This piece was done completely on the 30-string modern lyre. Obviously there are multiple tracks, so it could be considered a piece for a lyre ensemble.

I try to keep to the idea that a niggun must have a discernable melody that can be sung with 'la la la' or 'dai dai dai'. This piece meets that requirement, I believe.

This melody first came up while I was riding my bike, but it works for walking down a dirt path as well. It is a melody for traveling, for motion.

There are many things that are distractions, or worse. Sometimes tragedy or near tragedy strikes without warning. Other times it's just the endless stream of responsibilities and juggling. Occasionally there's a moment to look back and wonder at making it through the twists and turns of each day. Through It All, somehow there's growth and forward movement. That is the feeling behind this song.

This piece was inspired by the poetry of the Andalusian Jewish poets of 11th and 12th century Spain. This was done at the time I was reading poetry by Judah ha-Levi,Solomon Ibn Gabirol, and Shmuel HaNagid - but specifically Judah ha-Levi (the "Sweet Singer of Zion") is the most intensely inspiring. The poems about wine, gardens, storms, nature, all bring an immediate romantic sense. His poems about the Sabbath and Zion have a yearning that is much needed, especially in America. Refering to Zion:

Zion! will you not ask if peace is with your captives

That seeks your peace -- that are the remnant of your flocks?

From west and east, from north and south -- the greeting

"Peace" from far and near, you take from every side;

And greeting from the captive of desire, giving his tears like dew

Of Hermon, and longing to let them fall upon your hills.

To wail for your affliction I am like the jackals; but when I dream

Of the return of your captivity, I am a harp for your songs.

My heart to Bethel and Peniel yearns sore,

To Machanaim and to all the places where your pure ones have met.

There the Presence abides in you; yea, there your Maker

Opened your gates to face the gates of heaven.

And the Lord's glory alone was your light;

No sun nor moon nor stars were luminants for you.

I would choose for my soul to pour itself out within that place

Where the spirit of God was outpoured upon your chosen.

- from "Ode to Zion"

This lyre piece was specifically made as a song for preparation for Shabbat. This niggun was played on the lyre with Sabbath Menuha in mind.

The Sabbath (Shabbat) is not just a day to stop working and rest. It is a day inserted into our weekly cycle in time that is actually outside of time, if we honor it. It is a gift of time given to show us what will be. Menuha is a Hebrew word usully translated as "rest", but applied to the Sabbath it means happiness, stillness, peace, harmony. The ancient sages say that it was Menuha that was created on the seventh day, as the final act to complete creation (did you notice that this is track 7?).

This is my own version of the "Song of the Sea" that the Israelites sang at the edge of the Sea of Reeds (Yam Suf) celebrating their escape from Pharoah's army and their deliverance from slavery. I envisioned Miriam and a host of people doing a dignified dance with frame drums, cymbals, and maybe even a few lyres. I know this is probably a stretch. They were more likely dancing around wildly in a frenzy of relief and celebration, but my version is closer in spirit to the traditional melody sung in the Synagogue for the Song of the Sea.

Iktibas is an Arabic word. One of it's meanings is to light a flame from another flame. The origin is from the practice of lighting your camp fire from your neighbor's fire, but came to take on a meaning of continuation from one thing to another. This piano piece is in the style and spirit of the solo piano tracks on my previous CD "Small Acts", so I called this song Iktibas, as it creates the link of continuation from "Small Acts" to "Chasing Stray Flames".

The melody for Slave's Dream has been with me for a very long time. The melody came from a poem I wrote a long time ago as well. It begins:

Where I come from I carry with me.
Where I am is a million places.
Where I live is my survival.
Where I dream is my next home.

As a stranger in the land,
I speak so very softly.
So very few extend their hand to me.
It's a circumstance unplanned,
most changes seem to come from
the dreams of slaves yearning to be free.

I thought putting this song at the end of the CD would be appropriate, especially considering the title of the next CD. Stay tuned!

The first few simple notes are meant as a call back from the hectic world to prepare for a Day of rest. The overall feeling I wanted to create was "I'm ready". The Sabbath day is as if the world was created anew, hence the name.

