Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady and Unknown Author(s)
Shared on כ״ב באייר ה׳תשע״ב (2012-05-14) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories:  Pesaḥ, Ḥanukkah, Shavuot, Tehilim Book 2 (Psalms 42–72), Shabbat, Sukkot, Sefirat ha'Omer, Slavery & Captivity
Tags:  acrostic, labyrinth, cyclical, barley, wheat, first fruits, anxiety, Psalms 67, Raḥav, shalmah, a red ribbon, walled cities, captives, אנא בכח Ana b'Khoaḥ, 42 letter divine name, Divine name acrostic 
Psalm 67 is a priestly blessing for all the peoples of the earth to be sustained by the earth’s harvest (yevulah), and it is a petition that all humanity recognize the divine nature (Elohim) illuminating the world. Composed of seven verses, the psalm is often visually depicted as a seven branched menorah. There are 49 words in the entire psalm, and in the Nusaḥ ha-ARI z”l there is one word for each day of the Sefirat haOmer. Similarly, the fifth verse has 49 letters and each letter can be used as a focal point for meditating on the meaning of the day in its week in the journey to Shavuot, the festival of weeks (the culmination of the barley harvest), and the festival of oaths (shevuot) in celebration of receiving the Torah. Many of the themes of Psalm 67 are repeated in the prayer Ana b’Koaḥ, which also has 49 words, and which are also used to focus on the meaning of each day on the cyclical and labyrinthine journey towards Shavuot. . . .
A prayer for women caught up in the torment of ‘get’ refusal from a husband who refuses to grant them the document required for a religious divorce. . . .
Contributor(s): Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Unknown Author(s)
Shared on כ״ה בתשרי ה׳תשע״ח (2017-10-15) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Dying, Birkhot haShaḥar, Slavery & Captivity
Tags: interpretive translation, acrostic, Jewish Renewal, פיוטים piyyutim, Philadelphia, אנא בכח Ana b'Khoaḥ, singing translation, 42 letter divine name, Divine name acrostic, devotional interpretation
The most well-known 42 letter divine name acrostic piyyut. . . .
Contributor(s): R' Hillel Ḥayyim Lavery-Yisraëli
Shared on ט׳ באייר ה׳תשע״ד (2014-05-08) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Slavery & Captivity
Tags: women, children, abduction, kidnapping, students, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Arabic translation, Nigeria, Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping, Dapchi schoolgirls kidnapping, Igbo translation, Swedish translation 
God of all people’s souls: Hasten, we pray, to rescue the hundreds of Nigerian young girls, innocent students who, in horrific cruelty, were abducted from their houses and schools by inhumane criminals intending to sell them into slavery and torture them. . . .
“The wicked child asks: What does this work mean to you? Mah ha’avodah ha’zot lachem” (Exodus 12:26). I think about this question a great deal as a rabbi whose core work involves fighting modern-day slavery. I think about it when I talk to my children about what I do every day, when I call anti-trafficking activists and say, “What can rabbis do to support you?” or when I stand before Jewish audiences and urge them to put their energy behind this critical human rights issue. The answer must go deeper than simply saying, “We were slaves in Egypt once upon a time.” The memory of bitterness does not necessarily inspire action. What inspires me is not slavery but redemption. God could part the Sea of Reeds, but the Israelites could not truly be free until they had liberated themselves, after 40 years in the desert, from slavery. . . .
A plea to not become numb in the face of overwhelming cruelty. . . .
Creator of heaven and earth, may it be Your will to free the captive wives of Israel when love and sanctity have fled the home, but their husbands bind them in the tatters of their ketubot. Remove the bitter burden from these agunot and soften the hearts of their misguided captors. Liberate Your faithful daughters from their anguish. Enable them to establish new homes and raise up children in peace. Grant wisdom to the judges of Israel; teach them to recognize oppression and rule against it. Infuse our rabbis with the courage to use their power for good alone. Blessed are you, Creator of heaven and earth, who frees the captives. . . .
Contributor(s): Ephraim Mirvis and Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth
Shared on י״ט בסיון ה׳תשע״ד (2014-06-16) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Prayers During Public Readings of the Tanakh, Tehilim Book 5 (Psalms 107–150), Slavery & Captivity
Tags: redemption, abduction, מי שברך mi sheberakh, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Arabic translation, immigration policy, Psalms 142, Immigration policy of Donald Trump, Trump administration family separation policy, imprisoning migrant and asylum seekers 
May the one who blessed our ancestors, Avraham, Yitzḥak, and Yaakov, Yoseph, Moshe, and Aharon, David and Shlomo, Ruth, Sarah, Rivka, Miriam, Devorah, Tamar, and Raḥel, bless and safeguard and preserve the captives… . . .
This prayer, following the structure of the Mi Sheberakh supplications during the Torah service, is meant to call get refusers to account, by name, and make a statement that their behavior is evil and will not be tolerated. . . .
We are grateful to Rabbi Joshua Boettinger and Rabbis for Human Rights–North America (RHR-NA) for sharing the following petitionary prayer, A Misheberakh for Victims of Slavery. Originally published by RHR-NA on their website in 2009, the prayer attends to the desperate need to eradicate all forms of slavery that persist today, especially in advance of the holiday celebrating our Z’man Cheruteinu, the season of our freedom, every Spring, every Pesaḥ. . . .
An early printing of the 42 divine name letter acrostic piyyut, Ana b’Khoaḥ. . . .
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