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a community-grown, libre and open-source archive of Jewish prayer and liturgical resources
This project is sustained through reciprocity for those sharing prayers and crafting their own prayerbooks.
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כַּוָּנָה לִפְנֵי וִדּוּי | A meditation prior to the confessional, by Reena Kling (Havurat Shalom 2014/2022)  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:This kavvanah preceding the great vidui, appears in מַחְזוֹר בִּרְכַּת שָׁלוֹם Maḥzor Birkat Shalom, an egalitarian Rosh haShanah & Yom Kippur maḥzor (Havurat Shalom 2014/2022). The kavvanah was composed by Reena Kling ז״ל, and translated into Hebrew by Emily Aviva Kapor, with editing by Aliza Arzt. . . . תְּפִלָּה לְשׂוֹרְדֵי הַשּׁוֹאָה | Mi sheBerakh for Survivors of the Holocaust, by Rabbi Avi Baumol (2021) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:“Holocaust Survivor Prayer” was written in English by Rabbi Avi Baumol in 2021 upon the establishment of Holocaust Survivor Day by the JCC of Krakow, Poland. The prayer was first published at the website of Holocaust Survivor Day. . . . תפילה בתגובה למגפה | A Prayer in Response to the Coronavirus, by Rav Shmuly Yanklowitz (Valley Beit Midrash 2020) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:A prayer offered in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus, by Rav Shmuly Yanklowitz (Valley Beit Midrash) . . . Oración por nuestra tierra | תְּפִילָת הָאָרֶץ | A Prayer for Our Earth, an ecumenical prayer by Pope Francis, translated and adapted by Rabbi David Seidenberg (neohasid.org) Contributor(s): Tags:An ecumenical prayer by Pope Francis from his encyclical, Laudato Si (praise be to you) from May 24th, 2015. Here’s my draft of a Hebrew translation of Pope Francis’ prayer for our earth. It turns out no one had translated it yet. The translation includes sparks from the High Holiday liturgy. I thought we should have it available for Rosh Hashanah, even though I’m sure the translation could use more work and more feedback. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:A prayer for Israel which reserves the right to criticize its moral failings. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags: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. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:Tired of people who can’t tell their ḳiddish (blessings for the Sabbath) from their ḳaddish (prayer for the dead)? Well, it sets Samuel L. Jackson off too! But he found a way of making a bracha (blessing) and mourning the dead at the same time. Now I can’t vouch for the origins of his nusaḥ (custom) but it sounds very effective! Most people haven’t noticed, the only real part from the Bible is that last section, the first part is actually his own spiel: . . .  Contributor(s): Tags:A declaration in 1993 by Rabbi Arthur Waskow in response to the impending danger of global warming and other ecotastrophes brought about by the callous harm of human industry and land use decisions. Translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. . . . গীতাঞ্জলি | גִּיטַאנְיַ׳אלִי (קרבן־זמרה) | Gitanjali (Song-offerings), by Rabindranath Tagore (1912); translated into Hebrew by David Frischmann (1922) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:The Nobel prize winning collection of “song-offerings” or Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore, in Bengali and English, translated to Hebrew by David Frischmann. . . . זֶה הֶעָפָר הָיָה פַּעַם הָאִישׁ | This Dust was Once the Man, an elegy for President Abraham Lincoln by Walt Whitman (1871), Hebrew translation by Shimon Halkin (1952) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:An elegy by Walt Whitman for President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination, in English with Hebrew translation. . . . 💬 Amendment ⅩⅣ to the Constitution of the United States of America (1866/1868, with translations in Hebrew and Yiddish 1891) Contributor(s): Tags:The fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, initially proposed by Congress on 13 June 1866 and adopted on 9 July 1868 was the second of three Reconstruction Amendments addressing citizenship rights and equal protection under the law. It was enacted in response to issues related to emancipated slaves following the failure of the Slaveholders’ Rebellion (1861-1865). . . . הוֹ קְבַרְנִיט! קְבַרְנִיטִי! | O Captain! My Captain!, an elegy for President Abraham Lincoln by Walt Whitman (1865), Hebrew translation by Shimon Halkin (1952) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:Walt Whitman’s famous poem eulogizing President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination, in English with Hebrew translation. . . . 