Archive for the ‘Torah’ Category

 

Re’eh: Cutting, A Prayer to End Self-Mutilation

Posted on: August 13th, 2015 by Alden

self harm princess cuttingSelf-mutilation is as old as the Bible. That grief came to mind reading this week’s Torah portion, Re’eh. “Ye are the children of Adonai your G-d; you shall not cut yourselves…” (Deut. 14:1) In ancient days, the practice was to gash oneself as a sign of mourning. Today, some people cut to manifest grief on their bodies, others say it creates a sense of calm in the face of depression, typically hiding the injuries in shame. This is a prayer on behalf of those who self-mutilate, including an option in [brackets] to name a specific person. It’s built on a prayer titled “My Child’s Self-Inflicted Wounds,” a prayer for parents of children who self-harm with drugs, alcohol, sex or violence against themselves.

Cutting: A Prayer to End Self-Mutilation
Child of G-d,
Please do not cut yourself.
You are holy, a gift,
Unique in this world.

What grief has taken root in your heart?
What sorrow has consumed your joy?
How deep is your pain that you take a blade
To your own flesh?

G-d of Old,
We call out to You
From the depths of confusion and fear.
What balm will ease this distress?
What consolation will end this torment?
What blessing will guide them back to wholeness,
Back to self-respect,
Back to love?

G-d of renewal,
Bless those who harm themselves with a blade.
Grant them comfort and well-being,
Healing of mind,
Healing of body
And healing of spirit.
Teach them to see the world through Your eyes,
As a place of joy and adventure.
[And look with care on __________________________ (name),
Who also suffers at her/his own hand.]
Grant them all the ability to be gentle and forgiving on themselves.
Lead them to new ways of expression on the path to happiness and peace.

For those of you who cannot find relief,
We pray that that time will soon come.
You are a gift of G-d in the eyes of heaven,
In our eyes, too,
And in our hearts,
Which bleed with your skin,
And our love will not end.

Child of G-d,
Please do not cut yourself.
You are holy, a gift,
Unique in this world.

© 2015 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: The majority of the illustrations I found online for this prayer are remarkably disturbing. See also: “My Child’s Self-Inflicted Wounds” and other prayers for mental health, including “My Depression” and “Mental Illness.” They appear in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

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 Source: Self Harm Daily

Ekev: Come, Rain

Posted on: August 6th, 2015 by Alden

Kinneret Hike for HopeThe middle paragraph of the Shema comes from this week’s Torah portion, Ekev, which says that rain is a reward for our love and service to G-d. This meditation is on the blessing of rain. I wrote it on a sleepless night in a one-man tent during a rainstorm at a campground overlooking the Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee. This piece appears in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press. To listen while you read, click the triangle in the bar below.

 

Come, Rain
Come, rain,
Pour forth
Upon this barren land,
Upon this barren heart.
The earth is dry,
My chest is withered
And love has fled
For more fertile ground.

Come, rain,
Pour forth
With abandon,
Fill the air with moisture,
Feed the ground with promise,
Let living water
Soak through me,
A gift of heaven,
A gift of holiness,
A fountain of glory,
A well of healing,
A source of power,
Pounding through my thirsty veins.

© 2017 CCAR Press from This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day

Postscript: My other prayers about rain include “For Rain,” “The Flood” and “About the Rainbow.” This prayer first appeared on this site on March 15, 2015.

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. 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.

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

Va’etchanan: Affirmation of Faith

Posted on: July 29th, 2015 by Alden

Shema Shirt

This week’s Torah portion, Va’etchanan, includes both the 10 Commandments and the bold declaration of our belief in G-d, the sine qua non of Jewish affirmations, the Shema. [Deuteronomy 6:4] This prayer weaves two paragraphs about the love of God – and dedication to mitzvot – into the words of the Shema. This piece appears in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press.

Affirmation of Faith

Hear O Israel,

The covenant we made
Together on Sinai
Is a pledge for all time,
A vow for the ages,
To do and to listen
To teach and to learn
With the fullness of our hearts
From the depths of our souls
And the strength of our being
Binding ourselves to

Adonai Our G-d

With Torah and Mitzvot,
Binding our lives to each other
With righteousness and charity,
So that blessings will rain down from heaven
To feed our hearts and fill our land
With G-d’s abundant gifts,
The brilliance and wonder
That flow from service to G-d’s Holy Word,
In remembrance of creation
And our liberation from slavery,
Declaring throughout the generations:

G-d is One,

G-d is One,
G-d is One.

