ברכות השחר | Birkhot haShaḥar (Morning Blessings), paraliturgical reflections by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman

Contributor(s): Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman

Shared on: 7 May 2020 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Tags: 1st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, paraliturgical birkhot hashaḥar, shame resilience

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Source (Hebrew)	Paraliturgical Reflection (English)
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לַשֶּֽׂכְוִי בִינָה לְהַבְחִין בֵּין־יוֹם וּבֵין לָֽיְלָה׃	Holy One, sometimes I don’t want to get out of bed or face the day. The alarm clock goes off, and my inner rooster is still sleeping. Yet despite my desire to give up and give in, I still praise all the blessings in my life.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁעָשַׂנִי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃	You place me in the company of others who are also wrestling for meaning.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁעָשַׂנִי בְּצָלמוֹ׃ בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁעָשַׂנִי בָּת/בֵּן חוֹרִין׃ בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, פּוֹקֵחַ עִוְרִים׃ בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, מַלְבִּישׁ עֲרֻמִּים׃	You have given me self-expression, sight and insight, clothing, shelter, food, sleep, and whatever health I am in today.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, מַתִּיר אֲסוּרִים׃	You break me out of old patterns that don’t serve me anymore.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, רוֹקַע הָאָרֶץ עַל הַמָּיִם׃	You stretch out the shifting earth over the rolling waters, bringing deep magma from the core to form new earth and seafloor, and here to the ground where my feet stand.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, זוֹקֵף כְּפוּפִים׃	You love my wounded, bent, shameful parts. You lift them to the light, forming new growth and opportunities for compassion.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁעָשָׂה לִי כׇּל צָרְכִּי׃	You make all my needs. My scared, reptilian brain that needs safety. My animal body that needs food and shelter. My mind that needs meaningful work and stimulation. My broken heart that needs love. My soul that needs union with You.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַמֵּכִין מִצְעֲדֵי גָבֶר׃ בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אוֹזֵר יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּגְבוּרָה׃	You guide me toward wise strength and support me with wise strength.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, עוֹטֵר יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּתִפְאָרָה׃	You crown me with the potential to balance loving-kindness and boundaries.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַנּוֹתֵן לַיָּעֵף כֹּחַ׃	You give me resilience when I am tired.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַמַּעֲבִיר שֵׁנָה מֵעֵינַי וּתְנוּמָה מֵעַפְעַפָּי׃ וִיהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶֽיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁתַּרְגִּילֵנוּ בְּתוֹרָתֶֽךָ. וְדַבְּקֵנוּ בְּמִצְוֺתֶֽיךָ. וְאַל תְּבִיאֵנוּ לֹא לִידֵי חֵטְא. וְלֹא לִידֵי עֲבֵרָה וְעָוֺן. וְלֹא לִידֵי נִסָּיוֹן. וְלֹא לִידֵי בִזָּיוֹן. וְאַל תַּשְׁלֶט בָּנוּ יֵצֶר הָרָע. וְהַרְחִיקֵנוּ מֵאָדָם רָע וּמֵחָבֵר רָע. וְדַבְּקֵנוּ בְּיֵצֶר הַטוֹב וּבְמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים. וְכֹֽף אֶת יִצְרֵנוּ לְהִשְׁתַּעְבֶּד לָךְ. וּתְנֵנוּ הַיּוֹם וּבְכׇל יוֹם לְחֵן וּלְחֶסֶד וּלְרַחֲמִים בְּעֵינֶיךָ וּבְעֵינֵי כׇל רוֹאֵינוּ. וְתִגְמְלֵנוּ חֲסָדִים טוֹבִים׃ בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ הַגּוֹמֵל חֲסָדִים טוֹבִים לְעַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל׃	Holy One, Just as You woke me up this morning You keep waking me up to greater truth, even when I would rather stay asleep. Keep it up, God! Help me to form good habits in my day. Habits of compassion, learning, and humble service. Don’t let me get too far off track, and fall into the hands of stuck patterns and ego trips. Don’t let my shame gremlins get the last word. Don’t let my cravings for success, achievement, material goods or approval rule over me. Help me react with equanimity to people and situations that bring out these cravings in me. Bring me toward those who inspire me to act the way I want to. Help me get out of my own way and just serve You. Grant me and all beings grace, loving-kindness, and compassion today and every day. I bless You, Holy One, bestower of loving-kindness on all beings.

Rabbi Shoshana Meira’s paraliturgical interpretation of the Birkhot haShaḥar (Morning Blessings), was first published in her Siddur v’lo Nevosh (2014). Linear correspondence between the Hebrew source and the English by Aharon Varady.

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“ברכות השחר | Birkhot haShaḥar (Morning Blessings), paraliturgical reflections by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman

Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman is the Associate Rabbi at Temple Sinai in Brookline, Massachusetts. She feels blessed to serve this vibrant community through building personal relationships, teaching Torah, innovating new engagement initiatives, working for justice, and leading prayer. Rabbi Shoshana is a leader in the interfaith climate justice movement in New England. She and her husband Yotam Schachter co-wrote The Tide Is Rising, an anthem for the climate movement that has been sung in congregations, climate rallies, and gatherings in the US, Brazil, Denmark, and France.In other pursuits, she has released an album of original music called Guesthouse, clowned for hospitalized children, tended a community garden, and written poetry. Her publications include pieces in the Huffington Post and the Harvard Divinity Bulletin, and she has written an interpretive translation of the weekday prayer service called Siddur V'lo Nevosh: Jewish Prayer as Shame Resilience Practice.Rabbi Shoshana was ordained at Hebrew College Rabbinical School, and is a graduate of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, JOIN For Justice, and Oberlin College of Arts & Sciences where she was also a Henry David Thoreau Scholar. She grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, and lives in Jamaica Plain with Yotam and their dog Lulu. For sermons, publications, music, and activism visit www.rabbishoshana.com.

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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

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