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21st century C.E. —⟶ tag: 21st century C.E. Sorted Chronologically (old to new). Sort most recent first? תפילה (ישראלית) לפני הכניסה לקלפי (למאמין וללא מאמין) | Prayer before entering the voting booth in Israel (for believers and non-believers)May it be the will [before the Lord our God and the God of our ancestors] that this ticket which I am placing in my ballot will join thousands of other tickets that will promise reasoned leadership that will strengthen democratic values, aspire towards peace with our neighbors, separate religion and state, be concerned with the weak and protect the laborers, fight corruption and exercise leadership through personal role modeling. May it be the will [before the Lord our God and the God of our ancestors] that the nation sitting in Zion will merit years of freedom, quiet, productivity, education and good health and that our children may never fear at all. . . . בלוס פון חלה | How the Grateful Dead, Jewish Text, and Worship Explain One Another and Raise Interesting Questions, by Virginia SpatzI believe that even those who actively dislike the Grateful Dead, or always happily ignored them, will find ideas worth considering in this comparison. “I guess they can’t revoke your soul for trying.” – Robert Hunter Some years ago, my husband and I dragged our kids (then 11 and 13) to see the Dead. The kids asked why the folks in the parking lot were staying outside, even though the concert was scheduled to start: “How do they know when to go inside? Or, is the band waiting for them?” My husband, a non-Jew, noted that he was often similarly mystified by worship services: “How do they know when to it’s time for….?” Not long after that I was part of a small havurah gathering waiting for a minyan, and we got to talking about when we might expect various regulars. This started me thinking about when, how and why Jews show up to services. I realized my husband’s sentiment about worship services – like my kids befuddlement about Dead concerts – is shared by many Jews, even regular service-goers…. Over the years, I’ve been thinking about ways that Jewish text and worship and the Grateful Dead parallel one another. The result is this chart. . . . Categories: Liturgical traditions The Council of All Beings, an activity for all ages on the Jewish New Year’s Day for Animals, Rosh haShanah la-Behemah, on Rosh Ḥodesh ElulDomesticated animals (behemot) are distinguished from ḥayot, wild animals in having been bred to rely upon human beings for their welfare. As the livelihood and continued existence of wild animals increasingly depends on the energy, food, and land use decisions of human beings, the responsibility for their care is coming into the purview of our religious responsibilities as Jews under the mitsvah of tsa’ar baalei ḥayyim — mindfullness of the suffering of all living creatures in our decisions and behavior. Rosh haShanah la-Behemah is the festival where we are reminded of this important mitsvah at the onset of the month in which we imagine ourselves to be the flock of a god upon whose welfare we rely. The “Council of All Beings” is an activity that can help us understand and reflect upon the needs of the flock of creatures that already rely upon us for their welfare. . . . עַל הַנִּסִּים בִּימֵי הוֹדָיָה לְאֻמִּיִּים | Al haNissim prayer on Civic Days of Patriotic Gratitude, by Aharon VaradyOpportunities to express gratitude on civic days of patriotic thanksgiving demand acknowledgement of an almost unfathomably deep history of trauma — not only the suffering and striving of my immigrant ancestors, but the sacrifice of all those who endured suffering dealt by their struggle to survive, and often failure to survive, the oppressions dealt by colonization, conquest, hegemony, natural disaster. Only the Earth (from which we, earthlings were born, Bnei Adam from Adamah) has witnessed the constancy of the violent deprivations we inflict upon each other. The privilege I’ve inherited from these sacrifices has come at a cost, and it must be honestly acknowledged, especially on civic days of thanksgiving, independence, and freedom. I insert this prayer after Al Hanissim in the Amidah and in the Birkat Hamazon on national days of independence and thanksgiving. . . . Categories: Earth, our Collective Home & Life-Support System, Conflicts over Sovereignty and Dispossession, 🇮🇱 Yom ha-Atsma'ut (5 Iyyar), 🇺🇸 Flag Day (June 14), 🇺🇸 Independence Day (July 4th), 🇺🇸 Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday of November) Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., acquisition, על הנסים al