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The prayers for hurricane victims that are circulating here and elsewhere are poignant and heartfelt, but they don’t speak an important piece of the truth that we need to hear. What about our collective responsibility for climate disruption that undoubtedly increases the harm caused by this and every major storm? And what about the Deuteronomic promise that God brings us recompense for our actions davka through the weather? Here’s an attempt at a prayer that incorporates a deeper understanding of our responsibility. For a longer essay on the concerns inspiring the composition of this prayer, please read “After the Storm: How Should we Pray?,” at The Times of Israel.
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| Hebrew | English | Transliteration (Romanized Hebrew) |
|---|---|---|
”הַעִידֹתִי בָכֶם הַיּוֹם אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ הַחַיִּים וְהַמָּוֶת נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַבְּרָכָה וְהַקְּלָלָה וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה אַתָּה וְזַרְעֶךָ.“ |
“I call on the skies and the land to witness against you today: Life and death I have put before you, the blessing and the curse. And so choose life, in order that you will live, you and your seed.”[1] Deuteronomy 30:19 | |
אָדוֹן הָעוֹלָם, אֶדֶן הָעוֹלָם, | רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, אַתָּה צִוִּיתָנוּ ”וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים“ (דברים ל:יט), וּבְנֵי דוֹרֵנוּ אֵינֵנּוּ יוֹדְעִים אֵיךְ לִבְחֹר בַּחַיִּים. וְכֻלָּנוּ אַחֲרָאִים גַם בַּעַל כּוֹרְחֵנוּ גַם מִבְּחִירַתֵנוּ לְהַפְרַעַָת הַאַקְלִים שֶׁסָבִיר לְהַגְדִּיל הַסְּעָרוֹת וְהַשְּׂרֵפוֹת וְהַסּוּפוֹת וְהַהֲצָפוֹת הַקָּטְלָנִיוֹת, וּכְמוֹ כֵן אַחֲרָאִים וּלְרַפֹּאתוֹ. |
Master of the Universe | Foundation of the Universe You commanded us, “Choose life,”[2] Deuteronomy 30:19 but the people of our generation do not know how to choose life. We are all of us responsible, whether by necessity or by our choices, for the disruption of the climate that intensifies deadly storms and fires and hurricanes and floods, and so we are responsible for its healing. |
Adon ha’olam | Eden ha’olam, atah tsivitanu “uvacharta bachayyim”, uv’nei doreinu eineinu yod’im eikh liv’chor bachayyim. V’khulanu achrai’im, gam ba’al korcheinu gam mib’chiroteinu, l’hafra’at ha’aklim shesavir l’hagdil hase’arot v’hasreifot v’hasufot v’hahatsafot hakat’laniyot ukh’mo khen achra’im l’rapo’to. |
וְהִנֵּה אָנוּ מְבַקְּשִׁים אֶת הַכֹּחַ וְהָאֹמֶץ לְקַבֵּל אַחֲרָיוּת עָלֵינוּ עַתָּה לַעֲזוֹר לְאֵלוּ שֶׁנִפְגָעִים עַל יְדֵי הַסְּעָרָה, וְגַם לְהִמָשֵׁך לַעֲזוֹר כְּנֶגֶד סְעָרוֹת בָּאוֹת, וְלִתְּמוֹךְ בְּאֵלוּ שֶׁמִּצְטָרְפִים בַּעֲבוֹדוֹת הַהַצָּלָה וְהַסְעַד וּלְחַבֵּר אִתָּם. וְאָנוּ מִתְּפַּלְּלִים בְּעַד כָּל הַבְּרוּאִים הַנִזְקָקִים וְחֲשׁוּפִים ”כַּעֲבוֹר סוּפָה“, (משלי י:כה חלק) נָא לְהוֹשִׁיעֵם. |
So we seek the strength and the courage to accept our responsibility now to help those harmed by the storm/firestorm and also to persist in helping in the face of coming storms, to support all those engaged in rescue and relief work, and to join with them. And we pray for all the creatures who are in need and exposed with the passage of the storm:,[3] Proverbs 10:25 partial please save them. |
