Archive for the ‘Better World’ Category

 

War on Simchat Torah

Posted on: October 7th, 2023 by Alden

Shabbat Simchat Torah 5784 / 2023. I’ve been inside a bomb shelter more today than in the entire 11.5 years I’ve been in Israel combined. ‘This is not a situation, or a round of fighting,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. ‘ We are at war.’ This is a multi-prayer liturgy on this difficult day, and for the days ahead. It begins with a new prayer, ‘War on Simchat Torah,’ then moves to ‘For the Soldiers of the IDF’ and concludes with ‘Israel: A Meditation.’

War on Simchat Torah
On the ground,
We rejoice with the Torah.
In the air,
The missiles fly.
On the ground
The attack has come, as well.
Some still dance
With the Torah,
While others shelter in place.

We are at war,
Even as we remember
The blessings of G-d’s word,
Even as we pledge
To be true to our faith
And to live according
To G-d’s instructions.

כי נר מצוות ותורה אור ודרך חיים
For mitzvot are a lamp
And Torah is light
And the way of life. (Proverbs 6:23)

G-d of Israel,
Bless this nation
And protect us
Even as the sirens blare
And combat has come
To our streets.

Let peace be close at hand,
So that we dance
In the gardens and the groves,
In the heights and in the deserts
Once more
In joyous celebration
Of Torah and life.

For the Soldiers of the IDF
Rock of Israel,
Our sons and daughters,
Our brothers and sisters,
Our family and friends,
Have been called to serve,
In the name of peace and justice,
In the name of sovereignty and survival,
To defend and to protect our land
From violence and assault,
From kidnappers and terrorists,
From missile and mortar,
From those who would destroy our nation and our people.

We stand with the defenders of Israel.
We honor the guardians of Zion.
We hold dear the sentries of Am Kadosh.

G-d of Old,
We know the price of safety,
We know the cost of security.
Bless the injured and wounded
In every generation
With Your healing hand.
Bless the dead and the bereaved
With Your love and consolation.
Bless the heroes of our past
And the heroes of the future
With a share in the world to come.

Source of Peace,
Keep our soldiers safe,
And let our soldiers keep us safe,
So that they return in life and in health
To the loving arms of our people.

Israel: A Meditation
Israel,
You are my people.
You are my heart and you are my hope.
We waited together at the mountain
When G-d revealed the Holy Word.
We wandered together through the desert
On the path to sacred soil.
We watched the sea part.
We heard the heavens roar.
We stood at the doorway to freedom,
At the border of a Promised Land.

Israel,
You are my destiny.
You are my joy and you are my truth.
We were victorious at Jericho,
Unyielding at Masada.
We defied empires
For Torah.
We defied kings
For justice and freedom.
We’ve traveled the earth,
Wandered the millennia,
Refugees of the ages,
Homeless and hopeful,
Waiting to return
To native ground.

Israel,
You are my brother in history,
My sister in fortune,
The mother of my courage,
The father of my heart,
The child of my longing,
And the light of generations.
To you I pledge my right arm
And my voice in song.
To you I pledge my soul.
To you I pledge my spirit.

Israel,
You are my nation.
You are my inheritance.
You are my home.

© 2023 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight

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Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

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Photo Source: Times of Israel / AP

For the People of Morocco (After the Earthquake)

Posted on: September 11th, 2023 by Alden

Two prayers for the people of Morocco as the death toll rises after the recent earthquake. I first posted these prayers after an earthquake Haiti in January 2010. I have either revised these prayers or used elements of them in other prayers after other earthquakes around the world.

In Devastation (For the People of Morocco)
G-d beyond my understanding,
The earth has turned violent,
Sweeping our brothers and sisters off their feet,
Crushing homes and lives,
Upending dreams,
Toppling the foundations of hope and sustenance.
A shallow breath beneath the rubble
And wailing in the streets.
The injured and the dead.
The new widow,
The new orphan,
The newly bereft turn to You
Divine Source of abundance and grace.

G-d of justice and mercy,
We pray for the people of Morocco,
And the victims of any disaster,
Any violence, suffering or despair.
Grant them shelter and solace,
Comfort and consolation,
Blessing and renewal.
May a world of justice, righteousness and mercy
Come swiftly to their aid.
Grant them endurance to survive,
Strength to rebuild,
Faith to mourn,
Courage to heal,
And devotion to each other.

Heavenly Guide,
Hand of love and shelter,
Grant the people of Morocco Your protection,
Your radiance,
And Your peace.

