Music & audio © 2024 Alexander Massey – All Rights Reserved
On Shabbat morning, as part of the Amidah blessings, we sing prayers in a call and response. Every prayer tradition has different texts for the parts that the leader recites, so I had to choose which rite I was going to set. The text I used here comes from the World Progressive movement, which includes American Reform Judaism. It’s a wonderful challenge to try and set a text in such a way that it has structural logic that works both musically and expresses what the words are about. And then the setting also needs to be something that everyone can sing, and will bear repeating many times, potentially weekly. I thought it worth trying to write a new setting, especially as I think we do need to aim to ‘sing to God a new song’ from time to time.
Leader: Let us sanctify Your Name on earth, as it is sanctified in the heavens above. As it is written by Your prophet:
All: Holy, holy, holy is Adonai Tz’vaot! God’s presence fills the whole earth.
Leader: Source of strength, Sovereign One, how majestic is Your presence in all the earth!
All: Blessed is the presence of God, shining fourth from where God dwells.
Leader: God alone is our God and our Creator, our Ruler and our Helper; and in mercy, God is revealed in the sight of all the living.
All: I am Adonai your God! Adonai shall reign forever, your God, O Zion, from generation to generation, Hallelujah! To all generations we will declare Your greatness, and for all eternity proclaim Your holiness. Your praise, O God, shall never depart from our lips. Blessed are You, Adonai, the Holy God.
(Translation from Mishkan T’fillah, p.248)