THE TRIBE

I was born to the exiled
To the chosen and the tested
To the ancient and the destined
To the wretched and the blessed

I was raised with kings and prophets
Holy books copied by scribes
Rules and codes of the covenant
A member of the tribe
The tribe

They drew the lines and set the limits
I knew which I could not cross
For the survival of a people
Who have wandered but never been lost

There he stood on the outside
Far from the symbols and the signs
He didn’t know what I meant when I said I was
A member of the tribe
The tribe

I said, “Don’t you know what I am? Doesn’t it show on my skin?”
He said, “No, I see you deeper, within.”

I was tangled by tradition
Tied up in what had always been
Blood and boundaries and conditions
Between the sacred and the sin
Would he always be a stranger
With his arms open wide?
Could I meet him as a woman
Not as a member of the tribe
The tribe

SONG OF SONGS

Let me hear your voice
Let me see your face 
You are beautiful, let me hear your voice
Let me hear your voice
Lovely and sweet
Clear as water, let me hear your voice

He said, “don’t hide, my dove In the cracks and corners of the mountainside.”
He said, “Show me who you are, my love
The season of the songbird has arrived.”
Let me hear your voice
Let me see your face
You in the garden, let me hear your voice

I said, “my beloved, I don’t belong.”
He said, “come sing to me the song of songs.”
Let me hear your voice
Let me see your face
You are beautiful
Lovely and sweet
Clear as water
Hashmeini et kolech (*Hebrew for “Let me hear your voice”)
Let me hear your voice

JERUSALEM

You drew me in with winding streets
Fragrant gardens terraced in the hills
Persimmon, fig and olive trees
The seven gates where I stood still

You tempted me with copper sunrise
Ancient ruins of those who yearned
Your beauty was the perfect disguise
So I wouldn’t see the bloodstains at every turn

I kept coming back to you, this city made of stone
Your golden mountains and a thousand generations’ bones
You hid your secrets, so you’d always be unknown
Yerushalayim
Yerushalayim

I came to live on your shining land ate your fruits and drank your wine
But somehow I just couldn’t understand
Why it felt like you weren’t really mine
I was raised to hunger for your holy ground
And in your direction told to always pray

But now I see you can’t be found
You’re just a dream one has before each dawning day

Will I come back to you, this city made of stone
Your golden mountains and a thousand generations’ bones
Let my right hand wither if I forget you
Yerushalayim
Yerushalayim

LILITH

They call me a demon
Wild, without reason
I’m the night owl flying
I left Eden for the desert
Leaves for wings and feathers
But you won’t see me crying
I rise when the sun goes down
I rest in the shadows of barren ground
The raven and I have no spirit of shame
Lilith is my name

They say I seduce men
And steal children
They say I feed your darkest fears
Adam couldn’t hold me
God couldn’t mold me
But I would not disappear

I rise when the sun goes down
I rest in the shadows of barren ground
The raven and I have no spirit of shame
Lilith is my name
Lilith is my name

The prophets may tell
That only jackals will dwell
In this wilderness of bones
But I stood my ground
I remain free and unbound
I sleep soundly alone
I rise when the sun goes down
I rest in the shadows of barren ground
The raven and I have no spirit of shame
Lilith is my name


Pillar of Salt
words & music: Sharon Goldman ©2016 Sharon Goldman Music/BMI

A hot desert wind drives along the sand
She holds her veil across her face with a shaking hand
The smell of sage and cinnamon
Mixed with fear and ash
Sun rises over the burning city
And her daughter says
Don’t look back
Don’t look back

She is a nameless wife and mother, no one hears her voice
She longs to stay but she must follow, she doesn’t have a choice
All she knows was swept away
Now bitter tears roll down their path
The sun blisters her skin as she falls behind
And she hears the words
Don’t look back Don’t look back

A pillar of salt is all that remains
You will find her frozen on the desert plain
Punished for turning her gaze
She could not obey
Don’t look back
Don’t look back
 

Rose of Sharon words and music by Eliza Gilkyson ©Gilkysongs/Bluewater Music BMI

I am a rose of Sharon
A lily of the valley
As a lily grows among the thorns
Love in this world has found me

As an apple tree among the trees
That grow deep in the forest
My lover’s form is comely
With life and limb most joyous

Rise up my love and come away
The rain is over and gone
Your love is the fruit of my darkest day
And I am your Rose of Sharon

His gentle hand lies under my head
His shoulders turned to face me
I shall not stir him from my bed
While he doth so embrace me

Oh, bring me wine to pass the time
Though none but him can soothe me
I am my beloved’s and he is mine
Desire for his pleasure moves me

Rise up my love and come away
The rain is over and gone
Your love is the fruit of my darkest day
And I am your Rose of Sharon
And I am your Rose of SharonThe Sabbath Queen words & music: Sharon Goldman ©2016 Sharon Goldman Music/BMI

The Sabbath Queen
Brushes her flowing hair
Washes her face clean
Everyone is waiting for her
She is dressed in pure white
To usher in the Sabbath night as the beloved bride
Her pearls shimmer in the candlelight

In the mirror’s reflection
Dark circles around her eyes
She powders them to perfection, the queen’s disguise
She woke at dawn to bake the bread
And prepare the evening meal
Sewed her gown with silken thread
She looks as tired as she feels

Lecha dodi likrat kala
Penei shabbat nekabla 2X      
[**Traditional Hebrew prayer translation: “Come my beloved, to greet the bride, As we welcome the presence of the Sabbath”]