Prayer For First Responders (to the Earthquake in Morocco)
Crisis and chaos,
Confusion and loss,
A scene of sweeping destruction,
The first responders arrive
Among the breathless and dazed,
The frenzied, driven wild with fear and grief,
The incapacitated, the dead,
The weary, the lost, the injured,
And survivors forcing themselves
Beyond their limits
To fight devastation.

G-d whose ways are secret,
Bless these first responders with endurance
To be of maximum service in this moment of immeasurable need.
Bless their limbs with strength,
Their eyes with courage,
Their hands with gentleness,
So that they become a source of hope and love.
Give them the tools they need in the days and hours ahead.
Protect them from physical harm,
Shield them from emotional pain,
And guard them from taking this trauma into themselves.

G-d of justice and mercy,
We pray for the people of Morocco.
Let the world rally on their behalf.
May the deeds of the first responders
Find favor in Heaven
And bring healing on earth.

© 2023 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight

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Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

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Photo Source: NDTV World

Against Worker Exploitation, Revised

Posted on: August 7th, 2023 by Alden

This revision of my 2011 prayer is inspired by my daughter Dana’s dedication to the Writers Guild of America strike. Dana is a member of the Art Directors Guild and a television writer. She’s creating strike ‘swag’ with the profits supporting the Entertainment Community Fund, which gave her the opportunity to meet Teamster Local 399 leader Lindsay Dougherty. I’ve updated this prayer by including some of the jobs that Teamsters represent, as well as the entertainment world. The original version appears in the Labor Day section of my book, This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day.

Against Worker Exploitation, Revised
G-d of the laborer,
The trucker and the writer,
G-d of those who build and bake and fly and act,
Those beside our hospital beds and hauling our trash,
G-d of the migrant and the ensnared,
The voice of the misused echoes across the land,
Overworked and undervalued in the name of profit,
Our children and our parents,
Our brothers and our sisters,
Toil, economically chained to taskmasters,
By need, by poverty, or by misfortune.
Bound to unbearable hours
And cruel conditions
So that others may reap the rewards
Of their labor, their suffering, and their endurance.

Source of abundance and grace,
Creator of affluence and wealth,
You call upon us to stand in the name of justice and fairness,
To witness against the abuse of economic power,
To battle theft by dominance and clout,
To fight corporate neglect of human beings,
To speak out against exploitation.

Bless those who dedicate their lives to the voiceless and forgotten,
To expose callousness in field and factory,
And greed in boardrooms and negotiations.
Bless those who plead on behalf of workers
Before the seats of power,
Before governments and corporations.
Give them wisdom and skill, courage and determination.
May the work of their hands never falter
Nor despair deter them from this holy calling.

Blessed are You, G-d of All Being,
Who summons us to oppose oppression.

Revised by the author from “Against Worker Exploitation” © 2017 CCAR Press from This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers For a New Day

Postscript: This prayer is from my series of prayers “Against…” The series includes: “Against Poverty,” “Against Human Trafficking” and “Against Tyranny.” They follow a common format and focus on tikkun olam, repairing the world. Other related prayers include: “Upon Losing Employment” and “For Work.” For Vayigash 5773, I posted a prayer for family healing called “Dear Brother, Dear Sister.” This prayer first appeared on this site on October 21, 2011.

Please check out my Meet the Author video and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Credit: Food Chain via Care 2

The Birds Stopped Singing

Posted on: April 20th, 2023 by Alden

For Earth Day, 2023, while listening to the birds sing, while watching them fly.

The Birds Stopped Singing
The day the birds stopped singing
And we finally believed the cries of the earth,
The day it was too late to quell the rising tides,
Too late to quench the burning forests,
Too late to quash the hole in the sky,
All that was left was to mourn the future,
As the future mourned for us.

G-d of all,
We still hear the birds singing, for now,
So perhaps there is still time
To save the planet,
To save Your handiwork,
To save the future.
The hills will skip with joy,
And the rivers will gurgle with laughter,
When we finally listen to the voice of creation.
Give us ears, Author of life,
To hear the cries of the grieving earth.

© 2023 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight

New here? Subscribe here to get my newest prayers by email.
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Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

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Photo by Alden Solovy

For the Disabled

Posted on: March 14th, 2023 by Alden

Next week, hikers will hit Israel’s trails to raise money for Tsad Kadima, an organization founded by parents of children with cerebral palsy to provide innovative educational services and rehabilitative treatment across the country. The Tsad Kadima way is to help kids and adults strive for educational advancement while promoting maximum personal agency tailored to each person’s condition. Please consider a donation of any size. Donate to my Hike for Hope for Tsad Kadima by clicking here. This prayer-poem includes optional language in [brackets].

