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I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Thy doing; I muse on the work of Thy hands. (Psalms 143:5) | |
Let my musing be sweet unto Him; as for me, I will rejoice in the Lord. (Psalms 104:84) | |
This book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. (Joshua 1:8) | |
O God, Thou art my God, earnestly will I seek Thee; my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee, in a dry and weary land, where no water is. (Psalms 68:1) | |
When man quits the world, he is asked: “Hast thou been busy in the study of the Torah and in work of lovingkindness? Hast thou, morning and evening, declared Thy Maker as the King? Hast thou acknowledged thy fellow man as king over thee in meekness of spirit? (Ḥayyim Vital, Sha’arei Kedusha Part 2.2) | |
It is good for the soul to have seasons of quiet contemplation and searching self-scrutiny. In the midst of a busy life, full of worry and distraction, of strenuous effort and burning heart-ache, it is good to pause at times and meditate in silence; for in such moments of self-communion the hidden realities of life call unto our deepest thoughts and feelings. At such times we seem able to sink below the surface and fathom the very depths of our existence. Baffling questions come crowding upon the mind; mysterious longings seize possession of the soul. | |
Alone with our real self, in the very presence of God, we begin to perceive the profound sea of mystery over which we are voyaging so gaily, and a spirit of humility comes over our thought. We feel ourselves so little, when compared with the immense universe in which we live. Our life hangs upon a mere thread. Like a vapor, it appears for a moment and then vanishes away. | |
And yet, how great our power, how boundless the opportunities for spiritual growth! | |
We contrast in our mind what we actually are with what we might be, and our heart sinks within us. A sense of unworthiness overwhelms us. | |
Such solemn sadness and profound seriousness are fraught with spiritual significance. They are revelations of sublime truth. We pass beyond our self. Instinctively we reach out our hands and lift our voices for the help of which we stand in such supreme need. We find ourselves face to face with God. | |
O Lord our God, as we lift our eyes unto the hills, whence shall our help come but from Thee? Thou who treadest the high places of the earth, Thou alone canst help us to struggle out of our complexities, to surmount our difficulties. In Thee alone can we find rest for our perturbed minds and disquieted hearts. In Thy light can we see light. | |
We therefore approach Thee, O God, and lift our souls unto Thee, the fountain of our hope and strength. Grant us, we beseech Thee, the vision that shall enable us to see Thy larger purpose in the world and the divine possibilities Thou hast planted in our nature. In Thy Law Thou hast shown us the true plan and pattern of our life. Give us also, we pray Thee, the strength of will, and the steadiness of purpose ever to strive to realize Thy vision of our possibilities and to fulfil Thine image of our life. Amen. |
This “Meditation” is the opening prayer of ברכה ותהלה Blessing and Praise: A Book of Meditations and Prayers for Individual and Home Devotion (CCAR 1923), pp. 9-11. Unfortunately, we do not yet know of a resource providing clear attribution to any of the prayers in this volume. The author was likely one of the members of the Committee on Book of Meditations and Prayers: Solomon B. Freehof, Israel Bettan, Abraham Cronbach, Morris S. Lazaron, and Abram Simon.
Source(s)
“Meditation (CCAR 1923)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication.
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