Nava Tehila is an emerging, inclusive spiritual Jewish community based in Jerusalem that brings together people from all backgrounds for joyous prayer. Over the last couple of years we have been blessed with an influx of many new niggunim (holy chants), that are especially suited for singing in community and bringing the presence of Shechina (God) to dwell in our midst.
In Nava Tehila we choose a spiritual topic for each Kabbalat Shabbat service. Often it stems from the Torah portion of the week, sometimes it relates to a festival in the coming week or to an event in the life of the community. When we prepare we read through the Psalms and allow a certain phrase or a few verses to come into our attention. Then a niggun (tune) comes down to grace this verse that transforms it into a holy chant that is sung over and over until it sinks deep into our heart and soul. The seven (or eight) phrases from the Psalms will then present themselves to us as a process, a spiritual journey that takes us, through the use of guided kavvanot (intentions) through wonder, struggle, joy, elation, dance, tranquility and eventually peace. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.