🆕 אוֹפָן לשבת לפני שבעות | Ofan for the Shabbat before Shavuot (and the second day of Shavuot in some communities)
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Unknown
This anonymous ofan, also recited on the second day of Shavuot in some communities, uses alliteration to describe the many hosts of angels descending upon Sinai in awe and reverence as the Torah was given. The translation preserves the alliteration over the alphabet, seeing as the ofan in this form doesn’t include the entire alphabet either. As an ofan, it is recited within the Ḳedusha d-Yotser, between the verses of Isaiah and Ezekiel (included here). The ofan is recited on the second day of Shavuot in some communities. . . .
🆕 ברכת המזון לשבועות (אשכנז) | Birkat haMazon for Shavuot, with incorporated Shavuot piyyuṭim (from the Cairo Geniza fragment T-S H6.37)
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Unknown
This is a Birkat ha-Mazon in the Ashkenazi nusaḥ incorporating a reconstruction of a liturgy for a Birkat haMazon for Shavuot witnessed in the Cairo Geniza fragment T-S H6.37 (page 4, recto and verso). Visit here, for a transcription and translation of the former (without the full Birkat ha-Mazon). . . .
🆕 Judeo-Italian couplets for each of the Ten Plagues (Venice, 1609)
Contributed by: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut), Unknown
A series of ten short couplets describing the ten plagues afflicting the Egyptians in Egypt, written in Judeo-Italian and first published in the famous 1609 Venice Haggadah of Isaac Gershon. The Italian used in the Venice Haggadah lacks a lot of the most divergent aspects of the Judeo-Italian languages, sticking to a more mainline Tuscan grammatical norm, but there are enough obsolete, poetic, or dialectal forms that several footnotes have been included to explain them. Also included is an original English-language rhyming translation! . . .
הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | Prayer for the Royal Family and Armed Forces of King Charles Ⅲ (2022)
Contributed by: Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UHC of the UK & the Commonwealth, Unknown, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
This is the formula of the prayer for the government established by chief rabbi Joseph H. Hertz as introduced in 1935 for King George IV at the Royal Jubilee Service and included in his revised Authorised Prayer Book, vol. II (1942/3), p. 506-507. In 2014, this formula was amended by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis of the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK and the Commonwealth, to include a short passage in recognition of the United Kingdom’s armed forces. . . .
כַּפָּרוֹת | Kaparōt (using money dedicated for charity), the ritual for the expiation of offenses before Yom Kippur
Contributed by: Unknown, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
The ritual of kaparot using a bundle of money dedicated for tsedaqah. . . .
קדיש דרבנן | Ḳaddish d’Rabanan (of Our Teachers), a translation by Everett Fox after Franz Rosenzweig
Contributed by: Everett Fox, Unknown
The Ḳaddish d’Rabanan, in Hebrew with English translation by Everett Fox after Franz Rosenzweig. . . .
תפלה לשליח ציבור | Hineni: The Prayer of the Shaliaḥ Tsibur, interpretive translation by Rabbi Oren Steinitz
Contributed by: Oren Steinitz, Unknown
Hineni – the leader’s prayer that opens the High Holy Days Mussaf has always been a challenge for me. While a dramatic moment in the service, it always seemed a little *too* grand to represent a prayer of humility. This is a version of it I wrote in an attempt to make myself more comfortable at that moment. –Rabbi Oren Steinitz . . .
אדיר הוא | Awesome One: an Alphabetical English Interpretation of the piyyut Adir Hu, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
Contributed by: Unknown, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
Adir Hu, a classic Pesaḥ song if ever there was one, is a part of Seder tables all over the planet. Its alphabetical list of God’s attributes, combined with its repeated pleas for a return to Jerusalem, make it a classic, to the point where the traditional German farewell greeting for Passover was not “chag sameach” or “gut yontef” but “bau gut” – build well. This interpretation, while not a direct translation by any means, has the same rhythmic pattern and alphabetical structure, giving a sense of the greatness of God. . . .
אוֹחִילָה לָאֵל | Oḥilah la’El, a reshut and a personal prayer offered by the shaliaḥ tsibbur, Yosef Goldman
Contributed by: Yosef Goldman, Unknown
“The personal prayer of this shaliaḥ tsibbur” with a translation of the piyyut “Oḥilah la’El” was first published on Facebook by Yosef Goldman and shared through the Open Siddur Project via its Facebook discussion group. . . .
Kavvanah before eating or drinking on Yom Kippur for military personnel on active service (IDF 2017)
Contributed by: Unknown, Tsva ha-Haganah l'Yisrael, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
This is a kavvanah (intention) distributed beginning in 2017 for Jewish soldiers on active service during Yom Kippur to use before eating or drinking a limited amount of nourishment in order to sustain their attention and readiness. The text of the prayer here is that which was distributed by Rabbi Captain Udi Schwartz, head of the chief rabbi for Tsahal (IDF), and published by Arutz 7. The kavvanah is derived from one published in 1983 by Rav Yitschok Zilberstein for those who, due to their state of health, must eat or drink in order to live (find Toras haYoledes (1983), chapter 52, section 10, p. 357; pp. 331-332 in the bilingual edition 1989). That kavvanah, according to Rabbi Zilberstein was, “הועתק ממחזור עתיק” (“copied from an old maḥzor”). . . .
