תְּפִלָּה לְשִׁחְרוּר הַחֲטוּפִים | Prayer for the Release of the Hostages, by Rabbi Noa Mazor
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❧This prayer for the safe return of the captives taken by HAMA”S and its allies on 7 October 2023 was offered by Rabbi Noa Mazor in the period anticipating the release of the surviving captives in January 2025 as part of a larger ceasefire agreement between the State of Israel and HAMA”S in Gaza. It was first published on her Facebook page on 13 January 2025. . . .
Молитва про захист наших сердець від ненависті | תפילה לשמירה על ליבנו משנאה (בזמן המלחמה) | Prayer to Protect Our Hearts from Hatred in Wartime, by Miriam Klimova (2022)
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❧Miriam Klimova’s prayer “Молитва про захист наших сердець від ненависті” תפילה לשמירה על ליבנו משנאה (בזמן המלחמה) (Prayer to Protect Our Hearts from Hatred in Wartime), in the context of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, was first shared in Hebrew and Ukrainian via her Facebook page. . . .
לזכרם של ההרוגים במלחמה באדמות אוקראינה | Молитва в пам’ять про загиблих у війні на землях України | Yizkor for those killed in the war in Ukraine, by Rabbi Miriam Klimova (2022)
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❧A prayer for a Yizkor service on Yom Kippur during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. . . .
תפילה לאוקראינה | Молитва за Україну | Prayer for Ukraine, by Rabbi Miriam Klimova (2022)
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❧A prayer for Ukraine by Rabbi Miriam Klimova in Hebrew and Ukrainian first shared via her Facebook page on 24 February 2022. . . .
כַּוָּנוֹתִי בְּשִׁיר הָאַהֲבָה | Kavvanah for Shir ha-Ahavah (Song of Love), by Mendel Roth
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❧This is Mendel Roth’s prayer upon sharing his Shirat ha-Ahavah (song of love). The text of the prayer was provided in the description to the video on Youtube. English translation of the pointed Hebrew by Aharon Varady. . . .
שַׁוְעַת נָשִׁים: תפילה לשלומן של נשים קורבנות אלימות | Shav’at Nashim, a prayer for the safety of women who are victims of violence (Masorti Movement in Israel)
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❧A prayer for the safety and well-being of women who are victims of violence, and especially domestic violence. . . .
תחינה לימי נגיף הקורונה | Supplication for the Days of the Coronavirus (Masorti Movement in Israel 2020)
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❧A prayer disseminated by the Masorti Movement in Israel in response to the Coronavirus outbreak in Israel and around the world. . . .
תפילה בתגובה למגפה | Prayer in response to the Coronavirus Outbreak in Italy (Assemblea Dei Rabbini D’Italia 2020)
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❧A prayer disseminated by the Assemblea Dei Rabbini D’Italia in response to the Coronavirus outbreak in Italy and around the world. . . .
תפילה נוכח הרעה מדרום | Prayer in the face of the worsening situation in southern Israel (Masorti Movement in Israel 2019)
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❧A prayer for the safety of all the inhabitants of the Land of Israel offered during the November 12th, 2019 Tel Aviv rocket strike. . . .
תפילה לשלום העם הכורדי | Prayer for the Welfare of the Kurdish People (Masorti Movement in Israel, 2019)
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❧A prayer for the welfare of the Kurdish People in Northern Syria (Rojava) following their betrayal by Donald Trump acting as commander-in-chief of the United States armed forces and their oppression by the Republic of Turkey. . . .
📖 סִימָן לְבָנִים | Siman l’Vanim: a birkon celebrating the wedding of Honi Sanders and Simona Dalin (2019)
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❧The birkon/bentsher (blessing-book) prepared for the wedding of Honi Sanders and Simona Dalin on July 7th, 2019. . . .
תפילה לנספים בשטפונות | Prayer for Flash Flood Victims, by the Masorti Movement in Israel (2018)
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❧Flash floods are dangerous in every season, but are rare in the dry season, after most rain and snow are thought to have fallen. Changes in the global climate due to global warming caused by anthropogenic activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and the conversion of land for raising animals for their meat is a significant contributor to extreme weather experienced around the world. The Masorti Movement of Israel’s prayer for flood victims was first published on their website, here. . . .
אֵל מָלֵא רַחֲמִים תְפִילָה לַנִּסְפִּים בַּשּׁוֹאָה | El Malé Raḥamim Prayer for the Victims of the Shoah, by Rabbi Yehoyada Amir
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❧A prayer for the victims of the Holocaust in Hebrew with English, Romanian, and Ukrainian translations. . . .
