To Bend Light

Modeh Ani

•May 19, 2013 • 4 Comments

Here’s a new meditation based on a line of Jewish prayer. I’ve taken the prayer said on waking up, Modeh Ani, and created a ‘loop’ by shifting and replacing three words: ‘soul,’ ‘love’ and ‘trust.’ As the verses progress, the first of these words moves out and the other two move over to fill the empty spot, with a new word entering in the last position. The loop completes with the words of the original prayer reentering one-by-one until the line is restored. The result is a lovely and surprising set of combinations.

I’ve also used the Shema, and a line said before the Shema – “Gather us in peace…” – as starting points for “Affirmation of Faith” and “Gathering: A Dream of Reunion.”

Modeh Ani
מודה אני לפניך מלך חי וקיים שהחזרת בי נשמתי בחמלה, רבה אמונתך
Modeh (modah) ani lifanekha melekh ḥai v’kayam sheheḥezarta bi nishmahti b’ḥemlah, rabah emunatekha.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my soul with love
Filled with Your eternal trust.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my love with trust
Filled with Your eternal hope.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my trust with hope
Filled with Your eternal kindness.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my hope with kindness
Filled with Your eternal justice.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my kindness with justice
Filled with Your eternal mercy.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my justice with mercy
Filled with Your eternal peace.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my mercy with peace
Filled with Your eternal soul.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my peace with soul
Filled with Your eternal love.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my soul with love
Filled with Your eternal trust.

Postscript: I’ve used the same technique of shifting and replacing words in another prayer “For Devotion” which begins with the line “O Lord, open You my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise” (Psalms 51:17). This line is used to set the intention for devotion in prayer before reciting the Amidah. See also: “Affirmation of Faith” and “Gathering: A Dream of Reunion.”

If you use this prayer, please click “like” on this page and subscribe. Please take a moment to post a link to your Facebook page, your blog or mention it in a tweet. Thanks. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!”

Photo Source: LadyMama.org

Posted in Mystery and Praise
Tags: blessings and praises, morning blessings, prayer on waking up, singing praises, thanksgiving and praise

The Last Moment

•May 16, 2013 • 2 Comments

This is a meditation on time, a meditation on living in this moment with the spiritual understanding that beauty and holiness remain. They remain even when one of us departs this existence, even when those who love one another make the choice to move in different directions. The meditation was inspired by the music of Randall Williams whom I heard recently in Jerusalem; in particular, his song “Suppose Time” and reading of “The World Will End” from the album Einstein’s Dreams, which was based on the best-selling novel by Alan Lightman. Special thanks to another musician friend of mine, Tracy Friend, for her ideas and suggestions on the word choice and flow of this meditation.

The Last Moment
What if this is the last moment
Of creation?
The last moment we have to share
Our joy, our hope, our love.

What if this is the last moment
With you on earth?
The last to chance feel
Your breath, your heart, your surrender.
When you depart
The world will remain,
Full of mystery and wonder.

What if this is the last moment
With me on earth?
The last chance to offer
My hand, my smile, my strength.
When I depart
The world will remain,
Full of glory and holiness.

What if this is the last moment
We have together?
The only chance we have to share
Our awe, our power, our peace.
When we say goodbye
The world will remain.
The sky will continue to fill with radiance.
The core of the earth will still burn
Molten hot with passion for living.
And light, light from the edge of the universe,
Light from the day when G-d spoke
And the world came to be,
Will reach my face
And will warm your heart.

Postscript: I have alternatively cut and reinserted the first stanza of this meditation. I’m still not certain which version I prefer. Your comments are welcome. Other meditations on this topic include a three-part series written to be read in this order: “Leaving,” “Arriving” and “Now.” Be sure to check out the music of Randall Williams and Tracy Friend. Also check out Tracy’s latest collaboration with my pal Andrew Dennen, called “G-d is Near.”

Photo Source: Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science

Posted in Spiritual Traveler
Tags: humility and lovingkindness, joy, love and surrender, miracles, music of the universe, prayer of light, prayer to love others as yourself, prayers of hope, redemption, renew our days, spirit, time and love

Jerusalem: A Meditation, Revised

•May 2, 2013 • Leave a Comment

I wrote this meditation two years before becoming a Yerushalmi, a Jerusalem resident. After living here nearly a year, the meditation no longer fully captures my relationship with this place of intense contradictions and even deeper yearnings. My goal with this revision is a slight shift in tone, while maintaining the meditation’s essential Messianic view of Jerusalem as the focal point of G-d’s relationship with the Jewish people, the place where heaven and earth touch, the place where our history meets our daily lives. What remains is a core meditation on the beauty and heartbreak of this complex place, a lovely yet somewhat melancholy meditation that can be used in private prayer, in communal worship or as an additional reading during your Passover Seder. Here are more prayers for and about Israel. Here’s a link to the original piece. I’m posting this revision in anticipation of Yom Yerushalaim, May 8, the anniversary of the reunification of the city. See also: “Rules for Being Me in Jerusalem.”

