
The Magic of Hebrew Chant: Healing the Spirit, Transforming the Mind, Deepening Love
352
The Magic of Hebrew Chant: Healing the Spirit, Transforming the Mind, Deepening Love
352eBook
Overview
A few short words—repeated with passion&intention—can unlock treasure upon treasure of healing, wisdom&love
"Chant is a path for all of us who lead with our hearts, who are determined to seek out the truth that is buried deep beneath the ground of our lives, and who have made a commitment to live that truth, from moment to moment, breath to breath, 'one little bit at a time.'"
—from the Introduction
Chant is a meditative practice that fully engages the body, heart and mind, and facilitates healing and expansion of consciousness. Rabbi Shefa Gold, beloved teacher of chant, Jewish mysticism, prayer and spirituality, introduces you to this transformative spiritual practice as a way to unlock the power of sacred texts and take prayer and meditation into the delight of your life. She illuminates the usefulness, benefits and blessings of chant by:
- Teaching you the theory and foundations of chant—its relation to beauty, pleasure and the deep wisdom buried in sacred texts
- Providing—for the first time—complete musical notations for many of her popular chants and practical instruction for how to use them to cultivate self-awareness and love.
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Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781580237475 |
---|---|
Publisher: | Turner Publishing Company |
Publication date: | 04/01/2013 |
Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
Format: | eBook |
Pages: | 352 |
File size: | 13 MB |
Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Rabbi Shefa Gold, is director of C-DEEP: The Center for Devotional, Energy and Ecstatic Practice in Jemez Springs, New Mexico. Shefa composes and performs spiritual music, has produced several recordings, and her liturgies have been published in many prayer books. She teaches workshops and retreats on the theory and art of chanting, devotional healing, spiritual community building and meditation around the world. She also trains chant leaders in Kol Zimra, a two-year program for rabbis, cantors and lay leaders. Shefa, who is on the faculty of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, combines her grounding in Judaism with a background in Buddhist, Christian, Islamic and Native American spiritual traditions to make her uniquely qualified as a spiritual bridge celebrating the shared path of devotion. She is author of Torah Journeys: The Inner Path to the Promised Land and In the Fever of Love: An Illumination of the Song of Songs. For more information about Rabbi Shefa Gold, please visit her website at www.RabbiShefaGold.com.
Rabbi Shefa Gold is available to speak on the following topics:
- The Magic of Hebrew Chant
- Ecstatic Meditation
- The Path of Love
- Gratefulness as the Foundation of our Spiritual Practice
- The Power of Intention
Click here to contact the author.
Sylvia Boorstein is cofounding teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, and a senior teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. She lectures nationally on Buddhism and mindfulness, and teaches Vipassana and Metta meditation.
Table of Contents
Foreword xiii
Introduction xv
Abracadabraxix
Fundamentals of Chant 1
Chant
What It Is 3
The Sacred Phrase
Or ... How a Chant Is Different from a Song 7
The Ground of a Chant 8
Components of a Chant 9
Entering the Silence 10
Intention 11
Cultivating Four Pathways of Intention 13
Memory 14
Imagination 19
Presence 22
Attunement 24
"That This Song May Be a Witness"
The Power of Chant 27
Entering the Mishkan 28
Developing a Chant 29
Obstacles and Traps 31
Meditative Practice in Relation to Prayer 32
The Lineage of Chant 34
Chant as a Core Spiritual Practice 41
Why We Value This Practice as a Core of Contemporary Jewish Spirituality 41
The Relationship between Chanting and Other Spiritual Practices 42
Meditation as the Foundation for Chant Practice 45
The Functions of Consciousness 46
Rhythm 49
The Secrets of Chant 51
The Inner Dimensions of Chant 53
Eight Functions of Consciousness in a Spiritual Group 56
Power and the Open Heart 67
Longing
Fuel for Spiritual Practice 73
Focus, through Pleasure, All the Way to Basking 77
T he Uses of Chant 81
Chanting as a Healing Modality 83
Chant in Ritual 86
Chanting During Taharah 92
Chant
Transformation, Purification, Healing, and Renewal 97
Inquiry and Shadow Work 104
Ecstatic Practice and the Establishment of Basic Trust 109
Soulful, Wholehearted, Embodied Text Study 113
Gratefulness as the Foundation of Practice 119
Healing the Spirit, Transforming the Mind, Deepening Love 125
Chanting—Alone and Together 131
The Practices 135
Liturgy 137
Scripture 159
Psalms 173
The Daily Psalms 205
Isaiah 209
A Few More Practices
Elements, Directions, Spirit Buddies 220
The Musical Notations 225
Introduction to the Musical Notations 227
Liturgy 231
Scripture 253
Psalms 266
The Daily Psalms 298
Isaiah 305
Acknowledgements 315
Appendix 1 316
Suggestions for Further Reading318
Index of Practices and Notations319
Index of First Lines323
What People are Saying About This
"A tour de force.... It integrates the extensive research and teaching Rabbi Gold has pioneered and offers a luminous resource for the renewal of Jewish religious life and contemporary spirituality."