💬 כִּי בְּהַרְאָיָה הַשֵּׁנִית | The Second Inaugural Address of President Abraham Lincoln on 4 March 1865 Contributor(s): Tags:The second inaugural address of President Abraham Lincoln in English with a cantillized Hebrew translation suitable for chanting. . . . An die Freude | שִׁיר לְשִׂמְחָה | ode to Joy (Shir l’Simḥah), a Hebrew adaptation of the hymn by Friedrich Schiller (ca. late 18th c.) Contributor(s): Tags:In 1785 Friedrich Schiller wrote his ‘An die Freude an ode ‘To Joy’, describing his ideal of an equal society united in joy and friendship. Numerous copies and adaptations attest to its popularity at the time. The slightly altered 1803 edition was set to music not only by Ludwig van Beethoven in his Ninth Symphony but also by other composers such as Franz Schubert and Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Hs. Ros. PL B-57 contains a Hebrew translation of the first edition of the ode (apparently rendered before the 1803 alteration), revealing that the spirit of the age even managed to reach the Jewish community in the Netherlands. Whereas the imagery of Schiller’s original is drawn from Greek mythology, the author of the שִׁיר לְשִׂמְחָה relies on the Bible as a source. In fact, he not only utilises Biblical imagery, but successfully avoids any allusion to Hellenistic ideas whatsoever. . . . א דוּדעלע (אַיֵּה אֶמְצָאֶךָּ) | A Dudele (Where shall I seek you?), by Rabbi Levi Yitsḥaq of Berditchev (ca. 18th c.) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:A profound song invoking divine presence. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:A prayer of a physician from Markus Herz in German with its Hebrew and English translations. . . .  Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:The story of Toviah (Tobit) in Hebrew translation, in an abridged version arranged for public reading on the second day of Shavuot. . . . Gaudeamus Igitur | אָז עוֹדֶֽנּוּ צְעִירִים | Az Odenu Tse’irim (So, let us rejoice), a Hebrew translation by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer of De Brevitate Vitæ (1287) Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:An original Hebrew translation of the popular medieval commercium song and graduation anthem “De Brevitate Vitæ,” more commonly known as “Gaudeamus Igitur.” First attested in 1287, this Latin poem is irrevocably associated with college life for academics all over the world. It has been translated into many languages, and this Hebrew edition can be added to the list. . . . 💬 סֵפֶר פְּטִירָת מֹשֶׁה | ሞተ ፡ ሙሴ | Motä Musē (the Book of the Passing of Mosheh), in Ge’ez with Hebrew and English translation Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:The text of the Betä ʾƎsəraʾel legend of the death of Moses, translated to Hebrew by Jacques Faïtlovitch, and vocalized, cantillated, and translated into English by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer. . . . 💬 מגילת אנטיוכס עם טעמי מקרא | Megillat Antiokhus, with ta’amei miqra (for cantillation) by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:Perhaps Megillat Antiokhus could be read a la Esther on Purim (the holiday with the most similarities), going to Eicha trope in the upsetting parts. A few notes: on the final mention of Bagris the Wicked I included a karnei-farah in the manner of the karnei-farah in Esther. I also included a merkha kefulah in the concluding section, which (according to David Weisberg’s “The Rare Accents of the Twenty-Eight Books”) represents aggadic midrash material. It also serves as a connection to the Chanukah haftarah, which is famously the only one that has a merkha kefulah. –Isaac Mayer . . . מְגִילַּת אַנטְיוּכַס | Megillat Antiokhus for Ḥanukkah in Aramaic, translated in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English Contributor(s): Categories: Tags:The Megillat Antiochus was composed in Palestinian Aramaic sometime between the 2nd and 5th century CE, likely in the 2nd Century when the memory of the Bar Kochba revolt still simmered.. The scroll appears in a number of variations. The Aramaic text below follows the critical edition prepared by Menaḥem Tzvi Kaddari, and preserves his verse numbering. The English translation by Rabbi Joseph Adler (1936) follows the Hebrew translation in the middle column, the source of which is a medieval manuscript reprinted by Tzvi Filipowsky in 1851. Adler and Kaddari’s verse ordering loosely follows one another indicating variations in manuscripts. Where Aramaic is missing from Kaddari’s text, the Aramaic version from Adler’s work is included in parentheses. Adler also included a Yiddish translation which we hope will be fully transcribed (along with vocalized Hebrew text, a Hungarian translation, and perhaps even a Marathi translation from South India) for Ḥanukkah 5775 , G!d willing. . . . |