← Back to Languages & Scripts Index Because we cannot live on two planes, we are granted the opportunity to disguise our external features. We develop the capacity to know each others hearts and find even greater satisfaction in the exchange. Yet, too often, we act as if someone else — who looks remarkably like oneself — is going to provide the support for nonprofit organizations we deem are necessary for a decent life. We assume / hope / pray that someone “else” is doing our part. It’s their turn to make a critical contribution, even a small one, that gives relief, replaces a worn-out part, opens the door wide enough to make a difference. . . . Supplemental prayers for the Birkat Hamazon on Tu b’Av. . . . Supplemental prayers for the Birkat Hamazon for the break fast meal after Tisha b’Av. . . . Supplemental prayers for the Birkat Hamazon on Tisha b’Av, Tu b’Av, and Shabbat Naḥamu. . . . A compilation of the texts of the Passover Seder, without translation. . . . I wrote this kavvanah [around 2010]. At that time I lived in Ithaca, NY. I was a substitute teacher in the Ithaca Central School District. There was a community event at Fall Creek Elementary school, and the way families, faculty, students, and people from the area came together inspired the poem. . . . A poem with perspective by Eli Steier. . . . An al haNissim prayer for Yom ha-Atsma’ut. . . . A prayer-poem inspired from the liturgical prayer, Nishmat. . . . A prayer-poem supplication for the afternoon of Shabbat. . . . A prayer-poem inspired by the ritual Havdallah, preparing a separation between Shabbat and weekday time. . . . A prayer of forgiveness to convey to one’s inner and vulnerable self during the period of sometimes unrelenting and harsh introspection prior to the blessing for rain. . . . A “redemptive translation” of Aleinu emphasizing universalist Jewish values. . . . This piyut (liturgical poem) arose after a very meaningful performance of mine in the summer of 2000. It was such a powerful experience that I was moved to say a prayer of thanks to G-d for the opportunity to perform my songs for audiences – but found no such prayer in existence. So I wrote this one. It took about a year to complete and I’ve been saying it backstage right before my performances, and sometimes before recording sessions, since then. . . . This completely egalitarian ketubah uses nedarim, vows before God which bear the full weight of Jewish law, as the central act of marriage, and uses the rings as symbols of those vows. It also details the steps which would be necessary to dissolve those nedarim, an important and integral part of the ketubah. The Hebrew is written in the feminine plural and should be adjusted if the text is used for different gender combinations. . . . A playful, expansive, embodied riff on “Hashiveinu Hashem eilecha v’nashuva, ḥadesh yameinu k’kedem.” Suitable for Tisha B’Av, Elul, the Days of Awe, and every day. . . . “A Prayer for Central Oklahoma After the Tornado,” by Rabbi Abby Jacobson was originally published by the Rabbinical Assembly, at their website, in the aftermath of the 2013 Moore tornado. . . . The one who prays to Hashem Yitbarakh should hold the belief that, from the start, there was a cause brought about by the everlasting One, and that S/He is the source of all completions, and S/He created all the worlds at the time when it arose in Hir will. . . . A prayer for Israel which reserves the right to criticize its moral failings. . . . May it be Your will, Lord our God, God of our fathers and mothers, that I leave this house as I entered it – at peace with myself and with others. May my actions benefit all residents of the State of Israel. May I work to improve the society that sent me to this chamber and cause a just peace to dwell among us and with our neighbors. May I always remember that I am a messenger of the public and that I must take care to keep my integrity and innocence intact. May I, and we, succeed in all our endeavors. . . . This prayer for the peace of the Syrian people was composed in 2013 by Rabbi Yuval Cherlow and translated by Elli Sacks of Modi’in. Our Hebrew source of the text was first published in this YNet article. Our source for Elli Sacks’s translation is this post in Alan Brill’s blog. Rabbi Cherlow suggests that Psalms 37 and Psalms 120 are particularly appropriate for praying for peace in Syria. Both psalms speak of the plight of the innocent righteous when evil men plot against them. Thank you to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency for informing us of this prayer, and to YNet, and Alan Brill for providing the source text. . . . May the One who spoke the world into being, and who blessed humanity created in God’s image, and who brought about the miracle of these United States to promote freedom and peace among all people — bless, guard, and protect all the inhabitants of the Boston area, and strengthen and encourage their leaders, representatives, police officers, and detectives; bring them out from the shadow of death to light, and from danger to relief; and may the verse be fulfilled for them which says, ‘God is good to all, and shows mercy to all God’s creatures.’ And let us say: amein. . . . This Kabbalat Shabbat service by Rabbi Dr. Tzemaḥ Yoreh is the first in a series of humanist prayer books for specific occasions. It is not meant to offer a comprehensive substitute to traditional prayer; rather, it is meant as a supplement and catalyst. . . . ראש השנה לבעלי־החיים – על מה ולמה? מקורו של ראש השנה לבעלי־חיים הוא באותה משנה שבה המקור לט”ו בשבט: “ארבעה ראשי שנים הם: באחד בניסן ראש השנה למלכים ולרגלים. באחד באלול ראש השנה למעשר בהמה; רבי אלעזר ורבי שמעון אומרין, באחד בתשרי. באחד בתשרי ראש השנה לשנים לשמיטים וליובלות, ולנטיעה ולירקות. באחד בשבט ראש השנה לאילן, כדברי בית שמאי; בית הלל אומרין בחמישה עשר בו”. (משנה ראש השנה א, א). . . . I wrote this a few days after the Boston Marathon bombing. It arose out of a meditation service which I led at my synagogue. The doors to our sanctuary were open, so we had the sounds of the nearby wetland in our ears, and I invited the meditators to join me in cultivating compassion and sending it toward Boston. The line “My heart is in the east and I am in the west” is adapted from the medieval Spanish poet Judah haLevi. . . . Many of our best times are spent eating. Jewish liturgy, however, is very stingy on blessings before eating (focusing much of its energy on blessings after eating). The blessings before food are generic, and except for very specific foods and drinks (such as wine, bread, and matzah), all foods lump into three or four categories (fruit, vegetables, grains, and everything else). As a foodie, I’d like to celebrate each and every distinct taste through the prism of Jewish experience, and thus have tried to compose as many short poems as possible in their honor. . . . The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 29 November 2012. . . . The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 20 September 2012. . . . The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 11 July 2012. . . . The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 10 July 2012. . . . The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 31 May 2012. . . . In her ordination address in May 2012, Rabbi Ellen Bernstein said, “One of the really precious things about becoming familiar with Jewish texts is that I begin to hear the echos of ancient words in daily conversation, and feel my life growing in depth and dimensionality. As I thought about what I wanted to share today, I kept hearing in my head Maimonides’ 13 Principles of Faith reverberating through the NPR series called, This I Believe. Weaving these two not so different themes together, here’s where I arrived.” . . . The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 7 February 2012, for Four Chaplains Day (February 3rd). . . . The following is a meditation I wrote (with the help of my friend Shira Gura, who teaches meditation and Yoga) to be used on Friday before Shabbat at the mikveh. It is based on midrashim related to Shabbat (for example, the notion that we receive an additional soul on Shabbat), as well as meanings behind mikveh in general (for example, the connection between the waters of Creation and the mikveh waters), and on some kavanot (sacred intentions) that came out of the Kabbalah and Ḥassidut movements. There is a strong tradition to write kavanot to use before immersing in the mikveh, since, as Maimonides writes in his Mishneh Torah 11:15, “If a person immerses but without buttressing him or herself [with sacred intention], it is as though he or she has not immersed at all.” . . . Please God Let me light More than flame tonight. More than wax and wick and sliver stick of wood. More than shallow stream of words recited from a pocket book. . . . May the words we are with Your help sharing today, Speak deeply –- with Your help — to our nation and the world. Help us all to know that the sharing of our breath with all of life Is the very proof, the very truth, that we are One. . . . A midrashic translation/ interpretation of the second paragraph of the Sh’ma. . . . Early American Jewry’s liturgies and rituals were conducted in a western Sephardi tradition which had developed in the late 16th and early 17th centuries in Amsterdam. Although most of the members of the first American Jewish communities were of Spanish and Portuguese