For the Disabled
G-d of all,
You have made a world of
Infinite variation and infinite beauty,
Giving us each different skills and challenges,
Strengths and weaknesses,
Abilities and inabilities,
So that we may take our individual places
In tikkun olam,
In repairing Your world,
So that we would need each other
To accomplish Your will.

Look with special care upon those
Whose abilities are challenged by obstacles to their
Physical, emotional, or cognitive functioning.
Bless them with loving, understanding, and dedicated parents,
Families of strength and heart,
And friends who bring them joy and laughter.
May they be surrounded with encouragement,
With love and with compassion.
Bless their caregivers with skill,
To support them with energy and enthusiasm.
Bless their teachers with talent,
To teach them with patience and wisdom.
Bless all who advocate for the disabled before the seats of power.
May the work of their hands never falter
Nor despair deter them from this holy calling.

[May these blessings also be heard in the name of
My child/partner/parent _________________ (name).
May he/she/they reach the highest potential.]

G-d of love,
Help us to be present for each other,
With generosity of spirit,
Generosity of understanding,
And generosity of blessings.
Help us to see the wonder and majesty
In our differences.
May we all find our place
In service to Your holy name.

© 2023 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight

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Postscript: This year the Hike for Hope will be in Ramat Hanegev/Sde Boker from March 21-23, 2023. We’ll explore the desert canyons and expanses, wildflowers, natural springs, and archaeology that make this area a hiker’s paradise. Donate to the Hike for Hope by clicking here.

Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

After Huwara: A Lament

Posted on: March 2nd, 2023 by Alden

Dozens of settlers in the West Bank rampaged through the village of Huwara Sunday evening as revenge against the terrorist murders of Hallel and Yagel Yaniv z”l. In the pogrom-like violence, cars, storefronts and homes were torched. One man — 37-year-old Sameh Aqtash — was murdered. We must stand up to lawless violence — yes, terror — perpetrated by Israelis, just as we must stand up against terror by Palestinians. This is a lament to be said by the Jewish people in remembrance of Huwara.

After Huwara: A Lament
Oh my people,
What have you become,
To hurl fire and terror,
Rocks and revenge,
Against a village,
To rampage with violence,
To run wild
Under a cloak of self-righteousness.

Oh my people,
Can it be true,
That hatred burns among us,
So that we become
The perpetrators of pogrom
And the silent accomplices to rage,
Executing collective punishment
Under a cloak of justice.

Let our hearts break,
Again and again,
For the murdered among us,
Our friends and families
Cut down by the hand of terror.
In this grief, let us not become the hand of hatred,
Spilling blood for blood,
Cutting down our neighbors with vengeance.
Let our hearts break,
Again and again,
For those we have killed
With our own lawlessness.

Oh my people,
Busy your hands with acts of kindness,
And your hearts with a vision of peace.
Let us stand firm against violence,
Under the rule of law,
Neither accepting terror aimed at us,
Nor becoming a source of terror
Aimed at others.

© 2023 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight

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Postscript: Here’s a prayer “For Peace in the Middle East.”

Please check out my CCAR Press Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. The individual books are: This Joyous Soul, This Grateful Heart, and This Precious Life. Here’s a link to my ELItalk, “Falling in Love with Prayer..” For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: Time of Israel

Columbine, Again and Again

Posted on: February 15th, 2023 by Alden

In memoriam for those who lost their lives at Michigan State University, and to all who were wounded physically or emotionally, I’ve added the school to “A Dream of Columbine: Psalm of Protest 13.” Here is a three-prayer liturgy also including “After Uvalde: The Court of the Innocent” and “After a Deadly Rampage.”

A Dream of Columbine: Psalm of Protest 13
A dream of Columbine High School,
When the U.S. was beset by guns.
Red with blood,
A dream of Thurston High, Red Lake High, Virginia Tech, and Michigan State University,
Wet with tears,
A nightmare of Sandy Hook and Robb Elementary.
A lament of guns and death,
At NIU, Marshall County High, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, Santa Fe High and Saugus High.
Crying out
With so many others,
Too many dead,
So many wounded and scarred.
Crying out,
O Columbine!
How long? How long? How long?

After Uvalde: The Court of the Innocent
The court of the innocent
At the gates of heaven
Is twenty-one souls larger today.
Two adults and nineteen children shot dead.
They bring their blood as evidence against us,
As evidence of our failure to protect them
And the impotence of our rage.

The court of the innocent
At the gates of heaven
Have stopped listening to our speeches.
They no longer say ‘amen’ to our prayers.
They have turned their backs to us,
As we have turned our backs to them.