הגדה לסדר פסח | Haggadah of the Inner Seder, by Rabbi David Seidenberg (neohasid·org)
Contributed by: David Seidenberg (translation), Neohasid·org, Unknown
The Haggadah of the Inner Seder focuses on revealing the inner structure of the seder. This haggadah gives signposts and cues as to where the important shifts in meaning are happening. It also makes clear the seder’s structure and adds in some commentaries that will make sense of not just what things mean but how they work. It also includes some of the customs I am fond of. It does not include a lot of material meant to update the seder or to bring in contemporary issues (though it does have a few commentaries related to peace between Israelis and Palestinians). The Haggadah is 18 pages long. . . .
תְּפִלָּה לְחֵיְילוֹת אַרְצוֹת הַבְּרִית | Prayer for the Safety of the United States Armed Forces (2014)
Contributed by: Unknown, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
This “Prayer for the Safety of the American Military Forces” by an unknown author was first shared on the website of the Orthodox Union on 5 February 2014 with the note, “The RCA and the OU have circulated a special prayer to be said in synagogues during Shabbat services in support of our armed services courageously waging the battle against the scourge of global terrorism.” . . .
הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | Prayer for the Royal Family and Armed Forces of Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ (2014)
Contributed by: Ephraim Mirvis, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UHC of the UK & the Commonwealth, Unknown
In 2014, the formula of “haNoten Teshua” suggested by the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK and the Commonwealth, was amended by the chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, to include a short passage in recognition of the United Kingdom’s armed forces. . . .
מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ לְפִדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִם | Mi sheBerakh for the redemption of those in captivity (or whose whereabouts are unknown)
Contributed by: Ephraim Mirvis, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UHC of the UK & the Commonwealth, Unknown
This mi sheberakh was published by the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth in June 2014, as “Prayer Issued for Missing Israeli Teenagers,” writing: “The prayer…currently being recited across Israel for missing teenagers Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach, was issued today to Rabbanim of the United Hebrew Congregations by Chief Rabbi Mirvis.” Recitation of this psalm and mi sheberakh seem appropriate to me in the case of unconscionable, immoral, and unjust state policies that separate children from their caregivers. To help fulfill the mitsvah of ransoming captives, please contribute to funds paying out bail bonds and demonstrate your opposition to these policies. . . .
סֵדֶר סְפִירַת הָעֹמֶר | Seder Sefirat ha-Omer :: the Order of Counting the Omer between Pesaḥ and Shavuot
Contributed by: Lieba B. Ruth, Unknown, Aharon N. Varady
Each day between the beginning of Passover and Shavuot gets counted, 49 days in all, 7 weeks of seven days. That makes the omer period a miniature version of the Shmitah and Yovel (Jubilee) cycle of 7 cycles of seven years. Just as that cycle is one of resetting society’s clock to align ourselves with freedom and with the needs of the land, this cycle too is a chance to align ourselves with the rhythms of spring and the spiritual freedom represented by the Torah. . . .
מַעֲרִיב עֲרָבִים | Who Brings the Evenings, translated by Shim’on Menachem
Contributed by: Shim'on Menachem, Unknown
Forgiveness is woven into the pattern of existence. God of second chances, pathways of atonement. Help us awaken to Your listening presence, your understanding. Fill our hearts with Divine compassion! . . .
שבע ברכות | The Seven Blessings over a Wedding (interpretive translation by Aharon Varady)
Contributed by: Unknown, Aharon N. Varady (translation)
A translation of the Seven Blessings shared just in time for Shavuot, and in honor of several of my friend’s weddings. . . .
בִּרְכַּת הָאִילָנוֹת | The Blessing of Flowering Fruit Trees in the Spring Season in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
Contributed by: Jacob Chatinover (translation), David Seidenberg, Unknown, Aharon N. Varady (translation), Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
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. . . .
מִי שֶׁעָנָה…הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ | Mi She’anah… Hu Ya’anenu — A Seliḥah for Yom Kippur (egal adaptation by Lisa Exler and Rabbi Julia Andelman, 2004)
Contributed by: Rabbi Julia Andelman, Lisa Exler, Unknown
This egalitarian adaptation of the Me she’Ana seliḥah for the season of Teshuvah was made by Julia Andelman and Lisa Exler in September 2004. . . .
תְּפִלָה לְאִשָׁה לְאָמְרָהּ לִפְנֵי שֶׁמְגַלַּחַת אֶת שַׁעֲרוֹת רֹאשָׁהּ | Prayer for a woman to say before her hair is shorn
Contributed by: Yahnatan Lasko (translation), Unknown, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
A supplication of a woman cutting her hair as an act of tsanua, per a contemporary custom in many Ḥaredi communities. . . .