V’hineh anu m’vakshim et hakoach v’ha’omets l’kabel ha’achrayut aleinu atah la’azor l’eilu shenifga’im al y’dei hase’arah, v’gam l’himasheikh la’azor k’neged se’arot ba’ot, v’litmokh b’eilu shemits’tarfim ba’avodot hahatsalah v’hase’ad ul’chaber itam. Va’anu mitpal’lim ba’ad kol hab’ru’im haniz’kakim v’chashufim “ka’avur sufah”: na l’hoshi’eim. |
כִּי אַתָּה ”הַיֹּסֵר גוֹיִים“ וְ”הַמְלַמֵּד אָדָם דַּעַת“ (תהלים צד:י) — נָא לְלַמְּדֵנוּ אֶת הַדֶרֶךְ קָדִימָה לָקַחַת אַחֲרָיוּת זֶה אֶל זֶה וְאַחֲרָיוּת עַל עַתִּיד הָעוֹלָם הַנִּפְלָא עַל יְדֵי חָזוֹן וְלֹא עַל יְדֵי אָסוֹן. עֲזוֹר לָנוּ לִבְחוֹר בְּדֶרֶךְ הַחַיִּים מְיוּסָד עַל הַצֶדֶק, כִּי ״צַדִּיק יְסוֹד עוֹלָם״ (משלי י:כה חלק), בַּעֲבוּר צֶאֱצָאֵי צֶאֱצָאֵינוּ לְמַעַן יִתְּקַיֵּם הַכָּתוּב, ”בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה בָּעִיר וּבָרוּךְ אַתָּה בַּשָּׂדֶה“, (דברים כח:ג), וְשֶּׁלֹא נֹאבַד ”מְהֵרָה מֵעַל הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה“. (דברים יא:יז) |
For You are the One who reproves nations and who teaches humanity knowledge.[4] Cf. Psalms 94:10 — Please teach us the path forward to take responsibility for each other and for the future of this wondrous planet through vision and not through calamity. Help us choose a way of life rooted in justice, for the just are a foundation for the world,[5] Proverbs 10:25 partial for our descendants and those coming from them, so that the promise may be upheld through us Blessed will you be in the city, blessed will you be in the field,[6] Deuteronomy 28:3 and that we may not be lost quickly from off the good earth.[7] Deuteronomy 11:17 |
Ki atah “hayoseir goyim v’ham’lamed adam da’at”— na l’lamdeinu et haderekh kadimah, al y’dei chazon v’lo al y’dei ason, lakachat achraiyut zeh el zeh v’achraiyut al atid ha’olam hanif’la hazeh. Azor lanu liv’chor b’derekh chayyim m’yusad al hatsedek, ki “tsadik y’sod olam”, ba’avur tse’etsa’ei tse’etsa’einu l’ma’an yit’kayeim banu hakatuv, “Barukh atah ba’ir, uvarukh atah b’sadeh” v’shelo “novad m’heirah mei’al ha’arets hatovah”. |
This prayer was originally written in the context of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and updated in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Rabbi Seidenberg wishes to remind everyone seeking prayers for the victims of this seasonal hurricane, that we are not just dealing with Harvey but with monsoon floods covering a third of Bangladesh, where over 1200 have already died – far worse than our hurricane here.
Rabbi Seidenberg adds, “For the final version of this prayer, I started with an anonymous Hebrew translation of my original English prayer, then I tweaked it and wove in scriptural references, and retranslated it back into English.” Aharon Varady, Baruch Sienna, and Hinda Labovitz all assisted in helping to prepare this prayer on the Open Siddur Project Facebook discussion group.
Notes
“כעבור סופה | After the Storm: A Prayer to Choose Life by Rabbi David Seidenberg (neohasid.org)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
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“Still frame from an animation of Hurricane Harvey” (credit: NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS), located at the University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC), PD)(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in category lists and in shared links on social media.)
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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "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
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