עמידה | An Amidah for associating blessings with memory by Rabbi Dr. Oren Steinitz

Contributor(s):

Oren Steinitz

Shared on:

13 April 2016 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories:

Weekday Amidah, Self-Reflection

Tags:

standing meditation

אֲדֹנָי שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח וּפִי יַגִּיד תְּהִלָּתֶךָ	Adonai, open my lips, so my mouth will be able to praise You.
	Let us remember all who came before us, each seeking their connection to the Divine in their own way. Let us remind ourselves that while our ways of approaching the Source of Life may be different from the ways of our parents’, their ways were different from the ways of their parents.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ מָגֵן אַבְרָהָם וּפוֹקֵד שָֹרַה	Blessed is the One who defended Abraham and Approached Sarah.
	Let us remember the great strengths of the Universe, turning around situations that seemed irreparable.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ מְחַיֵּה הַמֵּתִים	Blessed is One who brings back to life.
	Let us remember the Holiness of the Eternal One. The kind of Holiness that even the holiest creatures are always in attempt to capture.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ הָאֵל הַקָּדוֹשׁ	Blessed is the Holy One
	Let us remember the Source of our knowledge and wisdom. Let us remind ourselves that no matter how much we learn, there is a limit to how much we will understand in our lifetimes.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ חוֹנֵן הַדָּעַת	Blessed is the One who grants us knowledge.
	Let us remember to avoid self-righteousness. Let us remind ourselves that we are not perfect and have a natural tendency to transgress. Let us remind ourselves that the gates of t’shuvah are always open.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ הָרוֹצֶה בִּתְשׁוּבָה	Blessed is the One who desires our repentance.
	Let us remember that forgiveness is possible. Let us remind ourselves that we have to ask before receiving it.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ חַנּוּן הַמַּרְבֶּה לִסְלֹחַ	Blessed is the Merciful One, who often forgives.
	Let us remember our People, and their grievances. Let us remind ourselves even in times of joy that redemption is not yet here.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ גּוֹאֵל יִשְׂרָאֵל	Blessed is the One, who redeems Israel.
	Let us remember to take care of ourselves and of the people around us. Let us remind ourselves of those who are not well, and wish them a speedy recovery.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ רוֹפֵא חוֹלֵי עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל	Blessed is the One who heals the ill.
	Let us remember the earth and how unpredictable it can be. Let us remind ourselves of all those affected by natural disasters, those wishing for more rain this year and those who could use a little less.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ מְבָרֵךְ הַשָּׁנִים	Blessed is the One, who blesses the years.
	Let us remember that some of us are still in exile. Let us remind ourselves that some of us may physically be in Zion but are spiritually exiled.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ מְקַבֵּץ נִדְחֵי עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל	Blessed is the One, who gathers us from our exile.
	Let us remember that justice is yet to be restored. Let us remind ourselves of those who are transparent to our legal systems and those wronged by it.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ מֶלֶךְ אוֹהֵב צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט	Blessed is the One, who loves justice.
	Let us remember those who betrayed us and have enabled our enemies. Let us remind ourselves that not everyone who seems to have betrayed us actually has, but that sometimes evil does exist.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ שׁוֹבֵר אוֹיְבִים וּמַכְנִיעַ זֵדִים	Blessed is the One, who crushes our enemies and surrenders the evil.
	Let us remember those who joined our Family from their own free will, and the hardships that they sometime encounter. Let us remind ourselves how lucky we are to have them in our lives and how crucial their presence is.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ מִשְׁעָן וּמִבְטָח לַצַּדִּיקִים	Blessed is the One, whom the righteous can rely upon.
	Let us remember the Holy City of Jerusalem. Let us remind ourselves of its beauty, its diversity, and also of its divisions. May it truly become a City of Peace swiftly and soon.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ בּוֹנֵה יְרוּשָׁלָיִם	Blessed is the One, who builds Jerusalem.
	Let us remember that this is not yet the end of history. Let us remind ourselves that there are always better times ahead.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ מַצְמִיחַ קֶרֶן יְשׁוּעָה	Blessed is the One, who brings forth salvation.
	Let us remember that sometimes prayers are answered. Let us remind ourselves to keep asking.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ שׁוֹמֵעַ תְּפִלָּה	Blessed is the One, who listens to prayers.
	Let us remember to keep looking for better ways to serve the Eternal One, and avoid the temptation to remain set in our ways. Let us remind ourselves that at times, sacrificing animals seemed to be the ultimate form of Avodah. Let us remind ourselves that we can do better – in Zion and everywhere else.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ הַמַּחֲזִיר שְׁכִינָתוֹ לְצִיּוֹן	Blessed is the One, who returns Shekhinah to Zion.
	Let us remember to be grateful. Let us remind ourselves that more of our prayers have been answered than we might be willing to admit.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ הַטּוֹב שִׁמְךָ וּלְךָ נָאֶה לְהוֹדוֹת	Blessed is the One, who deserves our thanksgiving.
	Let us remember that Peace is not yet at hand. Let us remind ourselves to keep pursuing it, no matter how unattainable it may seem.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ הַמְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּשָּׁלוֹם	Blessed is the One, who blesses us with peace.
יִהְיוּ לְרָצוֹן אִמְרֵי פִי וְהֶגְיוֹן לִבִּי לְפָנֶיךָ. ה’ צוּרִי וְגוֹאֲלִי	May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your eyes, my Rock and my Redeemer.

