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2017 This is a piyyut (liturgical poem) which is intended to be recited at a brit. It is connected to my liturgy for a “chag hachnassah labrit” (available here). The explanation for the chag is also the basis for the piyyut. Translation into English by Shoshanna Gershenson, Maeera Schreiber and Aryeh Cohen. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., brit milah, circumcision, לכה דודי Lekhah Dodi, North America, פיוטים piyyuṭim Contributor(s): I offer here a prayer for the Earth, which you may wish to use in your personal prayer practice or as part of a community to which you belong. It could be included as one of the prayers after reading the Torah. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): The Blessing over Separations was first read by Shelby Handler on Rosh Ḥodesh Kislev at the 2017 ADVA Reunion, a reunion of the community of Adamah Farm fellows and Teva Learning Center educators at Isabella Freedman Retreat Center. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Adamah Farm, blessings, ברכות brakhot, English vernacular prayer, הבדלות havdalot, North America, Prayers as poems Contributor(s): This Yom Kipur, our congregation (Beth Jacob Synagogue in Hamilton) requested a reworking of the piyyut, “Amits Koaḥ” (text, audio) since the language is very tough and resists plain translation into English. I was also commissioned to write a poem describing the history of the world from a Jewish perspective, from scratch and in English, for use at the beginning of the Avodah service. It turned out to be just as obscure as the original so I put in a little column to the right with a little reference what I was talking about. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Amits Koaḥ, drash, English piyyutim, mytho-history, פיוטים piyyuṭim Contributor(s): A thought about the need to seek forgiveness from those you’ve wronged during this week before Yom Kippur: . . . Categories: Days of Judgement & New Year Days, Repenting, Resetting, and Reconciliation, Separation, Self-Reflection Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Aseret Yemei Tshuvah, Between people, beyn adam l'adam, Due deferrence, self-forgiveness, סליחות səliḥot, תוכחות tokheḥot, זמן תשובה Zman teshuvah Contributor(s): Trisha Arlin first published this prayer for a communal confession on Rosh Hashanah LaBehemot on her liturgy site, here. Elements of this vidui (confession) are derived from the Kavvanah before Blowing the Shofar on Rosh Ḥodesh Elul for Rosh Hashanah LaBehemot (New Year’s Day for Domesticated Animals). . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., animals, בהמות behemot, חשבון הנפש Ḥeshbon HaNefesh, predatory nature, וידוי vidui Contributor(s): A prayer for the safety and success of those leaving home to go off to college and university. When children go off to college, parents can feel worried about the future of their children. Empty-nest syndrome can set in and spiritual guidance is often needed. This prayer uses the idioms of Biblical and siddur language to create a text for parents who worry about their children’s future as they head off on their own. It could be said 49 days after Tekufat Tammuz in the diaspora (August 28 or 29 after a leap year – approximately the time when college terms begin in the US) or on the first Saturday after Shmini Atzeret ba’aretz (approximately when college terms begin in Israel) . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., children, college, North America, parents, students, supplications, תחינות teḥinot Contributor(s): There is a famous Seliḥot prayer where each of its lines has this structure: “May He who answered ___________, may he answer us.” The blank refers to assorted Biblical figures who faced great challenges, ranging from Avraham the Patriarch to Ezra the Scribe. The traditional list is also VERY male-focused, with the standard text only listing Esther from all the great Biblical women. This is a shame, and many have tried to remedy this. I have found myself under the opinion that all these remedies have a fault – they attempt to combine the original text with the new text. This means either the original text is shortened, or the full text is far too long. As well, the structure is very male-oriented as well, appealing to God’s male side and only using grammatically male language. . . . A Tu biShvat prayer for the trees of the land of Israel and the world over, that they not be victims of deforestation. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Clean Air, deforestation, eco-conscious, Forests, North America, Trees Contributor(s): A piyyut for an under-recognized holiday, Pesaḥ Sheni, the festival of second chances (as described in Numbers 9:6-13 and Mishnah Pesaḥim 9:1-3. I attempted to write this in the manner of a traditional piyyut. The meter is equivalent to the Shabbat zamir “Ot Hi l’Olmei Ad.” The Hebrew spells out Yod – Tzadi – Ḥet – Kuf, because that’s my name. The translation is original, along with the notes. