מַה־טֹּבוּ | Mah Tovu, a paraliturgical reflection by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=31341

Date: 2020-05-06

Last Updated: 2025-02-02

Categories: Entering Sacred Spaces

Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, paraliturgical mah tovu, shame resilience, מה טבו mah tovu

Excerpt: A paraliturgical reflection of the prayer for entering sacred communal spaces, Mah Tovu, for a shame resilience practice. . . .

Content:

Source (Hebrew)	Paraliturgical Reflection (English)
מַה־טֹּבֽוּ אֹהָלֶֽיךָ יַעֲקֹב, מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶֽיךָ, יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ (במדבר כד:ה) וַֽאֲנִי, בְּרֹב חַסְדְּךָ, אָבֹא בֵיתֶֽךָ, אֶשְׁתַּֽחֲוֶה אֶל־הֵיכַל קָדְשְׁךָ, בְּיִרְאָתֶֽךָ׃ (תהלים ה:ח) יְהֹוָה, אָהַבְתִּי מְעוֹן בֵּיתֶֽךָ, וּמְקוֹם, מִשְׁכַּן כְּבוֹדֶֽךָ׃ (תהלים כו:ח)	How good is this place I am right now. Even though I wrestle with its goodness, I affirm it nonetheless.[1] cf. Numbers 24:5.  I enter this place with abundant loving-kindness. I bow in the holy space, in awe.[2] cf. Psalms 5:8.  Holy One, I love Your home, where You so intimately dwell. No matter who I am, or how I am feeling, I trust I am welcomed here.[3] cf. Psalms 26:8.
וַֽאֲנִי אֶשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְאֶכְרָֽעָה,   אֶבְרְכָה לִפְנֵי־יְהֹוָה עֹשִׂי׃ (תהלים צה:ו)   וַֽאֲנִי תְפִילָתִי־לְךָ ׀ יְהֹוָה עֵת רָצוֹן. אֱלֹהִים, בְּרָב־חַסְדֶּךָ, עֲנֵֽנִי בֶּאֱמֶת יִשְׁעֶֽךָ׃ (תהלים סט:יד)	I bow, I bend, I kneel to honor my own nature As an Earthling, a formed being, yet made of Spirit. Let my presence here be my prayer, It is an offering to You. I offer my ego to Your great Presence[4] cf. Psalms 95:6.  And in this moment, You receive me with ease. God, in your abundant loving-kindness Help me feel You present with me in the all, the A-Z truth of existence. This is what saves me from myself.[5] cf. Psalms 69:14.

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Rabbi Shoshana Meira’s paraliturgical interpretation of Mah Tovu, the prayer for entering sacred communal spaces, was first published in her Siddur v’lo Nevosh (2014). Linear correspondence between the Hebrew source and the English by Aharon Varady.

Source(s)

 

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Notes

Notes

1	cf. Numbers 24:5.
2	cf. Psalms 5:8.
3	cf. Psalms 26:8.
4	cf. Psalms 95:6.
5	cf. Psalms 69:14.

Contributor: Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman

Co-authors:

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  Name: Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman
  Bio: Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman is the Associate Rabbi at Temple Sinai in Brookline, Massachusetts. She feels blessed to serve this vibrant community through building personal relationships, teaching Torah, innovating new engagement initiatives, working for justice, and leading prayer. Rabbi Shoshana is a leader in the interfaith climate justice movement in New England. She and her husband Yotam Schachter co-wrote The Tide Is Rising, an anthem for the climate movement that has been sung in congregations, climate rallies, and gatherings in the US, Brazil, Denmark, and France. In other pursuits, she has released an album of original music called Guesthouse, clowned for hospitalized children, tended a community garden, and written poetry. Her publications include pieces in the Huffington Post and the Harvard Divinity Bulletin, and she has written an interpretive translation of the weekday prayer service called Siddur V'lo Nevosh: Jewish Prayer as Shame Resilience Practice. Rabbi Shoshana was ordained at Hebrew College Rabbinical School, and is a graduate of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, JOIN For Justice, and Oberlin College of Arts & Sciences where she was also a Henry David Thoreau Scholar. She grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, and lives in Jamaica Plain with Yotam and their dog Lulu. For sermons, publications, music, and activism visit www.rabbishoshana.com.
  Website: http://www.rabbishoshana.com
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/shoshana-friedman

Featured Image:

Title: Tea_bowl_fixed_in_the_Kintsugi_method
Caption: "Tea bowl fixed in the Kintsugi method" (Public Domain). Kintsugi is the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with lacquer resin dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.