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21st century C.E. —⟶ tag: 21st century C.E. Sorted Chronologically (old to new). Sort most recent first? An Al Hanissim supplement for Sheva Asar b’Tamuz that acknowledges the fast day in light of the apparent achievements of the State of Israel, post-1948. . . . This system attempts to remedy that, selecting psalms that reflects the meaning of the holiday in some way. It includes every single commonly celebrated holiday, including sub-ethnic celebrations like Mimouna or Sigd as well as more recent national holidays like Yom haAtzmaut. It also includes a system for dividing Psalm 119, a massive 176-verse acrostic hymn to Torah, throughout the weeks of the Omer season as a preparation for Sinai. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): At B’nai Havurah, the Denver Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, located in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, we consider this psalm a local favorite. Psalm 121, described as a Song for the Ascents, traditionally looks to the heights, where godly powers were believed to reside, such as Mt. Sinai, or the Acropolis, to find divine help, in the person of God or The Unseen One. My proposal is a variation that adjusts our focus to this world, away from the supernatural, to acknowledge our responsibility for the well-being of ourselves and the environment. Whatever deeds and actions that may need to be taken for repair and preservation of our world, we are responsible for. To look for others to do the work for us, or to postpone acting until divine help comes, may turn out to be the height of recklessness for our own, as well as our children’s future. First we acknowledge what is here and real, then we commit to do what we can to solve problems and make things better. This variation is designed to allow it to be sung, with some adjustments, in community with others who are singing the traditional version in Hebrew and English. . . . This is a system that seeks to create a Haftarah-like system for the reading of Psalms, linking their meaning to the meaning of the reading or the Shabbat of that day. Like the Haftarah system, there are special psalms for the Shabbatot leading up to and following the Ninth of Av, as well as specific psalms for Rosh Chodesh and the special Shabbatot. Unlike the Haftarah system, if two portions are read together or a special Shabbat occurs on a day when another reading is done, both psalms are read (since psalms are generally shorter and easier to read than prophetic texts.) . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): This is a petition for the worker in the style of “Av Haraḥamim” and similar texts, using Biblical and Mishnaic language and co-opting it into a new meaning. It could be read after the Torah service (like many other petitionary texts) or focused on in private. The Biblical relationship between God, humanity, and labor is fascinating. Often it is treated as a curse placed upon us, and just as often as the purpose of humanity. In Genesis 3:19 it is the curse placed upon a disobedient First Adam, but less than a chapter earlier in Genesis 2:15 it is the reason for First Adam’s creation in the first place! In the past century or so, traditional Judaism has somewhat tilted away from the ideas of worker’s rights so clearly stated in the Tanakh and in rabbinic texts. Partially this was to disassociate from the Bundists, partially out of fear of “looking too Communist” in a xenophobic American society, and partially because the Jewish working class is nowhere near as substantial a part of the community as it once was. If this text is meant to do anything, it’s to show that love of God and love of the worker aren’t opposed to each other – in fact, they go hand in hand! . . . These are piyyutim written in a traditional style, meant to introduce the opening of each book in the Torah. These piyyutim can be used at any time the opening line of the reading is said – on the Shabbat Minḥa/Monday/Thursday prior to the reading OR on the Shabbat morning of the reading proper. Because of this, the sheets arranged including the readings use two sizes – a larger size for the shorter first reading for weekdays, and a smaller size for the full first reading on Shabbatot. They can only be read when the first verse of the book is read. . . . The most traumatic event in recent Jewish history is the Holocaust. At this time, the survivors of the camps are aging, and in the lifespan of people alive today it is likely that the last survivor will die. We say we must never forget what happened during the Holocaust, but if we think of it as a tragedy that happened to our ancestors we will forget. But it has been 3000 years since the Exodus from Egypt, and the Haggadah keeps its history vivid and alive. We are taught that in each and every generation we are to think of ourselves as having been slaves in Egypt. May it be that just as we never forgot the wonders of the Exodus, so too we never forget the horrors of