Resources employing Hebrew language← Back to Languages & Scripts Index A prayer for the United States, its leaders and government and its citizens — a personal response to things that were troubling me in the months before November’s election – in particular the level of divisiveness in our country, and what seemed to me to be a growing sense that it isn’t important to respect people we disagree with, and an ever more prevalent belief that we are entitled to decide for ourselves which rules to follow, and all that matters are own rights and our beliefs, not our responsibilities to one another. Inspired by the events of 2020 . . . A prayer for the day after the US day of elections that all votes be counted. . . . A liturgy of symbolic foods exclusively for the eve of the Hebrew new year 5781. A traditional egalitarian Hebrew text being a newly revised liturgy with contemporary text and additional prayers suitable to our perilous and worrisome state at the beginning of this second year of the pandemic and including a modern English translation together with learned annotations and guidance for observance in the home. . . . A weekday morning siddur in Hebrew with English translation prepared by Joshua Giorgio-Rubin adapted from traditional sources. . . . An adaptation of a short portion of David Einhorn’s work, Olat Tamid, by Joshua Giorgio-Rubin. Olah Ḥadashah—”a new offering”—is, he writes, “an attempt to bring this assurance into the present. Using modern English, gender-neutral language, and including the matriarchs in the Amidah, I hope to make a little sliver of Einhorn’s genius accessible to today’s Jews. In so doing, I hope we can find renewed purpose in our fight for justice, rooted in renewed appreciation of Judaism’s moral imperatives.” . . . The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 29 October 2019. . . . A prayer in Hebrew to be said before a vaccination, with Yiddish and English translation. . . . A Jewish Prayer for Nakba Day, by Rabbi Brant Rosen. . . . An invocation by Rabbi Jill Jacobs, executive director of T’ruah, offered at the opening dinner of the Council on Foreign Relations annual Religion and Foreign Policy Workshop, June 2019. . . . A prayer for teshuvah. . . . A Ḥanukkah meditation on the hidden, infinite light of creation, the Or HaGanuz, with some of the midrashic and Ḥasidic sources it is based upon. . . . A public ceremony for celebrating the Gender Affirmation and Name Change of a man, woman, or non-binary person. . . . Today I turned my heart toward the new year and wrote a prayer-poem for Tashlikh, the Rosh haShanah ritual of casting bread or stones into the water to cast off one’s past wrongdoings. . . . A gender-neutral certificate of conversion for a minor, in Hebrew and English. . . . A gender-neutral certificate of affirmation of Jewish identity for a minor, in Hebrew and English. . . . A gender-neutral Hebrew-English conversion certificate template for adults. . . . A gender-neutral certificate of affirmation of Jewish identity for an adult, in Hebrew and English. . . . A 21st century recasting of the iconic 13th century Spanish mystical Rosh haShanah piyyut. . . . This replacement barkhu arranges multiple Biblical verses in a catena. It is introduced and closed with verses from the book of Neḥemiah, verses often considered the source for the custom of calling to prayer. In between are poetic texts from the Song of Deborah and from Psalms that direct the term “Barkhu” — the plural imperative “Bless ye!” — at God. It could be recited alone in the location where the Barkhu would traditionally be recited, or said aloud in a community when no minyan is available. Alternatively, it could be used WITH a minyan as a text to introduce the Barkhu, a new step in of a line of poetic introductions to the service written for multiple generations. . . . This text uses the passage for the Askenazi nusach of the Modim d’Rabbanan and incorporates it into an extended version of the Modim, slightly editing it so as to fit more appropriately and so as not to repeat the word “modim” (which is forbidden on the grounds of appearing, ḥas v’shalom, to pray to multiple deities—see Berakhot 33b). It was first written for a separate project by the editor (https://opensiddur.org/prayers/lunisolar/musaf/dukhening-in-a-musaf-amidah-after-a-heykhe-qedushah-by-isaac-gantwerk-mayer/) but here it can be found alone. It can be silently recited when praying alone or after a heykhe kedusha, to replace the first paragraph of the Modim prayer. . . . A version of the Pesaḥ Haggadah with full cantillation. . . . This Tikkun for Erev Yom Kippur is an assortment of texts, beginning with Torah and its targum, continuing with the Writings, then prophetic and psalmodic works, each accompanied by related Mishnaic passages from Tractate Yoma and surrounded by petitionary prayers in the manner of a traditional tikkun. It is meant to be studied in the nightly period after Kol Nidrei, either as a community or alone. . . . One of the