Music

I was alone in the Negev Desert, a prime place for personal prayer. I was facing a hill. Upon it was a majestic creature, an Israeli desert wolf (Canis Lupus Arabus). The didn't budge; it just gazed at me calmly. Suddenly, it gave a proud howl that echoed across the desert. It seemed to say, "I'm the chief of this region." I tool my Land-of-Israel reed flute out of my backpack and started playing the melody that the wolf seemed to inspire. The melody came out with a native-American flavor. Enjoy it, and may we soon see the days when the wolf dwells with the lamb (Isaiah 11:6), amen!

Wherever I go here in my cherished homeland, be it the desert, the seacoast or the field, I sense a different melody. Strangely, if I'm playing a beautifully crafted Native American flute produced from the finest North American cedar, nothing happens. But if I take a simple flute, like the one King David played made out of a Land-of-Israel reed, it plays by itself. Here's the melody that echoed from the ruins of the Holy Tabernacle in ancient Shiloh. It reflects a haunting sadness in the beginning but finishes with determined hope in anticipation of our rebuilt Holy Temple, soon, amen!

On Sabbath Day after the Torah reading, we return the Torah scroll to the ark and sing "Etz Chaim", two moving passages from Proverbs 3:17-18. This is King Solomon's metaphor that the Torah is a Tree of Life. Here is an original melody that came to me during hitbodedut (personal prayer) under the starry sky of one beautiful Sabbath evening here in the south of Israel. This recording features Guy Tzvi Mintz on guitar and vocal with yours truly on Native Israel flutes and background vocal. I hope you enjoy it, for it's a piece of my soul that I'd like to share with you. Feel free to download as you like, courtesy of Emuna Beams.
To enable you to sing along, here are the lyrics, by King Solomon, in Hebrew, English transliteration and English translation.
עֵץ-חַיִּים הִיא, לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ;    וְתֹמְכֶיהָ מְאֻשָּׁר
דְּרָכֶיהָ דַרְכֵי-נֹעַם;    וְכָל-נְתִיבוֹתֶיהָ שָׁלוֹם
Etz chaim he, lamachazikim ba; v'tomcheha m'ushar.
Dracheha darchei noam; v'kol netivoteha shalom.
She is a tree of life to those who cling to her; her ways are ways of pleasantry and all her paths are peace.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev lauds the virtue of personal prayer, especially at night and away from the beaten path. He writes that when a person speaks to the Creator in his or her own words, all of creation joins in. I took my flute at midnight to a hill in Judea where King David used to pray. A melody came into my head that I never heard before. I could feel that the midnight breeze was singing with me. It was sweet, calming and innocent. Allow me to share this poignant experience with. Here's the melody, and you're welcome to download the mp3 free of charge.

Music for me is a form of prayer. Where the words end, a melody from deep down begins. This is the song of the soul. The Land of Israel countryside, flaura and fauna inspire my flute. This particular melody describes an eagle who circled over my head during a personal prayer session in the Negev Desert. Enjoy and feel free to download it, no charge, compliments of Emuna Beams.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not a professional musician. For relaxation, I play flutes made out of natural materials that grow in the Land of Israel, such as bamboo, almond and olive wood.
The Land of Israel is holy. Divine melodies permeate everywhere you go. 
Once, I was under a lot of stress. I needed first aid, so I took a flute and walked to a secluded beach near Ashdod's ancient citadel. I put the flute to my mouth and this is what came out. Seven minutes later, I forgot all about the stress. This melody will calm you to. I use it to sing Psalm 23. That's where the name "Calming Waters" come from. Enjoy it and feel free to download it, courtesy of "Lazer Beams".

Rabbi Lazer takes us to the holy city of Tzfat where we visit the gravesite of the famed scholar, Kabbalist and poet Rabbi Elazar Azkari (1533-1600). He composed the beautiful melody Yedid Nefesh ("friend of the soul"), which we all sing on Shabbat. Included here are the original Hebrew lyrics in English transliteration and a lovely vocal rendition by Asaf Neve Shalom.

Dynamo is an understatement when talking about the "Rockin' Rebbetzen", Naama Berger. She was Israel's #1 rock drummer in the mid 1990's. She broke the record for Israeli Women's powerlifting when she lifted three-times her bodyweight. She was the 48kg lifter on Israel's Olympic Weightlifting team. And today, as a Chassidic rebbetzen, she's still rockin', full speed. Meet this amazing woman...

Sometimes we need something to pick us up. Few things are better for a tired and aching soul than a melody.
My cherished spiritual brother, sweet singer David Dome from London, is my partner in "emunizing" melodies. We take a pleasant melody and add some soul to it with emuna lyrics and David's rendition.
Here's a taste of what we did to an old Irish ballad by the name of "Wild Mountain Thyme." Emunized, it's now "Neshama, Come Home". Enjoy it.
Lyrics by Rabbi Lazer BrodyMusic and Vocal by David DomeOh Mashiach times a comin'And the trees are sweetly bloomin'And The Voice from the mountainCalls in love and in emunaCome home NeshamaCome home....And we'll all go togetherTo hear The Voice on a mountainAnd we'll sing a song foreverCome home NeshamaCome homeI will then say a prayerBy yon high and holy mountainMy love song for my FatherFlows like waters from a fountainCome home NeshamaCome home...And we'll all go togetherTo hear The Voice on the mountainAnd we'll sing a song foreverCome home NeshamaCome home.....Come home Neshama come homeNeshama come homeHashem forever be with meFor there never is anotherAnd it's His Voice on the mountainCalling you and me dear brotherCome home , NeshamaCome home......And we'll all go togetherTo hear The Voice on the mountainAnd we'll sing a song foreverCome home NeshamaCome homeMy brotherCome homeMy sisterCome homeNeshamaCome home....

Maybe you think that you're not musical but King David says otherwise. Here's how the events of your life come together to create a beautiful melody that's ever so gratifying to the Almighty. The song of your life is so exquisitely unique, and here's what makes it such a special niggun (melody)...

You're invited to a very special Succoth event with Shlomo Katz and Lazer Brody; here's all about, with beautiful music by Shlomo and exquisite views of the Land of Israel - Chag Sameach!