Tag Archive for "mother"

Posts Tagged ‘mother’

Vayishlach 5775: Family Healing

Posted on: November 30th, 2014 by Alden

In this week’s Torah portion, Jacob attempts to reconcile with his brother. This is a prayer for healing family wounds. Much as Jacob prepared to encounter Esau, this is a prayer for the spiritual willingness to heal. Choices to tailor the prayer to particular family situations are in [brackets]; use these choices or your own language. This prayer appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Family Healing
G-d of Old,
Our family has been fractured,
Torn apart by _________________ [anger, violence, death, alcoholism, suicide, disease, mental illness, neglect, abuse, abandonment, finances],
Old wounds that have steeped into our bones and our blood,
Our thoughts and our words.
Release me from my anger and my guilt,
So I may see my kin with new eyes –
Their losses and fears,
Their pain and shame –
And therefore find a source of
Forgiveness and renewed love.

Well of Blessings,
Lead us to new vision and new wisdom,
The place where love rests safely in our hearts
And peace waits quietly in our hands.

G-d of Generations,
Grant healing to my family, speedily,
So that we may rejoice together in Your gifts,
With joy and thanksgiving.

Postscript: Here’s the prayer I posted for Vayishlach 5773, “The Descent,” a prayer about wrestling with angels. My prayer “For Family” includes a similar message to this prayer, but more softly stated. Here are prayers of family praise: “For the Patriarch,” “For the Matriarch,” “For Our Sisters,” “For Our Brothers” and “For the Family Historian.” This prayer first appeared on this site on November 8, 2012.

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 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: Pinterest, Family Constellations

Mother’s Meditation

Posted on: January 27th, 2013 by tobendlight

This prayer is to be said by mothers with children who have begun their independent lives. It’s the companion piece to “Father’s Meditation.” The two prayers follow the same overall structure and rhythm.

This prayer, along with “Father’s Meditation,” will appear in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Mother’s Meditation
Gracious and Compassionate One,
Father of the Universe,
Mother of Life,
Fountain and Well,
Hear this prayer:

My children are Yours,
To guide and protect with Your open hand,
To nurture and care with Your wisdom,
To hold and heal with Your loving ways.
Grant them vitality and fortitude
As they build lives of their own.
Fill their days with friendship and hope,
Joy and kindness,
Thanksgiving and peace.
Shield them from pain and strife.
Grant them years of prosperity and serenity,
Gratitude and faith,
Awe and wonder.
May they enjoy the fruits of Your creation
In service to Torah and our People Israel.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
G-d of our ancestors,
G-d of generations.

Postscript: Here’s a parent’s prayer for when for when “My Child Leaves Home.” Click here for more prayers about family.

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 Credit: Body+Soul

Father’s Meditation, Revised

Posted on: January 20th, 2013 by tobendlight

This prayer is to be said by fathers with children who have begun their independent lives. It’s a revision to a prayer of the same name. Today I wrote the companion piece, called “Mother’s Meditation.” The two prayers follow the same overall structure and rhythm. As I wrote the new meditation, it seemed clear that some of the new phraseology in “Mother’s Meditation” belonged in this prayer and that some of the phraseology in the original version of this piece belonged in the other prayer. Both prayers appear in Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Father’s Meditation
Gracious and Compassionate One,
Mother of the Universe,
Father of Life,
Source and Shelter,
Hear this prayer:

My children are Yours,
To guide and protect with Your strong hand,
To nurture and care with Your outstretched arm,
To hold and heal with Your righteous ways.
Grant them vitality and fortitude
As they build lives of their own.
Fill their days with meaning and purpose,
Joy and adventure,
Thanksgiving and peace.
Ease their burdens and relieve their struggles.
Grant them years of prosperity and serenity,
Wisdom and courage,
Gratitude and wonder.
May they enjoy the fruits of Your creation
In service to Torah and our People Israel.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
G-d of our ancestors,
G-d of generations.

Postscript: Here’s a parent’s prayer for when for when “My Child Leaves Home.” Click here for more prayers about family.

