the Open Siddur Project ✍︎ פְּרוֹיֶקְט הַסִּדּוּר הַפָּתוּחַ
a community-grown, libre Open Access archive of Jewish prayer and liturgical resources
for those crafting their own prayerbooks and sharing the content of their practice
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 Contributor(s):The invocation offered by Rabbi Sharon Brous of IKAR (Los Angeles, California) on the second night of the Democratic National Convention, Tuesday, 20 August 2024. Her invocation was offered together with that of Imam Dr. Talib M. Shareef of The Nation’s Mosque (Washington, DC). . . . Contributor(s):“This Shall Not Continue: A Prayer to End Gun Violence” by Rabbi Menachem Creditor was shared on 30 April 2023 via the Open Siddur Project discussion group on Facebook. . . . Contributor(s):This untitled prayer for US Election Day was written by Rabbi Menachem Creditor and shared through the Open Siddur Project Facebook Discussion Group on 8 November 2022. . . . Contributor(s):This is a brief prayer for America’s veterans and service members on Veterans Day . . . Contributor(s):A prayer for America on the day upon which right-wing militias carried out an insurrection upon the representative democratic institution of the United States. . . . 💬 Purim 2021: From Darkness to Light, by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat & Rabbi David Evan Markus (Bayit, 2021) Contributor(s):Tropified texts for Purim 2021 juxtaposing the text of Queen Esther with the words of Vice President Kamalla Harris and poet laureate Amanda Gorman. . . . Inauguration Day Prayer for the Government of the United States, by Rabbi David Seidenberg (neohasid.org 2021) Contributor(s):A prayer for the government of the United States of America on the day of the 59th Presidential Inauguration. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer on being present in the moment of the inauguration of the 59th president of the United States. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer for the government on a day of violent insurrection in the heart of American democracy. . . . Contributor(s):A kavvanah for clarifying and elevating the activity of tax preparation. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer for the observance of Memorial Day in the United States. . . . Veterans Day Prayer at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, by Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, Chaplain, USN (Ret.) Contributor(s):This Veterans Day Prayer was first published by Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, Chaplain, USN (Retired), on his twitter page. He writes, “Because of COVID this is the first Veterans Day in a long time I am not part of a ceremony — and I know that’s the situation for many fellow vets. So I wrote it yesterday to share today as a virtual prayer for Veterans Day 2020.” On 11 November 2022, Rabbi Resnicoff offered the expanded revision of this prayer as offered above at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. . . . Contributor(s):The full text of Rabbi Lauren Berkun’s benediction offered at the end of the third day of the Democratic National Convention, 20 August 2020. . . . Prayer for Reparation and Restoration, an alternative to the Prayer for Welfare of the Government by Rabbi Brant Rosen (Tzedek Chicago 2020) Contributor(s):A prayer for collective and communal well-being with an emphasis on dismantling systems of oppression and repairing their harms. . . . Contributor(s):A private prayer for fulfilling your civic duty and voting, whether in a voting booth or by mail. The concluding partial berakhah (without its full preamble, so as to avoid a berakhah levatala) is traditionally stated upon seeing a king of a nation, so in a democratic regime it seems appropriate to adopt for the voters. . . . Contributor(s):“A Prayer for the New Year (5781)” was first published by Rabbi Menachem Creditor online at his Facebook Page and shared with the Open Siddur Project through our Facebook discussion group. . . . תפילה להצבעה | A Prayer for Voting with a Pledge to Help Repair the World, by Rabbi David Seidenberg (neohasid.org 2008/2020) Contributor(s):This prayer is broadly speaking a prayer that we learn to work together to create a better future, and it incorporates a pledge to do one thing for healing the world, for tikkun olam, that will make this future a reality. It’s not a prayer about winning or getting other people to see things our way, like some of the others I’ve seen. Whomever we support, we need to pray for strength for the next president, and for the whole country, to face what will be challenging times. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer for the United States, its leaders and government and its citizens — a personal response to things that were troubling me in the months before November’s election – in particular the level of divisiveness in our country, and what seemed to me to be a growing sense that it isn’t important to respect people we disagree with, and an ever more prevalent belief that we are entitled to decide for ourselves which rules to follow, and all that matters are own rights and our beliefs, not our responsibilities to one another. Inspired by the events of 2020 . . . Prayer for Every Voice to be Heard and All Votes to be Counted, by Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann (2020) Contributor(s):A prayer for the day after the US day of elections that all votes be counted. . . . Contributor(s):An invocation by Rabbi Jill Jacobs, executive director of T’ruah, offered at the opening dinner of the Council on Foreign Relations annual Religion and Foreign Policy Workshop, June 2019. . . . 💬 קריאות ליום הזכרון | Torah and Haftarah Readings for Days Memorializing Fallen Military Personnel, compiled by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s):This is a Torah reading (divided into three aliyot) and a Haftarah reading to be recited on Memorial Day or any local equivalent day to honor those who died for their nation. . . . 