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a community-grown, libre Open Access archive of Jewish prayer and liturgical resources
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Veterans Day Prayer at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, by Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, Chaplain, USN (Ret.) Contributor(s):This Veterans Day Prayer was first published by Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, Chaplain, USN (Retired), on his twitter page. He writes, “Because of COVID this is the first Veterans Day in a long time I am not part of a ceremony — and I know that’s the situation for many fellow vets. So I wrote it yesterday to share today as a virtual prayer for Veterans Day 2020.” On 11 November 2022, Rabbi Resnicoff offered the expanded revision of this prayer as offered above at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. . . . Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff on 23 October 2020 Contributor(s):The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 23 October 2020. . . . Contributor(s):Invocation for a virtual Memorial Day ceremony at the Washington DC Vietnam War Veterans Memorial. . . . Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Seth Frisch on 5 February 2020 Contributor(s):The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 5 February 2020. . . . Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Romi Cohn on 29 January 2020 Contributor(s):The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 29 January 2020. . . . Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Barry Block on 10 January 2020 Contributor(s):The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 10 January 2020. . . . Contributor(s):A soliloquy in the voice of Judith. . . . Contributor(s):The blessing recited prior to the Shema, in the wording of Michal Talya. . . . Contributor(s):Four morning blessings inspired from traditional blessing in the Birkhot haShaḥar and Shaḥarit services. . . . Contributor(s):An al hanissim prayer for the State of Israel’s Day of Independence. . . . אדמה ושמים | Adamah v’Shamayim (Earth & Heaven), a prayer-poem by Rabbi Louis Polisson after the song by Shimon Lev-Tahor (Suissa) Contributor(s):This poem was composed at the end of August 2020 / Elul 5780 as part of Rabbi Katy Allen’s Earth Etudes for Elul 5780. . . . Contributor(s):The text of the Sheva Brakhot from the birkon of Honi Sanders and Simona Dalin. . . . Contributor(s):The major themes of the Rosh haShanah musaf liturgy, color coded with the three central blessings of the service presented comparatively in parallel columns. . . . ברכת קיבוץ גלויות | Blessing for Kibuts Galuyot (Ingathering of exiles), for weekday Amidah by Rabbi Noa Mazor Contributor(s):A prayer for the ingathering of Jews from the Diaspora to Erets Yisrael. . . . הַגָּדַת “וַיְבִאֵנוּ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה” | “And Hashem Brought Us to This Place,” a Magid supplement for Those Living in Erets Yisrael Contributor(s):According to Mishnah Pesaḥim 10:4, “One expounds (doresh) from ‘A wandering Aramean was my father’ (Deuteronomy 26:5) until he finishes the whole story.” This supplement to Maggid, the verse Deuteronomy 26:9 and its midrash, fulfills the obligation. The verse and its midrash fit into the Passover Haggadah after the ten plagues and the midrash on them, right before the song Dayyenu. . . . כְּגַוְנָא | k’Gavna (Just As) from the Zohar parashat Terumah §163-166, a paraliturgical interpretive translation by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat Contributor(s):A paraliturgical translation of “k’Gavna” — a portion of the Zohar on parashat Terumah read before Ma’ariv in the ḥassidic-sefardic nusaḥ. . . . Contributor(s):This prayer is not a comprehensive list of every single sin we sinned, every error we erred, every mark we missed. The original Al Ḥeyt is intended to show us the roots of all failures, to dig beneath how we harm, to see where that hurt came from. We follow these trails together, not absolved from our own repairs, but never alone in struggles to uproot, to propagate new ways of being ourselves, new ways of being ourselves, of being together. . . . 💬 קריאות לראש השנה לבהמה | Torah and Haftarah Readings for Rosh haShanah la-Behemot on Rosh Ḥodesh Elul Contributor(s):A reading for the New Year’s Day for Animals — Rosh haShanah laBehemot — on Rosh Ḥodesh Elul. . . . 