origins, their worship evolved in the style of the Dutch Sepharadim. These oral transmissions led to adaptations and variations but Sephardi ḥazzanim (cantors) succeeded in passing their repertoire down to succeeding generations. These tunes are still identified with the American Sephardi tradition. . . . The prayers for hurricane victims that are circulating through the Open Siddur Project and elsewhere are poignant and heartfelt, but they don’t speak an important piece of the truth that we need to hear. What about our collective responsibility for climate disruption that undoubtedly increases the harm caused by this and every major storm? And what about the Deuteronomic promise that God brings us recompense for our actions davka through the weather? Here’s an attempt at a prayer that incorporates a deeper understanding of our responsibility. For the final version of this prayer, I started with an anonymous Hebrew translation of my original English prayer, then I tweaked it and wove in scriptural references, and retranslated it back into English. . . . The essential idea of the liturgy of Ushpizin is to invoke the energies of the seven lower Sefirot in the proper order, so that Shefa, blessing and sustenance, can be drawn down into the world. This is the essence of Kabbalistic liturgy, and a liturgy of the imahot would only make sense if it were to follow that pattern. That means we have the playfully serious task of finding a stable order for the imahot where no clear order exists. . . . From [the Holy One’s] form/to’ar the constellations are shimmering, and God’s form projects the exalted ones. And Her crown blazes [with] the mighty, and His garment flows with the precious. And all the trees will rejoice in the word, and the plants will exult in His rejoicing, and His words shall drop as perfumes, flowing forth flames of fire, giving joy to those who search them, and quiet to those who fulfill them. . . . In these still, quiet moments I am not asleep, and not yet awake. In the threshold of day and night, with the mixture of darkness and light, my body is once again coming to life. I am reborn, each day, from the womb of your compassion. May all of my actions be worthy of the faith you’ve placed in me. With words of thanks I’ll greet the dawn. . . . A traveler’s prayer in English, adapted from the traditional formula vt Rabbi Menachem Creditor. . . . How does rabbinic Judaism value openness? What does openness mean? This sourcesheet accompanied the shiur “‘Make yourself into a Maqom Hefker’: Rabbinic Teachings on Open Source in Judaism,” a class I taught on Taz biShvat 5774 (January 16th, 2013) in partnership with the Sefaria Project for Parshat Yitro. The shiur discussed the concept of דִּימוּס פַּרְהֶסְיַא Dimus Parrhesia (δῆμος παρρησία) as a valued ideal in Rabbinic discourse: its cameo appearance in midrashic teachings on Parshat Yitro and its relationship to other relevant ideas and attitudes in the study of Torah and the Jewish stewardship of the Commons. . . . A holistic prayer for health in work. . . . The Tu Bishvat seder is a metaphor. But usually we use metaphor in our daily lives to accomplish, persuade, inspire or explain. There is something we’re bending metaphor to accomplish. This meditation is an exercise in free-thinking. Here, just play with metaphor for the sake of expressing and exploring your emotional state, history, anticipations and apprehensions. Each of the quotations from the Torah or rabbinical writings below represents an emotion. After we say the blessing over the olives, read the quotations, pick one (or more) that resonate, and play with the metaphor to reach a deeper understanding of yourself and others. . . . We lift Miriam’s cup, Dancing prophet celebrating the world that is now. And we tell God we are grateful For the water from the earth that was Miriam’s gift, Welcome necessity, On God’s behalf. Miriam announces joy! And teaches us to save ourselves. Miriam, the bringer of mercy, There’s no prayer for her in the haggadah— So make one up! . . . A prayer-poem for healing by Trisha Arlin. . . . Ḥazal, — some of our Jewish Sages, May Their Memory Be For A Blessing — suggest that ‘simanah milsah‘ — a symbol has significance. Some of the teachers of Jewish tradition encourage us on Rosh HaShanah to partake of a variety of foods suggestive of prosperity and happiness. This usage is alluded to in the directive of the prophet Nechemiah to the assembly: ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink the sweet …” (Nechemiah 8:10). Our kavvanoth — sacred intentions — are that these Symbolic Foods Of Life are to help us effect a good coming year. . . . |
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