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a community-grown, libre Open Access archive of Jewish prayer and liturgical resources
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 Contributor(s):A prayer for the United States of America in the wake of the terrible events in Butler, Pennsylvania on 13 July 2024. . . . 🆕 Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the Virginia House of Delegates: Rabbi Julius Eckman (January 1850) Contributor(s):An opening prayer offered by the guest chaplain before the Virginia House of Delegates (1849-1850 legislative session) in the week of January 15-18, 1850, and published in The Richmond Enquirer (25 January 1850), p. 1. . . . 🆕 Prayer for the cessation of a cattle plague and for protection from cholera, by Chief Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler (1865) Contributor(s):This is a prayer for cattle afflicted by an epizootic contagion (in this case, Rinderpest, a/k/a cattle plague), and for the protection of human beings from cholera, prescribed by the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain, Nathan Marcus Adler, and published in The Hebrew Leader (24 November 1865), p. 1. . . . Contributor(s):A prayerful expression of an essay written by the author “Gam Zu v’Gam Zu, Weeping with all who Grieve,” published in the online Reconstructionist journal, Evolve. . . . Contributor(s):A piyyuṭ sung by the Jews of Algiers on Shavu’ot and Simḥat Torah (and by some Moroccans for baqashot on Parashat Toldot). Yayin Tov Ratov is a love song from the perspective of God that uses a lot of language from Song of Songs. Wine and song, in this case, are both metaphors for the Torah. Of unknown origin, the acrostic spells out the name יצחק, although I can confirm that it wasn’t me who wrote it. . . . Contributor(s):A shiviti rendered in scalable vector graphic format (SVG) with each textual source linked. . . . כוונה לפני הדלקת נרות שבת – כוונת הלב לישימון | A Wilderness Kavvanah before lighting Shabbat candles, by Rabbi Gila Caine Contributor(s):A kavvanah written in preparation for an online class at the Green Sabbath Project, “Follow the Goat: using the scapegoat ritual in creating new kavvanot / sacred intentions for lighting Shabbat candles.” . . . תחינה לחזק ידינו במצוות ”כיבוד אב ואם“ ביחס לאמנו, האדמה | A prayer for strengthening our commitment to the commandment of “Honoring our Parents” in relation to Mother Earth, by Rabbi Gila Caine Contributor(s):This teḥinah calls us to remember that we are all personally, as well as communally, responsible for our relationship with the Earth. It also calls us to action, and to recall that even small actions realigning ourselves with the work of the Earth, can be seen as a mitsvah. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer for healing in Hebrew with English translation by the author. . . . Gebet für das Coming-Out (תְּפִלָּה לַיְּצִיאָה מֵהָאָרוֹן) | Prayer for Coming-Out, by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami Contributor(s):“Gebet für das Coming-Out” was first offered by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami on 19 March 2020. . . . Contributor(s):“Gebet für Pride (HaMaariw Arawim)” was first offered by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami on 10 April 2023. . . . Contributor(s):“Gebet für den Pride Month” was first offered by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami on 19 March 2020. . . . Gebet für Berlin Pride (תְּפִלָּה לְסוֹף הַשָּׁבוּעַ הַגַּאֲוָה בְּבֶרְלִין) | Prayer for Berlin Pride, by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami Contributor(s):“Gebet für Berlin Pride” was first offered by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami in 19 March 2020. . . . Contributor(s):The genre of B’raḥ Dodi piyyutim, a variety of geulah piyyut oriented around many Shir haShirim citations, is exclusively associated with Pesaḥ in Ashkenazi practice. Maḥzorim for Pesaḥ include B’raḥ Dodi piyyutim for the first two days and Shabbat Ḥol ha-Moed of Pesaḥ and nowhere else. So to reflect the themes of Pesaḥ Sheni, a B’raḥ Dodi piyyut is a great fit! . . . Contributor(s):A zulat for Pesaḥ Sheni. Each line begins with a word from Numbers 9:11 followed by a letter spelling out “Remember me for good, amen,” excepting the final five lines. The first of these concluding lines is the refrain from the ahavah for the same set, and the final four all begin with hei and transition into the berakhah. This zulat focuses largely on the Temple, where Pesaḥ Sheni offerings were held. . . . יִשְׂרָאֵל אִם־לֹא בְּשִׂמְחָה | Yisrael Im Lo b-Simḥah — an ahavah for Pesaḥ Sheni, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s):An ahavah for Pesaḥ Sheni. An acrostic spelling out “Yitsḥaq son of Avraham, the priest, ḥazaq,” with a refrain derived from Mishnah Pesaḥim 9:1. . . . Contributor(s):An ofan for Pesaḥ Sheni in tripartite stanzas. Each stanza begins with a citation of Numbers 9:12-14, then an acrostic spelling out “the son of Avraham the priest, ḥazaq.” . . . Contributor(s):A yotser for Pesaḥ Sheni. Each stanza is written with a threefold acrostic — the first two lines in atbash, the