I begin this week's post with a link. It doesn't deserve to be at the end because this week's post is about this song.
As we approach Rosh Hashannah, we dive deep into ourselves. The splashes we make ripple outward to our households, the people with whom we interact, our communities and each splash has some small effect on the world around us. We sometimes lose sight of this.
This song, called Hasheveini, was composed by Micah Shapiro from verses in Tanach and sung by Aaren Alpert. I have returned to this song year after year as we approach Rosh Hashannah. It is no wonder that the song is about returning.
In this season we need to find the strength to be honest with ourselves, to renew ourselves.
We need to find the strength to be better than we have been. To try new things and rid ourselves of that which makes us smaller. Maybe this is the concept of Teshuvah.
Micah Shapiro and Aaren Alpert have found just the right notes, the perfect way for music to travel through us and connect us with our better selves and perhaps even with The Divine. This is Micah and Aaren's gift to us and in turn, my gift to you. I hope that this piece will stir you and lead you into the spirit of Rosh Hashannah.
Here is Hashiveini, by Micah Shapiro with featured vocals by Aaren Alpert.
Wishing you a year of many smiles, good deeds and good health.
Leann
Hashiveini v'ashuva chadesh yameinu k'kedem
Receive me back so I may return to my true self, renew our days to their essence.
Recorded live at The Calvary Center for Culture and Community, April 30, 2019
Featuring: Aaren Alpert - Vocals Micah Shapiro - Guitar, Vocals Anat Hochberg - Vocals Deborah Sacks Mintz - Vocals Yosef Goldman - Vocals Eric Sherman - Percussion Joey Weisenberg - Bass Yoshie Fruchter - Guitar Jacob Hershman - Guitar Joshua Snitzer - Piano Video by Samuel Lowenstein and Ira Blum Live Sound by Ami Yares
Many thanks to Micah for allowing me to share his music with you.
I Want to Share a Song With You
I want to share a song with you
to plant it,
place it,
tickle it,
sneak it,
sail it,
gift it,
imprint it onto you.
I want the music to enter
through the tips of your hair;
connecting with each of them,
throwing off gentle electricity.
The music begins its journey through your ears
and the notes massage,
coax and dance
downward through the muscles of your neck,
your shoulders,
your gut;
all the while
filling you with feelings,
warmth and spirit.
It echoes through as through a deep pine forest.
Perhaps it is an awakening.
The music is filled with color,
bright and bold.
Not color you can see,
but color you can hear.
The kaleidoscope of the percussion.
The mellow shades of strings.
The varied hues of a human voice.
I want to share a song with you,
or perhaps it is a prayer.
A song to wake you from your slumbers,
to ignite you as a match ignites a campfire on a dark night.
A song that wakes you like an easterly wind on the shore.
I want to see your fingers tap,
and your eyes light up bright.
Watch as your spine gently sways
and your weight shifts,
and your shoulders roll
as the music moves you live a wave.
From afar I see that the music has traveled to a place
that has no zip code.
It has reached its point of connection;
perhaps it is your soul.
And from that place rises an unbreakable thread
as thin as life itself;
it rises,
joyously rising upwards,
upwards,
connecting you with The Divine
The music continues
and you sway
as you become part of the music.
and suddenly there is no past,
no future.
Only the now,
You are the music ,
you are the prayer;
and the thread stretches higher
and higher still.
I see you now enveloped in the song.
There are no words,
only
warm, salty tears.
Good tears.
The music plays in your soul.
and you are praying and the thread connects
you to a power that pulls you
upward.
It brings you home.
I want to share a song with you
or perhaps it is a prayer.
It is a gift from a composer,
from a singer,
from the notes on the page,
from me
or,
perhaps the music is not from us at all,
but is the gift of song from The Divine.
Link to Micah Shapiro's Hasheveyni on Spotify
About Micah Shapiro: A composer, prayer leader and music producer, Rabbi Micah Shapiro enriches Jewish communities across the country with his distinct blend of musical and spiritual leadership. His music features elaborate melodies and arrangements that draw out the rich meaning of ancient Hebrew texts. He lives in Cleveland Heights with his partner Aaren, their three year old (drummer) Levav and baby Ravi.
השיביני
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