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tag: ישראל Yisrael Sorted Chronologically (old to new). Sort most recent first? תפילת נחם על תשעה באב | Tefilat Naḥem on Tishah b’Av, by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (free translation by Gabbai Seth Fishman)During the time before there was a State of Israel, those ideals in our hearts which we tried to practice and which we wanted others to practice, seemed not achievable where we were because, we felt we had no influence over our world where we were. And so, the longing for our homeland was tied into the longing for our dreams and our vision. Now that the state of Israel is with us, our dreams and our visions still remain distant from our lives and therefore when we say the Tisha B’av prayers we need to remind ourselves of the distance between that which we would have in this world and that which we do have. . . . Categories: Tishah b'Av The Many and the Few | רַבִּים בְּיַד מְעַטִּים (Rabim b’Yad M’atim) — a Hebrew adaptation of Woody Guthrie’s Ḥanukkah ballad by Isaac Gantwerk MayerDid you know that the great songwriter and activist Woody Guthrie wrote Ḥanukkah music? It’s true. Though Guthrie himself was not Jewish, Marjorie Greenblatt, his second wife and their children were, and he would write Ḥanukkah songs for the kids in his neighborhood in the 1940s. Two of these songs were recorded by Moses Asch, head of Folkways Records, in 1949 — a kid’s song called “Hanuka Dance,” and a twenty-verse ballad retelling the story of Ḥanukkah called “The Many and the Few.” Below is an original Hebrew translation of “The Many and the Few,” preserving the meter of the original. With a simple melody and a lot of historical research, it could certainly be sung at a Ḥanukkah event. . . . Categories: Ḥanukkah Loading . . . Categories: Yom Kippur The popular Israeli song from the 1950s. . . . Categories: Se'udat Leil Shabbat בָּאנוּ חֹשֶׁךְ לְגָרֵשׁ | Banu Ḥoshekh l’Garesh (We come to chase the dark away), by Sara Levi-Tanai (1960)In 1960, the Publishing House of the Composers’ League in cooperation with the Center for Culture and Education (בית הוצאה של איגוד הקומפוזיטורים בשיתוף עם המרכז לתרבות ולחינוך), published the songbook זמר־חן (Zemer Ḥén), containing the now popular Ḥanukkah song and melody “Banu Ḥoshekh l’Garesh” (p. 49), originally simply titled “Ḥanukkah” by Sara Levi-Tanaiׁ (1910-2005). . . . בַּשָּׁנָה הַבָּאָה | baShanah haBa’ah (Next Year), an elegy by Ehud Manor for his brother killed during the War of Attrition (1968)“baShanah haBa’ah” (Next Year) by Ehud Manor written in 1968 in memory of his brother Yehudah. . . . כַּוָּנָה לְהַדְלָקַת נֵרוֹת חֲנֻכָּה | Kavvanah for Ḥanukkiah Lighting by Bonna Devora Haberman, z”l (Mistabra Institute for Jewish Textual Activism, 2002)This is an intention that I composed for the conclusion of a performance piece, Inner Fire, created and performed by my Mistabra Institute for Jewish Textual Activism at Brandeis University in 2002. It is as relevant today as ever. Please use it for inspiration when you light Ḥanuka candles. . . . Categories: Ḥanukkah Prayer for Peace in Israel, by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK & the Commonwealth, 2003)According to the Rabbi Sacks Legacy Trust (RSLT), “A Prayer for Peace in Israel” was composed by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks following terror attacks in Israel in 2003 (i.e., during the Second Intifada). The text of the prayer appearing here was shared by the RSLT via their Facebook page in the context of the 2022 Tel Aviv Shooting. . . . This prayer for Israel was written by Rabbi Naḥum Waldman (1931-2004) for T’ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. T’ruah works to ensure that Israel remains a safe and secure home for Jews and a place that lives up to the ideal stated in the State of Israel’s 1948 Declaration of Independence that Israel “will foster the development of the country for all of its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice, and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex.” . . . Categories: 🇮🇱 Medinat Yisra'el (the State of Israel) A ḳinah (lamentation) for Israeli Prime Minister Yitzḥak Rabin, assassinated on 4 November 1995, the yahrzeit of which is י״א בְּמַרחֶשְׁוָן (11 Marḥeshvan). . . . תפילה לשלום העיר תל אביב־יפו | Prayer for the Welfare of Tel Aviv-Yafo, by Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman (1959), amended by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried (2009)A prayer composed by Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman, chief rabbi of Tel Aviv, for the city’s 50th anniversary (Jubilee) celebration, amended by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried of Beit Tefillah Yisraeli. . . . Categories: 🇮🇱 Yom Tel Aviv (20 Nissan) In Israel, the Reform movement, which is called the Israeli Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ), dates back to the 1950s, but a serious concern for women’s role in liturgy is a relatively recent development, namely since the last decade of the 20st century. This paper examines the modes of liturgical change with regard to the role and presentation of women in Jewish ritual and worship within Israel: what they do to regain their voice[s] through worship and how they are depicted in contemporary liturgies. Today, gender-related issues are among the most heated issues faced by contemporary liberal, non-Orthodox Jews; discussions on the subject dominate the religious and academic spheres as well as the socio-cultural arena. This paper is based upon the assumption that the Israeli case is a distinct one compared to the North American treatment of gender in the liturgy, because Hebrew is not only the liturgical language, but also the vernacular for Israeli Jews. This makes it much harder to change liturgy, as it is perceived as holy matter. Another unique aspect of the Israeli liberal liturgy is the fact that it operates in a rather conservative religious environment: both Orthodox and secular Jews in Israel are less prone to experimental approaches toward liturgy and ritual. . . . Categories: Liturgical traditions בְּרָכוֹת שֶׁנִּתָּנִי | Blessings at your Dawn of Wakefulness: Berakhot sheNatani (blessings that were given to me) — translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-ShalomiRabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the Birkhot haShaḥar in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . . Categories: Berakhot sheNatani Tags: 100 blessings a day, blessings, ברכות brakhot, challenge, Dawn, devotional interpretation, interpretive translation, Late Antiquity, Prayers in the Babylonian Talmud, wrestling, ישראל Yisrael Contributor(s): Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (translation), Unknown Author(s) and Aharon N. Varady (transcription) 🆕 בְּרָכוֹת שֶׁעֲשָׁנִי | Blessings at your Dawn of Wakefulness: Berakhot she’Asani (blessings that made me) — translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-ShalomiRabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the Birkhot haShaḥar in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . . Categories: Berakhot she'Asani Tags: 100 blessings a day, blessings, ברכות brakhot, challenge, Dawn, devotional interpretation, interpretive translation, Late Antiquity, Prayers in the Babylonian Talmud, wrestling, ישראל Yisrael Contributor(s): Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (translation), Unknown Author(s) and Aharon N. Varady (transcription) 🆕 בִּרְכַּת גּוֹמֵל חֲסָדִים טוֹבִים לְעַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל | Birkat Gomel Ḥasadim Tovim l’Amo Yisrael (translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi)Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of the Birkhot haShaḥar in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . . Categories: Preparing one's face Tags: 100 blessings a day, blessings, ברכות brakhot, challenge, Dawn, devotional interpretation, interpretive translation, Late Antiquity, Prayers in the Babylonian Talmud, wrestling, ישראל Yisrael Contributor(s): Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (translation), Unknown Author(s) and Aharon N. Varady (transcription) A song in English with Arabic translation, addressed from a Jew living in Jerusalem to his Arab neighbors, locally and regionally during the Arab Spring. . . . Categories: Conflicts over Sovereignty and Dispossession פְּרִי עֵץ הַדַּעַת עַל צַלַּחַת סֵדֶר ט״וּ בִּשְׁבָט | The Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge on the Tu biShvat Seder Plate, by Rabbi Dr. Dalia MarxThrough eating those fruits that our sages of blessed memory identified as the fruit of the tree of knowledge, we recall the best of creation, in its beauty and completeness. We remember that every human being, by virtue of being a human being, is the pinnacle of creation. Our task as caretakers is to preserve the world, to work it, and to repair it. Our task is to make the State of Israel more just, so that she will be a blessing to all of her inhabitants and those who love