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21st century C.E. —⟶ tag: 21st century C.E. Sorted Chronologically (old to new). Sort most recent first? The time of Sukkot is a time of fullness and generosity, but also a time to pray for the coming season. Shemini Atzeret, the festival when we pray for rain, is an expression of our need for water, which in the Jewish tradition symbolizes life, renewal, and deliverance. Tefillat Geshem, a graceful fixture of the Ashkenazic liturgy, invokes the patriarchs as exemplars of holiness and model recipients of God’s love. This prayer uses water as a metaphor for devotion and faith, asking that God grant us life-sustaining rain. While its authorship is unknown, it is sometimes attributed to Elazar Kallir, the great liturgist who lived sometime during the first millenium. Each year, we are reminded of our people’s connection to the patriarchs and to the rhythms of water, spiritual and physical sources of life, through this medieval piyyut. While we know that rain is a natural process, formal thanksgiving for water as a source of life, energy, and beauty reminds us that our Creator is the source of our physical world and its many wonders. . . . A paraliturgical reflection of the prayer Aleinu for a shame resilience practice . . . Categories: Aleinu רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָמִים לֹא עַל־צִדְקוֹתֵֽינוּ | Ribon HaOlamim, a paraliturgical reflection by Rabbi Shoshana Meira FriedmanA paraliturgical reflection of the prayer Ribon haOlamim for a shame resilience practice. . . . Categories: Mah anu A paraliturgical reflection of the prayer for entering sacred communal spaces, Mah Tovu, for a shame resilience practice. . . . Categories: Entering Sacred Spaces A paraliturgical reflection on the blessings over learning Torah, the Birkhot haTorah, for a shame resilience practice. . . . A paraliturgical reflection on the prayer following urination and defecation, Asher Yatsar, for a shame resilience practice. . . . תפילת העמידה ביום חול | the Weekday Amidah, a paraliturgical reflection by Rabbi Shoshana Meira FriedmanA paraliturgical reflection of the weekday Amidah for a shame resilience practice. . . . Categories: Weekday Amidah בִּרְכָּת גָּאַל יִשְׂרָאֵל | Emet v’Yatsiv, a paraliturgical reflection by Rabbi Shoshana Meira FriedmanA paraliturgical reflection of the blessing following the Shema, the Birkat Ga’al Yisrael, for a shame resilience practice. . . . Categories: Birkat Ga'al Yisrael for Shaḥarit A paraliturgical reflection of the second blessing prior to the Shema, the Birkat Ahavah, for a shame resilience practice. . . . Categories: the Shema A paraliturgical reflection of the second blessing prior to the Shema, the Birkat Ahavah, for a shame resilience practice. . . . Categories: Birkat Ahavah A paraliturgical reflection of the first blessing prior to the Shema, Yotser Ohr, for a shame resilience practice. . . . Categories: Yotser Or A paraliturgical reflection of the prayer Barukh She’amar for a shame resilience practice. . . . Categories: Barukh she’Amar A paraliturgical reflection on the prayer over being animated with life sustaining breath, Elohai Neshamah, for a shame resilience practice. . . . Categories: Elohai Neshamah A paraliturgical reflection of Ashrei for a shame resilience practice. . . . Categories: Ashrei A prayer-poem for Rosh Ḥodesh Adar Alef which occurs on Jewish leap years (before the month of Adar containing the festival of Purim). . . . Categories: Rosh Ḥodesh Adar (אַדָר) Alef & Bet A blessing and song book for Ḥanukkah by Rabbi Hillel Lavery-Yisraëli in celebration of Maureen and Philip Price’s Golden Anniversary Celebration (31 December 2016). . . . A prayer for students studying-abroad in Israel. . . . A prayer for the electorate to be recited together with the Prayer for Government on the Shabbat before an election (federal, state, or local). . . . Categories: After the Aliyot, 🇺🇸 Election Day (1st Tuesday after November 1st), 🇺🇸 United States of America, Elections & Voting On Tuesday, we go to the polls in a momentous election that for many of us has generated a combination of anxiety, excitement, fear, and confusion. We offer you this prayer, which you can recite this Shabbat, before you vote, or while you are waiting for returns. . . . The full text of Rabbi Julie Schonfeld’s benediction offered at the end of the first day of the Democratic National Convention, July 25th, 2016. . . . A Prayer for the Steadfast on the Global Shabbat Against Home Demolitions, by Rabbi Brant Rosen (2016)A prayer for the Global Shabbat Against Home Demolitions in response to the State of Israel’s policy,under the military occupation of Area C in the West Bank, of demolishing structures without building permits. . . . 