Shared by Trisha Arlin on ט׳ באדר ה׳תשע״ב (March 3, 2012) I have been asked to write a healing prayer So I tried But I can’t do it I don’t have the soothing words I’m in pain Right now And it’s been going on for a while And it looks like it’s going to last longer than it takes to write this prayer
So instead I offer to you A pain prayer . . . → Read More: Heal Me
Shared by Haviva Ner-David on ח׳ בשבט ה׳תשע״ב (February 1, 2012)
The following is a meditation I wrote (with the help of my friend Shira Gura, who teaches meditation and Yoga) to be used on Friday before Shabbat at the mikveh. It is based on midrashim related to Shabbat (for example, the notion that we receive an additional soul on Shabbat), as well as meanings behind mikveh in general (for example, the connection between the waters of Creation and the mikveh waters), and on some kavanot (sacred intentions) that came out of the Kabbalah and Ḥassidut movements. There is a strong tradition to write kavanot to use before immersing in the mikveh, since, as Maimonides writes in his Mishneh Torah 11:15, “If a person immerses but without buttressing him or herself [with sacred intention], it is as though he or she has not immersed at all.” . . . → Read More: Mikveh Meditation for Erev Shabbat by Rabbi Haviva Ner-David and Shira Gura
Shared by Andrew Meit on ג׳ בתשרי ה׳תשע״ב (October 1, 2011) By Andrew Meit, written upon the death of his mother, Sonie Meit, the 28th of Sivan 5771 –כ״ח בְּסִיוָן תשע״א. . . . → Read More: Kiss of death: a prayer upon the death of a parent
Shared by Jessica Minnen on כ׳ באלול ה׳תשע״א (September 19, 2011)
As the month of Elul wanes, we are preparing. We prepare for the new moon, we prepare for Rosh Hashanah, and we prepare for the zombie invasion. I have it on good authority, as do you, that the onslaught is imminent. The alarm blares every morning — a shofar blast and a warning… . . . → Read More: A D’var Tefillah on Zombies, Elul, and Psalms 27 by Jessica Minnen
Shared by Gilah Langner on י״ז באב ה׳תשע״א (August 17, 2011) Traditional Judaism offers a confessional prayer, or vidui, to be recited during a time of serious illness or near death. If the patient is unable to recite the prayer, others may do so on his or her behalf. This modern adaptation [of vidui] places less emphasis on atonement for sins, and more on the bonds connecting the patient to his or her loved ones. It can be recited by a friend, family member, or chaplain on behalf of a person who is very ill, especially when life and death are hanging in the balance. . . . → Read More: Prayer in a Time of Serious Illness by Rabbi Gilah Langner
Shared by Effron Esseiva on י״א בסיון ה׳תשע״א (June 13, 2011)
We are grateful to Effron Esseiva of the Shirat Hayam on Bowen Island havurah and Or Shalom Synagogue in Vancouver for sharing his recording and abbreviated translation (below) of El Malei Raḥamim (lit. “God, full of Compassion”), the prayer for the departed traditionally read at the unveiling of the headstone. Effron is studying davvening leadership . . . → Read More: El Maleh Raḥamim (Prayer for the Departed) translated and sung by Effron Esseiva
Shared by Arthur Waskow on י״ג בניסן ה׳תשע״א (April 17, 2011)
Jews use the Kaddish to mourn the dead, though it has in it only one word — “nechamata,” consolations – which hints at mourning. And this word itself is used in a puzzling way, once we look at it with care. As we will see below, it may be especially appropriate in time of war. The interpretive English translation below may also be appropriate for prayers of mourning and hope in wartime by other spiritual and religious communities. In this version, changes in the traditional last line of the Hebrew text specifically include not only peace for the people Israel (as in the traditional version) but also for the children of Abraham and Hagar through Ishmael (Arabs and Muslims) and for all the life-forms who dwell upon this planet. . . . → Read More: Mourner’s Kaddish in Time of War and Violence
Shared by Yakov Green on כ״ג באדר ב׳ ה׳תשע״א (March 29, 2011)
Yakov Green shares a short kavvanah (intention, meditation) which he wrote in Hebrew one morning at Beit Midrash Elul in Jerusalem. He later translated it into English. תפילת דרך משולשת | Triple Prayer for the Road . . . → Read More: A Kavvanah for Crossroads: Triple Prayer for the Road by Yakov Green
Shared by Shai Held on ה׳ באדר ב׳ ה׳תשע״א (March 11, 2011)
Ruler of Creation, Master of the world: Have mercy on all those who are suffering from the raging waters and the storming waves. Have compassion on Your creatures – Look, O Lord, and see their distress; Listen, God, and hear their cries. Strengthen the hands of those who would bring relief, comfort the mourners, Heal, please, the wounded. Grant us wisdom and discernment to know our obligations, and open our hearts so that we may extend our hands to the devastated. Bless us so that we may walk in Your ways, “compassionate ones, children of compassionate ones.” Grant us the will and the wisdom to prevent further disaster and death; Prevent plague from descending upon Your earth, and fulfill Your words, “Never again shall there be another flood to destroy the earth.” Amen. So may it be your will. . . . → Read More: Prayer in the Wake of the Tsunami
Shared by Aharon Varady on ג׳ באדר ב׳ ה׳תשע״א (March 9, 2011)
In 1806, Rebbe Naḥman of Breslov taught that the recitation of ten psalms could act as a powerful Tikkun (remedy) in a process of t’shuva leading to an awareness of the divine presence that permeates and enlivens this world but is alas, hidden though an accretion of transgressive thoughts and actions. Five years later, Rebbe Naḥman revealed the specific ten psalms of this Tikkun to two of his closest disciples, Rabbi Aharon of Breslov and Rabbi Naftali of Nemirov… . . . → Read More: The Tikkun Haklali according to Rebbe Naḥman of Breslov
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