hanissim, colonization, conquest, eco-conscious, Gratitude, hegemony, immigration, Indigenous Peoples, מודים Modim, Needing Translation (into Hebrew), נודה לך Nodeh L'kha, primordial scream, refugees, sanctuary, settlement, shomrah ul'ovdah, stewardship, subjugation May my thoughts seek truth and integrity, the humility that is commensurate with my ignorance, the compassion that arises from the depths of awareness, as depths speak to depths… . . . This is the month when we tell the story Of the escape from the narrow place. This is the month of Shabbat Shirah, When we sing the song of liberation. We give thanks for freedom. This is the month when we talk of wine and nuts and fruit, The New Year of the Trees. This is the month of Tu Bishvat When we eat the gifts of our planet. We give thanks to the earth. . . . Shabbat happens, If I let it. . . . Categories: Ḳabbalat Shabbat My bones whisper that your pages and your inks will return to the trees and the plants from where they once came. They say that someday they will even come back to life with words never yet heard. . . . Categories: Mourning מי שברך לתלמידים היוצאים לחופשת הקיץ | A Mi sheBerakh prayer for students leaving school for their summer break, by Rabbi Esteban GottfriedA mi sheberakh prayer by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried for the parents of students leaving school for their summer break. . . . תפילה לבוחר טרם הבחירות | A Prayer for Voters Before the Israeli Election, by Rabbi Esteban GottfriedA prayer for voting on election day in the State of Israel. . . . ט״וּ בִּשְׁבָט | Rebirthing the Tree(s) of Life: Four Teachings for the Four Worlds of Tu BiShvat/Yah BiShvat by Arthur WaskowThe four teachings above are connected with the Four Worlds that the kabbalists saw as the architecture of the universe. When the Kabbalistic community of Tz’fat created the Seder for Tu BiShvat/ Yah BiShvat, they unfolded these Four Worlds in four cups of wine and four sorts of fruit and nuts (one sort so ethereal it was invisible and untouchable). This year, the full moon of Shvat will fall on Shabbat Shira itself, January 24-25. . . . Categories: Rosh haShanah la-Ilanot (Tu biShvat) Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Robert Silvers on 17 April 2013The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 17 April 2013. . . . The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 23 May 2013. . . . The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 11 June 2013. . . . Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Joshua Gruenberg on 13 November 2013The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 13 November 2013. . . . 📄 הגדה לסדר פסח | Seder in the Streets Passover Haggadah, compiled by Danielle Gershkoff, Rachel Lerman, Rachel Beck, and Margot Seigle (5774/2014)This Haggadah was created specifically for a seder that took place April 20, 2014 outside the White House as an act of solidarity with the #not1more deportation campaign hunger strikers. While it is created for a seder without food, in a cross cultural setting, framed around the issue of deportation, there are many gems that can be adapted to work for any seder. This is a work of love. We hope you enjoy, use, and share! We would love to hear from you! Email us at jewssayno2deportation@gmail.com to get in touch or to share how you adapt it for your community. Check out some reflects on the seder here. . . . Categories: Haggadot for the Seder Leil Pesaḥ מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ לְפִדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִם | Mi sheBerakh for the redemption of those in captivity (or whose whereabouts are unknown)This mi sheberakh was published by the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth in June 2014, as “Prayer Issued for Missing Israeli Teenagers,” writing: “The prayer…currently being recited across Israel for missing teenagers Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach, was issued today to Rabbanim of the United Hebrew Congregations by Chief Rabbi Mirvis.” Recitation of this psalm and mi sheberakh seem appropriate to me in the case of unconscionable, immoral, and unjust state policies that separate children from their caregivers. To help fulfill the mitsvah of ransoming captives, please contribute to funds paying out bail bonds and demonstrate your opposition to these policies. . . . תְּפִלָּה לְהַצָּלָה מִפִּגּוּעֵי טֶרוֹר | Prayer for Rescue from Terror Attacks | Bön om skydd från terrorhot, by R’ Hillel Ḥayyim Lavery-Yisraëli (2014)Let us not fear or be afraid, for you are our protector. “…Jacob shall return and live in peace and security; no