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָֽד׃‎

© 2017 CCAR Press from This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day

Postscript: This prayer was originally written for a conversion reaffirmation ceremony, which is discussed in the original post of December 10, 2013. Here’s a link to a meditation called “Doubt,” representing a radically different approach to finding faith.

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. 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.

Photo Credit: Hebrew TShirts

Devarim 5775: Teachers of Israel

Posted on: July 22nd, 2015 by Alden

480px-Rembrandt_-_Moses_with_the_Ten_Commandments_-_Google_Art_ProjectWe begin the final book of Torah this week with Parashat Devarim, detailing the last weeks in the life of Moses, in which he shifts from great leader to the first teacher of Torah. He becomes, in earnest, Moshe Rabeinu, Moses our teacher. This is a prayer for pure and humble hearts for today’s teachers of Torah.

Teachers of Israel
Teachers of Israel,
Keep your Torah humble
And your hearts pure.
Keep joy before your eyes
And gratitude before your heart.
Know this day that your wisdom
Is a gift from heaven.
Your knowledge is a tribute
To your Maker.
Then, your teaching will become
An offering of service
To the G-d of our people.

Teachers of Israel,
Keep your Torah pure
And your hearts humble.
Keep righteousness before your eyes
And understanding before your heart.
Teach in the fullness of joy.

To Praise, not to be praised.
To Bless, not to be blessed.
To Glorify, not to be glorified.
To Extol, not to be extolled.
To Sanctify, not to be sanctified.

So that your wisdom blesses the world,
Blesses the nations,
And blesses the people Israel.

© 2015 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Here are more prayers for Torah teachers and scholars: “Sages,” “To the Streets,” “For the Gift of Torah Scholarship” and “For the Joy of Learning.”

Tweetable! Here’a suggested tweet. If you like this prayer, please tweet this (including the link):
“Teachers of Israel, keep your Torah humble and your hearts pure…” A prayer for our teachers: https://tobendlight.com/?p=13215

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 Source: Wikimedia Commons/Google Art Project

Blood on Holy Ground

Posted on: July 14th, 2015 by Alden

Negev Sunset near YeruhamSpilling innocent blood defiles holy land. In this week’s double Torah reading, Matot-Masei, we read: “…for blood, it polluteth the land…” [Numbers 35:33] This is a new prayer for peace, expanding “innocent blood” to the idea that all of humanity is sacred and “ground” to the entire earth. Blood may not be spilled on holy ground. This piece appears in This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer from CCAR Press.

Blood on Holy Ground
We have all shed blood on holy ground.
Christians. Muslims. Jews.
We have all used anger, violence and hatred
To prosecute our cause.
Woe unto the land
That has soaked in so much blood.
Woe unto the generations
That has soaked in so much death.

We have all shed tears on holy ground.
Christians. Muslims. Jews.
We have all buried the lost
And dressed the wounds
Of those who prosecuted our cause.
Woe unto the generations
Who have tasted so many tears.
Let no one proclaim innocence.
Let no one proclaim justice.
Let no one proclaim G-d’s blessing.

We have all prayed for peace on holy ground.
Christians. Muslims. Jews.
Woe unto the land
That has waited for our words to become deeds.
Let these hopes become the work of our hands.
Let these blessings become the work of our hearts.
Let no blood be shed on holy ground.
Let all ground be holy.
And let peace spread to the four corners of the earth.

© 2021 CCAR Press from This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer

Postscript: My other prayers for peace include: “For the Return of Peace,” “For Peace in the Middle East,” “To Win the Peace,” “Children of Gaza, Children of Israel” and “When Peace Comes: A Meditation.”

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. 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.

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons

Pinchas: Mountain Prayer at Twilight

Posted on: July 7th, 2015 by Alden

Mountain SunThe death of Moses is foretold in this week’s parasha, Pinchas. When the time comes, Moses will ascend yet another mountain, see the land that he cannot enter and die. Unlike his visits up Sinai, when his physical vision is shrouded in the cloud of G-d, Moses will see the inheritance of the people Israel. I imagine a moment near dusk, as he continues to take in the beauty of the land, knowing that he will not see the new day. This prayer uses a time-honored tradition in Jewish liturgy, incorporating relevant quotes from Psalms. It also incorporates a quote from the Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech. Quotes are shown in italics, with references in (parenthesis).