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): A Mi Sheberakh prayer for those affected by natural disasters. This prayer uses many standard liturgical phrases in a new context to stress that God, while full of great power, is not a God of destruction but one of peace and life. Quoting the famous vision of Elijah at Ḥorev, this prayer is for those who seek comfort and tranquility from their God. . . . Chaya Kaplan-Lester’s “Prayer for – Finally – Getting Back to WORK” was first published on her Facebook page, here. The Hebrew word Todah תודה, means grateful. The English word ‘ta-da!’ is an onomatopoetic form of a horn (Cf. 1913 Sphinx July 98/1): “Coming front in utter disgust, he [sc. a conjuror] tells them [sc. the orchestra] that that won’t do, that he wants something like ‘tadaa!’ from all of them. They seem to understand, so he goes off again. On his reappearance, however, he is met with a loud tumult, as all the orchestra shout out in unison the word ‘tadaa!’” (Oxford English Dictionary). . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., After Sukkot, English vernacular prayer, First day of creation, God as co-worker, Gratitude, ירושלם Jerusalem, כוונות kavvanot, kivun, מודים Modim, Openers, Post-Ḥag, Sunday, workers, ישראל Yisrael Contributor(s): “A Blessing for Creating” comes by way of David A.M. Wilensky (with approval by the blessing’s author, Rabbi Adina Allen) who shared a photo on Facebook of a posterboard on which the blessing was written. The poster was made for the first ever Kabbalat Shabbat organized by the Jewish Studio Project, whose mission is “to activate creativity in individuals and communities to reclaim Jewish values, make meaning in our lives and restore hope to the world.” Vocalization added by Aharon Varady. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., blessings, ברכות brakhot, Constructivism, creativity, North America, San Francisco Contributor(s): Rabbi Marvin Hier offered this prayer of blessing for Donald Trump and the United States of America on January 20, 2017 at the inauguration day ceremony. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 45th President of the United States, 58th century A.M., Donald Trump, English vernacular prayer, inauguration, Psalms 15, שתדלנות shtadlanut, United States Contributor(s): Ramadan Mubarak رمضان مبارك. “A Jewish Prayer for the Month of Ramadan” with its English translation was first published by Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger on his website, “Breaking Bread and Barriers: Solidarity through Prayer” on 15 June 2017, and composed by him for a Muslim-Jewish Iftar (break-fast) on 14 June 2017. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Arabic translation, Break Fasts, ארץ ישראל Erets Yisrael, German translation, Jewish-Muslim Friendship, Muslims, Mutual Understanding Contributor(s): This prayer for peace for the citizens of Syria and residents of Aleppo was first published by the Masorti Movement in Israel, via their web page here. The prayer was transcribed to Unicode Hebrew by Aharon Varady. Translation adapted by Aharon from one provided by Rivka Kellner in a Facebook comment. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Aleppo, Chemical attack, Masorti Movement, Syria, Syrian Civil War, ישראל Yisrael Contributor(s): Blessings and prayers for the eclipse, at: neohasid.org/eclipse including texts and links to other Internet resources. May we all find blessing in the wonder. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Coronation, Crowning, Eclipse, eco-conscious, ecoḥasid, North America, the moon, the sun, total solar eclipse Contributor(s): “A prayer on the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War” by Rabbi Ofer Sabath Beit Halachmi was first read on 11 Sivan 5777 (June 5th 2017) and published on his Facebook page. English translation: Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, Rabbi Andrea Coustan London and Daniel London. . . . From resurgent neo-fascist movements to religious extremist attacks, hate crimes are on the rise all over the world right now. At times like this many people live in fear – fear of being attacked or maligned, physical, mental or emotional. Hatred is not new to the Jewish people, but traditionally it was considered “just the way it is.” As Americans, we should believe better. The midrash (Devarim Rabbah 5:10) says that hateful speech kills three – the speaker, the listener, and the subject. This Mi Sheberakh was written as a prayer for all those of every people and nation that are affected by hatred and bigotry. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): The goal of this project was to produce a complete prayerbooklet for the Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv service that was as compact as possible yet user-friendly. This booklet is designed to be printed on 9 double-sided sheets of paper, folded and saddle stapled. It was commissioned for a minyan held annually at the Arisia science fiction convention in Boston, MA, and dedicated in honor of Leonard Nimoy, z”l (1931–2015). Since Arisia takes place in mid-January, we omitted all special insertions for holidays and other times of year. A companion booklet which includes insertions for year-round use is in the works. . . . | ||
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