If a butterfly flaps its wings across the world, what effect does it have? It has an effect. Can we discern it? For this song I imagined a fairly busy butterfly. All things are connected. The smallest act of good or evil has an impact on the world.

This is a little tribute to Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, although you probably wouldn't recognize it as such. The single note rapid-fire staccato playing I scatter throughout Small Acts has its roots in the playing style Anderson does on his flute in much of his music. I've seen Tull many times. The last time In October, 2005 at the Backyard in Austin, TX. A great concert.

Keeping a promise isn't such a small act, but it can be. Children remember the smallest promises, and whether you cared enough to keep them or not. These small acts have a big impact in developing trust. This one almost didn't make it on Small Acts. It's a bit long, but I liked the theme that does appear in it, and it brings out a bit more blues.

A late night walk is a simple and small act that can clear the mind and allow for good thinking time. Friday night is a good time to do it. I used to walk my dog when I lived in Minnesota at night, even when it was 20 below zero. Maybe that's why I live in Texas now.

This one is a bit of a trick. Is the Sabbath over? Instead of a nice peaceful song to end Small Acts, I wanted to add back the tension. The tension between the sacred and profane is fuel to continue repairing the world. There is anxiety created when I work to have one foot in the world as it is, and one in the world to come.

This Hasidic niggun is at least 150 years old. It is sung by several Hasidic communities, but may have originated with the Blozhov Hasidim. Devequt means 'cleave to' or 'attachment' to the divine, during prayer, and throughout life. This melody is used by many Jewish communites, Hasidic, National Religious, and Conservative (among others) as the melody for various Sabbath piyyut/hymns. Achieving a state of devequt is a goal for a Jew during Jewish prayer or when performing the 613 mitzvot (the "commandments"). A person strives to obtain the level devekut meaning "cleaving" or "attachment", and to come very close to the Creator while praying and eventually during all stages of life. It is a spiritual state just short of "mystical union" - where an individual's identiy is completely lost in unity with the divine - hence the sense of "attachment" rather than union. I felt that this melody could be realized through the lyre. Humming along with the lyre assists in achieving the desired state of mind and soul.

Lechah Dodi is a song to welcome the Sabbath composed by Shlomo HaLevi Alkabetz in the 16th Century. Lechah Dodi means "Come my Beloved". Shlomo Alkabetz was a leading figure in the Safed group of Scholars associated with mystical practices and Kaballah. The song is a joyous greeting of the Sabbath, like a groom awaiting his bride. You can find out more about Lechah Dodi at Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lekha_Dodi

This is a short Lyre and Flute piece. The flute was played by Israeli guide Yuval in the Tel Dan nature reserve in Israel at the headwaters of the Jordan River. The Tel Dan Reserve in Israel encompasses an area surrounding the sources of the Dan River, one of the Jordan's major tributaries.

The largest of four sources of the Jordan River, the Dan Spring emerges at the base of Mt. Hermon next to Tel Dan. You can stand and watch the water come bubbling up out of the ground, like a miracle. It flows for four miles before joining the second largest source of the Jordan River, the Banias Spring.
The reserve includes the remains of the ancient city of Laish (Judg 18:29) or Leshem (Judg 19:47), which was an important center in biblical times.

The tribe of Dan migrated to the area during the early days of the Judges era, took the city, and gave it their tribal name. In the days of King Jereboam, one of the golden calves was placed here (bad).

The lush greenery and cool waters make a visit here peaceful and special. On a recent trip to Israel, I visited the Dan Reserve. We stopped next to a rushing stream. Our guide, Yuval took out a small wooden flute, and played a soothing melody. We stood on the stones and listened to the flute and bubbling water.

I captured this on my video camera.When I returned to Texas, I recalled that moment, and extracted the audio from the video tape. I listened to Yuval's flute, played at the headwaters of the Jordan river, and added the sounds of the lyre. The result is this short piece that mixes the flute melody of a native born Israeli, with the lyre of a diaspora Jew from America. At times you can hear the rushing water, and some clunks of moving rocks in the background.

