Resources using Latin script← Back to Languages & Scripts Index “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. 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.” 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. This piyyut envisions Queen Esther’s prayer as she enters King Ahasuerus’ palace unbidden. In Tractate Megilla 15b, the sages associate verses from Psalm 22 with Esther in these pivotal moments. Written in the first person, this poem weaves together verses from Psalms and the Book of Esther, along with interpretations and commentaries of Talmudic Sages, to evoke Esther’s prayer at this crucial moment. Its structure mirrors the Rosh Hashanah piyyut “‘Et Sha‘are Ratson”, which recounts the binding of Isaac through the perspectives of its protagonists. Like Isaac, Esther is headed to a sacrifice, but she goes with full awareness and intent for the sake of her people. A prayer-poem was written by Kohenet Ilana Joy Streit in January 2024. A kavvanah for the month of Adar in the pivotal US presidential election year of 2024 (the Jewish leap year of 5784). “Shirat Miriam and Devorah / Uri, Uri” (Song of Miriam, Song of Deborah / Rise up, Rise Up) was first published in 2024, as the second of four piyyutim published through the Diwan Ashira Project by Ephraim Kahn. The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 25 January 2024. 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. “Ashamnu” was written by the author in response to the conflict in Gaza on 30 December 2023 and first published on 1 October 2024 on their Substack account. Published in 2024, בְּכָל־דּוֹר וָדוֹר I alle ættledd: haggadá for pesaḥ etter sefardisk minhág is Olve Utne’s multilingual Hebrew-Norwegian-Spanish haggadah for the Pesaḥ night seder according to the liturgical custom of Western Sefaradi communities. This is a macaronic poem for Yom Meturgeman. Macaronic poetry is poetry in multiple languages at once. In this case, the languages reflected are Hebrew, Aramaic, Judeo-Arabic, Yiddish, Ladino, and English, with a repeated Hebrew refrain. Each language is meant to rhyme with the colloquial Hebrew as it would be read — i.e. though the Yiddish doesn’t rhyme with the modern Hebrew pronunciation, it rhymes with the traditional Ashkenazi one. This piyyut versifies the Laws of Prayer as derived from the verses recounting Hannah’s prayer (TB Berakhot 31a-31b). In addition to using the words of the verses from which these laws are derived, this poem is itself a prayer: «Train my lips to pray like those of Hannah!». It can be sung as a reshut (introductory piyyut) for the Haftarah of the first day of Rosh Hashanah, when these verses are read. Four things to pray and learn for the last night and day of Ḥanukkah. The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 12 December 2023 In the midst of terrible violence and war in Israel and Gaza, these words came in response to the questions: how to engage meaningfully with Ḥanukkah in 5784 with integrity. How can it still be a source of wisdom and liberation? An original Ladino adaptation of the song “Oy Khanike” (derived from the Yiddish poem of the same name by Mordkhe Rivesman) also known in English as “Oh Chanukah” or in Hebrew as “Y’mei ha-Ḥanukka.” I’m aware that the custom of spinning tops was not originally a Sefaradi one. So sue me, I was looking for something to rhyme with “libertaḏ.” I’ve included the Rashi script, the Aki Yerushalaim orthography, and (as an added bonus) the Cyrillic transcription used by the Jews of the Balkans. A supplemental stanza to the popular 13th century piyyut, Maoz Tsur, for the Ḥanukkah occurring in the aftermath of the horrors on 7 October. A supplemental stanza to the popular 13th century piyyut, Maoz Tsur, for the Ḥanukkah occurring in the aftermath of the horrors on 7 October, as written and shared by דנה פרל. An original Judeo-Arabic adaptation of the song “Oy Khanike” (derived from the Yiddish poem of the same name by Mordkhe Rivesman) also known in English as “Oh Ḥanukkah” or in Hebrew as “Y’mei ha-Ḥanukka.” With thanks to Mazen Haddad for his help with the Arabic! Some notes: 1) Case endings and nunation, which would (in colloquial dialects) often be skipped or dropped, are transcribed in brackets. 