Tag Archive for "שבועות"

Posts Tagged ‘שבועות’

Hallel in Peril

Posted on: August 14th, 2023 by Alden

As we approach Rosh Chodesh Kislev, Monday evening and Tuesday, how can we recite Hallel — joyous psalms of praise — in fear for the State of Israel and in anguish for the hostages? How can we recite the traditional psalms of praise in these difficult times? The answer: “Hallel in a Minor Key” with music by Sue Radner Horowitz. This full alternative Hallel with sheet music is available free as a PDF download here as our gift. Click on the triangle in the bar below to hear Sue sing the music. The text follows, beneath the download link. For a deeper discussion of how we created the liturgy, click here for article on the CCAR’s RavBlog. (Updated 12 November 2023.)

Hallel in a Minor Key

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Hallel in a Minor Key
Praise God from the heights of rejoicing.
Praise God from the depths of despair.
Praise God from the places between.

Praise God when plague stalks our days.
Praise God when fear stalks our nights.
Praise God when the darkness descends.

We sing praises in a minor key,
The key of heartbreak,
With tropes of lamentation,
But still praises,
For beauty has not been lost
And hope has not been defeated,
And love still shines,
A beacon of tomorrow.

הַ֥לְלוּיָהּ הַ֭לְלוּ עַבְדֵ֣י יהוה הַֽ֝לְל֗וּ אֶת־שֵׁ֥ם יהוה׃
Hal’luyah hal’lu avdei Adonai, hal’lu et shem Adonai.
Hallelujah. O servants of Adonai give praise; praise the name of Adonai. (Psalm 113:1)

Praise God from joy and blessing.
Praise God from sorrow and pain.
Praise God from the places between.

Praise God when God feels distant.
Praise God when God feels absent.
Praise God when darkness descends.

____________________

Postscript: It was a thrill to work with Sue on this project. Check out her music here. Thanks to my publisher, CCAR Press, for creating the PDF and debuting it on RavBlog, as well as the many individuals who were part of this project. Portions of “Hallel in a Minor Key” were first presented during a Ritualwell online event, “Refuah Shleimah: A Healing Ritual Marking a Year of Pandemic,” and portions were shared in a breakout session at the 2021 Annual CCAR Convention held online. Thanks to both CCAR Press and Ritualwell for sharing the full liturgy. Individual thank yous are shown on the PDF.

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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. 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.

Hallel in a Minor Key

Posted on: March 25th, 2021 by Alden

This Hallel is for singing praises in times of struggle or sorrow. “Hallel in a Minor Key” is the name of both the liturgy and the opening song, music by Sue Radner Horowitz. The liturgy — a full alternative Hallel, including Hebrew from each of the Hallel Psalms — is available as a PDF download here, including the sheet music. Listen to the song by clicking on the triangle in the bar below. Follow along with the words, beneath the download link. For a deeper discussion of the development of this liturgy, click here to read an article on the CCAR’s RavBlog.

Hallel in a Minor Key

1 file(s) 253.37 KB

Download

Hallel in a Minor Key
Praise God from the heights of rejoicing.
Praise God from the depths of despair.
Praise God from the places between.

Praise God when plague stalks our days.
Praise God when fear stalks our nights.
Praise God when the darkness descends.

Praise God from joy and blessing.
Praise God from sorrow and pain.
Praise God from the places between.

Praise God when God feels distant.
Praise God when God feels absent.
Praise God when darkness descends.

____________________

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

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.

Guest Writer: Yoni Hammer-Kossoy

Posted on: May 16th, 2018 by Alden

A Shavuot prayer-poem by my kehilla friend Yoni Hammer-Kossoy. His poetry recently appeared or is forthcoming in Forage Poetry, Dime Show Review, the Sunlight Press and the American Journal of Poetry. Yoni is a featured contributor to Songs of Eretz Poetry. Born and raised in the US, he’s lived in Israel with his family for the last 20 years.

Standing at Sinai
We are standing at Sinai and the Torah is given in a heartbeat,
standing and the Torah is still being given

unfolding across time and generations.
We are standing and the others are in shadow,

those who came before and those who will someday come after,
but we feel them as a tree’s deepest roots

seek hidden pools of water,
as a tree feels in every bud the flower and fruit that must follow.

We feel them standing with us in every echo of their names
feel them say amen to what is, has been, and will be.

We feel them standing in every silent question and answer
posed and offered in family pictures

just as some future version of you or me
will feel you standing and hear your echo.