NOTE: An inscription belonging to a large basalt slab was found at Tel Dan in 1993, making international headlines. It is unique for several reasons: because it is very old; dating to around the 9th century BCE, and because it’s the very first time that the House of David is mentioned in a text outside the Bible. Some archaeologists question its authenticity (of course).

Kavanah means devotion, intent, or concentration. The first set of Lyre Kavanah (Kinnor Kavanah) pieces were created in the period just before Tisha B'Av 2004. This is the first piece in that set. Tisha B'Av (the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av) is a recurring day of tragedy throughout Jewish History. Both Jewish Temples were destroyed on that day, along with many other sad events through history.

For this piece and the others in the set, I fasted for at least one day before playing or recording anything, in order to improve the quality of my focus and devotion. This is played on the 30-string Lyre. It is called "31 strings" because I consider myself to be the 31st string. But my desire is to become a string that makes no sound, to become transparent. Then perhaps I can hope to become a more true and pure sounding instrument.

'Havdalah,' which is Hebrew for "separation", is a ceremony where a blessing is said with wine, candles and spices to mark the end of Shabbat (Sabbath) on Saturday evening. The separation highlights the distinction between Shabbat and the other days of the week. The practice of the Havdalah ceremony goes as far back as the fourth and fifth century B. C. E.

Shabbat is more than a day of rest from work. It is an acknowledgement that nothing comes from my own hand, that everything comes from the Creator of all things. Without this acknowledgement, idolatry follows, creating the false belief that I am responsible for my own success, not the One who controls everything. Havdalah serves to close this special time, reaffirmng that even though I return to do what must be done to earn a living, I understand that whatever happens comes from the will of the Creator.

Upon the closing of the Havdalah ceremony, a blessing is recited affirming distinctions in all part of our lives which concludes with "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who distinguishes between sacred and profane (Bayn Kodesh LeChol)."

What we gain from this blessing is a reminder to separate, to draw a distinction between one thing and another. The idea here is a subtle one. A lot of what we do during the day involves figuring out the differences between things so that we can make correct choices. What Havdalah reinforces in us is to learn how to distinguish between things that may not appear to be so different unless we really consider them, and to draw a dividing line where the borders are fuzzy and the differences are not clear.
Jewish law is built on a deep foundation that illuminates subtle differences and distinctions. It may not always be clear to us what is holy and what is profane, or that this thing is pure and another is impure. Much devotion and effort has been offered throughout the ages to teach us how to differentiate, how to separate clean from unclean, sacred from profane and how to choose life over death. To be able to recognize the holy in all things serves as a guide for action, and allows us to see its uniqueness and to ultimately cherish it.

This song, played on the 30-string lyre,starts out with the daily 'grind'. Try the image of a hamster running on a wheel.

However, there is a 'second theme' that comes in that is the thread of the spiritual infusing the mundane things of the day with a spark. Then the grind stops, and a time and melody for spritual connection only comes. Imagine that these interludes are times of prayer. Then once again the 'race' continues, and back and forth, separating, fusing, then blurring together, hopefully with the right choices being made along the way, until once again Shabbat comes......

Schedrin was a town, a Jewish Shtetl in ByeloRussia. This song is a snapshot of a muddy mainstreet in Schedrin on a winter’s day as people shop at the market, and then they disappear. It is played on the 30-string Lyre.

My Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather Zalmen Epstein settled in Schedrin, ByeloRussia. At it’s peak 4,000 Jewish souls called Schedrin home, including several generations of my ancestors.

This song is a snapshot of a muddy mainstreet in Schedrin on a winter’s day as people shop at the market, and then they disappear.

Around 1841, some 9700 acres in Byelorussia, southeast of Bobruisk were purchased as an estate in the name of Lubavitcher Rebbe Mendel Shneerson from Prince Schtzedrinov, in Minsk. 300 Jewish families were invited to settle in the new colony of Schedrin. 325 acres on the edge of town were given by the Rebbe to Chaim Golodetz, one of his Hasidim, who established an ‘estate’ for his family and ran a large and prosperous lumber company, employing many of the residents of Schedrin.
The residents were granted special government privileges, among them a long term loan of 200 rubles, by the Provincial treasury, to be repaid with farm produce. The settlers prospered and were soon able to devote several periods of the year to Torah study. The establishment of the Schedrin colony impressed Russian Jewry and Government officials alike. The Governors of Minsk, Vitebsk, and Mogilev provinces wrote laudatory letters to the Ministry of the Interior in regard to the officially sanctioned colony

In 1897, there were 4,022 Jews in Schedrin (95% of the total population of the town). It was a true Jewish “shtetl”.

