Here is a list of songs to cover a wide range of lifecycle moments: birth & baby blessings, death (including funeral, Yizkor, memorial), bar/bat mitzvah, conversion, weddings, illness & healing, and moments of crisis or heightened need. There are also songs for making sacred space, celebrating joy, and offering general blessings of goodwill.
Making sacred space
- Ashrei Yoshvei (Ps 84:5) – gentle, short chant; easy for people to pick up and join in with. Voice and guitar.
- Shalom Aleichem, Aleichem Shalom – gentle, short song, only two words; welcoming each other in peace. Voice and guitar.
- V’asu Li Mikdash (Ex. 25:8) – “We we’ll make You a holy home, and You will dwell with us” – a text for the completion of the Sanctuary, this can also be sung in the spirit of people creating a collective sacred space, and that the couple under the chuppah will be making a home together and sanctifying it. Voice, with guitar or piano – also works as a two-part round.
- V’shavti B’veit Adonai (Ps 23:6) – “Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”. For unison voice and guitar, or a round for two voices, with or without guitar.
Joy and Celebration
- Ki L’Olam Chasdo (Ps. 136:1-2, 5-6, 16, 25, 3, 26) – an upbeat piece in 3/4 that encourages audience participation; listeners can join in with the refrain ‘ki l’olam chasdo!’. Leader singer, with guitar or piano; there’s also an arrangement for SATB
- Oneg Nigun – a gently joyful piece in 5/8 (oneg literally means ‘pleasure’ or ‘delight’)
- Simcha Song (Ps 81 selected verses) – a riotous piece that celebrates whatever the occasion is, acknowledges God as the source of all goodness, gently notes that some present at a simcha may be feeling some private sadness, and joyfully invites everyone to eat! Can be sung unison with piano or guitar, or as a three part round, with or without accompaniment.
Blessings
- Baruch Atah, B’ruchah At (Blessed Shall You Be) – “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field, blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and blessed shall be the fruit of your land. Bless shall you be in your goings, blessed shall you be in your comings; I will bless those who bless you, and you shall be a blessing. Baruch atah, blessed shall you be, b’ruchah at, you shall be blessed.” Encompasses all people and all genders.
- Y’varech’cha (Priestly Blessing) (Num.6:24-26) – ‘May the Lord bless you and keep you.’ This can be sung solo/unison, with guitar, or full piano accompaniment; there is also an arrangement for full choir (SATB) and piano. The full Hebrew blessing is sung, and the middle section is a translation into English.
Birth and babies
- Nireh Or / In Your Light (Ps.36:8-10) – a traditional text at a baby blessing, which can be used for a boy or a girl. Arranged for single voice, with guitar or piano accompaniment.
- B’ruchah Haba’ah (Blessed Is She) (Ps. 118:26; Song of Songs 6:10) – A blessing for the baby girl; a simple tune, the guests can pick up the refrain easily by ear and join in.
Bar mitzvah / Bat mitzvah
- B’nei Mitzvah Nigun – lively, and simple. Single unaccompanied as a single tune, or as a 2 or 3 part round.
- Nireh Or / In Your Light (Ps.36:8-10) – Blessing a boy or a girl. Arranged for single voice, with guitar or piano accompaniment.
Wedding
- Kumi Lach Rayati / Rise Up, My Love (Song of Songs) – solo and duet versions; full versions in Hebrew or English are available, including a full piano part, or just guitar chords; verses from Song of Songs.
- Libavtini Achoti Chalah (Song of Songs) – verses (and part verses) selected from Song of Songs; solo voice and guitar
- Mi Adir – this can be sung as a solo, or as a duet. There is an arrangement for either piano, or solo voice and string quartet.
- V’erastich Li (Hosea 2:21-22) – including Hebrew and English sections, and a full piano part, this has arrangements for solo or duet
Funeral, Yizkor and Memorial
- Essa Einai / I lift my eyes (Ps. 121) – solo, unaccompanied voice; versions in Hebrew or English.
- Kaddish – Energetic, and upbeat, this can be sung free-style by a solo voice, or rhythmically, accompanied by a guitar. Despite being the prayer for mourner’s, this text does not mention death, but affirms the Source of Life, the positive influence of this force in the world.
- V’shavti B’veit Adonai (Ps 23:6) – “Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”. For unison voice and guitar, or a round for two voices, with or without guitar.
Conversion
- Your People Will Be My People (Ruth 1:16-18) – A pledge to join, and stay with the people of Israel, and to honour God as One. This can be sung solo/unison, with guitar, or full piano accompaniment; there is also an arrangement for duet and piano.
Healing
- Ana Eil Na / Please Bring Healing (Num 12:13) – a short, gentle chant that guests can pick up very quickly (ie. no need to teach it).
- V’shavti B’veit Adonai (Ps 23:6) – “Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”. For unison voice and guitar, or a round for two voices, with or without guitar.
Moments of crisis or heightened need
- Adonai, Adonai No.1 – A yearning meditation on the 13 attributes of the Compassionate One.
- Adonai, Adonai No.2 – A warm, optimistic meditation on the 13 attributes of the Compassionate One.
- Adonai Roi (Ps 23) – A gentle psalm of reassurance; includes a refrain meaning ‘YHVH is my shepherd; I shall not fear’, that everyone can join in with.
- Ana B’choach – An intense, ancient incantatory text for invoking God’s protection. This setting includes a 4-bar nigun between every 2 verses.
- Dudeleh (Ribono Shel Olam) – A song of both yearning for God, and reassurance that ‘there is no place empty of God’. God as Lover is present at even the darkest and bleakest moments.
- Ein Keiloheinu No.2 – Perhaps similar to ‘Dudeleh’ in the idea that God is beginning and end, all things – we acknowledge, praise, thank and bless God. This is a gentle, contemplative setting.
- Essa Einai / I lift my eyes (Ps 121) – Unaccompanied solo voice; the setting is for Hebrew words, with an alternative English lyric sensitively translated / interpreted. This psalm explores seeking—and finding—help from God.
- I believe in … – A song affirming the courage and kindness of strangers (God’s love revealed through the actions of people). “I believe in the sun, even though all around be dark. I believe in God, even though he be silent. I believe in love, even when love must hide.” The original text on which this song is based appeared during the Second World War, on the wall of a cellar in Cologne, and is believed to have been written by one or more Jews hiding from the Nazis.
- Nigun Chakartani Vateida – Inspired by verses from Ps 139: “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!”
- Nigun Galut – Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (ztz”l) taught that in yearning, we already begin to make that re-connection, even while the yearning continues to burn strongly within us.
- Nigun Nachamu Nachamu – A melody for comfort.
- Sh’ma Adonai Kol Ekra (Ps 27) – “Hear, O Lord, when I call with my voice, and be gracious to me, and answer me.” The tune for the first half of the verse reaches stepwise ever higher as the voices reach upwards to be heard. The tune for the second half gradually descends and settles, with the relief of being answered by God’s graciousness.
- Trust In You (Ps 131) – A song about the quiet inner struggle between how much to surrender to God, and how much to take responsibility for one’s own salvation.