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Author:   Rabbi Shefa Gold ,  Sylvia Boorstein
Publisher:   Jewish Lights Publishing
Imprint:   Jewish Lights Publishing
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.10cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.640kg
ISBN:  

9781683364023

ISBN 10:   1683364023
Pages:   352
Publication Date:   16 May 2013
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
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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"

Reviews

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. Rabbi Jill Hammer, director, Spiritual Education at the Academy for Jewish Religion; author, The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for All Seasons 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. Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, author, Davening: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Prayer and Jewish with Feeling: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Practice 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. Rabbi Nancy Flam, co-director of programs, Institute for Jewish Spirituality; series editor, LifeLights 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. Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, Emanu-El Scholar at The Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco; author, I m God; You re Not: Observations on Organized Religion & Other Disguises of the Ego 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. Rabbi Irwin Kula, coeditor, The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices: Clal s Guide to Everyday & Holiday Rituals & Blessings 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. Rabbi Marcia Prager, author, The Path of Blessing: Experiencing the Energy and Abundance of the Divine 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. Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author, Amazing Chesed: Living a Grace-Filled Judaism 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. Rabbi Goldie Milgram, author, Meaning & Mitzvah: Daily Practices for Reclaiming Judaism through Prayer, God, Torah, Hebrew, Mitzvot and Peoplehood 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! The Rev. Robert Corin Morris, DD, founder, Interweave, Inc. 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! Rabbi Nehemia Polen, PhD, professor of Jewish thought, Hebrew College 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. Rabbi Anne Brener, LCSW, director of spiritual development, The Academy for Jewish Religion, California; author, Mourning and Mitzvah: Walking the Mourners Path from Grief to Healing 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. Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz, author, Does the Soul Survive? A Jewish Journey to Belief in Afterlife, Past Lives & Living with Purpose and Healing from Despair: Choosing Wholeness in a Broken World 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. Cantor Linda Hirschhorn As it brings text study, song and contemplative practice together body, heart and mind acting as one chant is the ultimate, spiritual practice. Shefa Gold is its prophet. Rabbi Mike Comins, author, Making Prayer Real: Leading Jewish Spiritual Voices on Why Prayer Is Difficult and What to Do about It 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. Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg, Institute for Jewish Spirituality Wise, warm advice from the foremost expert in this form of Jewish devotional practice. It is encyclopedic, thoughtful, accessible and deep. Jay Michaelson, PhD, author, Evolving Dharma: Buddhism, Meditation and the Next Generation of Enlightenment and God in Your Body: Kabbalah, Mindfulness & Embodied Spiritual Practice 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. Rabbi Jeff Roth, author, Jewish Meditation Practices for Everyday Life: Awakening Your Heart, Connecting with God 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. Rabbi David Teutsch, Wiener Professor of Contemporary Jewish Civilization and director, Levin-Lieber Program in Jewish Ethics, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College; author, Spiritual Community: The Power to Restore Hope, Commitment and Joy 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. Rabbi Michael Strassfeld, author, A Book of Life: Embracing Judaism as a Spiritual Practice

Gold, Rabbi Shefa. The Magic of Hebrew Chanting: Healing the Spirit, Transforming the Mind, DeepeningLove. Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2013. 326 pp. $24.99. (9781580236713). Chanting is a form of meditation. Rabbi Shefa Gold has written a book presenting both the theory of chanting and also providing musical notations for her popular chants. Gold explains that the root: zayin-mem-resh (( for chanting has a double meaning: z-m-r means to chant, but it also means to prune. By chanting, we are removing the nonessential and uncovering our soul or neshamah. Chanting can bring spirituality, healing and togetherness as a community. The book is well organized and the explanations are clear. One suggestion, however, I would also purchase Gold's audio discs if you truly want to experience the power of chanting. If you can play a musical instrument, you can play and sing the chants yourself. Ellen Share, Librarian, Washington Hebrew Congregation -- Ellen Share * Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews *

<strong>Gold, Rabbi Shefa. <em>The Magic of Hebrew Chanting: Healing the Spirit, Transforming the Mind, Deepening</em> </strong><strong><em>Love. </em> </strong><strong>Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2013. 326 pp. $24.99. (9781580236713).</strong></p>Chanting is a form of meditation. Rabbi Shefa Gold has written a book presenting both the theory of chanting and also providing musical notations for her popular chants. Gold explains that the root: <em>zayin-mem-resh </em>((&#1512;&#1502;&#1494; for chanting has a double meaning: z-m-r means to chant, but it also means to prune. By chanting, we are removing the nonessential and uncovering our soul or neshamah. Chanting can bring spirituality, healing and togetherness as a community. The book is well organized and the explanations are clear. One suggestion, however, I would also purchase Gold's audio discs if you truly want to experience the power of chanting. If you can play a musical instrument, you can play and sing the chants yourself.</p><em>Ellen Share, Librarian, Washington Hebrew Congregation</em></p>--Ellen Share Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews

Gold, Rabbi Shefa. The Magic of Hebrew Chanting: Healing the Spirit, Transforming the Mind, Deepening Love. Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2013. 326 pp. $24.99. (9781580236713).Chanting is a form of meditation. Rabbi Shefa Gold has written a book presenting both the theory of chanting and also providing musical notations for her popular chants. Gold explains that the root: zayin-mem-resh ((×¨× × for chanting has a double meaning: z-m-r means to chant, but it also means to prune. By chanting, we are removing the nonessential and uncovering our soul or neshamah. Chanting can bring spirituality, healing and togetherness as a community. The book is well organized and the explanations are clear. One suggestion, however, I would also purchase Gold's audio discs if you truly want to experience the power of chanting. If you can play a musical instrument, you can play and sing the chants yourself.Ellen Share, Librarian, Washington Hebrew Congregation--Ellen Share Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews

Author Information

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.

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