💬 קריאות ליום העצמאות האמריקאי | Torah and Haftarah Readings for United States Independence Day, compiled by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer Contributor(s):The Fourth of July is a day on which Americans celebrate liberty, equality under heaven, and freedom from tyranny and foreign rule. Thus it is an appropriate day to read Torah. This is a Torah reading (divided into three aliyot) and a Haftarah reading to be recited on the Fourth of July. . . . Contributor(s):A litany of hoshanot for use in a ritual prayer circle march on the festival of Sukkot. . . . How Desolate Lie Our Borders, a prayer adaptated from Eikhah for a Tishah b’Av vigil at an immigrant detention center by Rabbi Brant Rosen (2019) Contributor(s):A prayer for the correction of the United States immigration policy in support of immigrants and open borders. . . . תְּפִלָּה לְמַעַן אַרְצוֹת הַבְּרִית בְּעֵת נִסָּיוֹן | A Prayer for the United States at a Time of Trial, by Rabbi Joe Schwartz (2019) Contributor(s):“A Prayer for the Spiritual Welfare of the United States at a Time of Trial,” by Rabbi Joe Schwartz was first published at The Forward on 28 June 2019. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer in English to end gun violence before Rosh haShanah, . . . Contributor(s):Psalms 140 decries the injustice tolerated, supported, and rallied around within the community of Israel. This contemporary adaptation does the same. . . . תְּפִלָּה בְּעַד מֶמְשֶׁלֶת שָׁלוֹם | Prayer for a Government of Peace, by Zackary Sholem Berger (2019) Contributor(s):A prayer for a government when that government is causing pain through malicious policies. . . . 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! . . . Contributor(s):“An Intention for the New Year (5779)” was first published by Rabbi Menachem Creditor online at his blog and shared with the Open Siddur Project through our Facebook discussion group. . . . 💬 Nevertheless She Persisted: A Modern Esther Tribute for Purim and Women’s History Month, by Rabbi David Evan Markus (Bayit, 2018) Contributor(s):Purim affirms Esther’s stand against official silencing, abuse of power, misogyny and anti-Semitism. At first an outsider, Queen Esther used her insider power to reveal and thwart official hatred that threatened Jewish life and safety. We celebrate one woman’s courageous cunning to right grievous wrongs within corrupt systems. The archetype of heroic woman standing against hatred continues to call out every society still wrestling with official misogyny, power abuses and silencing. For every official silencing and every threat to equality and freedom, may we all live the lesson of Esther and all who stand in her shoes: “Nevertheless, she persisted.” . . . Contributor(s):Rabbi David Dine Wirtschafter writes, “Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Marshall County, Kentucky who, now have joined an ever growing list of places to experience a mass shooting at a public school. We grieve for the families of the two teenagers who were killed. May the 18 others who were injured speedily recover from their wounds. These incidents are terrible no matter where they happen but there is something all the more unsettling when they occur so close to home.” . . . תפילה לארצות הברית לאחר הטבח בפּיטסבּורג | Prayer for the United States after the Pittsburgh Massacre, by Rabbi Stephen Belsky (2018) Contributor(s):A prayer composed in the aftermath of the mass murder of the Dor Ḥadash community at the Ets Ḥayyim (Tree of Life) Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh on Shabbat morning 27 October 2018. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer for justice offered for the Poor People’s Campaign Rally for Action at Grace Lutheran Church in Evanston on March 22, 2018. . . . Contributor(s):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. . . . Contributor(s):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. . . . Contributor(s):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. . . . Contributor(s):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. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer for the electorate to be recited together with the Prayer for Government on the Shabbat before an election (federal, state, or local). . . . Contributor(s):“Does joy come in the morning, where weeping has not tarried for the night? Can we dance together, if we have not yet joined in lament?” This prayer is a kavanah for the morning blessings, using language and images from the prayer “Mah Tovu” [how lovely are your tents] commonly recited in the early morning blessings. Offered with special intention for the healing of Congress Heights, Capitol View, and other neighborhoods in Washington, DC, rocked by persistent violence. . . . תְּפִלָּה לְחֵיְילוֹת אַרְצוֹת הַבְּרִית | Prayer for the Safety of the United States Armed Forces (2014) Contributor(s):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.” . . . 📄 הגדה לסדר פסח | Seder in the Streets Passover Haggadah, compiled by Danielle Gershkoff, Rachel Lerman, Rachel Beck, and Margot Seigle (5774/2014) Contributor(s):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. . . . Contributor(s):A “mi sheberakh” prayer for U.S. war veterans on the shabbat preceding Veterans Day (November 11). . . . תפילה ליום הודו על חנוכּה | Prayer for when Thanksgiving Day falls during Ḥanukkah, by Rabbi David Seidenberg (neohasid.org) Contributor(s):A prayer for “Thanksgivukkah,” on the rare year that the two festivals intersect. . . . Contributor(s):I wrote this a few days after the Boston Marathon bombing. It arose out of a meditation service which I led at my synagogue. The doors to our sanctuary were open, so we had the sounds of the nearby wetland in our ears, and I invited the meditators to join me in cultivating compassion and sending it toward Boston. The line “My heart is in the east and I am in the west” is adapted from the medieval Spanish poet Judah haLevi. . . . Contributor(s):The full text of Rabbi David Wolpe’s benediction offered at the end of the second day of the Democratic National Convention, September 6th, 2012. . . . תפילה ל-11 בספטמבר | Memorial Prayer for those whose lives were lost on 11 September 2001, by Rabbi Gilah Langner (2011) Contributor(s):A prayer on the anniversary of the attacks on 11 September 2001. . . . דאנקסגיו אלע די בּוּנע | Tanksgiv All the Boona, an al hanissim prayer of thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi Contributor(s):A prayer for thanksgiving day in the United States by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer upon the inauguration of President Obama in January 2009. . . . Contributor(s):A contemporary Jewish prayer for healng, used at congregation Tzedek Chicago. . . . |
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