💬 קריאות לימי זכרון השואה ורצח עם | Torah and Haftarah Readings for Holocaust & Genocide Memorial Days Contributor(s):A Torah reading (divided into three aliyot) and a Haftarah reading to be recited for days commemorating genocides such as (but not limited to) the Holocaust. . . . ברכת המזון לסעודה מפסקת לפני יום הכפורים | Birkat haMazon for the Pre-Fast Meal for Yom Kippur, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s):This acrostic poetic form of Birkat haMazon was written for the se’udah mafseqet (pre-fast meal) before Yom Kippur, in the manner of the poetic Birkat haMazon variants recorded in the Cairo Geniza. . . . ברכת המזון לראש השנה לבהמה | Birkat haMazon Supplement for Rosh haShanah la-Behemah, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s):This is a poetic text for Birkat haMazon, signed with an alphabetical acrostic and the name of the author, to be recited on the first of Elul. It celebrates the variety of God’s creation as exemplified by the natural diversity of species, as well as alluding to the livestock tithes traditionally assigned on the first of Elul. . . . ברכת המזון לסעודה מפסקת ערב תשעה בעב | Birkat haMazon for the Seudah Mafseqet (Pre-Fast Meal) of Tishah b’Av, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s):A Birkat haMazon with additions for the pre-Fast meal of Tisha b’Av . . . 📄 סֵדֶר סִימָנִים לְרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה – שִׁכְתּוּב אַנְגְּלִי שֶׁשּׁוֹמֵר לָשׁוֹן־שֶׁנּוֹפֵל־עַל־לָשׁוֹן | Order of Simanim for Rosh haShanah — an English paraphrase that preserves wordplay, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s):Many communities have a custom of reciting “simanim” on the night of Rosh haShanah — invocations on a series of foods punning over their Hebrew or Aramaic names. This is an assortment of common simanim, along with English loose translations that preserve the punning aspects of the foods. . . . רַחֲמָנָא | Raḥamana di N’shaya — Aramaic Seliḥoth Piyyut for Biblical Women, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s):The Raḥamana piyyut is a litany beloved in Sephardic and Mizraḥi communities, a standard part of their Seliḥoth services throughout the month of Elul and the days of repentance. Traditionally it cites a list of Biblical men (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Pinhas, David, and Solomon) and asks to be remembered for their merit and their covenants, for the sake of “Va-yaŋabor” — the first word of Exodus 34:6, the introduction to the verses of the Thirteen Attributes recited in Seliḥoth services. This text instead uses Biblical women (Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel, Serach, Miriam, Deborah, Ruth, Hannah, and Esther). . . . 📄 סדר עתיק לקריאות מהתנ״ך לפי מסכת סופרים | A Service for Scriptural Readings from Antiquity, reconstructed from Masekhet Soferim by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s):The “minor tractate” Soferim is one of our best sources for early liturgical practice. It is the oldest known source for multiple practices still followed today, such as the blessing for the haftarah. Such luminaries as the Vilna Gaon considered it a vital work. But some of its practices are… well, odd. There are customs in Tractate Soferim which are found nowhere else in classical rabbinics — blessings for the recitation of books in Writings other than the scrolls, a three-year cycle of Torah readings, and a custom to divide the scrolls in half when reading them. This service is constructed based on the descriptions and passages of Tractate Soferim, mostly following the Gra’s edition. In some ways it may be very familiar, especially to Ashkenazim, but in others it is a fascinating glimpse into a heretofore lost practice of Judaism. . . . Schedule for the Reading of Ketuvim Aḥerim corresponding to the Weekly Torah Portion, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s):A schedule for the reading of Proverbs, Job, Chronicles, Ezra/Neḥemiah, and Daniel, corresponding to each Torah portion of the annual reading cycle in the rabbinic Jewish calendar. . . . 