As powerful a practice as a standing meditation may be, reciting the familiar words of the Amidah with intention can prove to be a major challenge. The words may become rote, and the davvener may wonder if the ancient formulas are even meaningful to them. In this adaptation of the Amidah, Oren Steinitz treats each B’rakhah as a prompt to remind ourselves what we are praying for and shares his own thoughts as an example. Rabbi Steinitz originally wrote the “Memory Amidah” in 2013, during the Davennen Leadership Training Institute cohort 7, and revised it for sharing here through the Open Siddur Project in 2016.

. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike . 4.0 . International .

“עמידה | An Amidah for associating blessings with memory by Rabbi Dr. Oren Steinitz” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Oren Steinitz

Rabbi Dr. Oren Z. Steinitz is the spiritual leader of Congregation Kol Ami in Elmira, NY. He was ordained in 2014 at the Mesifta Adas Wolkowisk Rabbinical Academy, and is a member of OHALAH Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal. The same year he completed his doctorate at the University of Calgary‘s Interdisciplinary Graduate Program (Religious Studies, Communications and Israel Studies), researching the attitude towards the “Other” in Jewish and Islamic legal websites. Rabbi Oren holds BA and MA degrees from the Ben Gurion University of the Negev (Israel). His fields of expertise include the history of Jewish-Muslim relations; modern Jewish fundamentalism; Jewish and Islamic Law; and the religious online world.Before assuming his current position, Rabbi Oren served for five years as the University of Calgary’s Jewish Chaplain, taught at Mount Royal University in Calgary, and worked for the Masorti Movement in Israel.

Pocket Pinterest Reddit 𝕏 Facebook Telegram WhatsApp SMS Email

1 comment to עמידה | An Amidah for associating blessings with memory by Rabbi Dr. Oren Steinitz

davide
2016-11-12 at 4:25 pm · Reply.
i decided to use before going to intership at hospital. really fresh and always with chatimah. wonderful

Comments, Corrections, and QueriesCancel reply

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=13338

Associated Image:

Art of memory, “De praeternaturali utriusque…” Fludd, 1621 (cropped page image)

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

Source Data: XML | JSON

Re-formatted: HTML | ODT

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

Properly attribute the work to Oren Steinitz.
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=13338>.
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 contributors, patrons, or 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-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. If you like what you've found here, please help keep our project alive and online with your financial contribution.

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