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2018 —⟶ Page 2 There are 24 books in the Tanakh. Of these, 21 (all but Psalms, Proverbs, and Job) share a grammatical system of cantillation marks, or te’amim. Of these 21, Ashkenazim have melodic traditions for reading eighteen of them. The Torah has its system, the prophets have the Haftarah system, the three festival scrolls have their shared system, and Esther and Lamentations have their own unique systems. But what of the three remaining books? . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): The most traumatic event in recent Jewish history is the Holocaust. At this time, the survivors of the camps are aging, and in the lifespan of people alive today it is likely that the last survivor will die. We say we must never forget what happened during the Holocaust, but if we think of it as a tragedy that happened to our ancestors we will forget. But it has been 3000 years since the Exodus from Egypt, and the Haggadah keeps its history vivid and alive. We are taught that in each and every generation we are to think of ourselves as having been slaves in Egypt. May it be that just as we never forgot the wonders of the Exodus, so too we never forget the horrors of the Holocaust, and continue to strive that such horrors may never happen again until all live in freedom and peace. . . . Categories: 🌐 Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), Kristallnacht (9-10 November, 16 Marḥeshvan), 🇮🇱 Yom haShoah (27 Nisan) Tags: 21st century C.E., כ״ז ניסן Nisan 27, 58th century A.M., Mourning this Broken World, North America, speaking truth to power, symbolic foods, the Holocaust, השואה the Shoah Contributor(s): These are piyyutim written in a traditional style, meant to introduce the opening of each book in the Torah. These piyyutim can be used at any time the opening line of the reading is said – on the Shabbat Minḥa/Monday/Thursday prior to the reading OR on the Shabbat morning of the reading proper. Because of this, the sheets arranged including the readings use two sizes – a larger size for the shorter first reading for weekdays, and a smaller size for the full first reading on Shabbatot. They can only be read when the first verse of the book is read. . . . This is a petition for the worker in the style of “Av Haraḥamim” and similar texts, using Biblical and Mishnaic language and co-opting it into a new meaning. It could be read after the Torah service (like many other petitionary texts) or focused on in private. The Biblical relationship between God, humanity, and labor is fascinating. Often it is treated as a curse placed upon us, and just as often as the purpose of humanity. In Genesis 3:19 it is the curse placed upon a disobedient First Adam, but less than a chapter earlier in Genesis 2:15 it is the reason for First Adam’s creation in the first place! In the past century or so, traditional Judaism has somewhat tilted away from the ideas of worker’s rights so clearly stated in the Tanakh and in rabbinic texts. Partially this was to disassociate from the Bundists, partially out of fear of “looking too Communist” in a xenophobic American society, and partially because the Jewish working class is nowhere near as substantial a part of the community as it once was. If this text is meant to do anything, it’s to show that love of God and love of the worker aren’t opposed to each other – in fact, they go hand in hand! . . . A prayer to recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-identifying folk before reading Parshat Aḥarei Mot (Leviticus 16:1–18:30) in the synagogue. . . . A prayer, inspired by Tefilat haDerekh and other traditional liturgical texts, for a Jew who, at some future point, would be about to go forth on a starship. Doesn’t include a chatimah so as not to be a brakhah levatalah, in the case that starships are (chas v’shalom) never invented. . . . Categories: Tags: 24th century C.E., 62nd century A.M., ascent, בלי־מה bli-mah, ההיכלות ויורדי המרכבה haHeikhalot v'Yordei haMerkavah, Jacob's Ladder, Jews of Star Trek, Leonard Nimoy z"l, Leonard Nimoy Day (26 March), North America, sic itur ad astra, space travel, spaceship, spaceship Earth, starship, תפילת הדרך tefilat haderekh, the Chariot, traveling without moving, where no earthling has gone before Contributor(s): A derivation of the popular piyyut for the Yamim Noraim, “Mi She’anu” which references the archetypal characters of the Star Trek paracosm. . . . Categories: Tags: 24th century C.E., 62nd century A.M., עננו anenu, Avot and Imahot, crossovers, deuterocanonical works, egalitarian, Jews of Star Trek, liturgy of the wandering stars, מי שענה Mi She’anah, סליחות səliḥot, Star Trek, Starfleet, תשובה teshuvah, United Federation of Planets Contributor(s): This is a system that seeks to create a Haftarah-like system for the reading of Psalms, linking their meaning to the meaning of the reading or the Shabbat of that day. Like the Haftarah system, there are special psalms for the Shabbatot leading up to and following the Ninth of Av, as well as specific psalms for Rosh Chodesh and the special Shabbatot. Unlike the Haftarah system, if two portions are read together or a special Shabbat occurs on a day when another reading is done, both psalms are read (since psalms are generally shorter and easier to read than prophetic texts.) . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): 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. . . . This system attempts to remedy that, selecting psalms that reflects the meaning of the holiday in some way. It includes every single commonly celebrated holiday, including sub-ethnic celebrations like Mimouna or Sigd as well as more recent national holidays like Yom haAtzmaut. It also includes a system for dividing Psalm 119, a massive 176-verse acrostic hymn to Torah, throughout the weeks of the Omer season as a preparation for Sinai. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): An Al Hanissim supplement for Sheva Asar b’Tamuz that acknowledges the fast day in light of the apparent achievements of the State of Israel, post-1948. . . . This vidui (confession), based on the traditional pattern of Yom Kipur confession, was written around 2011by Michal Talya and is used by several liberal communities in Israel. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., acknowledgment, על חטא Al Ḥeyt, confession, וידוי vidui, ישראל Yisrael Contributor(s): A mi sheberakh prayer by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried for the parents of students returning to school from their summer break. . . . If it is a mitsvah to guard our lives and strengthen our bodies in service of our holy mission, then there should be a brakhah (blessing) before we start a session of vigorous activity; any excuse to add blessings to our day is a wonderful opportunity for personal growth! . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., all bodies, Gratitude, מודים Modim, North America, שמירת הגוף shmirat haguf, תחינות teḥinot Contributor(s): The Bayit’s Tu BiShvat Seder Haggadah in PowerPoint presentation format was designed to be projected on a screen to save paper; accompanied by instructions for how to celebrate Tu BiShvat. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., four worlds, neo-lurianic, North America, sap, saraf, two minute meditations Contributor(s): This is a poetic rendering of the sixth blessing (of the Sheva Brakhot/7 Blessings) for a wedding. It riffs off of themes and language in the Hebrew text of joy, love, and companionship, and invocations of the Garden of Eden, creation, and eternity. Written originally for the wedding of friends; I hope you’ll feel free to adapt and rework it however suits your needs! . . . The names of our ancestors reflect the diverse tapestry of experiences and cultures they encountered including the names of those who joined our families from neighboring people and regional societies. In giving and receiving Hebrew names, we honor the names of all our ancestors whose “names may be remembered for a blessing” (zekher livrakha). Of the ancestors mentioned in the mi sheberakh (“May the one who blessed our forefathers and foremothers…”), I wanted to make certain to include Mordekhai and Esther, names of figures distinguished in their being both native to their Diasporan roots (Marduk and Ishtar), as well as elevated by the heroic, brave action of their namesakes. If there are figures from the Tanakh that are important to you, that are a kesher (connection) between you and the identity contained within our stories, then please feel free to include them in your mi sheberakh. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): The Al Cheyt (literally meaning “For the sin…”) is a confessional litany recited on Yom Kippur. It is an alphabetical acrostic; each one of its verses starting with a successive letter of the aleph-beit, to represent not only the moral failings that are specifically enumerated there, but the fullness of every way in which we missed the mark in the previous year. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., acrostic, על חטא Al Ḥeyt, Alphabetic Acrostic, communal confession, confession, paraliturgical Al Ḥet, paraliturgical vidui, וידוי vidui Contributor(s): “Us and Them,” by Barbara Gish Scult was shared by Mel Scult via the Open Siddur Project discussion list on Facebook. . . . “An Intention for the New Year (5779)” was first published by Rabbi Menachem Creditor online at his blog and shared with the Open Siddur Project through our Facebook discussion group. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, North America, Prayers for the New Year, תקון tiqqun, United States, weariness Contributor(s): | ||
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