish singing traditions, celebrate original music emerging from our communities, and create heart-centered gatherings where we can all be leaders and learners of song.