📖 בספר חיים (התחדשות יהודית) | B’Sefer Ḥayyim: A Jewish Renewal/Reconstructionist Maḥzor for the Days of Awe (2016)This is a complete* Jewish Renewal/Reconstructionist Machzor for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, primarily influenced by the davennin of Reb Zalman and the Aquarian Minyan. All text in English is gender-neutral. All Hebrew prayers are accompanied by transliteration. Material for Shabbat is at the back of the book. Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur prayers are combined (so some pages need to be skipped depending), but there should be a minimum of flipping back and forth. . . . 📖 ברכות והודאות | Brakhot v’Hoda’ot (Blessings and Thanksgivings): A Birkon for the Bar Mitsvah of Yeshayahu Yisraeli (2016)Brakhot v’Hoda’ot (Blessings and Thanksgivings): A Birkon by R’ Hillel Ḥayyim Yisraeli-Lavery. Kiddush, Havdalah and the Birkat Hamazon according to the custom of R’ Saadia Gaon, RaMBaM, and the Vilna Gaon. Zemirot, Piyyutim, and Shirim. Ma’ariv for Weekdays and for after Shabbat. A souvenir for the Bar mitsvah of Yeshayahu Yisraeli, 19 Sivan 5776 (Shabbat Parshat Shelakh Lekha). Published in the Holy City of Yerushalayim. . . . Categories: Birkonim (בענטשערס Bentshers) תפילה לעת שרפה – וחמת האש תשכך | Prayer for the Wildfires to Subside (Masorti Foundation, trans. by R’ Jonah Rank)The Prayer for the Fire (תפילה לעת שרפה) was first published by the Masorti Foundation at their website here in response to the November 2016 wildfires in Israel. Translation by Rabbi Jonah Rank. Transcription by Aharon Varady. . . . Categories: Drought & Wildfire The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 3 February 2016. . . . Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi John Linder on 22 March 2016The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 22 March 2016. . . . Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Jay Weinstein on 17 May 2016The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 17 May 2016. . . . הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | Prayer in honour of the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ, by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK & the Commonwealth 2016)This “Prayer in honour of the Queen’s 90th birthday,” was first delivered by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis for the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth on Shabbat 11th June 2016, and shared via their website in English. Side-by-side with the English we have set the Hebrew text from the formula of the traditional prayer “haNoten Teshua” as used by the Office of the Chief Rabbi as amended in 2014. . . . Categories: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff on 18 July 2016The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 18 July 2016. . . . Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Shea Hecht on 30 November 2016The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 30 November 2016. . . . 📖 סדור לבנת הספיר לקבלת שבת | Siddur Livnat HaSapir l’Ḳabbalat Shabbat, a Friday Night prayerbook arranged by Aharon Varady (2017)Siddur Livnat HaSapir l’Kabbalat Shabbat is a complete prayerbook (siddur) for welcoming the Shabbat on nearly all Friday evenings. This is the personal prayerbook of Aharon Varady, containing his idiosyncratic preferences in liturgical custom and aesthetic presentation. . . . Categories: Shabbat Siddurim On 29 September 2017 IfNotNow Chicago writes, “Tonight begins Yom Kippur. We are asking our community, when you say the prayer for Israel this Kol Nidre, will you say it for all the people that live in Israel and Palestine? Will you stand for freedom and dignity for all Palestinians and Israelis? Our members have re-imagined the Prayer for the State of Israel. We hope you use this New Prayer for Israel and Palestine, and share it with your own community.” . . . Because of my commitment to the integrity of prayer, starting this week, I can no longer recite or say amen to the Shabbat prayer for the success of the U.S. President. So I have drafted a new prayer that I will plan to recite each Shabbat morning. If you also feel it’s