View the harps and lyres at www.harrariharps.com. Shoshana can be reached at [email protected].
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The Healing Harp The healing power of the harp has been known since Biblical times. Three thousand years ago David was brought in to play for Shaul HaMelech. The king would go into deep depression because, although it wasn’t public knowledge, he knew that someone had been anointed in his place; he didn’t know it was David. When David played the harp, Shaul’s depression would lift (I Shmuel I 16:14-23). How ironic that the musician who healed the king was the source of his trouble!
Today, thanks to advanced research, the healing power of the harp has been proven scientifically. It all begins at the level of atoms: we know that every atom vibrates with a unique timbre. Researchers, like Dr. Ary Goldberger of Harvard Medical School, for example, believe that the vibrations of the harp, as opposed to other instruments, resonate at the precise timbre to adjust, or tune, the vibrations emitted by human cells. Dr. Abraham Kocheril, chief of cardiac electrophysiology at the Carle Heart Center in Urbana, says he has found signs that harp music might help regulate patients suffering from irregular heartbeats. Thus, it isn’t surprising that more and more people are turning to Vibroacoustic Harp Therapy (VAHT), a relatively new field of research and practice. The therapy is used to promote relaxation, improvement in sleep, decreased pain and anxiety, stabilization of vital signs, and improvement in mood. The sound of the harp also increases oxygen absorption and helps with nervous disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease and multiple sclerosis. At life’s end, as the soul leaves the body, the sounds of the harp can help a person transition peacefully to the next world.