The court of the innocent
At the gates of heaven
Minister to the souls of the newly murdered,
They minister to those cut down
By guns and violence,
By politics and inaction,
Tending to these recent companions in death,
Consoling their lifeless hearts.

After a Deadly Rampage
Author of life
Source and Creator,
Grant a perfect rest under Your tabernacle of peace
To the victims of the massacre
At Michigan State University,
Whose lives were cut off by violence,
A rampage of aggression beyond understanding.
Their hopes were severed.
Their dreams were lost to brutality.
May their souls be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst.
May they rest in peace.

G-d of justice and mercy,
Remember, too, the survivors of this attack,
Witnesses of shock, horror and dismay.
Ease their suffering and release their trauma
So that they recover lives of joy and wonder.
Grant them Your shelter and solace,
Blessing and renewal.
Grant them endurance to survive,
Strength to rebuild,
Faith to mourn,
And courage to heal.

Remember the families and friends
Of the dead and the wounded.
With comfort and consolation.
Grant them Your protection,
Your wholeness and healing.
May they find hope and renewal.

Heavenly Guide,
Source of love and shelter,
Put an end to anger, hatred and fear
And lead us to a time when
No one will suffer at the hand of another,
Speedily, in our day.

© 2012, 2022, and 2023 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com.

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Postscript: See also “Against Gun Violence.”

Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: Bridge Michigan

 

For the People of Turkey (After the Earthquake)

Posted on: February 7th, 2023 by Alden

Two prayers for the people of Turkey as the death toll rises after today’s earthquake. I posted these two prayers 12 years ago after an earthquake struck Turkey then. These prayers were first written after an earthquake Haiti in January 2010. I have either revised these prayers or used elements of them in other prayers after other earthquakes around the world.

In Devastation (For the People of Turkey)
G-d beyond my understanding,
The earth has turned violent,
Sweeping our brothers and sisters off their feet,
Crushing homes and lives,
Upending dreams,
Toppling the foundations of hope and sustenance.
A shallow breath beneath the rubble
And wailing in the streets.
The injured and the dead.
The new widow,
The new orphan,
The newly bereft turn to You
Divine Source of abundance and grace.

G-d of justice and mercy,
We pray for the people of Turkey,
And the victims of any disaster,
Any violence, suffering or despair.
Grant them shelter and solace,
Comfort and consolation,
Blessing and renewal.
May a world of justice, righteousness and mercy
Come swiftly to their aid.
Grant them endurance to survive,
Strength to rebuild,
Faith to mourn,
Courage to heal,
And devotion to each other.

Heavenly Guide,
Hand of love and shelter,
Grant the people of Turkey Your protection,
Your radiance,
And Your peace.

Prayer For First Responders (to the Earthquake in Turkey)
Crisis and chaos,
Confusion and loss,
A scene of sweeping destruction,
The first responders arrive
Among the breathless and dazed,
The frenzied, driven wild with fear and grief,
The incapacitated, the dead,
The weary, the lost, the injured,
And survivors forcing themselves
Beyond their limits
To fight devastation.

G-d whose ways are secret,
Bless these first responders with endurance
To be of maximum service in this moment of immeasurable need.
Bless their limbs with strength,
Their eyes with courage,
Their hands with gentleness,
So that they become a source of hope and love.
Give them the tools they need in the days and hours ahead.
Protect them from physical harm,
Shield them from emotional pain,
And guard them from taking this trauma into themselves.

G-d of justice and mercy,
We pray for the people of Turkey.
Let the world rally on their behalf.
May the deeds of the first responders
Find favor in Heaven
And bring healing on earth.

© 2023 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight

New here? Subscribe here to get my newest prayers by email.
Share the prayer! Email this to a friend.

Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: NPR

For Wisdom During Israel’s Elections – 2022

Posted on: October 30th, 2022 by Alden

This week we will go to the polls in Israel. I’m reposting two prayers for wisdom of the electorate, updated to reflect the rising tide of racist, extremist factions that appear poised to win a significant number of seats in the Knesset, potentially gaining influence on Israeli politics, government, and life. The prayers include blessings for “all who reside within our borders” and yearns for “liberty and equality,” hopes and dreams worthy of our prayers. They also include some classic imagery about Israel from our liturgy and sacred texts.

For Wisdom During Israel’s Elections (For Voters)
G-d of Justice,
Protector and Redeemer,
Grant guidance to our nation
As we select leaders
To serve and to govern,
The leaders who promise
To bring prosperity to our land,
The politicians who promise
To protect our homes and secure our borders.

