Some songs that may make an appearance for Annex Shul High Holy Days 5784 at Bickford Park

Annex Shul Yom Kippur 5784/2023

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)

the long short path

Tishrei 5784: Awaken by Marni Loffman

We will repeat this between the three repetitions of Kol Nidre

Kol Nidrei Niggun Snippet (repeated by all between Kol Nidre) - Joey Weisenberg

Just for a Little While by Mother Tongue, author Raphael Agosto-Miranda

singing resilience into beloveds - our selves, our loves, our communities, our interconnection

ani l'dodi v'dodi li
ha'ro'eh ba'shoshananim (bashoshanim ha'ro'eh)

source: song of songs 6:3
translation: I am to my beloved, and my beloved is to me, who shepherds in the roses

Ani Ldodi

Tu Bshvat Nigun by Batya Levine sung live at Let My People Sing! 2018.

LMPS 2018

Tu Bshvat Nigun - Batya Levine - LMPS 2018

Sung with Batya Levine

הָ֭רֹפֵא לִשְׁב֣וּרֵי לֵ֑ב וּ֝מְחַבֵּ֗שׁ לְעַצְּבוֹתָֽם
מוֹנֶה מִסְפָּר לַכּוֹכָבִים לְכֻלָּם, שֵׁמוֹת יִקְרָא

Harofei lishvurei lev um'chabesh l'atzvotam 
Moneh mispar lacochavim lechulam shemot yikra

Healer of the broken-hearted and tender of our wounds
You account for every star and call each one by name

Healer of the Brokenhearted/Harofei Lishvurei Lev — Psalm 147 + Interpretive Translation

Melody by Sol Yael Weiss, harmonies by Aly Halpert

Words brought by Batya Levine, text from the very end of the Shmoneh Esrei / Amidah (silent standing prayer in every Jewish service): Y'hiyu l'ratzon imrei fi v'hegyon libi lefanecha adonia tzuri v'goali

"May these words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be favored in your presence, eternal One, my rock and redeemer." 

Dedicated to Ratzon: Center for Healing and Resistance in Pittsburgh PA, and all of us working to build the world we know is possible.

Y'hiyu L'ratzon

This melody is for liturgy that praises the eternal attribute of lovingkindess. 
This recording shows two different places it can be used, in liturgy that shares this core message. The first is in Hallel (a praise section of liturgy reserved for holidays and new moons) and the second is found in Psukei D'zimra on Shabbat & Festivals (the consistant praise section of liturgy that has special additions on shabbos & holidays, such as this song!)

Hodu Ladonia from Hallel (added section of praise for holidays & new moon)

hodu ladonai ki tov ki l'olam chasdo(leader) 
hodu ladonai ki tov ki l'olam chasdo (congregation responds) 
yomar na yisrael ki l'olam chasdo (leader)
hodu ladonai ki tov ki l'olam chasdo (cong. responds) 
yomar na beit aharon ki l'olam chasdo (leader)
hodu ladonai ki tov ki l'olam chasdo (cong. responds) 
yomru na yirei adonai ki l'olam chasdo (leader)
hodu ladonai ki tov ki l'olam chasdo (cong. responds)

Translation:
LEADER: give gratitude to hashem (spirit/g!d/life force/etc.), because they are good, because their chesed (lovingkindness) is eternal 
CONGREGATION: give gratitude to hashem (spirit/g!d/life force/etc.), because they are good, because their chesed (lovingkindness) is eternal!
LEADER: let yisrael(our people/g?d wrestlers) please say: their chesed (lovingkindness)is eternal!
CONG: give gratitude to hashem (spirit/g!d/life force/etc.), because they are good, because their chesed (lovingkindness) is eternal!
LEADER: Let the house of Aharon (the priests/witches/magic weavers/spirit workers) please say: their chesed (lovingkindness)is eternal!
CONG: give gratitude to hashem (spirit/g!d/life force/etc.), because they are good, because their chesed (lovingkindness) is eternal!
LEADER: Let those who are in fear/awe of YHVH (existence/hashem/all time and space)please say: their chesed (lovingkindness)is eternal!
CONGREGATION: give gratitude to hashem (spirit/g!d/life force/etc.), because they are good, because their chesed (lovingkindness) is eternal!

Hodu Ladonai from Psukei D'zimra on Shabbat & Yom Tov (festivals)

hodu ladonai ki tov ki l'olam chasdo
hodu lei'lohei ha'elohim ki l'olam chasdo
hodu l'adonai ha'adonim ki l'olam chasdo
l'osai nifla'ot gedolot levado ki l'olam chasdo
l'osai ha'shamayim bi'tvunah ki l'olam chasdo
l'roka ha'aretz al ha'mayim ki l'olam chasdo
l'oseai orim gedolim ki l'olam chasdo
et ha'shemesh l'memshelet bayom ki l'olam chasdo
* [the liturgy continues, but this recording ends with these words, I've included the next line in the liturgy because they are liturgically linked, but there are more verses after that as well]
et ha'yareach v'kochavim l'memsilot ba'laila, ki l'olam chasdo 
(and it continues on...)