Jerusalem: A Meditation (Revised)
Jerusalem,
You are mystery and wonder,
Secrets hidden and secrets revealed.
You are beauty in the hills
And holiness in stone.

City of Peace,
Why are you still besieged by nations?
Why are you held hostage from within?
What errant flight has the white dove taken?
What mission of love and mercy
Has drawn her away from her sacred home?

Jerusalem,
You are prayers and echoes,
Questions without answer,
Yearning and hope,
Radiance and splendor,
The heartbeat of generations.

Jerusalem,
You are my journey and my destination.
You are my dream
And you are my longing.
You are my joy
And you are my sorrow.
Will you be my consolation?

Postscript: In this revision I struggled with retaining one sentence: “Why are you still held hostage from within?” For me, this is a reference to the current state of broad (but not universal) Jewish religious intolerance and a monolithic Rabbinate that results in religious coercion and misogyny, an unabashedly politically and religiously leftist view. I understand that others may read this sentence completely differently, reading it as the question of why Israel, which controls the Temple Mount, bars Jews from praying there. A much different perspective than mine, indeed. My rationale for maintaining this vague sentence in the meditation is that these questions need to be addressed directly, publicly, without shying away from disagreements. Here are links to “Rules for Being Me in Jerusalem,” “Israel: A Meditation” and “For Peace in the Middle East.” Here are more prayers for and about Israel.

Photo Credit: Eric Meola/ Getty Images

Posted in Israel
Tags: celebration, Israel, Jerusalem, joy, Kotel, redemption

Rules for Being Me in Jerusalem

•April 28, 2013 • 7 Comments

This is a private meditation. That is, I don’t expect that it speaks fully to or for anyone but me. I wrote it several months ago, but it didn’t feel complete. The final thoughts came to me this morning during my run. I added three lines and rearranged the paragraphs. Some of these rules only apply to my life in Jerusalem; some only to my life in Israel. Perhaps this will change as the depth of my experience here grows.

So, if it’s private, why am I posting it? To encourage you to write your own “Rules for Being You” meditation. I’m glad that I finished this piece before Yom Yerushalayim, which is May 8, 2013.

Rules for Being Me in Jerusalem
Smile at everyone.
Or, at least, nod in their direction.
Some may even smile back.
Don’t take offense if someone
Simply looks away,
Or never makes eye contact.
They aren’t used to it.

Speak your truth,
But only when it adds love
Or a blessing to the world.
Live your truth always.
No matter what.

Before Shabbat,
Put a loaf of bread where
Someone needy can find it.
Say a quick prayer for abundance,
Yours and theirs.

Look at everyone as if you can see
Directly into their hearts.
Their hearts hold joy and grief and love.
Like yours.

See the best in everyone,
Even when someone chooses to show you their worst.

Smile at women with babies. And men.
Not for them, for you.
You are seeing the future,
And it is beautiful.

Say Shabbat Shalom to everyone,
Even men without kippot.
We all deserve rest and peace.

Breathe.
There is holiness in the air.
Malchut and Tiferet
Are within your grasp.

Postscript: If you write your own “Rules” meditation, please take a moment to share on this page what it was like to write it. See also: “Jerusalem: A Meditation” and other prayers about Israel.

Photo Credit: Alden Solovy

Posted in Gifts, Israel
Tags: becoming the best me, blessing, Counting the Omer, hope, Israel, Malchut, personal affirmation, prayer to love others as yourself, renewal, Sefirat HaOmer, self-improvement prayer, Tiferet

For the People of the United States, From Israel

•April 19, 2013 • Leave a Comment

As events unfold in Greater Boston, here’s a new prayer for the people of the United States, written from Israel. Although this prayer is aimed at the immediate wound of the Boston Marathon bombings, it carries a sensitivity toward other violence and tragedy. Here are two prayers which I previously posted in the wake of the bombings: “Bombing at the Boston Marathon” and “For Terror Survivors.”

For the People of the United States, From Israel
Ancient One,
Source and Creator,
Grant the people of the United States,
The citizens of Massachusetts,
And the greater community of Boston
Safety and shelter,
In these hours and days of fear and dread.
We, too, know the sound of gun fire,
The echo of explosions,
The terror and pain,
The loss and dismay,
The long wait for news
And long journey to heal.

