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This source sheet collects the lyrics from Aly Halpert's album, Loosen, and is interspersed with song demos and video from the recording sessions, and occasionally related teachings and texts for further learning and guitar chords so you can play along. Press play above or stream the album from Rising Song Records.
[Album art by Sol Weiss]
אַשְׁרֵי יוֹשְׁבֵי בֵיתֶךָ
עוֹד יְהַלְלוּךָ סֶּלָה
𝐴𝑠ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑖 𝑦𝑜𝑠ℎ𝑣𝑒𝑖 𝑣𝑒𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑘ℎ𝑎
𝑜𝑑 𝑦𝑒ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑙𝑢𝑘ℎ𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑎ℎ
I sing for you
I sing for what is holy and is true
I sing for all creation, for life and liberation
everyday anew
Song notes: Daily praise celebrating all who live in the home of the divine (our sacred planet). Words from tradition, music by Aly Halpert. Creative consultation from Batya Levine. Written for Linke Fligl, a queer Jewish chicken farm and cultural project in Millerton, NY, for their Sukkot gathering, 5779.
RELATED VERSES
Psalms 84:5 is the first introductory verses (the other is 144:15) from the Ashrei prayer, which is composed mainly of Psalm 145. Aharon Varady of the Open Siddur Project cites a tradition from Jews in England for Yom Kippur liturgy that includes 9 additional Ashrei verses collected from throughout Tehilim. Here are some of our favorites:
אַשְׁרֵ֣י הָ֭עָם יֹדְעֵ֣י תְרוּעָ֑ה יי בְּֽאוֹר־פָּנֶ֥יךָ יְהַלֵּכֽוּן׃
Happy is the people who know the joyful shout; O LORD, they walk in the light of Your presence.
אַשְׁרֵ֣י אָ֭דָם עֽוֹז־ל֥וֹ בָ֑ךְ מְ֝סִלּ֗וֹת בִּלְבָבָֽם׃
Happy is the man who finds refuge in You, whose mind is on the [pilgrim] highways.
(א) אַשְׁרֵ֥י תְמִֽימֵי־דָ֑רֶךְ הַ֝הֹלְכִ֗ים בְּתוֹרַ֥ת יי׃ (ב) אַ֭שְׁרֵי נֹצְרֵ֥י עֵדֹתָ֗יו בְּכׇל־לֵ֥ב יִדְרְשֽׁוּהוּ׃
(1) Happy are those whose way is blameless, who follow the teaching of the LORD.(2) Happy are those who observe His decrees, who turn to Him wholeheartedly.
אַשְׁרֵ֥י נְֽשׂוּי־פֶּ֗שַׁע כְּס֣וּי חֲטָאָֽה׃
Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered over.
אַ֭שְׁרֵי שֹׁמְרֵ֣י מִשְׁפָּ֑ט עֹשֵׂ֖ה צְדָקָ֣ה בְכׇל־עֵֽת׃
Happy are those who act justly, who do right at all times.
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE
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G______________C
We are a beautiful people
G______________C
though our hearts are broken
G_______C __D_______G__D___G
we sing for justice, and wholeness, aiy ay yai yai dai
G______________C
We are a beautiful people
G______________C
though our hearts are broken
G__________C________D
we know that we are not alone
G_____________D_____G
right here we are home, aiy ay yai yai dai
C___________G
They will not divide us
C___________G
we will not abide this
C___________G___________D
we know that together we'll be free_________
G_D
mourning tragedy____
G_____C ____D
our safety is with each other
G______________C
We are a beautiful people
G______________C
though our hearts are broken
G_______C __D_______G__D___G
we sing for justice, and wholeness, aiy ay yai yai dai
G_____C___G_____C
𝑡𝑜𝑘ℎ 𝑒𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑒𝑖 𝑎𝑚 𝑠𝑒𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎ℎ (x8)
תּוֹךְ אֱמוּנֵי עַם סְגֻלָּה
תּוֹךְ אֱמוּנֵי עַם סְגֻלָּה
תּוֹךְ אֱמוּנֵי עַם סְגֻלָּה
תּוֹךְ אֱמוּנֵי עַם סְגֻלָּה
תּוֹךְ אֱמוּנֵי עַם סְגֻלָּה
תּוֹךְ אֱמוּנֵי עַם סְגֻלָּה
תּוֹךְ אֱמוּנֵי עַם סְגֻלָּה
תּוֹךְ אֱמוּנֵי עַם סְגֻלָּה
C___________G
They will not divide us
C___________G
we will not abide this
C___________G___________D
we know that together we'll be free_________
G_D
mourning tragedy____
G_____C ____D
our safety is with each other
G______________C
We are a beautiful people
G______________C
though our hearts are broken
G_______C __D_______G__D___G
we sing for justice, and wholeness, aiy ay yai yai dai
MODAH ANI - מוֹדָה אֲנִי
[Morning liturgy]
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מוֹדָה אֲנִי לְפָנַיִךְ
רוּחַ חַי וְקִיֵּם
𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑎ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑖 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑘ℎ𝑎
𝑟𝑢𝑎𝑐ℎ ℎ̣𝑎𝑖 𝑣𝑒𝑘𝑎𝑦𝑎𝑚
I was made for this morning
I was made to be here
All the life around me
Is a gift so I may heal
RELATED TEXTS
מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶֽיךָ מֶֽלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם שֶׁהֶחֱזַֽרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה, רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶֽךָ:
I give thanks to You living and everlasting Sovereign for You have restored my soul with mercy. Great is Your faithfulness.