one will terrify him again.” Guard our going out and our coming in, from now until eternity, and let us say, Amen. . . . Categories: Terror 📖 The Freedom Seder Passover Haggadah for the Earth, by Rabbi Arthur Waskow (the Shalom Center, 2014)Forty years after the first Freedom Seder, new Pharaohs have arisen. The institutional Pharaohs of our day are pressing down not just one people, one community, or another, but all the peoples on our planet and the web of life itself. In this Freedom Seder, we address Dr. Martin Luther King’s warning about “the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism,” which have threatened the very earth that sustains us all. For the Passover story reminds us: not only do new Pharaohs arise in every generation; so also do new grass-roots movement to free ourselves from these new pharaohs. Forty years after the first Freedom Seder, America today stands also on the brink of hope, “mixing memory with desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.” . . . Categories: Haggadot for the Seder Leil Pesaḥ A prayer for empathy and compassion in the face of calls for violence and vengeance. . . . תפילת לשלום החיילים | Prayer on Behalf of the Jewish Soldier Going into Battle by Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo (2014)Bring our soldiers home from the battlefields, alive and unharmed in their own merit and in the merit of their wives, children and parents, so that they can sanctify Your name Let the blessing which You gave to Avraham come true “And through you all the families of the Earth will be blessed” For this is our hope . . . Categories: Military Personnel & Veterans תפילה לשלום המדינה בזמן מלחמה | Prayer for the Welfare of Israel in Wartime, by Rabbi Ron Aigen (2014)A prayer for the welfare of Israel composed during the 2014 Israel-Gaza Conflict. . . . Tags: 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., all inhabitants, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, Needing Vocalization Contributor(s): Ron Aigen, T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights and Aharon N. Varady (transcription) In 2014, the formula of “haNoten Teshua” suggested by the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK and the Commonwealth, was amended by the chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, to include a short passage in recognition of the United Kingdom’s armed forces. . . . Categories: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom A Tishah b’Av seliḥah for Gaza during the 2014 Gaza War. . . . Tags: 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, ארץ ישראל Erets Yisrael, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, Needing Translation (into Arabic), Needing Translation (into Hebrew), فلسطين Filasṭīn Palestine, Palestinian Diapsora, Palestinian refugees, Refugee Crisis, סליחות səliḥot 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. . . . Categories: Slavery & Captivity A prayer for the well-being of IDF Soldiers written during the 2014 Israel-Gaza Conflict. . . . Categories: Military Personnel & Veterans A desperate prayer against the dehumanization and reductive feelings of anger and desperation in the context of the conflict between Israel and Gaza in the summer of 2014. . . . תְּפִלָּה לְחֵיְילוֹת אַרְצוֹת הַבְּרִית | Prayer for the Safety of the United States Armed Forces (2014)This “Prayer for the Safety of the American Military Forces” by an unknown author was first shared on the website of the Orthodox Union on 5 February 2014 with the note, “The RCA and the OU have circulated a special prayer to be said in synagogues during Shabbat services in support of our armed services courageously waging the battle against the scourge of global terrorism.” . . . Categories: Military Personnel & Veterans תפילה לשלום ופיוס לישראלים ולפלסטינים ולכל העם | A Prayer for Peace and Reconciliation for Israelis, Palestinians, and all People by Rabbi Samuel Feinsmith (2014)Master of compassion and forgiveness, Cosmic Majesty Who is peace— Teach us Your ways, Show us the path that preserves life. Take note, Lord, for we are suffering deeply. Our guts are wrenched, Our hearts are turning within us. Violence has devoured outside, and inside it feels deathly. When enemies rose up against us to kill our babes, Courageous, precious boys, full of the light of life, shining like the radiance of the sky, Our hearts became angry, our vision lost its strength, and our spirits sunk. And still we turn to you— . . . Categories: Conflicts over Sovereignty and Dispossession, Social Justice, Peace, and Liberty, 🇮🇱 Medinat Yisra'el (the State of Israel) הרחמן הוא ישבור עול כיבוש | Prayer to the Compassionate One for the Peace of Two States for Two Peoples (for Inclusion in the Birkat Hamazon) by Ira Tick (2014)A prayer for the peaceful resolution of Israel’s conflicts with her neighbors and a mutually agreeable end to her dominion over the Palestinians, in Hebrew and in English, appropriate for inserting in the Birkat HaMazon especially on Shabbat and Festivals, or for reciting at any time. . . . Categories: Conflicts over Sovereignty and Dispossession, Blessings After Eating, 🇮🇱 Medinat Yisra'el (the State of Israel) אֵל מָלֵא רַחֲמִים | El Malé Raḥamim – Interfaith Memorial Service for the Homeless, by Rabbi Victor Reinstein (2014)This paraliturgical adaptation of the El Malei prayer for an Interfaith Memorial Service for the Homeless was offered by Rabbi Victor Reinstein in 2014. . . . Categories: Homes & Community Centers תפילה למעמד המשותף | أغنية الحياة والسلام | Prayer of Mothers for Life and Peace, by Sheikha Ibtisam Maḥameed & Rabbi Tamar Elad-AppelbaumA prayer in Hebrew and Arabic (with translations in English and German) of solidarity of mothers for there to be peace in the world for the sake of their children. . . . Categories: Conflicts over Sovereignty and Dispossession, Social Justice, Peace, and Liberty, 🇮🇱 Yom ha-Ém (30 Shəvat), 🇺🇸 Mother's Day (2nd Sunday of May), 🌐 United Nations Day (October 24th) This is a simḥat bat baby-naming and welcoming ceremony, based on similar ceremonies by Dr. Devora Steinmetz and Rabbi David Silber, Rabbi Elie Kaunfer and Lisa Exler, Drs. David and Joanna Arch-Andorsky, and others. . . . Categories: Brit Milah & Simḥat Bat This is pre-Shabbos reflection that can be done in a shower or bath. Shabbat is a time when I am less focused on my selfish desires and instead my thoughts drift to my place in the larger community and world. I find myself doing some version of this before Shabbos most weeks and am welcome for the time to reflect on truly what it is to cease from lay work and consider the work that needs to be done to make the world a better place. . . . Leon Gunther presents a proposal for a revision of the controversial line of the traditional Aleinu prayer, shehem mishtaḥavim l’hevel varik (“For they worship ephemera and emptiness, and pray to a god who cannot save,” a combination of Isaiah 30:7 and Isaiah 45:20). . . . Categories: Aleinu I had an opening, with the help and support of some holy chevrei, to take on Binding of Isaac and accompanying meditations that occupy a conspicuous space during the morning blessings. This is what came out. . . . Categories: Aqédat Yitsḥaq A teḥinah (supplication) for divine help after terrible violence that interferes with the recognition of each person being made in the likeness of the divine image. . . . Categories: Social Justice, Peace, and Liberty After struggling with the requests in Aneinu, read during Seliḥot, I composed a list of requests and questions for this upcoming Shmitah year. . . . Categories: the Shmitah Year (Earth's Shabbat) تعالوا نضيئ شمعات السلام | בואו נאיר נרות שלום | Let us Light Candles for Peace, by Sheikha Ibtisam Maḥameed and Rabbi Tamar Elad-AppelbaumTwo mothers, one plea: Now, more than ever, during these days of so much crying, on the day that is sacred to both our religions, Friday, Sabbath Eve Let us light a candle in every home – for peace: A candle to illuminate our future, face to face, A candle across borders, beyond fear. From our family homes and houses of worship Let us light each other up Let these candles be a lighthouse to our spirit Until we all arrive at the sanctuary of peace. . . . A complementary (positive vidui) to supplement the harsh communal and personal vidu’im (confessions) being offered during the Zman Teshuvah. . . . Categories: Yom Kippur תפילה לראש חודש טבת ותקופת החורף על חנוכּה | Prayer for the new moon of Tevet on Ḥanukkah occurring on the winter solstice, by Rabbi David Seidenberg (neohasid·org)Here’s a first draft of a brief liturgy for last night, for solstice plus Ḥanukkah. Note that this is a kind of eco-liturgy, but it also stands on its own without imposing an ecological overlay. Since it’s still solstice all day, you may want to use this prayer now, or at dusk tonight. . . . 