2) The word “sufnāj” is a Moroccan Arabic dialectal word which is the agent noun for sfenj, a traditional type of North African doughnut. This prayer was written on Friday, November 24th 2023, 11th of Kislev 5784, early afternoon (Israel Time), when we were all waiting to witness the first group of hostages come back home from captivity in the hands of Hamas. Having close friends who have relatives kidnapped who do not fit into the criteria of being released now, I was looking for words to pray at this moment. Referring to the words of Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai z”l, and his “remarks” on Kohelet’s “For everything there is a season”, I tried to describe how all feelings are mixed in these awful hours, and in the days since. I am thankful to Rabbi Ayelet Cohen for her translation of this prayer into English. –Rabbi Oded Mazor “Upon My Heart” was offered by Rabbi Menachem Creditor and shared via the Open Siddur Project discussion group on 20 November 2023. The added hashtag “#bringthemhomenow” helps to contextualize the prayer-poem, as written to express the yearning for the return of the captives taken hostage during the 7 October massacres by HAMA”S and its allies. This Yizkor prayer for the victims of October 7th 2023, was written by Rabbi Binyamin Holzman and first published on the website Geluyah on 7 November 2023. The English translation was made by an unknown translator and set side-by-side with the Hebrew source by the Shalom Hartman Institute. This prayer for the welfare of IDF soldiers and the captives of HAMA”S in Gaza was written by Ze’ev Kainan on 16 October 2023 in the days following the terrible events of 7 October 2023. “An important message, November 2023” is a shipping notice from God and a meditation on parochial empathy. Qinat Be’eri was written by Yagel Haroush in the month of Marḥeshban after the massacres on 7 October and disseminated on social media. This is a Hebrew adaptation of the poems traditionally recited by the Beta Israel community for the festival of Sigd, altered and adapted to fit the traditional qedushta form of poetic Amidah additions. The texts of the first few prayers were rewritten substantially and combined with relevant verses so as to fit in the strict form of the magen, mehaye, meshalesh, and El Na. After this, the qiqlar is slightly edited to fit a couplet rhyme scheme, while the silluq (the freest of the genres of qedusha piyyut) is almost entirely preserved — the only change being several verses whose placement is postponed so as to better lead into the qedusha as a silluq should. Regarding translations, the silluq largely uses my original translation with slight alterations (replacing the clunky use of ‘God’ as a pronoun with a gender-neutral THEIR, translating the Agaw passages into Latin rather than English to preserve general comprehensibility while clarifying that this is a different language), while the rest of the poems are different enough for their translation to largely be from scratch. These would be recited with the Ark open for all the piyyutim, as one would on the Yamim Noraim, ideally using melodies from the Sigd liturgy. Rabbi Dr. Reuven Kimelman notes his prayer for Israel in wartime is “refashioned from material online, especially that of Rabbi Ahud Sela.” The English version previously appeared in the article “For this unprecedented time of war and grief, new prayers for those held captive by Hamas” by Aviya Kushner (The Forward, 3 November 2023). The article notes the prayer “[acknowledges] that men, women and children are all among the abducted” and that it “expressly asks [God to] ‘comfort the families of all those murdered.'” “An infinity of amens” was written by Hanna Yerushalmi on 15 October 2023 in the aftermath of the massacres on Shemini Atseret 5784. The Masorti Movement in Israel, in cooperation with the Israeli Institute on Cognitive Accessibility and Ami: The Association for People with Cognitive Developmental Challenges, produced this “accessible” Prayer in Times of War in simplified Hebrew with communications symbols. The prayer was offered in the spirit of the Masorti Movement’s Siddur b’khol Darkhekha (2018), designed primarily for special needs Bar/Bat Mitzvah programs. This prayer for the captives was prepared for the Masorti Movement in Israel by the Knesset haRabanim b’Yisrael and disseminated in Hebrew, English, French, and Spanish. These were published online for the Masorti