
Ellaya speaks
Sufi poetry
Spoken Word Artist


My journey
Ellaya is an Israeli storyteller, spoken word artist, Buddhism and mindfulness teacher and workshop leader.
She performs and leads workshops throughout Israel and abroad.
She is the co-creator of "Come Whoever You Are"-- a journey into the spirit and
soul of Jallauddin Rumi and additional productions that celebrate spiritual poetry
including her own. She lives and breathes Rumi and Hafiz poetry, is maker of
the Religion of Love Rumi Cards and has translated many of Rumi's poems from
English to Hebrew. She is also a dharma (Buddhist teachings) teacher and
certified mindfulness teacher, forever drawing her inspiration from the wells of silence
from which all words and music arise.
In 1995, Ellaya Ayal Mor fell in love with storytelling.
Images, archetypes and the power of the spoken-word captivated her being.
Studying the art of storytelling both in Israel and in England she threw herself
into the world of stories, performing for all ages, touring, conducting workshops
and immersing herself in the infinite richness and magic of story and myth.
Gradually her love of Sufi poetry took over. Rumi and Hafiz became her two best
friends and speaking their poetry as one might tell a story became her unending passion.
In 2010 she created the performance "Come Whoever You Are", a unique tapestry
of music, whirling and words that tells Rumi's story and draws the audience into his
burning search for the beloved. The performance became widely acclaimed in
Israel and additional Sufi poetry productions, shows and workshops followed.
Collaborating with some of Israel's best musicians Ellaya became a figure that for
many serves as a gateway into the profound world of Sufi poetry.
Her poetry presentations are deeply personal, endowed with a natural flow from
which an exquisite intimacy bubbles forth. "I love speaking this poetry" she says.
"I love breathing life into the words, transforming them into images which become
live entities that then serve as keys into hidden corners of our hearts and souls".
Ellaya's love of poetry is enhanced by her love of silence.
She began practicing Buddhist meditation at the age of 22 and has been devoted
to the path of the dharma (Buddhist teachings) since. She is a certified mindfulness
teacher and teaches Buddhist meditation retreats and courses, infusing her
teachings with poems that as she says, "bring home insights that thousands of
lengthy explanations cannot". As she speaks and performs, she drinks from the
wells of silence that years of meditation practice have opened her to.
Her deep love of Rumi gave birth to the "Religion of Love" Rumi cards; 51 delicately
designed cards, each carrying a carefully picked Rumi poem or sentence that offers
readers poignant tastes of beauty, inspiration and insight. The cards are sold on
her website and although advertised merely by word of mouth, throughout the
years have found their way to all corners of the earth from Alaska to Singapore.
In 2014 Ellaya was invited to 'Sound and Silence', an international sacred music
festival in Europe, and since has spent significant portions of her
time touring abroad, collaborating with different musicians and
igniting people around the world with her love of spoken Sufi
poetry and the beauty and wisdom that is at its essence.
The rest of her time is spent in her home country of Israel,
deepening and expanding her creative work as a Sufi
spoken-word artist and teaching Buddhism and mindfulness.







View my videos

Ocean of my Dreams-- Ellaya Ayal Mor and Estelle Zaghloul, prayer for peace in the Middle East

God's Classroom -- Hafiz poems, spoken by Ellaya Ayal Mor

Poem by Hafiz; Do you know how beautiful you are
Performances and workshops

Love Said to Me
Diving into the mystical poetry
of Rumi and Hafiz
"Let the beauty you love be what you do" Rumi
"Love said to me" is a deep submergence into the healing, heart-opening essence that emanates from the words of Rumi and Hafiz. The powerful poignant words of these two master poets are woven into songs, sounds and silence, moving through the different colors of love radiating from the poems. Through laughter and lightness to tender sweetness, poignant longing and ecstatic joy, Ellaya and Elise envelop their audience in a magical web of devotional music and poetry that sing to us of the beauty we love.
Ellaya Ayal Mor : spoken poetry
Elise Yuill Cohen: vocals, harmonium, guitar
"Love Said to Me" can also be performed with other musicians.



Fountain within
Meditative sound / Poetry Journeys
"There is a fountain within you.
Why walk around with an empty bucket?" Rumi
A deep meditative journey guided by the powerful poignant words of Rumi and Hafiz. Weaving the words of these two masters into intuitive silence and sounds produced by musician friends, Ellaya takes listeners through the various phases of the soul's journey. Moving through the different shades of union and separation, joy and pain, love and loss, the words of Rumi and Hafiz lead participants through the alleyways and avenues of the heart, opening hidden channels into the deep eternal fountain that bubbles from within.


Journey to You
"One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began". Mary Oliver
Three powerful women weave their gifts and arts into a breathtaking performance that takes the audience on a journey into the depths of a woman's quest for her own soul. Original poems and prose, the writings of Mary Oliver, Rabia and additional exquisite poets are woven into a rich fabric of music and dance that call spectators to embrace all parts and pieces of the journey to the core of their beings; the "Journey to You".
Sigal Ziv: dance
Sharon Ben Tzadok: vocals
Ellaya Ayal Mor: spoken poetry

Embracing the Beloved
Sufi Poetry Workshops
The poems of Rumi and Hafiz are living entities to be tasted, spoken, felt, moved and breathed from within. Using voice, movement, meditation, imagination and other forms of expression, this workshop offers participants a deep, intimate and playful encounter with the poetry of Rumi and Hafiz.


Come Whoever You Are
a journey into the spirit and soul
of Jallauddin Rumi
An enchantingly beautiful tapestry of words, music and movement, steeped with flavors both ancient and contemporary, into which Rumi's poems and stories are woven into the narrative of his life.
Music, spoken word, storytelling and whirling, are woven into a hypnotizing evening that draws the audience into Rumi's burning search for the "Beloved". As the story unfolds, spectators are invited to drink wine, toast, sing, chant, pray and join their human hearts and souls with Rumi’s eternal universal quest for Love.

Rumi Cards - Religion of Love
Hafiz Cards - The Laughter of God
Upcoming events

31/1/2020
"Embracing the Beloved" workshop
as part of the "Inspiration" gathering
26/2/2020
On the Wings of Love
6-15/3/2020
Love Said to Me
at
Sound And Silence Festival Costa Rica
30/04/2020
Fountain Within
26/08/2020
Love Said to Me
Totnes England
27/08/2020
Love Said to Me
Glastonbury England