הושענא לתיקון ולנחמה | Hoshana for Healing and Consolation, by Rabbi Dr. Dalia Marx
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❧A supplemental hoshana (prayer for salvation) for healing and consolation for the sake of true love, needed blessings, rainfall in a timely fashion, paths and their repair, mountains and their crossing, goals and objectives, lasting memories, good dreams, cosmic goodness, etc. . . .
כוונה ליום הבחירות | Kavvanah for Israeli Election Day, by Rabbi Noa Mazor
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❧כוונה ליום הבחירות יכולה להיאמר בכל שלב של יום הבחירות עצמו. בעיניי היא מתאימה בעיקר כחלק מתפילת שחרית של אותו היום או רגע לפני הכניסה אל מאחורי הפרגוד. נכתב על ידי נועה מזור, סטודנטית לרבנות, והרבה המלווה של נוער תל״ם. . . .
תפילה לבוחר טרם הבחירות | A Prayer for Voters Before the Israeli Election, by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried
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❧A prayer for voting on election day in the State of Israel. . . .
ברכת המזון לשבת א׳ דנחמתא (נחמו) | Birkat haMazon additions for Shabbat Naḥamu
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❧Supplemental prayers for the Birkat Hamazon on Tisha b’Av, Tu b’Av, and Shabbat Naḥamu. . . .
שבע ברכות | The Seven Blessings over a Wedding (interpretive translation by Aharon Varady)
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❧A translation of the Seven Blessings shared just in time for Shavuot, and in honor of several of my friend’s weddings. . . .
תְּפִילַּת הַנּוֹטֵעַ | Prayer for a Virtual Tree Planting in Israel, by Rabbi Eliyahu Yosef She’ar Yashuv Cohen (2012)
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❧This is the prayer for planting trees by the late chief rabbi of Haifa, Eliyahu Yosef She’ar Yashuv Cohen zt”l (1927-2016). . . .
מי שברך לחיילי צה״ל | Mi sheBerakh for the Welfare of Israel Defense Forces Soldiers, by Rabbi Shlomo Goren (1956); amended by Dr. Alex Sinclair (2012)
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❧The prayer for the welfare of IDF soldiers by Rabbi Shlomo Goren, with additional text as added by Dr. Alex Sinclair emphasizing our desire for soldiers to engage in righteous and ethical conduct in accord with the IDF code of conduct. . . .
על הניסים ליום העצמאות | Al haNissim for Yom ha-Atsma’ut, by Amos Ḥakham (2012)
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❧An al hanissim formulation for Yom Ha-Atsma’ut by the scholar Amos Hakham. . . .
בִּרְכַּת הָאִילָנוֹת | The Blessing of Flowering Fruit Trees in the Spring Season in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
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❧When the spring (Aviv) season arrives, a blessing is traditionally said when one is in view of at least two flowering fruit trees. In the northern hemisphere, it can be said anytime through the end of the month of Nissan (though it can still be said in Iyar). For those who live in the southern hemisphere, the blessing can be said during the month of Tishrei. . . .
תפילה לשלום ירושלים | Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem, by Rabbi Eliyahu Yosef She’ar Yashuv Cohen
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❧The “Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem” by the late chief rabbi of Ḥaifa, Eliyahu Yosef She’ar Yashuv Cohen zt”l (1927-2016), is often included in programs praying for peace in Jerusalem in periods of conflict. . . .
The path of the righteous man (הַדֶרֶךְ שֶׁל הַצָדִיק Ha-derekh shel ha-tsadiq) — from the film The Bodyguard (1976), adapted by Jules Winnfield in the film Pulp Fiction (1994)
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❧Tired of people who can’t tell their ḳiddish (blessings for the Sabbath) from their ḳaddish (prayer for the dead)? Well, it sets Samuel L. Jackson off too! But he found a way of making a bracha (blessing) and mourning the dead at the same time. Now I can’t vouch for the origins of his nusaḥ (custom) but it sounds very effective! Most people haven’t noticed, the only real part from the Bible is that last section, the first part is actually his own spiel: . . .
תפילה לשלום צוות אח״י אילת | Prayers for the Welfare of the Navy Personnel of the “INS Eilat,” by rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau & Arnold Resnicoff (1993)
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❧A prayer for the well-being of the Navy personnel assigned to the newly built Sa’ar 5 corvette, INS Eilat, in 1993. . . .
“Just Walk Beside Me” (לֵךְ פָּשׁוּט לְצִדִּי | امشي بجانبي | נאָר גיין לעבן מיר), lines from an unknown author circulating in 1970; Jewish adaptation with translations in Aramaic, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Arabic
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❧Variations of the original three lines culminating with “…walk beside me…” first appear in high school yearbooks beginning in 1970. The earliest recorded mention we could find was in The Northern Light, the 1970 yearbook of North Attleboro High School, Massachusetts. In the Jewish world of the early to mid-1970s, a young Moshe Tanenbaum began transmitting the lines at Jewish summer camps. In 1979, as Uncle Moishy, Tanenbaum published a recording of the song under the title “v’Ohavta” (track A4 on The Adventures of Uncle Moishy and the Mitzvah Men, volume 2). . . .