important to pray for the U.S. government but also feel you cannot pray for the success of this President, feel free to use this or adapt it as you please. I felt that it was not enough to simply avoid the U.S. President in the prayer for the government but to remind myself of the billions of vulnerable people who are at risk under his rule, and challenge myself each Shabbat to build up the strength for another week of spiritual resistance. . . . From resurgent neo-fascist movements to religious extremist attacks, hate crimes are on the rise all over the world right now. At times like this many people live in fear – fear of being attacked or maligned, physical, mental or emotional. Hatred is not new to the Jewish people, but traditionally it was considered “just the way it is.” As Americans, we should believe better. The midrash (Devarim Rabbah 5:10) says that hateful speech kills three – the speaker, the listener, and the subject. This Mi Sheberakh was written as a prayer for all those of every people and nation that are affected by hatred and bigotry. . . . תחינה ליובל מלחמת ששת הימים | A prayer on the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War, by Rabbi Ofer Sabath Beit Halachmi (2017)“A prayer on the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War” by Rabbi Ofer Sabath Beit Halachmi was first read on 11 Sivan 5777 (June 5th 2017) and published on his Facebook page. English translation: Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, Rabbi Andrea Coustan London and Daniel London. . . . Categories: War 📖 סידור זכרון יהודה לייב | Siddur Zikhron Yehudah Leib, a Friday Night Siddur dedicated in honor of Leonard Nimoy, z”l (2017)The goal of this project was to produce a complete prayerbooklet for the Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv service that was as compact as possible yet user-friendly. This booklet is designed to be printed on 9 double-sided sheets of paper, folded and saddle stapled. It was commissioned for a minyan held annually at the Arisia science fiction convention in Boston, MA, and dedicated in honor of Leonard Nimoy, z”l (1931–2015). Since Arisia takes place in mid-January, we omitted all special insertions for holidays and other times of year. A companion booklet which includes insertions for year-round use is in the works. . . . Categories: Shabbat Siddurim מִי שֶׁעָנָה לָאִמָּהוֹת | Mi she-Anah la-Imahot (He who answered the foremothers), by Dr. Yael Levine (2017)The Hebrew for “מִי שֶׁעָנָה לָאִמָּהוֹת” by Yael Levine was first published, with an introduction and a commentary, in September 2017, at kipa.co.il. The English translation for “Mi She-Anna La-Imahot,” by Yael Levine was made in 2018. . . . ברכות ותפילות לרגל עדות העטרה של החמה | Blessings and a Prayer for Witnessing a Solar Eclipse by Rabbi David Seidenberg (neohasid·org)Blessings and prayers for the eclipse, at: neohasid.org/eclipse including texts and links to other Internet resources. May we all find blessing in the wonder. . . . Categories: Meteorological and Astronomical Observations Rabbi Marvin Hier offered this prayer of blessing for Donald Trump and the United States of America on January 20, 2017 at the inauguration day ceremony. . . . תפילה לשלום אזרחי סוריה וחלבּ (ארם-צובה, אר”ץ) | Prayer for the Well-being of the Citizens of Syria and Residents of Aleppo (Masorti Movement in Israel, 2017)This prayer for peace for the citizens of Syria and residents of Aleppo was first published by the Masorti Movement in Israel, via their web page here. The prayer was transcribed to Unicode Hebrew by Aharon Varady. Translation adapted by Aharon from one provided by Rivka Kellner in a Facebook comment. . . . صلاة يهودية لشهر رمضان | תפילה יהודית לחודש הרמדאן | A Jewish Prayer for the Month of Ramadan, by Rabbi Ḥanan SchlesingerRamadan Mubarak رمضان مبارك. “A Jewish Prayer for the Month of Ramadan” with its English translation was first published by Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger on his website, “Breaking Bread and Barriers: Solidarity through Prayer” on 15 June 2017, and composed by him for a Muslim-Jewish Iftar (break-fast) on 14 June 2017. . . . Categories: Ramadan Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Arabic translation, Break Fasts, ארץ ישראל Erets Yisrael, German translation, Jewish-Muslim Friendship, Muslims, Mutual Understanding Contributor(s): Ḥanan Schlesinger, Thabet Abu Rass (translation), Dani Kranz (translation) and Carina Branković (translation) Kavvanah before eating or drinking on Yom Kippur for military personnel on active service (IDF 2017)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”). . . . “A Blessing for Creating” comes by way of David A.M. Wilensky (with approval by the blessing’s author, Rabbi Adina Allen) who shared a photo on Facebook of a posterboard on which the blessing was written. The poster was made for the first ever Kabbalat Shabbat organized by the Jewish Studio Project, whose mission is “to activate creativity in individuals and communities to reclaim Jewish values, make meaning in our lives and restore hope to the world.” Vocalization added by Aharon Varady. . . . Categories: Labor, Fulfillment, and Parnasah Chaya Kaplan-Lester’s “Prayer for – Finally – Getting Back to WORK” was first published on her Facebook page, here. The Hebrew word Todah תודה, means grateful. The English word ‘ta-da!’ is an onomatopoetic form of a horn (Cf. 1913 Sphinx July 98/1): “Coming front in utter disgust, he [sc. a conjuror] tells them [sc. the orchestra] that that won’t do, that he wants something like ‘tadaa!’ from all of them. They seem to understand, so he goes off again. On his reappearance, however, he is met with a loud tumult, as all the orchestra shout out in unison the word ‘tadaa!’” (Oxford English Dictionary). . . . Categories: Labor, Fulfillment, and Parnasah 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. . . . A piyyut for an under-recognized holiday, Pesaḥ Sheni, the festival of second chances (as described in Numbers 9:6-13 and Mishnah Pesaḥim 9:1-3. I attempted to write this in the manner of a traditional piyyut. The meter is equivalent to the Shabbat zamir “Ot Hi l’Olmei Ad.” The Hebrew spells out Yod – Tzadi – Ḥet – Kuf, because that’s my name. The translation is original, along with the notes. . . . Categories: Pesaḥ Sheni תְּפִלָּה לַעֲצֵי הַיַּעַר עַל ט״וּ בִּשְׁבָט | Prayer for the Trees of the Forest on Tu biShvat, by Isaac Gantwerk MayerA Tu biShvat prayer for the trees of the land of Israel and the world over, that they not be victims of deforestation. . . . Categories: Rosh haShanah la-Ilanot (Tu biShvat) מִי שֶׁשָּׁכְנָה… הִיא תִּשְׁכֹּן עִמָּנוּ | Mē She’shakhna… Hē Tishkon Imanu – a plea for the Divine Presence to dwell with us in the name of biblical women by Isaac Gantwerk MayerThere is a famous Seliḥot prayer where each of its lines has this structure: “May He who answered ___________, may he answer us.” The blank refers to assorted Biblical figures who faced great challenges, ranging from Avraham the Patriarch to Ezra the Scribe. The traditional list is also VERY male-focused, with the standard text only listing Esther from all the great Biblical women. This is a shame, and many have tried to remedy this. I have found myself under the opinion that all these remedies have a fault – they attempt to combine the original text with the new text. This means either the original text is shortened, or the full text is far too long. As well, the structure is very male-oriented as well, appealing to God’s male side and only using grammatically male language. . . . Categories: Sukkot תְּפִילַת הוֹלְכִים לְאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה | Prayer for Those Leaving Home for University, by Isaac Gantwerk MayerA prayer for the safety and success of those leaving home to go off to college and university. When children go off to college, parents can feel worried about the future of their children. Empty-nest syndrome can set in and spiritual guidance is often needed. This prayer uses the idioms of Biblical and siddur language to create a text for parents who worry about their children’s future as they head off on their own. It could be said 49 days after Tekufat Tammuz in the diaspora (August 28 or 29 after a leap year – approximately the time when college terms begin in the US) or on the first Saturday after Shmini Atzeret ba’aretz (approximately when college terms begin in Israel) . . . Meat and Feathers: We Confess, a vidui for Rosh haShanah la-Behemah (the Jewish New Year’s Day for Animals), by Trisha ArlinTrisha Arlin first published this prayer for a communal confession on Rosh Hashanah LaBehemot on her liturgy site, here. Elements of this vidui (confession) are derived from the Kavvanah before Blowing the Shofar on Rosh Ḥodesh Elul for Rosh Hashanah LaBehemot (New Year’s Day for Domesticated Animals). . . . | ||
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