third spelling “Yitsḥaq Har’el Ḥazaq,” and the fourth a verse from Numbers 9. . . . Contributor(s):This is an original Al haNissim paragraph for Yom ha-Atsma’ut, focusing on the actual reason for Zionism’s necessity — European antisemitism. As I put it when I wrote the first draft of this paragraph, “Zionism was necessary because of the Europeans. The original enemy of Israel’s independence was the European nations who wanted us assimilated or dead. Israel was not declared independent from the Arab world, it was declared independent from Britain, and I think we should remember that on Yom ha-Atsma’ut.” . . . Contributor(s):This prayer for Victory in Europe Day was written by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami and first published to his Facebook page on 8 May 2024. . . . Contributor(s):This prayer for Europe Day was written by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami and first published to his Facebook page on 9 May 2024. . . . Contributor(s):This prayer for peace was written on 29 April 2024, at the end of Passover, by Rabbi Shira Levine as part of an ecumenical assembly, the “Spirit of Galilee.” The Arabic translation was made by Malek Hujerat. . . . תפילת אל מלא רחמים לנרצחי התקפות החמאס והנופלים בקרבות | El Malé Raḥamim prayer for the victims of the HAMA”S attacks and those fallen in battle afterward (IDF 2024) Contributor(s):An adaptation of El Malei Raḥamim for victims of the 7 October massacres, and for the soldiers and other security personnel fallen in its aftermath was prepared for the Yizkor services held on the 7th day of Passover 5754 (2024) by Lt. Col. Shai Abramson, Chief Cantor of the IDF. The English translation was made by Ematai and published on their website and on social media. . . . מוריד הטל | Morid Hatal — to the One who settles the dew, post-October 7 — by Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg (neohasid.org 2024) Contributor(s):On Passover we end the prayers for rain that began on October 7, and begin the prayers for dew. The prayers end, but the war that began with the October 7 attack does not. Here is a reflection on that. . . . Contributor(s):This is an updated version of a chart that I have been creating and sharing for ten years. This grid for counting the omer includes the secular date for 2024 as well as Hebrew dates and the sefirot associated with each day of the omer. More information can be found on my website. . . . יחץ (מנהג גרבא) | Liturgical Additions for Yaḥats, in the practice of the Jewish community of Djerba Contributor(s):In many communities, the practice of Yaḥats, or breaking the matsah before maggid, is done with liturgical and ritual additions. The additions included here are one practice out of many variants as found in the practice of Djerba, the island off the coast of Tunisia. . . . זָכוֹר אֵת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה לְךָ חָמָאס | Remember That Which Hamas Did, an adaptation on the liturgical reminder to obliterate Amaleq by Aryeh Barukh (2024) Contributor(s):A riff on the mitsvah to obliterate Amaleq in Parashat Zakhor, adapted to the horrors committed by HAMA”S and its allies on 7 October 2023. . . . Contributor(s):This “Blessing upon Observing a Solar Eclipse” was offered by Rabbi Colman Reabo on 8 April 2024, a day in which a total solar eclipse was witnessed across a wide swath of North America. . . . תְּפִלָּה לַהֲשָׁבַת הַחֲטוּפִים | Prayer for the Return of the Captives, by Rabbi David Lau (Office of the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel 2024) Contributor(s):This prayer for the well-being of the captives taken hostage by ḤAMA”S and its allies on 7 October 2023 was written by the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the State of Israel, David Lau, and shared by his office in the month preceding Pesaḥ 2024. The prayer is intended to be read at the Passover seder in the Maggid section before והיא שעמדה (v’hi she’amda). . . . Contributor(s):This variation on the discourse of the four children in the Haggadah was (barring minor edits) first composed for my family’s experimental small-scale seder in 2019, my second time ever leading a seder. I had come to the conclusion that for a text whose entire ikkar is for the children to learn, the Four Children narrative shows some shockingly bad pedagogy. So I decided to write a subversive take on it, where I applied its framework to some of the most serious problems facing the Jewish community today, and the mainline Jewish community’s failings in dealing with them. . . . אֵין אַדִּיר כַּיְיָ (מִפִּי אֵל) | Ayn Adir kAdonai | לָא קָאדִּר סַוָא אַלְלָה (There is none like Allah), minhag Cairo variation with a Judeo-Arabic translation Contributor(s):This is a variation of Mipi El in Hebrew with a Judeo-Arabic translation found in the Seder al-Tawḥid for Rosh Ḥodesh Nissan, compiled by Mosheh Asher ibn Shmuel in 1887 in Alexandria. . . . שָּׁבוּעַ שֶׁל אַחְוָה לְאֻמִּית | National Brotherhood Week (in Israel), an adaptation of Tom Lehrer’s song by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s):A satirical look at contemporary Israeli civil society in Hebrew and