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Contributor(s): |
Arthur Waskow and the Shalom Center
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Erev Shabbat, Erev Pesaḥ, Shavuot, Earth, our Collective Home & Life-Support System, Sukkot, Rosh haShanah (l’Maaseh Bereshit), Yom Kippur, Ecotastrophes
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20th century C.E., eco-conscious, kindling, North America, candle lighting, 58th century A.M., כוונות kavvanot, English vernacular prayer, ecoḥasid
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“Between the Fires: A Prayer for lighting Candles of Commitment” was composed by Rabbi Arthur Waskow, drawing on traditional midrash about the danger of a Flood of Fire, and the passage from Malachi. . . . |
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Contributor(s): |
Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
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Conflicts over Sovereignty and Dispossession, Tishah b'Av
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ירושלם Jerusalem, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Universal Peace, tetrapuncta, Municipality of Jerusalem, ציון Tsiyon, Peace in Jerusalem, Israeli–Palestinian conflict
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On Tisha be’Av, Jewish communities all over the world add a paragraph called Tefilat Naḥem (the prayer of comfort) to the standard daily Amidah (either for the afternoon service or for all services) praying for a return to Jerusalem. The traditional text discusses Jerusalem being defiled, in the hands of the idol worshipers, putting our people to the sword. But post-1967, Jerusalem has been under Israeli control, and this text has, to many people, felt no longer appropriate in the face of a Jerusalem being rebuilt. Many have written their own versions of a new Tefilat Naḥem for a Jerusalem under Israeli control, but I have felt dissatisfied with a lot of these. Some treat Jerusalem as already fully redeemed, which any glance at the news tells you isn’t the case. Others treat the major step in redeeming Jerusalem as building the Temple, but this seems to me to be only one eschatological part of a larger hope for Jerusalem. Jews have often considered the peace of Jerusalem to be a microcosm of the peace of all the earth. Thus for the Shabbat and Yom Tov Hashkivenu we pray for God to “spread the shelter of peace over us, all Israel, and Jerusalem.” The name Jerusalem, ירושלים, has been analyzed as “they will see peace” יראו שלום, since the peace of Jerusalem means all will see peace. But it’s clear that the peace of Jerusalem is not final or eternal, and it remains a city on the edge of a knife. So my version of Tefilat Naḥem prays not for a return, nor for a Temple, but for the peace of Jerusalem. It can be used at the same time as the standard Tefilat Naḥem (as an extension of the Birkat Yerushalayim in the Shmoneh Esreh for Tisha b’Av) or on its own. Thus I used four asterisks (a tetrapuncta) instead of God’s name, for those who would prefer to avoid a b’rakhah levatalah. Those who would prefer to use this blessing in the Amidah itself could replace the tetrapuncta with the name itself. . . . |
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Contributor(s): |
Ed Towbin-Issur haLevi
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Tehilim Book 5 (Psalms 107–150)
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eco-conscious, North America, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., כוונות kavvanot, Reconstructionist Jewry, תקון עולם tiqqun olam, Psalms 121, Paraliturgical Psalms 121
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At B’nai Havurah, the Denver Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, located in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, we consider this psalm a local favorite. Psalm 121, described as a Song for the Ascents, traditionally looks to the heights, where godly powers were believed to reside, such as Mt. Sinai, or the Acropolis, to find divine help, in the person of God or The Unseen One. My proposal is a variation that adjusts our focus to this world, away from the supernatural, to acknowledge our responsibility for the well-being of ourselves and the environment. Whatever deeds and actions that may need to be taken for repair and preservation of our world, we are responsible for. To look for others to do the work for us, or to postpone acting until divine help comes, may turn out to be the height of recklessness for our own, as well as our children’s future. First we acknowledge what is here and real, then we commit to do what we can to solve problems and make things better. This variation is designed to allow it to be sung, with some adjustments, in community with others who are singing the traditional version in Hebrew and English. . . . |
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Contributor(s): |
Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Noson Sternhartz of Nemyriv
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Kosher Slaughter
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19th century C.E., Breslov, fasting, תחינות teḥinot, 56th century A.M., Problematic prayers, sheḥitah, transmigration of souls, gilgul hanefesh, Prayers adapted from teachings, kosher slaughter, memory, shoḥtim, pedagogy, children's education, Likutei Tefilot, gilgul neshamah, dveykut, anti-Enlightenment, curses, spiritual hunger and thirst, צדקה tsedaqah, חסידי ברצלב Ḥasidei Bratslav (Breslov), Needing Proofreading
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Reb Noson’s Likutei Tefillot I:37 contains teḥinot derived from Rebbe Naḥman’s Likutei Moharan I:37. . . . |
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Contributor(s): |
David Seidenberg, Arthur Waskow, neohasid.org and the Shalom Center
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Yom haMabul (Day of the Flood, 17 Iyyar, Lev ba-Omer)
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ל״ג בעומר lag baomer, North America, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer
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“Between the Fires” by Rabbi David Seidenberg, originally published at neohasid.org, is derived from the prayer of Rabbi Arthur Waskow (the Shalom Center), “Between the Fires: A Prayer for lighting Candles of Commitment” which draws on traditional midrash about the danger of a Flood of Fire, and the passage from Malachi. Another version of this prayer by Rabbi David Seidenberg, “A Prayer between the Fires (between the 32nd and 42nd days of the Omer)” is available, here. . . . |
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