אֶחָד | One, a song by Harry Nilsson (1967)
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❧A Hebrew translation of the lyrics to Harry Nilsson’s “One” (1967) as sung by Aimee Mann (1995) . . .
מי שברך לחיילי צה״ל | Mi sheBerakh for the Welfare of Israel Defense Forces Soldiers, by Rabbi Shlomo Goren (1956)
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❧The mi sheberakh for the IDF composed by Rabbi Shlomo Goren in the context of the Suez Crisis and Israel-Egypt conflict of 1956. . . .
A Scholar’s Prayer for Intellectual Honesty, adapted from a prayer quoted by Dr. Leslie Weatherhead (1951)
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❧A prayer for intellectual honesty before study. . . .
📖 תפלה לדוד (נוסח איטלקי מנהג הרומית) | Tefilah l’David: Preghiere di Rito Italiano, a bilingual Hebrew-Italian prayerbook compiled by the chief Rabbi of Rome, David Prato (1949)
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❧A bilingual Hebrew-Italian prayerbook compiled by the chief Rabbi of Rome according to the Nusaḥ Italḳi. . . .
תפילת המדינה | Prayer for the State [of Israel], by S.Y. Agnon (1948)
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❧In September 1948, while editing Rabbi Yitshak haLevi Hertzog’s new Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel, S.Y. Agnon (1888-1970) drafted this adaptation. . . .
הַתִּקְוָה | Hatiḳvah (the Hope), by Naphtali Herz Imber (1878)
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❧The poem, Hatiḳvah, in its original composition by Naphtali Herz Imber, later chosen and adapted to become the national anthem of the State of Israel, with a full English translation, and the earliest, albeit abbreviated, Yiddish translation . . .
הָאִינְטֶרְנַצְיוֹנָל | the Internationale, by Eugène Pottier (1871); Hebrew translation by Avraham Shlonsky (1921)
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❧The Chanson Internationale (‘International Song’) was originally written in 1871 by Eugène Pottier, a French public transportation worker, member of the International Workingmen’s Association (The First International), and activist of the Paris Commune. He wrote it to pay tribute to the commune violently destroyed that year. The song became the official anthem of The Second International, of the Comintem, and between 1921 and 1944 also of the Soviet Union. Most socialist and communist parties adopted it as their anthem during the last decades of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century, adapting it in local languages (Russian, Yiddish, etc.) to their particular ideological framework. The anthem was first translated into Hebrew by Avraham Shlonsky in 1921. . . .
תפילה לשלום באירופה | Prayer for Peace in Europe during the Italian War of Independence (ca. 19th c.)
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❧This is a transcription, vocalization, and translation of a manuscript of a prayer for peace in Europe held in the collection of the Columbia University Library. The prayer is undated but the language of the prayer and the use of Italian indicate to me that this was a prayer made by an Italian Jewish community during either the first Italian War of Independence 1848-9, or one of the two succeeding wars in 1860 and 1870. . . .
סֵדֶר תַּשְׁלִיךְ | Seder Tashlikh, as translated by Yehoshua Heshil Miro (1833)
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❧“סֵדֶר תַּשְׁלִיךְ (Seder Tashlikh)” was translated/adapted by Yehoshua Heshil Miro and published in his anthology of teḥinot, בית יעקב (Beit Yaaqov) Allgemeines Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauen mosaischer Religion. It first appears in the 1833 edition on pp. 145-146. In the 1835 edition it is arranged as teḥinah №84 on p. 157. . . .
תהלים מ״ז | (Psalms 47) Dieser Psalm wird siebenmal vor dem Schofer blasen wiederholt (translation by Yehoshua Heshil Miro, 1829)
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❧“Dieser Psalm wird siebenmal vor dem Schofer blasen wiederholt (Psalm 47)” was translated/adapted by Yehoshua Heshil Miro and published in his anthology of teḥinot, בית יעקב (Beit Yaaqov) Allgemeines Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauen mosaicher Religion. It first appears in the 1829 edition, תחנות Teḥinot ein Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauenzimmer mosaicher Religion as teḥinah №35 on p. 44. In the 1835 edition, it appears as teḥinah №31 on pp. 47-48. In the 1842 edition, it appears as teḥinah №33 on pp. 50-51. . . .
