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December 2024 תפילה למען עם ישראל והחטופים בעת הדלקת נרות חנוכה | Prayer for the People of Israel and the Captives while Kindling the Ḥanukkah Lights, by Rabbi Yuval Cherlow (Tzohar & Atid Le’Otef, 2024)This Ḥanukkah prayer for the well-being of the captives taken during the massacres of HAMA”S and its allies on 7 October 2023, and for all in Israel affected by the ensuing war, was prepared by Rabbi Yuval Cherlow for Tzohar and Atid l’Otef. The prayer and its English translation were disseminated by social media and news services before Ḥanukkah on 25 December 2024. . . . Eight qualities are mentioned in the prayer: Peace, Blessing, Hope, Return, Promise, Strength, Life, Courage. You can pick one to focus on each night. (You can do them in the order they appear in if you like.) Where do you find that quality in you? Where do you find it in the world? What will a life, or a world, transformed by that quality look like? Feel like? . . . Categories: Ḥanukkah An additional stanza to the popular Ḥanukkah song, Maoz Tsur, for the second Ḥanukkah after the massacres on 7 October 2023. . . . הכרזה לימי הודיה (פורים וחנוכה) | Hakhrazah li-Ymei ha-Hodayah — Announcement for Days of Miraculous Thanksgiving (Purim and Ḥanukkah)An original announcement, or hakhraza, for days of thanksgiving (Purim and Ḥanukkah). Written in the style of other more well-known announcements, like the Sephardic announcement of fasts, or the Italian-rite announcement for Pesaḥ, and to be recited in the same location in the Torah service after the haftara. . . . אֵל מָלֵא רַחֲמִים לְיוֹם־הַזִּכָּרוֹן־הַטְּרַנְסְגֶ׳נְדֵּרִי | El Malé Raḥamim for Transgender Day of Remembrance, by Nathaniel JacobsEl Malé Raħamim, the Prayer for the Dead, is recited in the Yizkor service on special days of the year. The prayer has been adapted for various groups on these and other memorial days, notably for victims of the Holocaust. This adaptation commemorates victims of lethal hate-crimes against Transgender people. This version was originally written for Queer Jews at Brandeis’s Transgender Day of Remembrance Services on 20 November 2024. . . . תְּפִלָּה לִפְנֵי מַסַּע רִפּוּי | A Prayer Before Seeking Healing in a Psychedelic Journey, by Rabbi Zac KamenetzThis “Prayer Before Seeking Healing in a Psychedelic Journey” by Zac Kamenetz was first published by the author to the Jewish Entheogenic Society group on Facebook, 1 December 2024. . . . Categories: Well-being, health, and caregiving תְּפִלָּה לִמְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל | Prayer for the State of Israel [after the October 7th massacre], by Rabbi Moshe Smolkin (2023)This prayer for the State of Israel was written by Rabbi Moshe Smolkin in the days after the October 7 massacre. . . . Categories: 🇮🇱 Medinat Yisra'el (the State of Israel) 💬 מגילת הנצחון של װאודראו װילסאן | Megillat Wilson — a Purim Sheni scroll for Armistice Day [after World War Ⅰ] by Rabbi Jacob Gerstein (1919)This is a letter written by Rev. Jacob Gerstein in the form of a megillah to honor President Woodrow Wilson for his military support of France, thereby defeating Kaiser Wilhelm, Emperor of Germany, and ending World War Ⅰ. Rev. Gerstein notes the Hebrew/Jewish calendar date for the end of hostilities as 7 Kislev 5679 (11 November 1918). The letter was sent some time while Wilson was engaged in peace talks in France after the war, between 14 December 1918 and 28 June 1919. The English translation presented here is the one offered by the author of the megillah. The transcription here was made from a copy of the letter published for Armistice Day (11 November) 1921, לזכרון עולם (L’zikaron Olam ≈ “Everlasting Memorial”), מגילת נצחון (megilat nitsaḥon ≈ “Victory Scroll”). . . . Categories: Extracanonical Megillot, Modern Miscellany, 🌐 Armistice Day Readings, Purim Sheni Readings מִי כָמֹֽכָה לְשַׁבָּת שֶׁל חֲנֻכָּה | Mi Khamokhah l’Shabbat shel Ḥanukkah (a Mi Khamokha piyyut for the Shabbat of Ḥanukkah) — by Israel NajaraThis is a Mi Khamokha piyyut by Yisrael Najara for Shabbat Ḥanukkah retelling Megilat Antiokhos in a lengthy fourfold acrostic with each stanza ending in בוֹ. . . . Categories: Ḥanukkah אֱלֹהַי נְשָׁמָה (נוסח אנגליה) | Elohai Neshamah, the complete daily vidui as found in the Ets Ḥayyim of Jacob Jehudah Ḥazzan on London (1287)This is the remarkable and unique form of the prayer Elohai Neshamah as found in the Ets Ḥayyim, a compendium of law and