"There are two ways to enter the gates of heaven: storm them from without or be invited in from within. Chanting is the way of invitation, and this book is the invitation to the invitation. I have chanted daily for decades, and Shefa was my teacher. Let her be yours as well."
"A literate, personal, inventive, beautifully written anthology of, and manual for, offering 'musical kavanot.' Gold offers American Jews seeking to rediscover the melody of meditation the perfect primer and inspiration."
"A treasure of exquisite simplicity, wisdom and love! With mellifluous and stunning beauty ... offers a path of awakening through which outworn habits of heart and mind are discarded, core truths rediscovered and ever more expansive capacity for joy is born."
"Shefa Gold has transcribed the music and meaning of Hebrew chant onto the pages of this book. Yet the experience of these chants flows off the page and connects you to the Jewish past and this very moment."
"Combines the insight of a seeker, the textual knowledge of a rabbi, the clarity of a gifted teacher and the voice of a creative composer.... This moving volume provides sufficient guidance for a beginner while taking more advanced practitioners to new heights."
"This is the finest flowering of Rabbi Gold's vast experience and deep dedication to working with and understanding the energies of body, soul, voice, intention and consciousness in relation to sacred Jewish text."
"Wise, warm advice from the foremost expert in this form of Jewish devotional practice. It is encyclopedic, thoughtful, accessible and deep."
"Allows readers to inhabit the immersive, transformative, gently flowering yet powerful world of chant: an indispensable guide for the spiritual seeker of our time. Highly recommended!"
"Shefa has transformed the world of chant, allowing both the chanter and the listener to find personal meaning in Jewish prayer through the mesmerizing repetitions of words and meditative melody."
"Boldly yet gently beckons you inwardly with prescriptions of stirring sacred words, offering a practice of wisdom, a pathway of self-discovery and a yearning to reach expansively toward God and compassionately toward God's creation."
"As it brings text study, song and contemplative practice togetherbody, heart and mind acting as onechant is the ultimate, spiritual practice. Shefa Gold is its prophet."
"An incredibly clear, valuable, often transcendent transmission of powerful, readily implementable approaches to Jewish spiritual awakening, growth and healing. This is a sacred book to savor and widely gift to family, students and friends."
"Lots of people chant and few become enchanted.... Rabbi Shefa guides her readers past the sentries of the legal/rational border into the sacred space of the charismatic/ecstatic realm."
"Thorough, honest, and wise.... [It] will appeal to regular practitioners of sacred chant, and those who are intrigued by the possibility of a chant practice.... The book itself is almost a long chant, able to transform the consciousness. All who read it will find a treasure, not only in the book but in themselves."
"A deeply important contribution to all those interested in contemplative practice. At the same time, Rabbi Gold facilitates a profound connection to the sacred texts of the Jewish tradition illustrating their continued relevance to contemporary Judaism."
"For those new to these pathways to the Great Mystery (aka God), here is an invitation to a richer and more profound life; for those seasoned in the disciplines of meditation, chant and prayer, it will frame your experience with insight and wisdom. It will deepen your practice; it has deepened mine."
"Invites the reader of any spiritual path to enter more deeply into the heart of love. Her contribution to Jewish spirituality in particular is immeasurable. May it endure!"
"One of our great teachers shares her secrets of how to enter the heart, open the mind, stir the spirit and awaken nothing less than a transformation in your self-understanding and love for others. The profound wisdom and amazingly beautiful chants are a gift for human flourishing. Be prepared to be touched by a magician of the soul."