In 1910, my grandfather's family came to America from Schedrin on the Lusitania from London to Ellis Island, and settled in Sioux City, Iowa. He was eight years old. His family left as many other Schedriners were also leaving, just before the Russian revolution, and before the Nazis came.

One afternoon in 1941, the Germans came to Schedrin and told everyone to remain inside. The next morning they assembled them in the street and marched them to the edge of town. The people were told to dig a ditch, line up on the edge, and hold hands. They were machine gunned, falling into, and pushed into, the ditch which was then covered over with dirt.
Records indicate that in 1941, there were 380 Jewish families (about 1,400 inhabitants) in Schedrin - all of whom were killed by the German killing squad, the Einzatsgrupen, on that fateful day.

From 1841 to 1941 there existed in Byelorussia, the town of Schedrin. For 100 years it remained a Jewish community only to perish at the hands of Nazi exterminators.

Magen Avot is a part of the Seven-faceted Blessing of the
During the time of the Talmud, most Synagogues were located outside of town, in the open. It was dangerous to walk home in the dark alone after evening prayers, so the Sages of the time added an extra prayer for the congregation, so that as individuals finished up their prayers, everyone stayed longer singing the Seven-Faceted Blessing, which was created as a "summary" of the seven main blessings in the daily prayers.Amidah (daily prayers). I played this on a 30-string lyre, with harmony.

On March 27, 2002, Twenty-nine people were killed and 140 injured - 20 seriously - in a suicide bombing in the Park Hotel in the coastal city of Netanya, Israel in the midst of the Passover holiday seder with 250 guests.

In the seemingly unending blur of horrible terrorist attack news, this event affected me a great deal. Some of the victims at the Seder were Holocaust survivors. To die in this way is a tragedy on top of a tragedy. I needed to address the pain of this event, and did so by forming this song as a tribute and a memorial to the victims.

The form this song took on reflects the Seder ritual. and the theme of "fours" that surround the Seder - four cups of wine, four questions, the four sons.

The Torah uses four expressions of freedom or deliverance in connection with our liberation from Egypt (see Exodus 6:6-7). The four cups of wine correspond to the four distinct redemptions incorporated in the Exodus: Israel's physical removal from the geographical boundaries of Egypt; the delivery from Egyptian bondage; the creation of an inherently free people, immune to any future possibility of enslavement; and Israel's election as G-d's chosen people at Sinai seven weeks later on the festival of Shavuot.

This song follows the theme of four as well. There are four main instruments involved in playing the themes - Piano, violin, flute, and guitar. One thing I didn't want to do was make this a dirge - a song of mourning, even though it was a sorrowful event filled with overwhelming sadness and pain. I wanted the core feeling of the song to be victory and strength through adversity, not lamentation.

There are also four identifiable themes in the song:

1. The guests arrive. The usual pleasant chatter and anticipation of a warm social evening.

2. Sitting down to the Seder, becoming a group ready to recount the story of the Exodus from Egypt.

3. The telling of the story. The longest theme, reflecting the wandering in the desert (hamidbar).

4. A version of the second theme, but more "violent". The chaos after the terrorist's evil act, followed by resolve, and at the end, even a hope for peace.

This song first appeared on the LP album "Fuel For the Fire" in 1985. I remastered it to preserve some 'roots' for historical purposes. This song shows some roots in Jetrho Tull music.

Sumerian Moon was played using the harmonic notes from the Lyre of Ur. I constructed a GigaStudio instrument out of samples sent from the Lyre of Ur project in England in order to be able to 'play' the lyre. I wanted to create an authentic feel, using some creative license, for lyre music played on this instrument 4,550 years ago. Other instruments on this track include frame drum and bass dumbek.