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This teḥinah (supplication) often used to name prayers done prior to preforming a mitsvah, such as, lighting the Shabbat candles) connects the mitsvah of honoring our parents with the mitsvah of caring for the Earth. If we read our relationship with Earth as that of children toward a parent and bring in the mitsvah of honoring our parents, then our use of the word “mother” in this context shifts to one of respect and responsibility.
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.
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| Source (Hebrew) | Source (English) |
|---|---|
מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ חַוָּה אִמֵּנוּ אֵם כָּל חַי וְיָצַר אוֹתָנוּ עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפֵּנוּ נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וְנִהְיֶה לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיּה: הִיא תִּבְרַךְ אוֹתָנוּ בְּחָכְמַת הַלֵּב וּבְבִינַת הַגּוּף לִשְׁמֹר אֶת הַמִּצְוָה הַקְּדוֹשָׁה מִן הַתּוֹרָה דִּבְרֵי אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים ”כַּבֵּ֥ד אֶת־אָבִ֖יךָ וְאֶת־אִמֶּ֑ךָ לְמַ֙עַן֙ יַאֲרִכ֣וּן יָמֶ֔יךָ עַ֚ל הָאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָֽךְ׃“ (שמות כ:יב) |
May the one who blessed Eve, mother of all living and fashioned us Humans, humus from the soil,[1] Genesis 2:7 and blew the breath of life into our nostrils, so we became a living creature: May She bless us with Heart-Wisdom and Body-Knowledge to guard the sacred commandment of “Honour your father and your mother, so that your days me be long on the soil that Adonai your God has given you” (Exodus 20:12) |
וְנִזְכֹּר שֶׁכָּל קְרוּמִי קִיּוּם הָעוֹלָם נוֹבְעִים מִקַּרְקַע הַאֲדָמָה וּמִמְּשַׂחֵק הַמַּיִם הַזּוֹרְמִים עָלֶיהָ וּבְתוֹכָהּ, בִּבְחִינַת ”וְאֵ֖ד יעֲלֶ֣ה מִן־הָאָ֑רֶץ וְהִשְׁקָ֖ה אֶֽת־כׇּל־פְּנֵ֥י הָאֲדָמָה“ (בראשית ב:ו) ”וַיַּצְמַ֞ח יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהִים֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה כׇּל־עֵ֛ץ נֶחְמָ֥ד לְמַרְאֶ֖ה וְט֣וֹב לְמַאֲכָ֑ל…“ (בראשית ב:ט חלק) וְהִיא, קַרְקַע הָעוֹלָם, אֵם כֻּלָּנוּ, וּמֵעָפְרָה אָנוּ בָּאִים וְאֵל עֲפָרָהּ נָשׁוּב כַּאֲשֶׁר תַּעֲזֹב אוֹתָנוּ הָרוּחַ. |
And may we remember that life’s web springs from Earth and from the rush of waters on and within Her as we remember that “wetness would well from the earth to water all the soil…” (Genesis 2:6) “and Adonai our God caused to sprout from the soil every tree lovely to look at and good for food…” (Genesis 2:9) And she the soil-ground is our Mother: We arrive from her dust and return to her when our spirit leaves us. |
וְלָכֵן בַּעֲלַת רַחֲמִים תָּשִׁיב ”לֵב בָּנִ֖ים עַל־אֲבוֹתָ֑ם“ (מלאכי ג:כד) וּנְמַלֵּא בְּנֶפֶשׁ חֲפֵצָה מִצְוַת מוֹרָאָהּ וּכְבוֹדָהּ שֶׁל אֲדָמָה ”פֶּן־אָב֕וֹא וְהִכֵּיתִ֥י אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ חֵֽרֶם׃“ (מלאכי ג:כד) . |
So may our Goddess of all mercy “Return children’s hearts to their parents” (Malachi 3:24) and we shall once again fulfil the mitsvah of reverence and respect to Earth as due to a parent so that “I (Adonai) do not strike the whole land with utter destruction” (Malachi 3:24). |
וְנִזְכֶּה לַעֲסֹק בְּמוֹ יָדֵינוּ בַּנִּקָּיוֹן הַאֲדָמָה וּבְתִקּוּנָהּ יַחַד עַם כֹּל אָחִינוּ וְאָחִיותָנוּ: הַזּוֹחֲלִים, הַשּׂוֹחִים, הַמְּעוֹפְפִים, הָרוֹמְשִׂים, הַצּוֹמְחִים, הַיּוֹנְקִים, הַנּוֹבְגִים וְהַדּוֹמְמִים. |
And may we merit to clean Earth with our own hands and beautify her together with all our brothers and sisters: the Crawlers, Swimmers, Flyers, Swarmers, Those who grow, those who suckle, those who spore and the silent ones. |
דְּמָמָה מִסּוֹף הָעוֹלָם וְעַד סוֹפוֹ. וְנֹאמַר, אָמָן. |
A silence calling out from one end of the world to another. Amen. |
“A prayer of strengthening our commitment to the Commandment of Honoring our Parents in relation to Mother Earth” by Rabbi Gila Caine, written in 2022, was first published at Ritualwell on 14 February 2022.
Notes
| 1 | Genesis 2:7 |
|---|
“תחינה לחזק ידינו במצוות ”כיבוד אב ואם“ ביחס לאמנו, האדמה | A prayer for strengthening our commitment to the commandment of “Honoring our Parents” in relation to Mother Earth, by Rabbi Gila Caine” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
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