Gebet vor einer Vorstandssitzung | Prayer before a [synagogue] board meeting, by Lior Bar-Ami

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (translation) and Lior Bar-Ami

Shared on:

19 April 2026 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories:

Tags:

21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., German vernacular prayer

Source (German)	Translation (English)
Quelle aller Segen und Güte in der Welt. Wenn wir nun zu dieser Vorstandssitzung zusammenkommen, bitten wir Dich um Deine Führung und Weisheit, um uns bei Entscheidungen zu helfen, die zum Wohl der gesamten Gemeinde sind. Wir erkennen die Vielfalt unserer Gemeinde an und schätzen sowohl die Bewahrung alter Traditionen als auch den Fortschritt und die Innovation.	Source of all blessings and goodness in the world, as we gather for this board meeting, we ask for Your guidance and wisdom to help us make decisions that serve the best interests of the entire congregation. We recognize the diversity of our congregation and value both the preservation of old traditions and progress and innovation.
Mögen wir mit Kraft und Mut gesegnet sein, neue Wege zu suchen, um das spirituelle und gemeinschaftliche Leben unserer Synagoge zu verbessern, ohne dabei die reiche Geschichte und das Erbe zu vergessen, die uns an diesen Punkt gebracht haben. Hilf uns, auf die Bedürfnisse und Wünsche aller unserer Gemeindemitglieder zu achten und in all unseren Überlegungen freundlich, mitfühlend und verständnisvoll zu handeln.	May we be blessed with strength and courage to seek new ways to enhance the spiritual and communal life of our synagogue, without forgetting the rich history and heritage that have brought us to this point. Help us to be attentive to the needs and wishes of all our congregation members and to act with kindness, compassion, and understanding in all our deliberations.
Mögen unsere Worte und Taten von den Werten des Respekts, der Inklusion und der sozialen Gerechtigkeit geleitet sein und andere dazu inspirieren, sich unseren Bemühungen anzuschließen.	May our words and actions be guided by the values of respect, inclusion, and social justice, and may they inspire others to join us in our efforts.
Wir bitten Dich, dass unsere Arbeit heute von Deiner heiligen Gegenwart geleitet wird und dass sie nicht nur uns, sondern auch zukünftigen Generationen Segen bringt. Möge unsere Gemeinde weiter wachsen und gedeihen, verbunden durch unser gemeinsames Engagement, Dir und unseren Mitmenschen zu dienen.	We ask that our work today be guided by Your holy presence and that it bring blessings not only to us but also to future generations. May our congregation continue to grow and flourish, united by our shared commitment to serve You and our fellow human beings.
Adonai, Du bist voller Segen und herrschst über das Universum. Durch Deine Gebote heiligst Du uns und gibst uns die Aufgabe, uns um die Belange unserer Gemeinde zu kümmern.	Adonai, You are full of blessings and reign over the universe. Through Your commandments, You sanctify us and entrust us with the task of caring for the needs of our congregation.

This prayer for setting a holy intention before a board meeting was first offered by Lior bar-Ami around 10 January 2023. The English translation by Aharon Varady was made 19 April 2026.

Aharon N. Varady (translation)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer translator for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his translations, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot Naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also transcribes prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes for the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Lior Bar-Ami

Lior Bar-Ami is a Jewish writer and liturgical creator based in Europe. Ordained in 2016 at the Abraham Geiger College in Berlin, he previously served in rabbinic roles in France and Austria. He no longer works as a rabbi and does not identify as religious. His work has evolved toward a humanistic and spiritual expression of Jewish life, creating contemporary liturgy that centers shared humanity, ethical responsibility, memory, and solidarity. His texts seek to open reflective spaces across traditions — grounded in Jewish language and experience, yet not confined to religious doctrine.

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=67301

Associated Image:

Polish Wikimedia Meeting, Wrocław, April/May 2006 April 30th attendance

(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in shared links on social media.)

Terms of Use: Be a mentsch (a conscientious, considerate person) and adhere to the following guidelines:

Properly attribute the work to Aharon N. Varady (translation) and Lior Bar-Ami.
Clearly indicate the date you accessed the work and in what ways, if any, you modified it. (If you have adapted the work, let us know so that the contributor might consider endorsing your revision.)
Provide the stable link to this resource: <https://opensiddur.org/?p=67301>.
Indicate that the original work was shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license. (To redistribute or remix this work in any format, modified or unmodified, you must refer to the terms of the license under which the work is shared.)

Additional Notes:

The views expressed in this work represent the views of their creator(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Open Siddur Project's developers, its diverse community of volunteer contributors, or its institutional partners.
We strongly advise against printing sacred texts and art containing divine names as these copies must be regarded with reverence, complicating their casual treatment and disposal.
If you must dispose of a printed sacred text (one containing Divine Names), please locate the closest genizah (often established by a synagogue) and contact its custodians for further instructions. We also recommend using Morah Yehudis Fishman's Prayer for Adding a Work to the Genizah.

Support this work: The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-commercial, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture.

ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו׃ (תהלים צ:יז) · "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." (Psalms 90:17)

Gebet vor einer Vorstandssitzung | Prayer before a [synagogue] board meeting, by Lior Bar-Ami

Read a comment / Leave a comment (moderated)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply