Posts Tagged ‘בשלח’

 

Crossing

Posted on: January 12th, 2022 by Alden

A prayer for Shabbat Beshalach in which we hear the Song of the Sea, sung after the just-freed Hebrew slaves, being pursued by armies, make it safely across the sea. This piece appears in my book This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer from CCAR Press.

Crossing
Every journey of liberation
Crosses the sea,
Pursued by a vicious past,
Surrounded by fragile miracles,
On a steady march
To an unknown destination.

Every journey of liberation
Begins at midnight,
In the darkest hour of oppression,
With the blood of a sacrifice,
With secret signs
And anxious anticipation.

Let us sing a song of salvation.
A song of absolution, benevolence, and compassion,
Of deliverance, freedom, and emancipation,
Of power, rescue, and release,
Of pardon, restoration, and reprieve,
Of the might and the mercy of our Maker,
Of God’s generosity and grace.

!מִי כָמֹכָה בָּאֵלִם, יי! מִי כָּמֹכָה נֶאְדָּר בַּקֹּדֶשׁ, נוֹרָא תְהִלֹּת עֹשֵׂה פֶלֶא
Mi chamochah ba-eilim, Adonai!
Mi kamochah, nedar bakodesh,
Nora t’hilot, oseih feleh!
Who is like You, O God, among the gods that are worshiped?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in splendor, working wonders?

Let every journey of liberation
End on the opposite shore,
Exhausted but jubilant,
On the edge of an undiscovered land,
With shouts of joy and delight,
When our struggle leads to redemption.

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

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Please check out my CCAR Press Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. The individual books are: This Joyous Soul , This Grateful Heart, and This Precious Life. 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: Hebrew Academy

Beshalach: Manna

Posted on: January 21st, 2018 by Alden

In Parashat Beshalach, G-d begins to provide manna for the Israelites wandering in the desert. If you look carefully, with your heart, with the eyes of your soul, you’ll see that manna never stopped flowing from heaven. Love is everywhere. Blessings abound. God’s gifts are yours.

Manna
Manna still flows from heaven,
Riding on beams of light,
Warmth and heat,
Awe and passion,
Wonder and glory,
Feeding this grateful heart.

Manna still flows from heaven,
Summoned with beams of prayer,
Mourning and jubilation,
Praise and thanksgiving,
Hope and yearning,
Praising G-d’s Holy Name.

Manna still flows from heaven,
To sustain this land,
To nourish this soul,
To enliven the days
And bless the nights
With bread of life
From the Soul of the Universe.

© 2018 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

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Postscript: See also “Recipe for a Life.”

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: Medical News Today

Beshalach: Miriam’s Word

Posted on: January 27th, 2015 by Alden

443px-Miriam,_the_golden_HaggadahImagine what happens the moment after Miriam and the women finish their dance. Elated and exhausted from celebration, her people having crossed the sea into safety by the power of G-d’s hand, what would a prophet do? Teach, of course. This new meditation is a contemporary midrash that imagines what Miriam tells the women of Israel when their dance ends. This piece appears in This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings from CCAR Press.

“Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women came out after her with timbrels and with dances.” – Exodus 15:20

Miriam’s Word
Listen sisters,
Always dance
In the direction of holiness.
Always sing
In the direction of heaven.

Our dance is a prayer,
Our song an offering
Of joy and love.

And you will feel
The glory of G-d’s presence
Pass through you.
You will feel
The breath of life
Surround you.
Together, we will become a hymn,
Praise that resounds throughout the earth,
Throughout the ages.
Women will dance this dance,
Sing this song,
Pray this prayer.

Come, Sisters,
Summon your joy,
Summon your voice,
Summon your heart,
Summon the generations
To this song,
To this dance.

All praise to G-d Most High,
Who leads us through moments
Of sorrow and pain,
Of hope and comfort,
Of celebration and victory,
Triumph and exultation.

Dance, sisters.
Dance.

© 2019 CCAR Press from This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings

Postscript: Here are two prayers for Jewish leadership: “Cornerstone” and “Messengers among Us.” Here are links to related prayers: “Dance Hallelujah,” which I posted for Beshalach 5773, as well as “Sing Hallelujah,” “For the Gift of Song,” “For the Gift of Dance” and “For the Gift of Music.” Please take a look at my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

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

Photo Source: Miriam, Golden Haggadah; WikiMedia Commons

Beshalach 5773: Dance Hallelujah

Posted on: January 24th, 2013 by tobendlight

Miriam Dancing, Tapestry, 32”x38”, Sold“Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women came out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam called out to them, ‘Sing to the Lord, for G-d is very exalted; horse and rider G-d cast into the sea.’ ” – Exodus 15:20-21

For Jews, dancing is an expression of our love for G-d, our joy in G-d’s love for us and in gratitude for G-d’s gifts. Dancing is in our DNA. It’s what we do. It’s what we have always done. It’s what we will continue to do. This prayer appears in This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings from CCAR Press.

Dance Hallelujah
Hallelujah
A dance of wonder,
A dance of joy and thanksgiving.
Arms raised, hands to the sky.
Feet solid, connected to earth.
A step, a bend, a twirl, a leap.
A breath of light,
A stream of color,
Spinning toward radiance and splendor.

Let my feet lead me toward Your holy realm.
Let my legs carry me toward Your divine word.
Let my arms lift praises toward Your marvelous works.
Let my body exclaim the power of Your awesome ways.

Hallelujah
A dance of light and love,
A dance of energy and endurance,
A dance of humility and grace.

G-d of Miriam,
Prophet who danced by the sea,
Teach me the dance of awe and mystery,
Of devotion and ecstasy,
Of passion and praise.
Teach me to dance my Hallelujah.
Teach me to live my Hallelujah.
A dance of radiance,
A dance of splendor,
A dance of peace.

© 2019 CCAR Press from This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings

Postscript: Here are links to related prayers: “Sing Hallelujah,” “For the Gift of Song,” “For the Gift of Dance” and “For the Gift of Music.” This prayer first appeared on this site on November 21, 2010.

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: Anna Kocherovsky Tapestry Studio

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