Translation: 
offer gratitude to YHVH (existance/g?d/life force...) because they are good, because their chesed (lovingkindness) is eternal
offer gratitude to the unifying power that is within all powers, because it's chesed (lovingkindness) is eternal
offer gratitude to the *boss* (in a positive sense of the word) of all bosses, because their chesed is eternal
to the one who is responsible for miracles and wonder, because their chesed is eternal
to the one weaves the heavens with understanding, because their chesed is eternal
to the spreading of earth over waters, because their chesed is eternal
to the former of great light/luminaries/illumination, because their chesed is eternal
the sun that reigns in the day,  because their chesed is eternal
[this song ends with the words above, but I included the next line because liturgically they go together]
the moon and stars that reign at night,  because their chesed is eternal


**** All translations are the way that I understand this liturgy, in which I strive to stay to true to the words, and include my own understanding of them ****

Hodu Ladonai (liturgy from Hallel & Shabbat/Yom Tov)

for the trans bodies, covid bodies, black & brown bodies, disabled and chronically ill bodies, gloriously fat bodies & all the bodies that have to forge their own beautiful path to wholeness.

this body is the earth that holds my bones
this body is the air that i breathe
this body is the water flowing at the shore
this body is the path that guides me home

this body, this body, this body sets me free

This Body

Melody derived from the Ashkenazi trop (cantillation) for Eicha (the text we read on Tisha b'Av, a Jewish day of mourning)

Hebrew text from opening phrase of Eicha (sung in Ashkenazi trop, with Ashkenazi pronunciation)
אֵיכָה יָשְׁבָה בָדָד, הָעִיר רַבָּתִי עָם--הָיְתָה, כְּאַלְמָנָה
Eicha yashva vadad, ha'ir rabasi am haysa k'almanah
[Translation: How is she sitting alone, the city who was once full of her people, how she is like a widow]

Oh weary one, lay your head down and rest your aching bones on the ground
Oh fearful one, lay your head down and let your body breathe on the ground
Oh hopeless one, lay your head down and rest your heavy heart on the ground
Oh yearning one, lay your head down and sing your song into the ground
Oh rageful one, lay your head down and let your tears flow into the ground
Oh weary one, lay your head down and rest your aching bones on the ground
Oh ANCIENT ONE, as we lay our heads down, please lay with us on the ground

Artwork from 14 Century German Book of Eicha

Yashva Vadad // Oh Weary One (a mourning lullabye for the weary)

Makom Bina - Deborah Sacks Mintz

HIGHLIGHTS: Sarah Pagé's illumination harp, Jason Sharp's earthtone saxophone, Dan Goldman's eternal guitar, Alex Lukashevsky-the-Ancient's voice in minyan. "Time, and we, must unvow or vow differently as truth reveals itself anew…" Rabbi Richard N. Levy

DESCRIPTION: 

“To vow in the face of change — yet to change the face of vows when time’s new knowledge has changed the meaning of the vow: that is the double courage we would ask tonight, this night of Kol Nidre” —Richard Levy.

Kol Nidre is an Aramaic text recited on the eve of Yom Kippur — a legal declaration that annuls all the vows we made to ourselves or to God in the past year that we could not fulfill. The Cantor, flanked by Torah scrolls held aloft as symbolic witnesses, recites the prayer three times with increasing intensity as those present are emboldened to transform themselves. This piece insists that we deserve the dignity of a clean slate, even if we have missed the mark.

According to Jewish tradition, Kol Nidre does not recuse us from the work of untying the knots we have made with others — if we have harmed another person, we must approach that person directly to make amends. If we try three times and the person’s heart will not budge, we can let it go. Kol Nidre is a cloud that floats near us, threatening rain when we've become lazy or neglectful of our authenticity. 



כָּל נִדְרֵי וֶאֱסָרֵי וּשְׁבוּעֵי וַחֲרָמֵי וְקוֹנָמֵי וְכִנּוּיֵי. וְקִנוּסֵי דִּנְדַֽרְנָא. וּדְאִשְׁתַּבַּֽעְנָא. וּדְאַחֲרִימְנָא. וּדְאָסַֽרְנָא עַל נַפְשָׁתָֽנָא. מִיּוֹם כִּפּוּרִים זֶה עַד יוֹם כִּפּוּרִים הַבָּא עָלֵֽינוּ לְטוֹבָה. בְּכֻלְּהוֹן אִחֲרַֽטְנָא בְהוֹן. כֻּלְּהוֹן יְהוֹן שָׁרָן. שְׁבִיקִין, שְׁבִיתִין, בְּטֵלִין וּמְבֻטָּלִין, לָא שְׁרִירִין וְלָא קַיָּמִין: נִדְרָֽנָא לָא נִדְרֵי. וֶאֱסָרָֽנָא לָא אֱסָרֵי. וּשְׁבוּעָתָֽנָא לָא שְׁבוּעוֹת:


All vows, bonds, devotions, promises, 
Obligations, penalties, and oaths
wherewith we have vowed, sworn
Devoted, and bound ourselves
From this Day of Atonement 
To the next Day of Atonement 
May it come to us for good 
All these we repent us of them
They shall be absolved, released, annulled
Made void and of no effect
They shall not be binding 
Nor shall they have any power 
Our vows shall not be vows
Our bonds shall not be bonds
And our oaths shall not be oaths

Daniela Gesundheit - All Our Vows / Kol Nidre  כל נדרי

Our Power

Music: Katie Hicks
Lyrics: Wendell Berry

I learned this song from Allie Comet who learned it from the Art of Mentoring.

Lyrics:
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark, go without sight.
And find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
And is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.

Makom Bina - Deborah Sacks Mintz

Nishmat Shoom

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