English, as adapted from Tom Lehrer’s sardonic “National Brotherhood Week” (1965). . . . הכרזת פסח לפי נוסח איטלייני | the Announcement of Pesaḥ on Shabbat haGadol according to the Italian rite Contributor(s):Jews all over the world announce the new month on the Shabbat before it with a text known as “birkat ha-ḥodesh” or blessing the month. In many rites, such as the Western Sephardic and Moroccan rites, the fast days 17 Tammuz and 10 Tevet are also announced on the Shabbat before them with a text known as “hazkarat tsomot” or announcing fasts. But to my knowledge, only the Italian rite (and possibly the ancient Eretz Yisrael rite from which much of it derives) have a custom of announcing Pesaḥ on the Shabbat before it. This passage, the Announcement of Pesaḥ (Azcaràd Pesah in Italian traditional pronunciation) is recited on the Shabbat before Pesaḥ, commonly known as Shabbat haGadol (Sciabbàd Aggadòl), after the reading from the Torah. Citing the mystical hekhalot literature, it celebrates the sages who established the rules of the calendar. . . . Contributor(s):“All Four (Are One),” riffing on the story in the haggadah of the four children, is a prayer-poem on the theme of intracommunal discord six months after October 7th (possibly reflected in the family dynamics at the seder table itself). Written by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat, it was first published on the website of Bayit: Building Jewish on 2 April 2024. . . . Contributor(s):This prayer was offered by Rabbi Andy Vogel and Rabbi Seth Goldstein and published at each of their websites on 3 April 2024. On Rabbi Vogel’s site, the prayer included the statement, “We encourage you to use the words of this prayer as you see fit; no attribution is needed.” . . . Contributor(s):This Purim song, popular among the Sephardic and Italki communities of Livorno, can be sung to the melody of “Akh, Zeh Hayom Kiviti.” Like a lot of Italian Purim content, a large portion of it is listing different desserts. . . . המן ממזר איל מאלו | Haman Mamzer el Malo (Haman the Evil Bastard) — a Haketía (Western Judeo-Spanish) song for Purim Contributor(s):This somewhat crude Purim song is sung in many variants in the Moroccan and Gibraltar Sephardic communities, often to the tune of the popular Purim hymn “Akh Ze Hayom Kiviti.” . . . Contributor(s):“Purim Kirtan” is a traditional Purim song of the Bene Israel community of Mumbai, India. Many thanks to our friends at the Jewish Language Project and to their team member Jacob Kohn for recording, transcribing, and translating the song as sung by Rivkah Moshe. . . . תפילה ליום הבחירות מאת הרבה | A Prayer for Municipal Election Day [in the State of Israel], by Rabbi Noa Mazor Contributor(s):This prayer for election day in the State of Israel (27 February 2024) was written and shared by Rabbi Noa Mazor, and shared in Hebrew and English via her Facebook page. . . . Schedule for the Reading of Psalms corresponding to the Weekly Parascià and on other special days, according to the Roman Rite Contributor(s):An English-language adaptation of the Roman rite psalm system for all days when Torà is read, to be recited while the Torà is being taken from the bimà. All Hebrew words are transcribed in accordance with the traditional Italian Hebrew phonological system, in a slightly modified Italian orthography. . . . Contributor(s):A kavvanah for the month of Adar in the pivotal US presidential election year of 2024 (the Jewish leap year of 5784). . . . Contributor(s):The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 25 January 2024. . . . Contributor(s):Qinat Be’eri was written by Yagel Haroush in the month of Marḥeshban after the massacres on 7 October and disseminated on social media. . . . Contributor(s):“O Mother of Medicine” is an original prayer of intention by Baruch Jean Thaler, for use before a healing journey with the aid of entheogenic, psychedelic medicine. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer-poem for summoning the necessary courage, patience, and clarity for collective liberation as mapped onto the extra month of Adar in a leap year. . . . Contributor(s):This prayer for Ukraine was shared on 24 February 2022 by the clergy of Sinai Temple, Los Angeles (Rabbi Davvid Wolpe, Rabbi Erez Sherman, Rabbi Nicole Guzik, Cantor Marcus Feldman) via the temple’s Facebook page. . . . Contributor(s):A gender-neutral certificate of conversion for a minor, in Hebrew and English. . . . תעודת זהות מאושרת בישראל (קדם־גיל־מצות) | Certificate of Affirmation of Jewish Identity for a Minor, by Rabbi Jonah Rank Contributor(s):A gender-neutral certificate of affirmation of Jewish identity for a minor, in Hebrew and English. . . . תעודת זהות מאושרת בישראל | Certificate of Affirmation of Jewish Identity for an Adult, by Rabbi Jonah Rank Contributor(s):A gender-neutral certificate of affirmation of Jewish identity for an adult, in Hebrew and English. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer-poem for Rosh Ḥodesh Adar Alef which occurs on Jewish leap years (before the month of Adar containing the festival of Purim). . . . |
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