Grant us wisdom and courage
So that we entrust our government to visionaries,
So that we elect those who will serve our citizens –
And all who reside within our borders –
With honor and integrity,
To forge a flourishing and peaceful future,
A land flowing with milk and honey.

Save us from the forces of hate
That threaten our nation from within,
Extremists who yearn for power,
The emboldened self-righteous
Who would destroy democracy,
Undermine the judiciary,
Deport dissenters, denying human liberties,
And give unbridled power to the military.

Bless our Prime Minister and Knesset
With vision and strength,
Fortitude and insight.
May they lead us to a time
When liberty and equality
Reign supreme throughout the land,
So that a new light will shine forth from Zion.

G-d of Truth,
Source and Shelter,
Grant safety and security to all nations,
So that truth and harmony will resound
From the four corners of the earth.
Let the light of Israeli democracy grow,
Let it shine brightly,
A beacon of hope
For every land and every people.

For Wisdom During Israel’s Elections (For Non-voters)
G-d of Justice,
Protector and Redeemer,
Grant guidance to the citizens of Israel
As they select leaders
To serve and to govern,
The leaders who promise
To bring prosperity to the land,
The politicians who promise
To protect homes and secure the borders.

Grant wisdom and courage to voters
To entrust the government to visionaries,
To elect those who will serve Israeli citizens –
And all who reside within its borders –
With honor and integrity,
To forge a flourishing and peaceful future,
A land flowing with milk and honey.

Save Israel from the forces of hate
That threaten the nation from within,
Extremists who yearn for power,
The emboldened self-righteous
Who would destroy democracy,
Undermine the judiciary,
Deport dissenters, denying human liberties,
And give unbridled power to the military.

Bless the Prime Minister and Knesset
With vision and strength,
Fortitude and insight.
May they lead Israel to a time
When liberty and equality
Reign supreme throughout the land,
So that a new light will shine forth from Zion.

G-d of Truth,
Source and Shelter,
Grant safety and security to all nations,
So that truth and harmony will resound
From the four corners of the earth.
Let the light of Israeli democracy grow,
Let it shine brightly,
A beacon of hope
For every land and every people.

© 2022 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Credit: Taken of me by a poll worker during the 2013 elections

Two Reproductive Freedom Prayers

Posted on: June 14th, 2022 by Alden

Here are two new social justice prayers, written as the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to strip away reproductive rights. The first is written in a ‘classic’ prayer format, while the second is one of my “Psalms of Protest.”

Addendum: On 24 June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The Right to Choose
One day,
On the day the world is perfected,
Rape, incest, and all violence
Will vanish from the earth.
On that day,
Medical science will have safe and effective answers
To every risk of pregnancy,
And only those willing and able to raise a child–
Physically, spiritually, financially, emotionally –
Will become pregnant.
On the day the world is perfected,
Every pregnancy will result
From the holy desire to bring forth life
And to raise children,
Without fear of medical or personal consequences.

Until that day,
God of justice,
Defend and protect
Reproductive freedom
In the US and throughout the world.
Grant those who face this profound decision
Wisdom and strength.
Surround them with loving support
And caring professionals.
Guard them, their caregivers, and clinics,
Against verbal violence and physical attack.
Let no court and no politician
Stand in the way
Of the right to choose.

Reproductive Freedom: Psalm of Protest 20
A psalm of protest,
Sung on earth
Before the gates of government.

Thunder, you heavens,
Quake, you earth,
At the rise of injustice
And the return of oppression
By the self-righteous and the arrogant,
Attacking reproductive rights
From the halls of power,
Stripping away hard-won freedoms,
Stripping away protection
For self-determination and medical justice.

We remember
Every sister
Who bled out in a fever
In a filthy backroom,
Abandoned by society,
With no rights
And no choices.

Bear witness, you mountains,
To murder
By the denial of choice.

Give testimony, you seas,
Against those who would threaten,
Subvert, limit, and seek to control
The rights of others.

Rise up, you of faith and conscience,
In the name of liberty,
In the name of justice,
In the name of choice.

“The Right to Choose” and “Reproductive Freedom: Psalm of Protest 20” are © 2022 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com.

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“Alden has become one of Reform Judaism’s master poet-liturgists…" - Religion News Service, Dec. 23, 2020

“Mesmerizing, spiritual, provocative, and thoughtful, Alden was everything you would want in a guest scholar and teacher.” – Rabbi Denise L. Eger, Congregation Kol Ami, Los Angeles, and Past President, CCAR

"Alden Solovy has become one of the most revered liturgists of the last decade…" - Jewish Post & Opinion, March 29, 2023

“Alden left everyone feeling inspired.” – Cantor Jeri Robins, Shabbat Chair, NewCAJE6