tradition of the Jews of England completed in 1287 by Jacob Jehudah Ḥazzan of London (only three years before the expulsion of the Jews from England). . . . Categories: Elohai Neshamah This is an English translation of Maoz Tsur published by The Hebrew Standard for their 1893 Ḥanukkah issue (vol. 29, no. 12, New York, Friday, 8 December 1893 — 29 Kislev 5654). The Hebrew Standard was one of the biggest English-language Jewish papers in America around the turn of the twentieth century, generally taking a more traditionalist line than the Reform papers and a more moderate line than the leftist ones. This translation, simply titled “Chanukah”, unfortunately goes unattributed in the pages of The Hebrew Standard. The translation follows an ABABCCDD rhyme scheme (for those unfamiliar with rhyme scheme notation, this is the same rhyme scheme as “The Star-Spangled Banner“), unlike the Hebrew’s ABABBBccB. . . . Categories: Ḥanukkah שְׁנֵי זֵיתִים | Shnei Zeitim (Two Olive Branches) — a meorah piyyut for Shabbat Ḥanukkah, by Shlomo ibn GabirolShnei Zeitim, by Shlomo ibn Gabirol, was once the most beloved song for Ḥanukkah. Though in recent years it has largely been replaced in popular consciousness by Maoz Tsur, in rites which preserve the customs of piyyut recitation within the Shema service it is still a beloved part of the holiday. The piyyut, a meorah — intended to introduce the ḥatimah for the Ahavah Rabbah blessing before the Shema, is included here with an original translation. Interestingly enough, Shnei Zeitim has an anti-Hasmonean focus, with emphasis on the importance of separation of powers between priest and king. For further discusson of this aspect, I’d recommend Yitzhak Szyf’s article on The Lehrhaus. . . . Categories: Ḥanukkah עֲקֵדַת יִצְחָק (מנהג הספרדים) | The invocation of Aqédat Yitsḥaq (the Binding of Isaac, Genesis 22:1-19) in the morning (minhag haSefaradim)The prayers invoking the memory of the Aqeidat Yitsḥaq (Genesis 22:1-19) in the morning preparatory prayers in the liturgical custom of the Sefaradim. . . . Categories: Aqédat Yitsḥaq עֲקֵדַת יִצְחָק (אשכנז) | The invocation of Aqédat Yitsḥaq (the Binding of Isaac, Genesis 22:1-19) in the morning (nusaḥ Ashkenaz)The prayers invoking the memory of the Aqeidat Yitsḥaq (Genesis 22:1-19) in the morning preparatory prayers in the liturgical custom of Ashkenaz. . . . Categories: Aqédat Yitsḥaq אַעֲדִיף כׇּל־שְׁמוֹנָה | A’adif Kol Shmona — Qerovot and Qedushtah for Ḥanukkah, by El’azar biRabbi QallirThe poetic genre known as ḳerovot, brief poems woven throughout the repetition of the weekday Amidah, is nowadays most closely associated with Elazar biRabbi Qallir’s Purim “Qrovetz“, a majestically interwoven piece of piyyut if ever there was one. But there are many other ḳerovot that have historically been recited, and this one is by the same author! The weekday qerovot cycle for Ḥanukkah, retelling the story of the Greek oppression using intricate poetic language. Included within is a qedushtah that instructs us on some of the halakhic requirements for the Ḥanukkah lights. . . . Categories: Ḥanukkah [בחודש אייר בראשון] | [On the 1st of Iyyar] — the first psalm of the “Additional Psalms” from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798This is the first of four apocryphal psalms from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798, vocalized and cantillated per Masoretic norms, and translated anew. The origin of these psalms (found in a few pages of an incomplete manuscript) is unclear, with earlier scholars suggesting a medieval pious forgery and more recent scholars suggesting an origin in or contemporaneous with the Qumran community. (In any case, no sign of them has been found in the Qumran scrolls, although some aspects of the Hebrew may suggest a relationship there.) The first psalm found in this partial manuscript is an acrostic psalm. It is incomplete at the beginning, missing the letters alef and bet. It also shows evidence of the Galilean dialect in the confusion between hei and ḥet, a guttural merger also found in Qumran texts and in Samaritan Hebrew. It largely focuses on the covenant with David and his rule. . . . בְּחֹדֶשׁ אִיָּר בִּשְׁנַיִם | On the 2nd of Iyyar — the second psalm of the “Additional Psalms” from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798This is the second of four apocryphal psalms from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798, vocalized and cantillated per Masoretic norms, and translated