...בְּשָׁכְבוֹ עַל מִשְׁכָּבוֹ, יֵדַע לִפְנֵי מִי הוּא שׁוֹכֵב. וּמִיָּד כְּשֶׁיֵּעוֹר מִשְּׁנָתוֹ יִזְכֹּר חַסְדֵי יי, יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה עִמּוֹ שֶׁהֶחֱזִיר לוֹ אֶת נִשְׁמָתוֹ אֲשֶׁר הִפְקִידָהּ אֶצְלוֹ עֲיֵפָה, וְהֶחֱזִירָהּ לוֹ חֲדָשָׁה וּרְגוּעָה כְּדֵי לַעֲבֹד עֲבוֹדָתוֹ יִתְבָרַךְ שְׁמוֹ בְּכָל יְכָלְתּוֹ וּלְשָׁרְתוֹ כָּל הַיּוֹם...
...while lying in bed you should realize before Whom you lay and as soon as you awaken you should remember the kindnesses of Hashem, Blessed be the Name, that were granted to you; that Hashem returned your soul to you. You committed it to the Creator faint and weary and it was returned to you new and refreshed, enabling you to worship Hashem, Blessed be the Name, with all of your capacity and serve the Holy One the entire day...
ANA EL NA - אָנָא אֵל נָא
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אָנָא אֵל נָא, רְפָא נָא לָהּ
אָנָא אֵל נָא, רְפָא נָא לָהּ
𝐴𝑛𝑎 𝐸𝑙 𝑁𝑎, 𝑅𝑒𝑓𝑎 𝑁𝑎 𝐿𝑎
𝐴𝑛𝑎 𝐸𝑙 𝑁𝑎, 𝑅𝑒𝑓𝑎 𝑁𝑎 𝐿𝑎
Please, God, heal her now
Please, God, heal her now
RELATED VERSES
וַיִּצְעַ֣ק מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶל־יי לֵאמֹ֑ר אֵ֕ל נָ֛א רְפָ֥א נָ֖א לָֽהּ׃
So Moses cried out to יי, saying, “O God, pray heal her!”
נַפְשִׁי חוֹלַת אַהֲבָתָךְאָנָּא, אֵל, נָא, רְפָא־נָא לָהּבְּהַרְאוֹת לָהּ נֹֽעַם זִיוָךְאָז תִּתְחַזֵּק וְתִתְרַפֵּא
My soul is sick with love for You,
Please, O God, heal her now,
By showing her Your tender radiance
Then she will regain strength and be healed
LOOSEN
A song / prayer / meditation to heal personal and societal grief. For ordinary grief, extraordinary grief, the unbearable kind and the unseen kind and the enduring kind, in service of exhales and letting go of what is ours and not ours, of compassion, lightness, & becoming who we are after and through it all.
Loosen, loosen, baby
You don’t have to carry
The weight of the world in your muscles and bones
Let go, let go, let go
Holy breath, and holy name
Will you ease, will you ease this pain
Oh holy breath, and holy name, will you ease this pain?
Oh holy breath, will you ease this pain
Will you ease this pain
Will you ease this pain
Loosen, loosen, baby
You don’t have to carry
The weight of the world in your muscles and bones
Let go, let go, let go...
