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Arise 2:400:00/2:40
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She Renews 6:550:00/6:55
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Photosynthesize 3:220:00/3:22
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Lift Us! 3:510:00/3:51
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I Am 3:400:00/3:40
Oh Certainly
Oh Certainly
There must be
Spirit in this place and it was not known to me
Ahen yesh Shekhinah
baMakom hazeh v'anokhi lo yada'ti
Mah norah haMakom hazeh
Ein zeh beit Elokim v'zeh sha'ar hashamayim
Underneath these stones
Where I lay my head
Where I rest my bones
There was this vision I had
I see angels rise
And I see them fall
On a ladder to the skies,
Tell me what is the meaning of it all
Oh how great is this place
What can it be if not the gates of Elohim
Oh how great is this place
What can it be if not the home of the Shekhinah
Every particle of Earth
Every piece of every land
Every molecule of water folded under where I stand
Every stone and every soul
Every human every tree
Are connected in an ever-moving web of unity
Mah norah...
This song is about a story in the Torah in which Jacob rests his head upon stones and had a vision of angels ascending and descending a ladder to the heavens. Among many interpretations of this, a person's mind could be directed towards spiritual pursuit, but one must have one's feet grounded as well. We are the conduits between the physical and spiritual realms. In the plain text, the angels are "ascending and descending it," the "it" being the ladder. Since Hebrew has no word for "it," the Hebrew says that they go up and down at him, him being Jacob. What is this being that is both Earthly and spiritual? The angels are "ratzoh v'shov," running and returning, like the beings in Ezekiel's vision. Everything in the universe runs and returns. It is Itai's belief that every place has Divine dwelling, although not always revealed to us. Expanding one's awareness improves our relationship to Earth. It becomes more difficult to mistreat the land once one experiences her sacredness.