her. . . . Categories: Rosh haShanah la-Ilanot (Tu biShvat) Yakov Green shares a short kavvanah (intention, meditation) which he wrote in Hebrew one morning at Beit Midrash Elul in Jerusalem. He later translated it into English. תפילת דרך משולשת | Triple Prayer for the Road . . . Categories: Travel A UNESCO sponsored booklet of prayers submitted by religious leaders from around the world participating in the Elijah Interfaith Institute. . . . Categories: Interfaith & Ecumenical collections of prayers תְּפִילַּת הַנּוֹטֵעַ | Prayer for a Virtual Tree Planting in Israel, by Rabbi Eliyahu Yosef She’ar Yashuv Cohen (2012)This is the prayer for planting trees by the late chief rabbi of Haifa, Eliyahu Yosef She’ar Yashuv Cohen zt”l (1927-2016). . . . Peri and Alex Sinclair’s adaptation of the traditional Eishet Ḥayil, replacing a number of verses with ones selected from Shir haShirim (the Song of Songs/Canticles), Genesis, and elsewhere in Mishlei (Proverbs). . . . Categories: Se'udat Leil Shabbat This prayer for the peace of the Syrian people was composed in 2013 by Rabbi Yuval Cherlow and translated by Elli Sacks of Modi’in. Our Hebrew source of the text was first published in this YNet article. Our source for Elli Sacks’s translation is this post in Alan Brill’s blog. Rabbi Cherlow suggests that Psalms 37 and Psalms 120 are particularly appropriate for praying for peace in Syria. Both psalms speak of the plight of the innocent righteous when evil men plot against them. Thank you to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency for informing us of this prayer, and to YNet, and Alan Brill for providing the source text. . . . Categories: War 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. . . . 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 A complementary (positive vidui) to supplement the harsh communal and personal vidu’im (confessions) being offered during the Zman Teshuvah. . . . Categories: Yom Kippur 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 שבחי המשפחה לבת המצווה | A Prayer in Honor of a Bat mitsvah from her Family, by Dr. Chaim Hames-EzraA prayer for a ritual of blessing of a bat mitsvah by her family. . . . Categories: Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers תפילת בת המצווה | Prayer of the Bat mitsvah after she finishes reading from the Torah, by Chaim Hames-EzraA statement by the Bat Mitsvah after her first aliyah. . . . Categories: Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers A supplemental hoshana (prayer for salvation) for healing and consolation for the sake of true love, needed blessings, rainfall in a timely fashion, paths and their repair, mountains and their crossing, goals and objectives, lasting memories, good dreams, cosmic goodness, etc. . . . This prayer was originally published April 13th, 2013 on Dafna Meir’s blog, Derekh Nashim (Women’s Ways), here, writing “את התפילה זכיתי לחבר תוך כדי למידה למבחן תרופות במחלקה הנוירוכירורגית בסורוקה, בה אני עובדת.” (The prayer I composed for a friend while studying for a test at the Neurosurgery department at Soroka Hospital, which I work.) English translation by Moshe F. via Israellycool. More about Dafna Meir, here and here. . . . Categories: Well-being, health, and caregiving A prayer for students studying-abroad in Israel. . . . 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.” . . . 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 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. . . . Categories: War 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 Flash floods are dangerous in every season, but are rare in the dry season, after most rain and snow are thought to have fallen. Changes in the global climate due to global warming caused by anthropogenic activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and the conversion of land for raising animals for their meat is a significant contributor to extreme weather experienced around the world. The Masorti Movement of Israel’s prayer for flood victims was first published on their website, here. . . . תפילה לשלום התפוצה היהודית | A Prayer for the Welfare of Diaspora Jewry, by Rabbi Amitai Fraiman (2018)We have a prayer for the State of Israel, its army, government etc. but we do not have a non-judgmental, non-aliyah focused prayer for the welfare of Diaspora Jewry. This prayer offers a remedy for this absence. . . . תְּפִילַּת הַנּוֹטֵעַ | Prayer for a Tree Planting in Israel, by Zeev Kainan (Masorti Movement in Israel, 2018)This prayer for planting was composed by Zeev Kainan for Tu biShvat (2018) for the Masorti Movement for Conservative Judaism in Israel. . . . מי שבירך לתלמידים החוזרים מחופשת הקיץ | A Mi sheBerakh prayer for students returning to school after their summer break, by Rabbi Esteban GottfriedA mi sheberakh prayer by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried for the parents of students returning to school from their summer break. . . . This vidui (confession), based on the traditional pattern of Yom Kipur confession, was written around 2011by Michal Talya and is used by several liberal communities in Israel. . . . Categories: Yom Kippur 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. . . . Categories: Shiv'ah Asar b'Tamuz תפילת המורה לפני פתיחת שנת הלימודים | Oración de los maestros antes del inicio del año escolar | Prayer of the teacher before commencement of the school year (Masorti Movement in Israel)A prayer for a teacher to say or adapt as needed at the beginning of their school year. . . . Categories: Learning, Study, and School אַ געבעט פאַר דער אימונירונג | תְּפִלָּה לִפְנֵי חִסּוּן | Prayer before a Vaccination, by Hannah KatsmanA prayer in Hebrew to be said before a vaccination, with Yiddish and English translation. . . . Categories: Well-being, health, and caregiving Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Magyar translation, prayers of health care workers, שמירת הגוף shmirat haguf, תחינות teḥinot, תחינות tkhines, חיסון vaccination, Yiddish translation, ישראל Yisrael Contributor(s): Hannah Katsman, Leah Garfinkle (Yiddish translation) and Chana Deutsch (Magyar translation) תפילה קודם תפילה בציבור בימי קורונה | Prayer Preceding Communal Prayer During the Coronavirus Pandemic, by Rabbi Binyamin Holtzman (2020)A prayer for health and safety in public, communal prayer during the time of the coronavirus pandemic. . . . Categories: Epidemics & Pandemics תפילה על האיחוי והרעות | A Prayer for Brotherhood, Unity, and Friendship on Israeli Election Day (2020)Based on the Prayer For Freedom from Strife and the Prayer that One Be a Lover and a Pursuer of Peace taken from the Liqutei Tefilot of Reb Nosson of Nemirov. Edited and reworked by Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum. English Translation: Rabbi Martin S. Cohen. . . . A global and inclusive prayer for the well-being of the diverse congregation of the people of Yisrael. . . . Categories: Congregation & Community מי שברך לחולים במגפה | Mi sheBerakh for those ill from the COVID-19 Coronavirus, by Nurit Novis (2020)A prayer in response to the suffering of the coronavirus and the danger posed by its global spread. . . . Categories: Epidemics & Pandemics Tags: 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak, 2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Israel, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., COVID-19 coronavirus, Epidemic, Masorti Movement, מי שברך mi sheberakh, Needing Vocalization, Pandemic, ישראל Yisrael Contributor(s): Nurit Novis, Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Shoshana Michael Zucker (translation) מי שברך לשלום החולים במגפת נגיף הקורונה | Mi sheBerakh for the Welfare of those Ill from the Coronavirus Epidemic (Schechter Rabbinical Seminary 2020)A Mi Sheberakh prayer offered on behalf of those battling, suffering from, and imperiled by the 2019-2020 Coronavirus Outbreak and pandemic. . . . Categories: Epidemics & Pandemics תפלה להסרת מסכה | A Prayer for Removing the Mask, by Rabbi Dr. Dalia Marx and Rabbi Inbar Bluzer Shalem (2021)“A Prayer for Removing the Mask,” was composed by Rabbi Dr. Dalia Marx and Rabbi Inbar Bluzer Shalem in June 2021. The English translation was made by Alex Cicelsky. . . . Categories: Epidemics & Pandemics Jews around the world fast on the day after Rosh haShanah to commemorate the murder of Gedalyahu son of Aḥiqam, the officer appointed over Judah who sought to make peace and rebuild before being murdered by a religious extremist and officially bringing an end to the first commonwealth era. The tragedy of Gedalyahu is not just that he was assassinated, but that he was assassinated by a Jew who was using religion (specifically his claim to the line of David) as an excuse. This narrative bears striking similarities to the murder of Prime Minister Yitzḥaq Rabin on 12 Marḥeshvan 5756. On account of this, some Jews have taken it upon themselves to memorialize Rabin on Tzom Gedalyahu as well. This piyyut could be added to the seliḥot for Tzom Gedalyahu, or part of a new seliḥot service for 12 Marḥeshvan. . . . | ||
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