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. . . .

A ḳinnah composed in response to the agonizing and cruel United States immigration policy implemented under the presidency of Donald Trump. . . .

A prayer for universal peace offered by Hillel Yisraeli-Lavery as an opening prayer to a talk given in Hamilton, Canada by 2011 Nobel Prize winner Leymah Gbowee. . . .

A prayer for the safety of all the inhabitants of the Land of Israel offered during the November 12th, 2019 Tel Aviv rocket strike. . . .

A prayer written in response to the massacre of Muslim worshipers during Friday prayers in Christchurch, New Zealand. . . .

A prayer for the welfare of the Kurdish People in Northern Syria (Rojava) following their betrayal by Donald Trump acting as commander-in-chief of the United States armed forces and their oppression by the Republic of Turkey. . . .

An article in the Yiddish Daily Forverts (Forward) on the activities of the Open Siddur Project and its founder, Aharon Varady. . . .

A Tu Bishvat Seder Haggadah prepared for a time when the Jewish New Year’s Day festival for trees coincides with a total lunar eclipse, as occurred in Tevet 5779 (January 2019). . . .

A bilingual Hebrew and English High Holiday (Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur) maḥzor prepared for the Hill Havurah congregation in Washington, D.C. . . .

The birkon/bentsher (blessing-book) prepared for the wedding of Honi Sanders and Simona Dalin on July 7th, 2019. . . .

Siddur Or uMasoret is a weekday prayerbook, containing the liturgy for normal daily services, as well as additions for Rosh Ḥodesh, Ḥol haMo’ed, Purim and Ḥanukkah. This siddur includes artwork by Noam Sienna and other community contributors, a set of seven bakashot (songs for the early morning), and various additions to the Torah service to mark life cycle events. The revised second edition adds 200+ pages of new material, as well as other style and content updates that bring it in line with Siddur Or veShalom for Shabbat and Festival use (2023). The siddur contains the full traditional Sefaradi liturgy, including a diverse range of Sefaradi customs, piyyutim (songs and poetry), and psalms. It also provides a full transliteration and guiding commentary. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 25 April 2018. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 27 February 2018. . . .

This is an undated prayer written attributed to Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz (1937-2020) and shared via the Facebook page of Merkaz Steinsaltz (the Steinsaltz Center). The English translation (possibly also made by Rabbi Steinsaltz) was shared by the Center in a separate document. . . .

This is a new version of the popular Ḥanukkah song, Banu Ḥoshekh. (The original by Sara Levi-Tanai can be found here.) Our new version does two things: 1) it avoids the association of darkness and blackness (shḥor) with evil and harm, which in our society gets tangled up with white supremacy, and 2) honors the darkness as something precious that we need, especially in our time of light pollution when so much of the time, so many people can’t even see the stars. . . .

Especially for those of us who use the Torah passages on the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael and the Binding of Isaac for Rosh Hashanah, together with Rabbi Phyllis Ocean Berman, I want to recommend that you read from the Sefer Torah the passage in Genesis 25:7-11 on the reconciliation of the two brothers as they come together to bury their dangerous father Avraham/Ibrahim/Abraham. . . .

Created by students of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and Rabbi Arthur Waskow. Written by Sarah Barasch-Hagans, Sarah Brammer-Shlay, Miriam Geronimus, Lonnie Kleinman, Chayva Lerman, Michael Perice, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, May Ye. Formatted and Edited by Sarah Barasch-Hagans. . . .

As many of you know, there is a custom to indicate the Hebrew year with a verse (or part of a verse) that is equal to that year in gematria. Such words or phrases are called chronograms. The practice of indicating the year by a biblical phrase was often followed in traditional sefarim, on tombstones, and more recently has appeared in written correspondence and email. It’s a nice way to give added meaning to the current year. Here are some biblical phrases that equal תשע”ט 779. . . .

The most traumatic event in recent Jewish history is the Holocaust. At this time, the survivors of the camps are aging, and in the lifespan of people alive today it is likely that the last survivor will die. We say we must never forget what happened during the Holocaust, but if we think of it as a tragedy that happened to our ancestors we will forget. But it has been 3000 years since the Exodus from Egypt, and the Haggadah keeps its history vivid and alive. We are taught that in each and every generation we are to think of ourselves as having been slaves in Egypt. May it be that just as we never forgot the wonders of the Exodus, so too we never forget the horrors of the Holocaust, and continue to strive that such horrors may never happen again until all live in freedom and peace. . . .

These are piyyutim written in a traditional style, meant to introduce the opening of each book in the Torah. These piyyutim can be used at any time the opening line of the reading is said – on the Shabbat Minḥa/Monday/Thursday prior to the reading OR on the Shabbat morning of the reading proper. Because of this, the sheets arranged including the readings use two sizes – a larger size for the shorter first reading for weekdays, and a smaller size for the full first reading on Shabbatot. They can only be read when the first verse of the book is read. . . .