Mountain Prayer at Twilight
This splendor,
This yearning of cliffs and crests,
This longing of ridges and heights,
The hint of eternity,
The poetry in rock,
Stretches from horizon to horizon,
Beyond the limits of this world.
Power. Thunder. Silence.

How glorious are the peaks at dusk?
How majestic at twilight?
The heights of the mountains are G-d’s. (Psalms 95:4)

I just want to do God’s will.
And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain.
And I’ve looked over.
And I’ve seen the Promised Land.
(Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.)

The mountains skipped like rams,
The hills like young sheep.
(Psalms 114:4)
This beauty,
This echo of infinity,
The music of transcendence,
The steadfast power,
Summons us home.
Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of G-d. (Psalms 114:7)

This twilight,
Let it be for shelter.
The coming daybreak,
Let it be for hope, for dedication, for renewal.
Let the mountains bear peace to the people,
And the hills, through righteousness.
(Psalms 72:3)

© 2015 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: My other prayers that use mountains as images include: “The Mountain of My Heart,” “The Soldiers on this Mountain,” “About Miracles,” “Summon My Heart” and “Come Walk.”

Tweetable! Please help share this prayer with this suggested tweet (including the link): “…the hint of eternity, the poetry in rock, stretches from horizon to horizon…” Mountain Prayer at Twilight: https://tobendlight.com/?p=13160

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 Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Digital Library

Balak: Your Dwelling Place

Posted on: June 28th, 2015 by Alden

Ma Tovu is one of my favorite prayers. The opening line comes from this week’s Torah portion, Balak. Balak hires Bil’am to curse the people Israel, but instead he blesses them. The blessing includes this line, which opens Ma Tovu: “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwellings, O Israel!” [Numbers 24:5] According to rabbinic interpretation, the ‘tents’ are ‘tents of Torah’ and the ‘dwellings’ are synagogues. This prayer turns the metaphor once again, stating that our lives can be the dwelling place of G-d’s glory when we do the work of love and charity. Two lines from Ma Tovu, traditionally said upon entering a synagogue, frame the second stanza.

Your Dwelling Place
When I pray,
When I quiet my mind and open my heart,
I become a priest/priestess
In the house of God.

G-d,
I love Your house,
Your habitation,
The dwelling place of Your glory.
Let me serve You with my hands,
With the toil of healing the world,
With the labor of kindness and compassion.
And I will become Your abode
Of love and charity,
Of thanksgiving and peace,
Doing Your will in joy,
Rejoicing in Your work.
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,
Thy dwellings, O Israel!

Let my life become a temple,
A sanctuary of praise and service,
And You will dwell
In me.

© 2015 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Some of my other prayers that borrow quotes directly from the liturgy include: “Come, Beloved,” “Sephardi Quarter Note,” “Gathering: A Dream of Reunion” and “Affirmation of Faith.”

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.

Chukat: Living Waters

Posted on: June 21st, 2015 by Alden

living waterIn Chukat, this week’s parasha, the prophet Miriam dies. After she’s buried, the scene abruptly shifts to the lack of water in the wilderness. We’re left wondering: How did the people mourn her loss? To get water, G-d tells Moses to gather the people and speak with a rock. Instead, Moses strikes the rock with his staff. Water pours out. Rabbi Sharyn Henry notes that Moses hasn’t yet mourned for Miriam. Striking the rock, she says, is his reaction to unexpressed grief. The water and his tears are the same. This prayer is based on Rabbi Henry’s midrash.

Living Waters
Let the well of living waters
Flow through me
From the Source,
From ancient pools
Of holiness and light,
Ancient pools that sustain the body
And soothe the heart.

My grief has turned
My heart to stone,
My sorrow and loneliness
Have hardened my veins.
Crack me open with Your divine rod.
Release my tears with your staff.
Let me know wholeness
And peace,
Once again.

© 2015 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: As a result of striking the rock, Moses is denied entry to the Promised Land. Rabbis have struggled with explaining why so small a sin would yield so major a punishment. One common explanation is that, with his act, Moses diminished a miracle of G-d. I propose taking Rabbi Henry’s midrash a step further to explain Moses’ punishment, as well. Moses has a direct and intimate relationship with G-d; we’re told that that relationship is unlike any that came before or will come after. Instead of turning to G-d for healing, Moses holds his grief inside and finally lashes out. He, of all people, should have known to turn to G-d. Perhaps his sin can be understood as withdrawing from G-d. For Moses, that would be quite a sin, indeed.