the Holocaust, and continue to strive that such horrors may never happen again until all live in freedom and peace. . . . Categories: 🌐 Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), Kristallnacht (9-10 November, 16 Marḥeshvan), 🇮🇱 Yom haShoah (27 Nisan) Tags: 21st century C.E., כ״ז ניסן Nisan 27, 58th century A.M., Mourning this Broken World, North America, speaking truth to power, symbolic foods, the Holocaust, השואה the Shoah Contributor(s): There are 24 books in the Tanakh. Of these, 21 (all but Psalms, Proverbs, and Job) share a grammatical system of cantillation marks, or te’amim. Of these 21, Ashkenazim have melodic traditions for reading eighteen of them. The Torah has its system, the prophets have the Haftarah system, the three festival scrolls have their shared system, and Esther and Lamentations have their own unique systems. But what of the three remaining books? . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): An Ashkenazi-style cantillation system for the Book of Job. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): An Ashkenazi-style cantillation system for the Book of Proverbs. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): As many of you know, there is a custom to indicate the Hebrew year with a verse (or part of a verse) that is equal to that year in gematria. Such words or phrases are called chronograms. The practice of indicating the year by a biblical phrase was often followed in traditional sefarim, on tombstones, and more recently has appeared in written correspondence and email. It’s a nice way to give added meaning to the current year. Here are some biblical phrases that equal תשע”ט 779. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): “Between the Fires” by Rabbi David Seidenberg, originally published at neohasid.org, is derived from the prayer of Rabbi Arthur Waskow (the Shalom Center), “Between the Fires: A Prayer for lighting Candles of Commitment” which draws on traditional midrash about the danger of a Flood of Fire, and the passage from Malachi. Another version of this prayer by Rabbi David Seidenberg, “A Prayer between the Fires (between the 32nd and 42nd days of the Omer)” is available, here. . . . A “secular” kaddish after my mother died so that I could say kaddish under circumstances where I could gather ten people but not ten Jews. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., ecumenical prayers, English vernacular prayer, קדיש יתום Mourner's Ḳaddish, North America, Northampton, prayers of orphans Contributor(s): This is a prayer to be read between the 18th and the 27th of Iyyar (בין י״ח ו-כ״ז באייר), between the 33rd (ל״ג) and 42nd (מ״ב) days of the Omer. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., eco-conscious, ecoḥasid, ל״ג בעומר lag baomer, North America, Northampton, Rainbow Day, תחינות teḥinot Contributor(s): This is a prayer to be read between the 17th and the 27th of Iyyar (בין י״ז ו-כ״ז באייר), between the 32nd (ל״ב) and 42nd (מ״ב) days of the Omer. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., eco-conscious, ecoḥasid, English vernacular prayer, ל״ג בעומר lag baomer, North America, Northampton, Rainbow Day, תחינות teḥinot Contributor(s): Created by students of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and Rabbi Arthur Waskow. Written by Sarah Barasch-Hagans, Sarah Brammer-Shlay, Miriam Geronimus, Lonnie Kleinman, Chayva Lerman, Michael Perice, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, May Ye. Formatted and Edited by Sarah Barasch-Hagans. . . . Categories: Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., eco-conscious, four worlds, neo-lurianic, reconstructing Judaism, RRC, water protectors Contributor(s): This is a new version of the popular Ḥanukkah song, Banu Ḥoshekh. (The original by Sara Levi-Tanai can be found here.) Our new version does two things: 1) it avoids the association of darkness and blackness (shḥor) with evil and harm, which in our society gets tangled up with white supremacy, and 2) honors the darkness as something precious that we need, especially in our time of light pollution when so much of the time, so many people can’t even see the stars. . . . This is an undated prayer written attributed to Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz (1937-2020) and shared via the Facebook page of Merkaz Steinsaltz (the Steinsaltz Center). The English translation (possibly also made by Rabbi Steinsaltz) was shared by the Center in a separate document. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 19 January 2018. . . . Categories: Tags: 115th Congress, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, U.S. House of Representatives, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, תחינות teḥinot Contributor(s): The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 27 February 2018. . . . Categories: Tags: 115th Congress, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, Queen Esther, U.S. Senate, תחינות teḥinot Contributor(s): | ||
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