 |
Contributor(s): |
Aharon N. Varady and Lieba B. Ruth
|
Categories: |
Sefirat ha'Omer, Nirtsah
|
Tags: |
eco-conscious, barley, wheat, counting, growing, apprehension, watchfulness, trepidation, growth, ecoḥasid, neo-lurianic, ספירת העומר sefirat haomer, ספירות sephirot
|
|
Each day between the beginning of Passover and Shavuot gets counted, 49 days in all, 7 weeks of seven days. That makes the omer period a miniature version of the Shmitah and Yovel (Jubilee) cycle of 7 cycles of seven years. Just as that cycle is one of resetting society’s clock to align ourselves with freedom and with the needs of the land, this cycle too is a chance to align ourselves with the rhythms of spring and the spiritual freedom represented by the Torah. . . . |
|
 |
Contributor(s): |
Joy Ladin
|
Categories: |
Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31), Well-being, health, and caregiving
|
Tags: |
transgender, transgender bodies, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, gender identity, gender expression, transition, gender transition
|
|
The transition ritual poems below are an effort to hear in the Torah the voices of the various parts of the trans self calling one another toward wholeness. . . . |
|
 |
Contributor(s): |
Alan Jay Sufrin
|
Categories: |
Labor, Fulfillment, and Parnasah
|
Tags: |
preparation, פיוטים piyyutim, public performance, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., performing artists, working, Needing Translation (into English), מודים Modim
|
|
This piyut (liturgical poem) arose after a very meaningful performance of mine in the summer of 2000. It was such a powerful experience that I was moved to say a prayer of thanks to G-d for the opportunity to perform my songs for audiences – but found no such prayer in existence. So I wrote this one. It took about a year to complete and I’ve been saying it backstage right before my performances, and sometimes before recording sessions, since then. . . . |
|
 |
Contributor(s): |
David Seidenberg and neohasid.org
|
Categories: |
Erev Pesaḥ
|
Tags: |
eco-conscious, חמץ ḥametz, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., ecoḥasid
|
|
May it be Your will Hashem that we remember that just as we do not own this ḥametz, we do not own this earth. May we once again recall that Adam, the human, is made of afar, soil, dirt, and that God’s promise Abraham that his progeny will become “like the dirt of the earth,” in Aramaic, afra d’ar’a, means that we must live to nourish all Life. . . . |
|
 |
Contributor(s): |
חיים היימס-עזרא and Jonah Rank
|
Categories: |
Yom Habḥirut, Elections & Voting
|
Tags: |
מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, Parliamentary Election, democratic process, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Needing Vocalization
|
|
May it be the will [before the Lord our God and the God of our ancestors] that this ticket which I am placing in my ballot will join thousands of other tickets that will promise reasoned leadership that will strengthen democratic values, aspire towards peace with our neighbors, separate religion and state, be concerned with the weak and protect the laborers, fight corruption and exercise leadership through personal role modeling. May it be the will [before the Lord our God and the God of our ancestors] that the nation sitting in Zion will merit years of freedom, quiet, productivity, education and good health and that our children may never fear at all. . . . |
|
 |
Contributor(s): |
Elli Fischer and חיים היימס-עזרא
|
Categories: |
Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies
|
Tags: |
מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, Parliamentary Election, democratic process, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., inauguration, Yesh Atid, Needing Vocalization
|
|
May it be Your will, Lord our God, God of our fathers and mothers, that I leave this house as I entered it – at peace with myself and with others. May my actions benefit all residents of the State of Israel. May I work to improve the society that sent me to this chamber and cause a just peace to dwell among us and with our neighbors. May I always remember that I am a messenger of the public and that I must take care to keep my integrity and innocence intact. May I, and we, succeed in all our endeavors. . . . |
|
 |
Contributor(s): |
Aharon N. Varady, R' Hillel Ḥayyim Lavery-Yisraëli and the Masoretic Text
|
Categories: |
Sefer Shemot (Exodus), Pesaḥ Readings, 7th Day of Pesaḥ, Parashat b'Shalaḥ, Psukei D'zimrah/Zemirot
|
Tags: |
symplegades, Az Yashir, שירת הים Shirat haYam, Song of the Sea, קריעת ים סוף qriyat yam suf, conflicting messages, safe passage, Yom Vayosha
|
|
According to Rabbinic tradition, the 21st of Nissan is the day in the Jewish calendar on which Pharaoh’s army was drowned in the Sea of Reeds, and the redeemed children of Yisrael sang the Song of the Sea, the (Shirat Hayam, Exodus 15:1-19). The song, as included in the the morning prayers, comprises one of the most ancient text in Jewish liturgy. The 21st of Nissan corresponds to the 7th day of Passover, and the recitation of the Shirat HaYam is part of the daily Torah Reading. Rabbi Hillel Ḥayim Yisraeli-Lavery shares a performance of a melody he learned for the Shirat Hayam from צוף דבש Tzuf Devash, a Moroccan synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem. If there is something about this tune that strikes one as particularly celebratory, it might be because the relationship between G!d and the Jewish people is traditionally described as a marriage consummated with the Covenant at Mt. Sinai. The passage of Bnei Yisrael through the Sea of Reeds towards Mt. Sinai thus begins a bridal march commencing in the theophany at Mt. Sinai, 42 days later. . . . |
|
|