We are standing because that is the gift we are given,
and is the gift we have to give. We are standing at Sinai,

standing in the desert cold
and the heavens fill with sun like a breath overflowing and true,

the kind of breath you take to sing or shout or run for joy
because you can. We are standing in the lush summer heat,

nothing more or less than a regular morning
when a crow calls light, light, light

and the world keeps spinning.
We are standing, we are standing.

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Postscript: Find Yoni on Facebook and Twitter.

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: Shalom Hammer-Kossoy

Avraham, Waiting (Spoken Word Version)

Posted on: June 19th, 2016 by Alden

This is half prayer prayer, half Torah drash written as spoken word poetry. In Tanach, ‘hineni’ — ‘here I am’ — is a response to a direct call from G-d. The drash is the more obvious: ‘hineni’ is the spiritual practice of being ready to hear G-d’s voice and being prepared to answer. The prayer is the undercurrent: a desired to hear G-d’s call. I’ve also written a more traditional version of this piece. To listen, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Avraham, Waiting (Spoken Word Version)
The first ‘Hineni’
Was silent.
It was not a declaration.
Not an announcement.
Not a summons to G-d.
No “Yo G-d, look at me.”
No “Hey G-d, see me.”
No “Check me out, G-d,
Here I Am.”
No.
The first hineni was silent.
It happened before the word was spoken.

Heineni is opening heart.
Heineni is clearing mind.
Heineni is simple readiness.
Wait. Breathe. Surrender.
Hineni.

Heineni is the act of preparing
For G-d to call your name.
Wait. Breathe. Surrender.
Hineni.

And when you hear the call, declare:
“Amen to my prayer.”
“Hallelujah. G-d has called my name.”
“Sheheciayanu v’kiyimanu vihigiyanu lazman hazeh,”
For this moment is unlike any other in the history of the world,
G-d has summoned me.”
Hineni.

Yes, G-d, here I am.
I’ve been waiting.
I’ve been hoping.
I’ve been dreaming.

When Avraham Aveienu said
‘Heineini’ with his lips,
He’d already said it with his heart,
He’d already said it with his soul,
He’d already said it with his might.

Hinei. Ani.
Hinei. Ani.
Hineni.

Postscript: I read this piece recently at a spoken word Tikkun Leil Shavuot in Jerusalem: “Shavuot Meets Sermon Slam,” a slammin’ tikkun for the sake of Torah. The audio is from one of my rehearsals. My more traditional pieces for Shavuot can be found by clicking here.

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Shavuot Prayers and Stories

Posted on: June 2nd, 2011 by tobendlight

Prayers and stories for Shavuot. To read them, click on the name of the prayer.

Learning and Loving Torah

“For the Gift of Torah Scholarship” – Giving thanks for Torah scholars
“Let Torah” – Torah is waiting for you to live it
“For the Joy of Learning” – Giving thanks for the joy of learning
“Meditation for a Child’s First Torah Reading” – On hearing a child read Torah for the first time

Holiness and Our Relationship with G-d

“G-d’s Voice” – G-d arrives in thunder
“G-d on Tiptoes” – G-d arrives in silence
“Let Holiness” – To embody holiness
“For a New Vision” – To see the world through G-d’s eyes
“To Hear Your Voice” – To hear G-d’s voice

Short stories about the love of Torah

“Motyl the Fool” – Dancing with the Torah
“Hershal Dovid” – The joy of reading Torah
“Obediah” – The sofer’s son writes a Torah

And a prayer about Counting the Omer: “The Season of Counting.”

During the seven weeks from Passover to Shavuot, the period from the exodus to revelation on Sinai, Jews count the days and the weeks. And so we remember the journey from the depths of slavery to the heights of G-d’s Holy Presence. According to mystical practice, each week has a theme (and each day a sub-theme) that leads us to revelation. Here are links to prayers and meditations for each week of Counting the Omer:

Week One: Chesed (Lovingkindness, Love, Benevolence)
Week Two: Gevurah (Discipline, Justice, Restraint, Awe)
Week Three: Tiferet (Beauty, Harmony, Compassion, Truth)
Week Four: Netzach (Eternity, Endurance, Fortitude, Ambition)
Week Five: Hod (Humility, Splendor)
Week Six: Yesod (Foundation, Bonding)
Week Seven: Malchut – Nobility, Sovereignty, Leadership)

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: Congregation Or Chadash

Posts Tagged ‘שבועות’

Hallel in Peril

Hallel in a Minor Key

Hallel in a Minor Key

Hallel in a Minor Key

Guest Writer: Yoni Hammer-Kossoy

Avraham, Waiting (Spoken Word Version)

Shavuot Prayers and Stories

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