great things about Pesukei and Kabbalat Shabbat is that it enhances our feeling of holiness, that what we’re about to do is outside the secular world we’ve just left. Minḥah is the shortest service, and usually gone through the fastest. But it is still a spot of holiness in our afternoons, and we should keep that in mind. I hope that this text can help us remember that we can always take a break from our day to access some afternoon holiness. . . . A Passover seder supplement containing seven additional symbolic foods and their associated ritual presentations, along with their collective organization on a second seder plate. . . . This prayer, following the structure of the Mi Sheberakh supplications during the Torah service, is meant to call get refusers to account, by name, and make a statement that their behavior is evil and will not be tolerated. . . . A prayer of thanksgiving for when it rains in a land needing rainfall. . . . This is a Torah reading (divided into three aliyot) and a Haftarah reading to be recited for such holidays. The aliyot are from Shoftim, describing the rules for just warfare and treatment of those in need. . . . This is a Torah reading (divided into three aliyot) and a Haftarah reading to be recited on Memorial Day or any local equivalent day to honor those who died for their nation. . . . This is a Torah reading (divided into three aliyot) and a Haftarah reading to be recited on a national labor holiday. The aliyot are from Vayakhel, describing the construction of the Tabernacle. . . . This text is a version of the concluding three blessings (Avodah, Hoda’ah, and Shalom) for kohanim to use during the silent Amidah of a festival Musaf where dukhening is, for one reason or another, impossible. . . . A Mi sheBerakh prayer, in the manner of those used during the Torah service, to honor those receiving a true Hebrew name reflecting their gender after undergoing gender confirmation. . . . A prayer of thanksgiving for when it snows in a land needing snowfall (and ultimately, snowmelt). . . . A kiddush for the se’udah (feast) preceding Yom Kippur and its fast. . . . Adir Hu, a classic Pesaḥ song if ever there was one, is a part of Seder tables all over the planet. Its alphabetical list of God’s attributes, combined with its repeated pleas for a return to Jerusalem, make it a classic, to the point where the traditional German farewell greeting for Passover was not “chag sameach” or “gut yontef” but “bau gut” – build well. This interpretation, while not a direct translation by any means, has the same rhythmic pattern and alphabetical structure, giving a sense of the greatness of God. . . . The Fourth of July is a day on which Americans celebrate liberty, equality under heaven, and freedom from tyranny and foreign rule. Thus it is an appropriate day to read Torah. This is a Torah reading (divided into three aliyot) and a Haftarah reading to be recited on the Fourth of July. . . . A guiding text and haggadah for a Seder Pesaḥ Sheni. . . . This text takes the basic idea of the Baladi-rite ‘Brikh Shmeh d’Kudsha Brikh Hu’ and adapts it for the Askenazi nusach of the Kaddish. It can be used when praying alone wherever a minyan would say the entire Kaddish. It could also be recited by a community in unison out loud when it can’t make a minyan, to show that even if we don’t have a full minyan, we still welcome mourners as part of our community. . . . A litany of hoshanot for use in a ritual prayer circle march on the festival of Sukkot. . . . A meditation which can be used to prepare for Pesaḥ, or for sharing at the Seder, to deepen the experience of liberation for yourself and others. . . . One small request to accompany the seliḥot service. . . . A meditation on living through the lens of dying. . . . This prayer is a line by line interpretative translation of a traditional Ashkenazi variation of the Hashkiveinu prayer recited for Ma’ariv Leil Shabbat. . . . Richard Shavei-Tzion writes, “At this time when mankind is wreaking havoc on our Eco-System, we pray to God to preserve the treasure that is the earth and to grant us the wisdom to make pro-active efforts to protect it for the sake of our future generations and all which dwell upon it.” . . . A prayer for a teacher to say or adapt as needed at the beginning of their school year. . . . A “mi sheberakh” blessing for children and the parents of children returning to school at the beginning of the new school year. . . . “A Prayer for the Spiritual Welfare of the United States at a Time of Trial,” by Rabbi Joe Schwartz was first published at The Forward on 28 June 2019. . . . A prayer in English to end gun violence before Rosh haShanah, . . . A prayer on the first anniversary of the Tree of Life massacre in Pittsburgh. . . . A ḳinah for the martyrs of the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Boston in 2018. . . . A prayer for a government when that government is causing pain through malicious policies. . . . |
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