📜 תוספות לקריאות התורה לשבת כלה (אחרי החתונה) | Additions to the Torah Reading for Shabbat Kallah (after the wedding) Contributor(s):There are all sorts of customs associated with weddings in Judaism. But one custom that has been practiced for a long time and deserves a comeback is the additions to the Torah reading for Shabbat Kallah. Shabbat Kallah, the Shabbat in the “Sheva Berakhot” week after the wedding, is in many Sephardic communities preferred over Shabbat Ḥatan, the aufruf Shabbat before the wedding. And in all sorts of communities across the Jewish world, there have been customs for specific readings for Shabbat Kallah, treating it as a Special Sabbath in its own right. Traditionally this special maftir and haftarah would recited by the groom (along with an Aramaic translator interpolating for the maftir). The maftir is from the story of Abraham’s servant tasked with finding a wife for Isaac, and the haftarah is from the book of Isaiah and compares a groom and bride to the relationship between God and Israel. . . . Contributor(s):In all modern communities, the standard practice is that on the three Shabbatot before the Ninth of Av and the seven after it the standard haftarah is replaced. Before the Ninth of Av they are replaced with haftarot of rebuke, from Jeremiah and the opening of Isaiah, and after they are replaced with haftarot of consolation from the later parts of Isaiah. Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, though, preserves a very different custom, one where each one of those Torah portions has an associated haftarah, related not to the calendar but to the parashah itself. Here the editor has compiled a list of these haftarah readings, along with brief notes to explain their connection with the parashah. . . . Contributor(s):This formulation of the Birkat Yeladim (Blessing of the Children) maintains a connection with tradition and serves to degender the blessing by calling upon quoted, mixed gender texts which have merit for children of any gender. . . . Contributor(s):A blessing for announcing the new moon of Nisan, for Rosh Ḥodesh Nisan, and for the whole month. . . . Contributor(s):A blessing for announcing the new moon of Av, for Rosh Ḥodesh Av, and for the whole month. A poem of grieving and gentleness as part of collective liberation. . . . Contributor(s):A blessing for announcing the new moon of Elul, for Rosh Ḥodesh Elul, and for the whole month. A poem of kindness, rootedness and transformation as we enter into a time of turning and returning. . . . Contributor(s):A soulful, playful, embodied, grounded poem for announcing the new moon of Tishrei, for Rosh Ḥodesh Tishrei (otherwise known as Rosh HaShanah) and for the whole month. . . . Contributor(s):A blessing for announcing the new moon of Shevat, for Rosh Ḥodesh Shevat, and for the whole month. . . . Contributor(s):A blessing for announcing the new moon of Adar, for Rosh Ḥodesh Adar, and for the whole month. . . . Contributor(s):A poem-blessing for trailblazers of many kinds, to honor everyday courage and to inspire trust and self-compassion. . . . Mah Nishtanah: what needs to change, a seder supplement to the Four Questions by Kohenet Ilana Joy Streit Contributor(s):A playful, powerful, passionate reading for Passover seder or any time. Can be chanted to the traditional Ashkenazi lilt for the Four Questions. . . . Contributor(s):An alternative weekday aliyah. . . . Contributor(s):A paraliturgical translation of the opening paragraph of the Shema. . . . Contributor(s):A short amidah for the Friday evening service for Shabbat. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer for focusing one’s mind and intention during the separation of dough in the preparation of halah before Shabbat. . . . Contributor(s):A companion to the classic piyyut, Yigdal. . . . Contributor(s):Two kavvanot, one for before and one for after casting away in a Tashlikh ritual. . . . על אלה אנו בוכים | Al eleh anu bokhim (For these we weep), a lamentation for humanity’s destruction of habitat and species, by Rabbi David Seidenberg (neohasid.org) Contributor(s):A ḳinnah for humanity’s willful, negligent, and callous destruction of habitat and species known and unknown. . . . Contributor(s):An opening prayer for divine communication and closeness. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer for children on the first day of a new year of school. . . . Contributor(s):A summary of the lineage of the Mesorah, as it passed through generations of Israelite and Jewish women. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer for safe travel. . . . Contributor(s):A Mimouna packet including havdalah, a Moroccan-rite birkat ha-ilanot, traditional study texts, and yehiretzonot. . . . שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם (שְׁלָמָא אֵילוֹכוּן) | Shalom Aleikhem (Shlama Elokhun), Aramaic translation by Yaacov Maoz Contributor(s):The popular piyyut for welcoming the Shabbat, in Hebrew with translations in Assyrian-Aramaic and English. . . . |
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