The Magic of Hebrew Chant: Healing the Spirit, Transforming the Mind, Deepening Love

by Shefa Gold, Sylvia Boorstein (Foreword)

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

Genres: Judaism, Jewish

352 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2013

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

The primer for this meditative practice. The core of this book is what you need, and for that it's perfect. However, Rabbi Gold gets bogged down in repetition (no pun intended) at times. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about some of the chants having parts and harmonies. I have also listened to some of Rabbi Gold's CDs and I think a harmony part that also chants the entire sacred phrase is enhancing of the experience for all, but I think having some people relegated to chanting one or two words of the phrase does not benefit them. I would sort of feel cheated in the meditation if I wasn't able to sing the whole phrase, but perhaps there are some people who would be fine with it if that is what they find meaningful. But there is no instruction for if the leader should assign people parts for a multi-part chant, or if people just choose. What if on a three-part chant no one wants to do the third part?

For subsequent editions, I would highly recommend combining the practices section with the musical notation section, so one only has to look in one place, rather than find the music then look somewhere else to find the "instructions" Rabbi Gold intends.