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 Source: Diodocs

Korach: For Political Leadership

Posted on: June 17th, 2015 by Alden

politics-word-cloudIn this week’s Torah portion Moses and Aaron face a rebellion. It fails and the perpetrators are punished. This is a prayer for wise and dedicated political leaders, asking that they have the imagination and strength to address the problems of our time. The prayer includes an option in [brackets] to identify particular issues and problems of interest to the person reciting the prayer.

ADDENDUM, June 11, 2018: This prayer seems more relevant to world leadership now than it did when I wrote it three years ago.

For Political Leadership
G-d of history,
We yearn for [new] leadership,
For men and women of inspiration and insight,
Visionaries to build nations and communities
In Your image,
Stewards dedicated to justice,
Unafraid to face the challenges of our day,
[In particular, the challenge(s) of
_________________________,]
So that our cities and countries resonate with
Compassion and health,
Justice and mercy,
Kindness and peace.

Bless our leaders
With dedication and foresight,
Fortitude and imagination
To solve the complex issues that threaten our future.
May they lead us to a time when neighbors embrace
And the communities thrive,
A time when liberty and equality
Reign supreme.

Source and Shelter,
Grant safety and security to all nations and communities,
So that truth and harmony will resound
From the four corners of the earth.
Let the light of wisdom
Shine brightly in the halls of power,
A beacon of hope
For every land and every people.

© 2015 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: In writing this piece, I avoided the use of the word statesmen,which brought a wave of criticism when I used it in the prayer For Wisdom During Democratic Elections.

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. 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.

Photo Source: Accede Holdings

Shelach Lecha 5775: Gathering, A Dream of Reunion

Posted on: June 9th, 2015 by Alden

tzitzit old shoe womanThis week’s Torah portion includes the commandment to wear tzitzit — fringes — on the corners of our garments (Numbers 15:37-41), which we fulfill with the tallit. The ritual use of the tallit includes gathering the four tzitzit just before saying the Shema, upon reciting this line: Bring us in peace from the four corners of the earth and lead us upright to our land… The act reflects our historic longing for reunification in our homeland. This meditation has dreamlike quality, beginning with the yearning for Israel that’s in each of us. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

 

Gathering: A Dream of Reunion
והביאנו לשלום מארבע כנפות הארץ
ותוליכנו קוממיות לארצנו

Bring us in peace from the four corners of the earth
And lead us upright to our land…

First Tzitzit – Gathering fringes
The first knotted string in hand,
I imagine the journey home,
Home to the land of our mothers and fathers,
Holy and full of promise, labor and love,
To build a life of wonder and awe.
This is me.
This is my pilgrimage to sacred soil.
This is my dream of holiness and redemption.
I am the first tzitzit.
I am returning home.

Second Tzitzit – Gathering hearts
The second fraying string in hand,
I imagine my children, my family, my household
Returning with me to our homeland
To build and to renew our ancestral blood.
This is my family.
This is our journey to hallowed ground.
This is our wholeness and rebirth.
We are the second tzitzit.
We are returning home.

Third Tzitzit – Gathering moments
The third worn string in hand,
I imagine you, my community, my kahal,
Returning together to our Source and Shelter,
To consecrate the ancient land and our holy vow.
This is my village.
This is our journey to mystery and majesty.
This is our bond of ages.
We are the third tzitzit.
We are returning home.

Final Tzitzit – Gathering millennia
The final woolen string in hand,
I imagine all of us, from all corners of the Earth,
Returning with songs of praise and rejoicing,
To claim our place among the nation of Israel.
This is my people.
This is our journey of destiny.
This is our covenant.
We are the final tzitzit, separate no more.
We are returning home.

© 2011 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: This remains my deepest yearning for all of the people Israel. We’ll each arrive when the time is right. Thanks to Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder for challenging me to think about how this meditation might be heard by those who are not considering aliyah. Click here for more prayers and meditations about Israel. Gathering: A Dream of Reunion first appeared on this site on December 30, 2011.

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. If you use or like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet. Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: Old Shoe Woman (On Flickr)

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