
Contributor(s): David Seidenberg and neohasid.org
Shared on כ״ט במרחשון ה׳תשע״ג (2012-11-14) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Earth, our Collective Home & Life-Support System, Dangerous Storms & Floods
Tags: eco-conscious, weather, emergency, danger, תחינות teḥinot, 21st century C.E., בקשות Baqashot, 58th century A.M., Hebrew translation, Hurricane Sandy, taking responsibility, Hurricane Harvey, ecoḥasid, Hurricane Florence
The prayers for hurricane victims that are circulating through the Open Siddur Project and elsewhere are poignant and heartfelt, but they don’t speak an important piece of the truth that we need to hear. What about our collective responsibility for climate disruption that undoubtedly increases the harm caused by this and every major storm? And what about the Deuteronomic promise that God brings us recompense for our actions davka through the weather? Here’s an attempt at a prayer that incorporates a deeper understanding of our responsibility. For the final version of this prayer, I started with an anonymous Hebrew translation of my original English prayer, then I tweaked it and wove in scriptural references, and retranslated it back into English. . . .
A Mi Sheberakh prayer for those affected by natural disasters. This prayer uses many standard liturgical phrases in a new context to stress that God, while full of great power, is not a God of destruction but one of peace and life. Quoting the famous vision of Elijah at Ḥorev, this prayer is for those who seek comfort and tranquility from their God. . . .
Fixated as we are by incalculable losses in our families, our neighbors, human beings spanning national borders, we are pummeled into shock, barely even able to call out to You. We are, as ever, called to share bread with the hungry, to take those who suffer into our homes, to clothe the naked, to not ignore our sisters and brothers. Many more of our brothers and sisters are hungry, homeless, cold, and vulnerable today than were just a few days ago, and we need Your Help. . . .
Merciful God, a great and powerful windstorm has passed, and it has torn apart the buildings and shattered the rocks before You. You told Elijah, the prophet, that You were not in the windstorm. Please, then, be in the still, small voices of the children crying out to be found. Be in the voices of the rescuers calling out for survivors. Be in the cries of those who are lost and of those who have lost. . . .
A prayer offered in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in 2012. . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (translation), Jacob Chatinover (translation), Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Unknown Author(s)
Shared on כ״ח בניסן ה׳תש״פ (2020-04-21) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: the Wet Season (Fall & Winter), Dangerous Storms & Floods
Tags: Rain, Floods, 55th century A.M., 18th Century C.E., rainfall, Italian Jewry, economic distress, harvest loss
A prayer in the event of excessive raining causing economic hardship, from Mantua in 1729. . . .
A prayer composed by Rabbi Shai Held in the aftermath of the devastating 2004 Asian Tsunami. . . .
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. . . .
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