יהי רצון | An alternative closing meditation at the end of the Amidah on the restoration of the Temple, by Dr. Sam Fleischacker

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=57679

open_content_license: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication, Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Date: 2024-08-26

Last Updated: 2025-03-29

Categories: Weekday Amidah

Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Temple Mount, חתימות ḥatimot (concluding prayers), עמידה amidah, Needing Vocalization

Excerpt: An alternative yehi ratson prayer at the very end of the Amidah. . . .

Content:
The y’hi ratson prayer recited at the end of every traditional Amidah prays for the rebuilding of the Temple and the restoration of sacrifices. In composing this alternative, my idea was to maintain the understanding that prayer is in some sense a substitute for sacrifice while,

  1. recognizing that Muslims have holy places on the Temple Mount and we can’t rebuild our Temple peacefully without their permission,
  2. expressing hope for a transformation of Israel and Jerusalem, in any case, that would realize the aspiration in the State of Israel’s Declaration of Independence of being simultaneously a home for Jews and a place that respects the rights and dignity of non-Jews,
  3. expressing hope for an open, pluralistic third Temple, if one is to be built, realizing the dream of Isaiah 56:7, and
  4. leaving open the question of what exactly we might offer as sacrifices, in such a third Temple, so that they might be limited (say) to plant-based offerings.
Source (Hebrew) Translation (English)
יהי רצון מלפניך
ה׳ אלהינו ואלהי אבותינו
לתת בליבנו את החכמה וההגינות
להפוך את מדינת ישראל והעיר ירושלים
לחברות צודקות והגונות,
לכל היושבים בה,
יהודים ולא־יהודים כאחד.
אם נצליח בכך,
נבקש מתושבי אותן חברות —
יהודים ולא־יהודים כאחד —
רשות לבנות את בית המקדש.
ונבנה אותו
כבית תפילה לכל העמים
ונביא שׁם את קרבנות
כטוב בעיניך׃
May it be your will,
Lord our God and God of our fathers,
to put in our hearts the wisdom and the decency
to transform the state of Israel and the city Jerusalem
into just and decent societies
for all their inhabitants,
Jewish and non-Jewish alike. 
If we succeed in that,
may we ask the inhabitants of those societies —
Jewish and non-Jewish alike —
for permission to restore your holy Temple. 
(And if they grant that to us,) may we restore it
as a house of prayer for all peoples
and make offerings there
that are pleasing in your sight.

 

Contributor: Samuel Fleishacker

Co-authors:

Featured Image:
Ursulimum (Ran Slavin 2012) – still frame
Title: Ursulimum (Ran Slavin 2012) – still frame
Caption: Ursulimum (Ran Slavin 2012) - a still frame from the short film