📖 סידור ולא נבוש | Jewish Prayer as Shame Resilience Practice: Siddur v’Lo Nevosh for Shaḥarit by Rabbi Shoshana FriedmanA prayerbook of paraliturgical reflections on the weekday morning prayers composed for a shame resilience practice. . . . A prayer to be recited upon donating blood. In Israel, there are major blood drives around the times of Rosh Hashana and Pesaḥ, so the prayer borrows themes from both of those holidays. It emphasizes both the tzedaka aspect of blood donation and the ancient symbolic resonances of blood sacrifice. . . . Categories: Well-being, health, and caregiving הָרַחֲמָן עַל שְׁנַת הַשְׁמִיטָה | A Haraḥaman for the Shmitah Year in the Birkat haMazon, by Rabbi David Seidenberg (neohasid·org)This Haraḥaman (prayer to the merciful or compassionate One) for the Shmitah or sabbatical year can be added to Birkat Hamazon (blessing after meals) during the whole Shmitah year, in order to remember and open our hearts to the sanctity of the land. Say it right before the Haraḥaman for Shabbat, since Shmitah is the grand shabbat, and right after the paragraph beginning with Bamarom (a/k/a, Mimarom). . . . 📖 הגדה שיר געולה | Haggadah Shir Ge’ulah (Song of Liberation) for Passover, by Rabbi Emily Aviva Kapor-MaterHaggadah Shir Ge’ulah, the Song of Liberation, is a new Haggadah for Passover. It is at once traditional and radical, featuring egalitarian Hebrew and English, full transliteration, progressive theology, and a focus on modern issues of oppression and liberation. It is my hope that this Haggadah will elicit questions from all participants, and that everyone will find something in it to challenge them: both people steeped in Jewish learning and used to traditional texts, and also people who are new to the Passover seder or are coming from different worldviews and ideologies. . . . Categories: Haggadot for the Seder Leil Pesaḥ A Jewish prayer for Nakba Day, as commemorated on May 15th in the civil calendar of the Dawlat Filasṭīn. . . . 📖 סֵדֶר ט״וּ בִּשְׁבָט | A Tu BiShvat Seder to Heal the Wounded Earth, by Rabbi Arthur Waskow (The Shalom Center)This Tu BiShvat haggadah focuses on healing the wounded Earth today, with passages on major policy questions facing the human race in the midst of a great climate crisis and massive extinctions of species. In each of the Four Worlds in this Haggadah (Earth, Water, Air, Fire) there are traditional, mystical, and poetical passages, and in each there are also contemporary passages on aspects of public policy (Earth: food and forest; Water: fracking; Air: climate; Fire: alternative and renewable energy sources.) These policy-oriented passages help make this a distinctive Haggadah. After these passages, this Haggadah encourages Seder participants to take time for discussion. They may also decide to omit some passages and/or add others. The desire for such a Haggadah grew from discussions of the Green Hevra, a network of Jewish environmental organizations. Thanks to Judith Belasco, Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, Sybil Sanchez, Rabbi David Seidenberg, Richard Schwartz, Rabbi David Shneyer, and Yoni Stadlin for comments on an earlier draft of this Haggadah. . . . Categories: Seder Leil Rosh haShanah la-Ilanot (Tu biShvat) Tishah b’Av, the ninth day of the month of Av, has historically been a day to mourn the Destruction of the First and Second Temples, centers of Israelite practice before the rise of Rabbinic Judaism (First Temple 975 BCE – 586 BCE; Second Temple 515 BCE – 70 CE) and the exiles that followed those destructions. Over the course of Jewish history this day of mourning and fasting has also come to commemorate many other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people throughout history. This year we are beginning a new tradition. We are suggesting that in addition to, or instead of (depending on the norms of your community and personal practice) the traditional observance of Tishah b’Av, the time has come to use this powerful day to mourn the ongoing destruction of the “temple” that is our Earth, a tragedy for all peoples, creatures and living things, but one that is not complete and thus, with sufficient will and action, is in part, reversible. . . . הארבה כוסות ואת הארבה חופשות | The Four Cups of Wine and the Four Freedoms, by Dr. Aurora Mendelsohn and President Franklin R. RooseveltTraditionally each cup in the Passover Seder is liked to a promise made by God in these verses, Exodus 6:6-7. The four cups can also be associated with the Four Freedoms first articulated by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 6, 1941, which were an inspiration for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and were explicitly incorporated into its preamble. . . . Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld on 23 May 2014The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 23 May 2014. . . . Categories: 🇺🇸 Memorial Day (last Monday of May), 🇺🇸 United States of America, Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies | ||
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