ACHAT SHA'ALTI - אַחַת שָׁאַלְתִּי
אַחַת שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת־ה׳
אוֹתָהּ אֲבַקֵּשׁ
שִׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית־ה׳
כָּל־יְמֵי חַיַּי
לַחֲזוֹת בְּנֹעַם־ה׳
וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלוֹ
וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלוֹ
וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלוֹ
וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלוֹ
𝐴𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑎'𝑎𝑙𝑡𝑖 𝑚𝑒'𝑒𝑖𝑡 𝐻𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑚
𝑜𝑡𝑎ℎ 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠ℎ
𝑆ℎ𝑖𝑣𝑡𝑖 𝑏'𝑣𝑒𝑖𝑡 𝐻𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑚
𝑘𝑜𝑙 𝑦'𝑚𝑒𝑖 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑦𝑎𝑖
𝑙𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑧𝑜𝑡 𝑏'𝑛𝑜𝑎𝑚 𝐻𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑚
𝑈'𝑙'𝑣𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑟 𝑏'ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑘ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑜
𝑈'𝑙'𝑣𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑟 𝑏'ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑘ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑜
𝑈'𝑙'𝑣𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑟 𝑏'ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑘ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑈'𝑙'𝑣𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑟 𝑏'ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑘ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑜
One thing I ask of Hashem
only this do I seek
to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life
to gaze upon the beauty of Hashem
to return again and again to the Holy palace
RELATED NIGUN
To learn a Vizhnitz melody for Achat Sha'alti, which is traditionally recited throughout the month of Elul before the High Holidays, check out our other source sheet: "Psalm 27:4 - Singing the Psalms with Deborah Sacks Mintz"
SHE IS ON HER WAY
[lyrics to chorus and bridge by Arundhati Roy]
The policemen have thrown away their guns
They kiss their sons and their daughters and their souls are at peace
No more black girls, black boys, trans women dying
No more reasons that could ever justify their loss
And mothers send their teens out at night
To breathe the sweet summer air
And exhale on the ground
The earth was made for them
the earth is made for them
She is on her way, on her way
And no one can be silent anymore
Every death is a death that my family mourns
We’ve traded in our numbness and all of our fear
To fight for the lives we now hold dear
And everyone has come to greet the reckoning
The place where our hearts got smaller and smaller
Now grows to hold the pain
The brokenness that leads to change
She is on her way, on her way
Another world’s not only possible
On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing (repeat)
She’s on her way, on her way
And when the world we’re building is ours
We’ll be tall inside
There will be no question as we pray and sing
That we have each other and what that means
We’ll finally get to be together
Stare with our hearts at what has been
and find some place of home
and find some place of home
BABY BIRD NIGUN
This nigun came through in the sun-drenched fields of Eden Village Camp when Aly learned that her friend had begun labor for a much-awaited “baby bird.” Its form was improvised every time it was recorded. Such is the act of creation: We are going along for the ride, hearts as open as we can manage, and taking in the sunlight.
Related texts
צִפּוֹר אוֹמֵר. גַּם צִפּוֹר מָצְאָה בַיִת וּדְרוֹר קֵן לָהּ אֲשֶׁר שָׁתָה אֶפְרֹחֶיהָ אֶת מִזְבְּחוֹתֶיךָ יי צְבָאוֹת מַלְכִּי וֵאלֹהָי: (תהילים פד ד)
The Songbird is saying, “The songbird has also found her home, and the sparrow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young – Your altars, YHVH Tseva’ot, my King and my elo’ah.”
הַנִּצָּנִים֙ נִרְא֣וּ בָאָ֔רֶץ עֵ֥ת הַזָּמִ֖יר הִגִּ֑יעַ וְק֥וֹל הַתּ֖וֹר נִשְׁמַ֥ע בְּאַרְצֵֽנוּ׃
The blossoms have appeared in the land,The time of pruning has come;The song of the turtledoveIs heard in our land.
וְזֶה בְּחִינַת (שׁה"ש ב): הַנִּצָּנִים נִרְאוּ בָאָרֶץ, עֵת הַזָּמִיר הִגִּיעַ, הַיְנוּ שֶׁהַנִּצָּנִים גְּדֵלִים בָּאָרֶץ עַל־יְדֵי הַזֶּמֶר וְהַנִּגּוּן הַשַּׁיָּךְ לָהֶם כַּנַּ"ל.
And this is the concept of “The first blossoms have appeared in the Land, the time of ZaMiR (singing) has arrived” (Song of Songs 2:12). In other words, the “first blossoms” grow in the Land as a result of their particular ZeMeR and melody, as mentioned above.
I'M NOT ALONE
[by Aly Halpert and Anat Hochberg]
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Am____Dm_________G________C _C/B______Am
I’m not alone, I’m not alone, I’m not alone, I’m not alone
I’m not alone, I’m not alone, I’m not alone, I’m not alone
I’m not alone, I’m not alone, I’m not alone, I’m not alone
I’m not alone
I forgot, for a minute
Who I belong to
The mama earth
the wind and rain
The beauty and the pain
I’m not alone
For me the world was created
I’m not alone
To dust I will return