As we remember the victims and survivors of this horror,
We also remember the suffering and despair that has
Wounded the nation:
School shootings,
Factory explosions,
Coal mine disasters,
Domestic terror,
Family violence and
International terror.

Renew this land, G-d of Old.
Protect the residents from physical harm.

Restore this people, G-d of Justice.
Shield them from emotional pain.

Heal this nation, G-d of Mercy.
Bind these wounds with your steadfast love.

Heavenly Guide,
Hand of consolation and shelter,
Grant the people of the United States Your protection
Your wholeness and peace.

Postscript: Click here to read the entire Liturgy for 9-11, including an overview of concerns that emerged in developing these prayers. It also includes suggestions for other prayers that fit with the themes of 9-11. Here are links to “To the Terrorist” and “Memorial Prayer for 9-11 First Responders.”

Photo Credit: TV image from a Facebook post

Posted in For a Better World, Life and Death
Tags: 9-11, 9/11/01, America, attack, bombing, Boston Marathon vicitims prayer, death, fear, grief, healing, healing 9/11 survivors, healing terror survivors, loss, mass murder, mourn, School Shooter, terror, Yizkor

For Terror Survivors

•April 17, 2013 • Leave a Comment

In the wake of the bombings at the Boston Marathon, I’ve taken a prayer published as part of A Liturgy for 9-11 and generalized it for all terror victims. A new optional line is shown in [brackets] includes the opportunity to name one or more specific acts of terror. This prayer was originally written for the HUC-JIR continuing education blog Tzeh U’limad to provide clergy with resources for 10th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. Click here to read the prayer “Bombing at the Boston Marathon” and one “For the People of the United States, From Israel.”

For Terror Survivors
G-d of the survivor,
G-d of the mourner and the witness,
Grant solace and peace to those still held by physical, emotional and spiritual distress from acts of terror. [Remember now those who are suffering from trauma after the ___________ (add name of event, such as Boston Marathon bombings, 9-11 attacks, Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing)]. Release them from visions of death and destruction. Release them from guilt or shame, from fear or anger. Bind their wounds with Your steadfast love. Lift them on Your wings of kindness and grace.

Blessed are those who have found peace.

Blessed are those without tranquility.

Blessed are those who speak.

Blessed are those who stay silent.

Blessed are those who have healed.

Blessed are those who suffer.

Blessed are those who forgive.

Blessed are those who cannot forgive.

Blessed are You, G-d of healing, Source of strength for survivors of violence and tragedy in every land and in every age. Blessed are You, Source of hope and comfort.

Photo Credit: BostInno

Posted in Life and Death
Tags: 9-11, 9/11/01, America, attack, Boston Marathon vicitims prayer, death, fear, grief, healing 9/11 survivors, healing terror survivors, loss, mass murder, redemption, School Shooter, terror

Bombing at the Boston Marathon

•April 16, 2013 • Leave a Comment

This is a prayer for healing in response to the bombing at the Boston Marathon, written today at the request of the Union for Reform Judaism. The prayer first appeared on ReformJudaism.org earlier today.

Bombing at the Boston Marathon
Author of life
Source and Creator,
Grant a perfect rest
Under your tabernacle of peace
To the victims of the bombings in Boston,
Whose lives were cut off by a calculated act of violence
Striking at a moment of celebration,
Striking at the joy in sport and competition,
Striking in the city of liberty and freedom.

G-d of justice and mercy,
Watch over the wounded and injured.
Restore them with Your healing power.
Grant them endurance to survive,
Strength to rebuild and
Courage to heal.
Remember the survivors of this attack,
The victims and bystanders,
Their families and friends,
The witnesses of shock, horror and dismay.
Ease their suffering and release their trauma.
Grant them shelter and solace,
Comfort and consolation,
Blessing and renewal.

Heavenly Guide,
Hand of love and shelter,
Put an end to anger and fear,
Hatred and brutality,
Cruelty and bloodshed,
And lead us to a time when no one will suffer at the hand of another.
Grant the people of the United States Your protection
And the people of Boston Your wholeness and peace.

Postscript: See also “At the Hand of Violence: A Yizkor Prayer,” “For Bereaved Children” and “For the Bereaved.”

Photo Credit: Boston Marathon Bombing / FB

Posted in For a Better World
Tags: bombing, Boston Marathon vicitims prayer, death, fear, grief, healing, loss, mass murder, mourn, terror, Yizkor

To Bend Light

Modeh Ani

The Last Moment

Jerusalem: A Meditation, Revised

Rules for Being Me in Jerusalem

For the People of the United States, From Israel

For Terror Survivors

Bombing at the Boston Marathon

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