This is a petition for the worker in the style of “Av Haraḥamim” and similar texts, using Biblical and Mishnaic language and co-opting it into a new meaning. It could be read after the Torah service (like many other petitionary texts) or focused on in private. The Biblical relationship between God, humanity, and labor is fascinating. Often it is treated as a curse placed upon us, and just as often as the purpose of humanity. In Genesis 3:19 it is the curse placed upon a disobedient First Adam, but less than a chapter earlier in Genesis 2:15 it is the reason for First Adam’s creation in the first place! In the past century or so, traditional Judaism has somewhat tilted away from the ideas of worker’s rights so clearly stated in the Tanakh and in rabbinic texts. Partially this was to disassociate from the Bundists, partially out of fear of “looking too Communist” in a xenophobic American society, and partially because the Jewish working class is nowhere near as substantial a part of the community as it once was. If this text is meant to do anything, it’s to show that love of God and love of the worker aren’t opposed to each other – in fact, they go hand in hand! . . .

A prayer, inspired by Tefilat haDerekh and other traditional liturgical texts, for a Jew who, at some future point, would be about to go forth on a starship. Doesn’t include a chatimah so as not to be a brakhah levatalah, in the case that starships are (chas v’shalom) never invented. . . .

A derivation of the popular piyyut for the Yamim Noraim, “Mi She’anu” which references the archetypal characters of the Star Trek paracosm. . . .

At B’nai Havurah, the Denver Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, located in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, we consider this psalm a local favorite. Psalm 121, described as a Song for the Ascents, traditionally looks to the heights, where godly powers were believed to reside, such as Mt. Sinai, or the Acropolis, to find divine help, in the person of God or The Unseen One. My proposal is a variation that adjusts our focus to this world, away from the supernatural, to acknowledge our responsibility for the well-being of ourselves and the environment. Whatever deeds and actions that may need to be taken for repair and preservation of our world, we are responsible for. To look for others to do the work for us, or to postpone acting until divine help comes, may turn out to be the height of recklessness for our own, as well as our children’s future. First we acknowledge what is here and real, then we commit to do what we can to solve problems and make things better. This variation is designed to allow it to be sung, with some adjustments, in community with others who are singing the traditional version in Hebrew and English. . . .

An Al Hanissim supplement for Sheva Asar b’Tamuz that acknowledges the fast day in light of the apparent achievements of the State of Israel, post-1948. . . .

This vidui (confession), based on the traditional pattern of Yom Kipur confession, was written around 2011by Michal Talya and is used by several liberal communities in Israel. . . .

A prayer to recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-identifying folk before reading Parshat Aḥarei Mot (Leviticus 16:1–18:30) in the synagogue. . . .

A mi sheberakh prayer by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried for the parents of students returning to school from their summer break. . . .

If it is a mitsvah to guard our lives and strengthen our bodies in service of our holy mission, then there should be a brakhah (blessing) before we start a session of vigorous activity; any excuse to add blessings to our day is a wonderful opportunity for personal growth! . . .

The Bayit’s Tu BiShvat Seder Haggadah in PowerPoint presentation format was designed to be projected on a screen to save paper; accompanied by instructions for how to celebrate Tu BiShvat. . . .

This is a poetic rendering of the sixth blessing (of the Sheva Brakhot/7 Blessings) for a wedding. It riffs off of themes and language in the Hebrew text of joy, love, and companionship, and invocations of the Garden of Eden, creation, and eternity. Written originally for the wedding of friends; I hope you’ll feel free to adapt and rework it however suits your needs! . . .

The names of our ancestors reflect the diverse tapestry of experiences and cultures they encountered including the names of those who joined our families from neighboring people and regional societies. In giving and receiving Hebrew names, we honor the names of all our ancestors whose “names may be remembered for a blessing” (zekher livrakha). Of the ancestors mentioned in the mi sheberakh (“May the one who blessed our forefathers and foremothers…”), I wanted to make certain to include Mordekhai and Esther, names of figures distinguished in their being both native to their Diasporan roots (Marduk and Ishtar), as well as elevated by the heroic, brave action of their namesakes. If there are figures from the Tanakh that are important to you, that are a kesher (connection) between you and the identity contained within our stories, then please feel free to include them in your mi sheberakh. . . .

The Al Cheyt (literally meaning “For the sin…”) is a confessional litany recited on Yom Kippur. It is an alphabetical acrostic; each one of its verses starting with a successive letter of the aleph-beit, to represent not only the moral failings that are specifically enumerated there, but the fullness of every way in which we missed the mark in the previous year. . . .

“For Tisha be’Av: Our Cherished Litany of Loss” by Rabbi Menachem Creditor was first published on his website, here. . . .

Some thoughts on the ineffable divine name. . . .

On May 15th, 2018, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg tweeted this blessing. . . .

“The personal prayer of this shaliaḥ tsibbur” with a translation of the piyyut “Oḥilah la’El” was first published on Facebook by Yosef Goldman and shared through the Open Siddur Project via its Facebook discussion group. . . .

Purim affirms Esther’s stand against official silencing, abuse of power, misogyny and anti-Semitism. At first an outsider, Queen Esther used her insider power to reveal and thwart official hatred that threatened Jewish life and safety. We celebrate one woman’s courageous cunning to right grievous wrongs within corrupt systems. The archetype of heroic woman standing against hatred continues to call out every society still wrestling with official misogyny, power abuses and silencing. For every official silencing and every threat to equality and freedom, may we all live the lesson of Esther and all who stand in her shoes: “Nevertheless, she persisted.” . . .