Behind her veil sometimes she wants to disappear
She bites her polished nails, her lipstick smears
She may have blisters on her feet
Still she must stand to meet their gaze
Be quiet and smile sweet
And receive their joyful praise

They open up the door
She brings them peace and rest
Like she did the week before
She always does her best
But underneath her sacred crown
She is not ideal
The Sabbath Queen can’t let them down
But she is real

Lecha dodi likrat kala
Penei Shabbat nekabla 2X

 

IN MY BONES
 

Whispers of prayer
Rhythms I understand
Shadows of souls swaying
Singing melodies old as the desert sand
I know them like the back of my hand

Echoes of blessings
Over spices and wine
The ghosts of my ancestors haunt me
They speak a language that used to be mine
I remember every line

It’s in my bones
In my bones
In my bones
Like names etched in brass cobblestones
I can’t erase what is my own

Braided candle flickers
As a new week begins
The wax drips like a sigh on my fingers
Burns with the memories sealed in my skin
I can’t scrape off who I have been

Voices of memory
Rise from their fate
Faces that wandered through centuries
Reflected in my grandmother’s silver plate
I feel the weight

It’s in my bones
In my bones
In my bones
I can’t run from all I’ve known
Because I’m already home

THE BRIDE

She is the bride
Standing underneath the wedding canopy
She stands beside
The handsome groom who breaks the glass joyfully
Everyone is laughing
Everyone is singing

As she dances
Whirling in a circle of family and friends
How could she know
This is the beginning of the end
The band is playing
Lifted in two chairs they are flying

Kol sasson ve kol simcha, kol chatan ve kol kallah
Voice of joy, voice of gladness, voice of the groom and voice of the bride

This is her day
Dressed in white, she is as beautiful as a queen
But years from now, with strands of gray
She’ll realize it was someone else’s dream
The sound of blessings
Echo with the ache of something missing

ohhh…..Someday she’ll stand in the doorway
ohhhh…..She will pray for the strength to walk away

Kol sasson ve kol simcha, kol chatan ve kol kallah
Voice of joy, voice of gladness, voice of regret and voice of sadness
Di-di-di-di-di

 

LAND OF MILK AND HONEY

The land of milk and honey
Is bittersweet
The taste of blood and berries on my bitten tongue
As I wander ancient streets

I am a stranger
In a strange place where everything is so familiar
It’s been so long since I’ve seen these faces
That look like mine but I don’t belong

In the land of milk and honey
Nothing is as it seems
War overlooks fields of wildflowers
Peace is buried in dreams

Every mother loves her sons and daughters
On whichever side she stands
But hate runs deep like hidden water
Flowing underneath the desert sand

Eretz zavat chalav,  chalav u’dvash
Eretz zavat chalav, chalav u’dvash
2X

The land of milk and honey
Is filled with promise and fear
I ride the bus from the mountains to the sea
And wonder why I’m here

There’s a soldier sleeping next to me
With a gun across his shoulder
The sun shines on his face
As we pass olive trees and barbed wire

Eretz zavat chalav
Chalav u’dvash
2X

I COULD HAVE SWORN

I saw a falcon fly
It flew as fast as time
I thought it carried my memories
All my years on its wings
Across a mountainside

I saw the harvest moon rise
Autumn season in the night sky
The psalm says our days are like a breath
A fleeting shadow across our eyes

And I could have sworn
I saw you in the sea of stars
Dancing in the light

I heard a sycamore tree
Whisper as its leaves
Fell as slowly as a Sabbath day
Their work is done
They can finally rest in peace

I heard a chickadee
Calling out to me
Like a Kaddish echoed across the cold and barren woods
A prayer or a plea

And I could have sworn
I heard your voice in the wind
Singing in the breeze

I felt the drops of rain
Scatter down my face
As if all my tears were washed away
Just as summer has gone without a trace

And I could have sworn
I felt your hand in mine
We were together again in our place

​​​​​​​KOL ISHA


Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol Isha

Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol Isha

 

Kol Isha

A woman’s voice is naked, forbidden

Don’t raise that sweet sound in front of men

Silence, silence girls

Sit quietly

Don’t sing out loud

It might arouse attention

 

Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol Isha

Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol ISha

 

When I was twelve

I sat behind the great divide

On the women’s side I could only listen

How I wanted to be the one

Who sang for the many

The favorite son

But daughters were raised on modesty

I wanted to be free

 

Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol Isha

Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol Isha

 

The bible says Deborah sang in victory

And Miriam sang her song at the sea

 

A woman’s voice

Is the boundless force of life unhidden

We cry, we laugh, we shout, we sing

Let us sing

 

Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol Isha

Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol Isha

 

Three Stars

 

Searching for three stars

The sign of the end of the Sabbath day

She wonders if God is really everywhere

Does he hear her when she prays?

 

When Sabbath ends they blow out the flame

Every week is just the same

Searching for three stars, Three stars

 

She sits on the front steps

Looking for her future in the sky

Sometimes she thinks God hides behind the moon

If only she could fly

 

When Sabbath ends Daddy drinks the wine

But nothing moves as slow as time

When you’re searching for three stars

Three stars

 

Her mother says

“Someday you’ll miss having nothing to do but wait.”

But she knows this is not her destiny, nor her fate

 

Billions of stars hang in the universe

That we can’t see

These days I’m still searching the heavens

For what God means

 

And maybe I will never know

But I found my way in this world I had to go

Searching for three stars

Three stars