A schedule for the reading of the historical writings in the TaNaKh corresponding to Festivals and Commemorative Days, according to the practice of Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

This Prayer for Voting was written by Rachie Lewis, senior writer of קשת Keshet: For LGBTQ Equality in Jewish Life, and first published at Keshet’s website on 23 September 2024.

A selïhah piyyut for the massacres of 7 October prepared for Seliḥot services in advance of the first anniversary of 7 October.

A plea for retributive justice at the end of aseh l’maan shemekha (“Act for the Sake of Your Name”) in the Seliḥot of Elul and the Days of Awe, in response to the suffering endured on and after 7 October 2023.

This seliḥah was written for Seliḥot in Los Angeles, Elul, 5784, 2024, in the light of the horrific killing that the IDF has perpetrated in Gaza since October 8 (after the Hamas massacre of October 7), 2023. The opening frame is from the Tokheḥah and the closing line from Eikhah. The only hope is that we do teshuvah and stop the war and the violence now. The language is an adaptation of Hebrew of piyyutim and seliḥot. –Aryeh Cohen

A civic prayer for the International Day of Democracy, a civic day observed internationally on September 15th.

This prayer by Devorah Brous (fromsoil2soul), “A blessing for the bees (5785),” was first shared by the author on Shoreshshuk. The version here reflects some reordering of lines and other edits made by the author, shared also on Canvas.

A civic prayer for the United States of America in anticipation of Election Day 2024.

An alternative yehi ratson prayer at the very end of the Amidah.

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 23 August 2024.

The invocation offered by Rabbi Sharon Brous of IKAR (Los Angeles, California) on the second night of the Democratic National Convention, Tuesday, 20 August 2024. Her invocation was offered together with that of Imam Dr. Talib M. Shareef of The Nation’s Mosque (Washington, DC).

A full prayerbook for the maariv service on Tishah b’Av, compiled by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer from resources shared through the Open Siddur Project.

A yotser for Tu b’Av, the first part of an intended cycle of yotsrot. A retelling of the list of reasons for Tu b’Av given in the Talmud, with repeated refrains from Psalm 45 for the alphabetical verses and the rest of the Tanakh for the name-acrostic choruses. Written in honor of my friend Eliran’s wedding.

A tkhine written to return to an ancestral place for the first time — especially diaspora homes that hold lineages of rich life as well as histories of flight and genocide.

“Listen up, y’all: An interpretive rendering of V’haya im shamoa” by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat was originally published 1 February 2016 at her website, Velveteen Rabbi. There she provided the following description, “This is a creative rendering of the second paragraph of the shema, Deuteronomy 11:13-21. It was written for the service I’m leading this morning with Rabbi David [Evan Markus] at Rabbis Without Borders. (I offer deep thanks to David both for co-leading davvenen with me, and for reading an early draft of this poem and offering wise suggestions.)”

The author of this qinah is a survivor of the slaughter in Kibbutz Kfar Azza. The qinah was first published in an article by Tamar Biala appearing in The Times of Israel, “O how she sat alone: New laments for a beloved land” on 4 August 2024, appended with the note: “These Lamentations will appear in Dirshuni: Contemporary Women’s Midrash Vol. 2.”

This qinah for the horrors of October 7th was written by Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon, president of World Mizrachi and first published to their website for the Nine Days (Rosh Ḥodesh Av to Tishah b’Av).

This prayer for the peace of the nation, first published in the siddur VeAni Tefillati (second edition, page 133), was circulated by the Masorti Movement in Israel on social media on 1 August 2024, amidst increased anxieties over impending retaliatory strikes by Iran and its proxy armies in Lebanon and elsewhere.

The author of this qinah is a survivor of the slaughter in Kibbutz Nahal Oz. The qinah was first published in an article by Tamar Biala appearing in The Times of Israel, “O how she sat alone: New laments for a beloved land” on 4 August 2024, appended with the note: “These Lamentations will appear in Dirshuni: Contemporary Women’s Midrash Vol. 2.”

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 25 July 2024.

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.

A prayer for the United States of America in the wake of the terrible events in Butler, Pennsylvania on 13 July 2024.

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.”

A shiviti rendered in scalable vector graphic format (SVG) with each textual source linked.

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.

“Gebet für das Coming-Out” was first offered by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami on 19 March 2020.

A prayer for healing in Hebrew with English translation by the author.

“Gebet für Pride (HaMaariw Arawim)” was first offered by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami sometime before May 2024.

“Gebet für den Pride Month” was first offered by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami sometime before May 2024.

This piyyut tells the story of Naomi and Ruth through an imagined dialogue. Naomi, aged and alone, is taken aback by Ruth’s unwavering attachment. Ruth explains that it is with Naomi—and her faith—that she finds the truth and authenticity she longs for. It can also be read as an allegorical dialogue between the Torah and the people of Israel, you insist on remaining loyal to her. פתרונו כפול: פשוטו על נעמי ורות ורומז לתורה עם כנסת ישראל.

“Gebet für Berlin Pride” was first offered by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami in 19 March 2020.

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!

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

This prayer for Europe Day was written by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami and first published to his Facebook page on 9 May 2024.

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.

This is an annually updated chart that I have been creating and sharing for 10+ years. This grid for counting the omer includes the secular date for 2026 as well as Hebrew dates and the sefirot associated with each day of the omer. More information can be found on my website.

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).

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.

This prayer for International Women’s Day by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami was first published on their Facebook page, 8 March 2024.

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.

A satirical look at contemporary Israeli civil society in Hebrew and English, as adapted from Tom Lehrer’s sardonic “National Brotherhood Week” (1965).

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.