Solidarity Shabbat (27-28 October 2023). “Prayer at a time of war (Marḥeshvan 5784)” was offered by The Masorti Movement In Israel-התנועה המסורתית בישראל and the כנסת הרבנים בישראל for use by congregations worldwide. Originally written by Rabbi Simcha Roth ז״ל, it was adapted by Ze’ev Kainan to suit the current horrors committed by Hamas. An addendum to “Avinu Malkeinu”, which is intended for recitation following the traditional version, which is said in many synagogues now during the Ḥarvot Barzel war (“War of Iron Swords,” i.e., the 2023 Israel–Hamas war). This prayer was offered by Dr. Melila Hellner-Eshed in the days following the attacks of Ḥamas and its allies from Gaza on southern Israel beginning Shemini Atseret 5784 (7 October 2023). The English translation was made Rabbi Zac Kamenetz and Rabbi Marc Margolius. This is an El Malé Raḥamim prayer by Cantor Amnon Seelig for the victims of the invasion of HAMA”S from Gaza on Shemini Atseret 5784, with an English translation by Rabbi Oren Steinitz. This prayer for rabbis, cantors, educators, and other congregational workers was offered by Rabbi Menachem Creditor and shared by the author through the Open Siddur Project discussion group on Facebook, 20 October 2023. As I was in NYC, I first heard the news of the pogrom with which Hamas opened the war between Hallel and the Torah reading on Shemini Atseret. The beginnings of what is now the final stanza of this… I am unsure whether to refer to it as a qinah or a piyut first stirred in my soul during Tefillat Geshem, and the refrain of that stanza during Hakafot that evening. Prayer and song, no matter how joyous, has taken on a somber, cutting, desperate edge for me in this new world where the safety I had once taken for granted was revealed to be an illusion, which is reflected in taking from the phrases taken from the liturgy of the Yomim Nora’im. This litany of Hoshana’ot was written by Rabbi Annie Lewis. Hebrew translation by Shoshana Michael Zucker. A prayer for Israel offered by the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, Efraim Mirvis on 12 October 2023, in the aftermath of the massacres perpetrated by HAMA”S and their allies in Gaza on the residents and citizens of the State of Israel on Shemini Atseret 5784. The prayer was originally published on the website of the Office of the Chief Rabbi and disseminated via its social media accounts. This prayer by Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff was offered at the Temple Micah, Lunch and Learn, on 11 Oct 2023. This prayer for the State of Israel was written by Rabbi Moshe Smolkin in the days after the October 7 massacre. This prayer for Israel was written by Rabbi Daniel Raphael Silverstein and first shared via his Facebook page on 10 October 2023, in the aftermath of the massacres by HAMA”S and its allies on 7 October 2023. He added, “A dear teacher of mine asked me to try and compose an appropriate prayer for this moment.” A prayer-booklet prepared for a communal prayer service on 15 October 2023, in the aftermath of the massacres of HAMAS and its allies on Shemini Atseret 5784 (7 October 2023). This prayer for the welfare of the State of Israel, by Rabbi Mira Regev, was disseminated by HaTenuah HaReformit (The Israel Movement for Reform and progressive Judaism). English translation by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman and Rabbi Efrat Rotem. This prayer by Rabbi David Wolpe was first shared via his Facebook page in the aftermath of the war begun by Hamas on Shemini Atseret 5784. This prayer for the liberation of abducted Israeli citizens and military personnel was offered by Rabbi Ofer Sabath Beit Halachmi in response to the war initiated by Hamas from Gaza on Shemini Atseret 5784. The English translation was prepared by Rabbi Dr. Rachel Sabath Beit Halachmi. A prayer offered by Rabbi Gil Nativ for the Masorti Movement in Israel and the Knesset haRabanim b’Yisrael in response to the invasion from Gaza on Shemini Atseret 5784 (2023), and disseminated via their Facebook page. This prayer for the State of Israel was offered by Rabbi Ofer Sabath Beit Halachmi in response to the war initiated by Hamas from Gaza on Shemini Atseret 5784. The English translation was prepared by Rabbi Dr. Rachel Sabath Beit Halachmi. The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 5 September 2023. |