anew. The origin of these psalms (found in a few pages of an incomplete manuscript) is unclear, with earlier scholars suggesting a medieval pious forgery and more recent scholars suggesting an origin in or contemporaneous with the Qumran community. (In any case, no sign of them has been found in the Qumran scrolls, although some aspects of the Hebrew may suggest a relationship there.) The second psalm found in this partial manuscript is preserved in its entirety and preserves an introductory schema found for the rest of the psalms here and likely missing from the first. Perhaps the text originally included psalms for each day in Iyyar! This psalm begins by invoking martyrdom, with the powerful image of a shephard killing his own flock. It then transitions into universalist-messianic language reminiscent of texts such as the second paragraph of Aleinu and the Rosh haShanah piyyut Va-ye’etayu, then discussing the beauty of the Torah before ending with a catena of blessings. . . . בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה בְּחֹדֶשׁ אִיָּר | On the 3rd of Iyyar — the third psalm of the “Additional Psalms” from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798This is the third of four apocryphal psalms from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798, vocalized and cantillated per Masoretic norms, and translated anew. The origin of these psalms (found in a few pages of an incomplete manuscript) is unclear, with some suggesting a medieval pious forgery and others suggesting an origin in the Qumran community. (In any case, no sign of them has been found in the Qumran scrolls, although some aspects of the Hebrew may suggest a relationship there.) Preserved in its entirety, the third psalms in Antonin 798 largely focuses on reversal of fortune. It also appears to invoke the memory of Moshe, but not by name. . . . בְּאַרְבָּעָה בְּחֹדֶשׁ אִיָּר | On the 4th of Iyyar — the fourth psalm of the “Additional Psalms” from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798This is the third of four apocryphal psalms from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798, vocalized and cantillated per Masoretic norms, and translated anew. The origin of these psalms (found in a few pages of an incomplete manuscript) is unclear, with some suggesting a medieval pious forgery and others suggesting an origin in the Qumran community. (In any case, no sign of them has been found in the Qumran scrolls, although some aspects of the Hebrew may suggest a relationship there.) Preserved in its entirety, the third psalms in Antonin 798 largely focuses on reversal of fortune. It also appears to invoke the memory of Moshe, but not by name. . . . בְּרָכוֹת שֶׁעֲשָׁנִי | Blessings at your Dawn of Wakefulness: Berakhot she’Asani (blessings that made me) — translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-ShalomiRabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the Birkhot haShaḥar in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . . Categories: Berakhot she'Asani Tags: 100 blessings a day, blessings, ברכות brakhot, challenge, Dawn, devotional interpretation, interpretive translation, Late Antiquity, Prayers in the Babylonian Talmud, wrestling, ישראל Yisrael Contributor(s): Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (translation), Unknown Author(s) and Aharon N. Varady (transcription) בִּרְכַּת גּוֹמֵל חֲסָדִים טוֹבִים לְעַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל | Birkat Gomel Ḥasadim Tovim l’Amo Yisrael (translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi)Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the Birkhot haShaḥar in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . . Categories: Preparing one's face Tags: 100 blessings a day, blessings, ברכות brakhot, challenge, Dawn, devotional interpretation, interpretive translation, Late Antiquity, Prayers in the Babylonian Talmud, wrestling, ישראל Yisrael Contributor(s): Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (translation), Unknown Author(s) and Aharon N. Varady (transcription) בִּרְכַּת נְטִילַת יָדָֽיִם | Blessing on preparing one’s hands for wakefulness and other holy activities (translation by Aharon Varady)The blessing upon preparing one’s hands for attaining a state of ritual purity before a sacred activity. . . . Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Aharon N. Varady (translation) and Unknown Author(s) | ||
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