The vision for an album titled Dance in the Expanse has been a dream of mine for years. The title comes from my two favorite verses of the Bible. Psalm 118:5- Min hameitzar karati Yah, anani bamerchav Yah- I call out to G-d from a place of narrowness and G-d answers me in Expansiveness; and Psalm 30:12- Hafacta mispedi l’machol li- G-d transforms my mourning into dancing. I loved the ideas of dancing and expansiveness and knew there was a song there. All of the music on both albums has come to me in G-d’s time. I have never sat down with the intention to “write a song”- so I shouldn’t be surprised that my several attempts to do so with this concept of dance and expanse over several years failed miserably. Then, one night after returning home from my first week at the Davennen Leadership Training Institute, I felt something magical happening. I began to sing a new melody to myself and within a few minutes “Dance in the Expanse” had found its home.

Other songs on this album include “Zeh HaYom,” a meditative chant in three parts celebrating Psalm 118:24’s declaration that THIS is the day that G-d has created, and we should celebrate and be joyful in it; “Modah Ani,” the first prayer that is traditionally said when one wakes in the morning and that speaks of our gratitude for the Divine for waking us up and returning our soul to us for another day; “Through the Shadow,” a piece inspired by the words of Psalm 23 and that channels the heartfelt activism that so many of my friends and teachers are immersed in; and “Ashrei,” a fun big-band style piece that celebrates the Joy that is felt when one finds home within the Divine. 

The title song of Open the Gates: Songs of Love and Longing for the Divine was written on Asara B’Tevet, which is observed as a minor fast day in many traditional Jewish communities. I was a fellow at Yeshivat Hadar and was struck by the line “Petach sha’arei shamayim litflilateinu” while we were davenning the special section of prayers in the morning service to commemorate the day. These four words ask G-d to open the gates of heaven to our prayer. I imagined all of us as beams of light, grounding into the earth and rising into the heavens. I imagined our channel to the Divine being cleared of all blockages and all of our prayers harmonizing and rising together through the gates of heaven. I meditated on this verse throughout the day and by the time I got home “Open the Gates” was born.

Other songs on this album include “Baruch Shalem,” a healing lullaby written for the beautiful baby boy that I carried as a surrogate mother last year, whose Hebrew name is Baruch Shalem, which means Blessed Wholeness; “Hashkiveinu,” a pleading prayer from the evening liturgy which asks G-d to keep us safe while we sleep and to return our consciousness to us at the end of the night; “L’cha Dodi,” a prayer sung by Jews around the world every Friday evening as we welcome the Shabbat Bride to join us for the gift of Shabbat; and “Prelude 2010,” a piece which was first created in 2010, during a time in my life which served as the catalyst for all of the spiritual growth and seeking that continues to this day.