Prayer for the Jewish Militiamen of Suriname, by David Hizkiahu Baruch Louzada (ca. 1806)
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❧This is a prayer composed by David Hizkiahu Baruch Louzada (1750–1825) for Jewish Militiamen in Suriname mustered in the event of Maroon attacks. . . .
א דוּדעלע (אַיֵּה אֶמְצָאֶךָּ) | A Dudele (Where shall I seek you?), by Rabbi Levi Yitsḥaq of Berditchev (ca. 18th c.)
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❧A profound song invoking divine presence. . . .
Bénissons, a French table song for the Birkat haMazon (ca. 18th c.)
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❧Bénissons is the French version of the well-known Bendigamos, a prayer and melody of the Spanish & Portuguese Jewish communities, most probably originating in Bordeaux, France. . . .
תפילה לפני שחיטה | Prayer before Kosher Slaughter, by Eliyah ben Shlomo Avraham haKohen (Sefer Shevet Musar, 1712)
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❧This is a kavvanah for kosher slaughterers to say prior to the blessing over sheḥitah, first published in the early 18th century, and composed within the school of the ARI z”l. . . .
אֵל בָּרוּךְ | El Barukh :: A piyyut containing the 42 Letter Name, recorded by Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz
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❧A piyyut providing the 42 letter divine name as an acrostic, recorded in the work of Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz. . . .
אֶהְיֶה בְּעֵדֶן | Ehyeh b’Aden :: A piyyut containing the 42 Letter Name, in Sefer Ma’avar Yaḇoq (1626)
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❧A 42 Letter Divine Name acrostic piyyut to comfort someone in the process of dying. . . .
וִדּוּי בַּיָּמִים מֵחֲמִשִּׁים שָׁנָה וְאֵלֶךְ | Vidui for those fifty years old and over, by Rabbi Mosheh Halperin (1611)
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❧This vidui prayer for those privileged to live past the age of 50 is found in Rabbi Mosheh ben Zevulun Eliezer Halperin’s Zikhron Mosheh (Lublin: 1611), siman 13. . . .
אֵין אַדִּיר כַּיְיָ (מִפִּי אֵל) | Ayn Adir kAdonai | לָא קָאדִּר סַוָא אַלְלָה (There is none like Allah), minhag Cairo variation with a Judeo-Arabic translation
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❧This is a variation of Mipi El in Hebrew with a Judeo-Arabic translation found in the Seder al-Tawḥid for Rosh Ḥodesh Nissan, compiled by Mosheh Asher ibn Shmuel in 1887 in Alexandria. . . .
תפילה קודם לימוד הקבלה | Prayer Before Studying Ḳabbalah, by Rabbi Yitsḥaq Luria (translated by Aharon Varady)
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❧A traditional prayer before studying classic texts of ḳabbalah, by a celebrated ḳabbalist of the 16th century, in pointed Hebrew with an English translation. . . .
מוֹדה אֲנִי | Returning the body to the soul: an adaptation of Modeh Ani by Moshe ibn Makhir
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❧Modeh Ani first appeared as an addendum in Seder ha-Yom (1599) by Moshe ibn Makhir of Safed. A slightly different formula offers a deep insight into who and what has returned to one’s self upon waking. . . .
אֱלֹהִים בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל | Elohim b’Yisrael :: A piyyut containing the 42 Letter Name, recorded in Sefer haPeliah
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❧The earliest recorded prayer or piyyut providing an acrostic for the 42 letter divine name. . . .
תפילה להפך – מאבן בֹחן | Prayer for Transformation, from the poem “Even Boḥan” by Rabbi Ḳalonymus b. Ḳalonymus ben Meir (1322)
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❧A prayer by Kalonymus b. Kalonymus ben Meir that appears in his poem ספר אבן בוחן, יג Sefer Even Boḥan (§13), describing the author’s wish to have been born a Jewish woman. . . .
אֱלֹהַי נְשָׁמָה (נוסח אנגליה) | Elohai Neshamah, the complete daily vidui as found in the Ets Ḥayyim of Jacob Jehudah Ḥazzan on London (1287)
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❧This is the remarkable and unique form of the prayer Elohai Neshamah as found in the Ets Ḥayyim, a compendium of law and tradition of the Jews of England completed in 1287 by Jacob Jehudah Ḥazzan of London (only three years before the expulsion of the Jews from England). . . .
Prayer for Dwelling in the Sukkah of the Leviyatan, as taught in the name of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (ca. 13th c.)
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❧This formula for recitation in the Sukkah at the conclusion of Sukkot (on the night of Shemini Atseret) is given in the name of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (1215-1293) and found in two sources: Siman 148 of the Teshuvot of Shimshon bar Tsadoq (a/k/a the Tashbets), and Siman 71.50 of the Sefer Kol Bo. . . .