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: fcaministers.com

Family Healing

Posted on: November 8th, 2012 by tobendlight

This is a prayer for healing family wounds. Choices to tailor the prayer to particular situations are in [brackets]. Use this or other language to describe your family circumstances. My prayer “For Family” includes a similar message, more softly stated. This prayer appear in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Well of Blessings,
Lead us to new vision and new wisdom,
The place where love rests safely in our hearts
And peace waits quietly in our hands.

G-d of Generations,
Grant healing to my family, speedily,
So that we may rejoice together in Your gifts,
With joy and thanksgiving.

Postscript: Here are prayers of family praise: “For the Patriarch,” “For the Matriarch,” “For Our Sisters,” “For Our Brothers” and “For the Family Historian.”

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new
prayers, please subscribe. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.

For Family

Posted on: July 6th, 2011 by tobendlight

This prayer is about remembering the love of family and the desire to heal the wounds that can come between us. A quick note about the structure: There are several choices, identified in [brackets], so that readers can tailor the prayer to their families. Gender selections are noted with a slash, such as “brother / sister” or “son / daughter.” Also see a related prayer called “Family Healing.” Both prayers appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For Family
G-d of generations,
Source of hope,
Flame of forgiveness,
Bless our family with kindness and respect,
Compassion and grace,
And the wisdom to heal the wounds of time.
Make me a brother/sister to my [brother(s) and sister(s)][siblings],
A son/daughter to my [father and mother][parents][step-mother][step-father],
A father/mother to my [son(s)][daughter(s)] and
A friend to my friends.
Give me the understanding and willingness
To be present in their moments of joy and grief,
Just as I pray that they will be present for mine.
Help me to forgive their weaknesses,
Just as I pray that they will forgive mine.
[For those who have harmed me, let me hold no anger or malice.]
May our bond [remain][become] powerful and sustaining
And our kinship a rock of support and strength.
Let love echo through my words
And dedication shine through my deeds.
Let my life become a testimony to the longings and aspirations
Of our ancestors.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
With love you gave us the gift of each other.

Postscript: Other prayers about family include: “Family Healing,” “For the Patriarch,” “For the Matriarch,” “For Our Sisters,” “For Our Brothers” and “For the Family Historian.”

A Prayer for Mom

Posted on: May 4th, 2011 by tobendlight

Here’s a prayer to honor Mom. “For the Matriarch” is from a series of prayers celebrating family, including “For the Patriarch,” “For Our Brothers,” “For Our Sisters”and “For the Family Historian.” Each opens with the tone of psalm and ends with a blessing. They all appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For the Matriarch
For our matriarch,
A song of strength and hope.

Guardian of generations,
Keeper of traditions,
Hand of guidance and love,
We are blessed by your wisdom and purpose,
Your work to bind us to our heritage,
Your dedication to peace in our homes
And joy in our lives.
You remind us to open our hearts to our brothers and sisters,
Fathers and mothers,
Daughters and sons.
You remind us to honor and cherish cousins of cousins of cousins,
And to live together, in harmony,
By G-d’s holy word.

G-d of motherly wisdom and grace,
Bless our family with health
And our matriarch with vision, endurance and hope.
May her devotion inspire us to live by our highest ideals,
Guided by Torah.
Bless our lives with laughter
And our days with purpose,
So that we bring radiance and splendor to our family
And to the world.

Blessed are You, G-d of our mothers,
Who provides just and righteous women
In every generation.

Postscript: The photo is my mom. She was an actress. I welcome ideas for more topics in this series of family prayers. Others include: “For the Patriarch,” “For Our Brothers,” “For Our Sisters”and “For the Family Historian.” This prayer was first posted on May 9, 2010.

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.

Photo Source: Mom

For A Critically Ill Mother

Posted on: January 10th, 2011 by tobendlight

Last night friends asked me for a prayer for their ill mother. I wrote it this morning. This prayer will appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

For A Critically-Ill Mother
Holy One,
G-d of health and healing,
My mother’s body is failing.
Illness holds her.
Grief and fear hold me.

Ancient One,
Well of hope,
Grant my mother
A quick and complete recovery.
Relieve her suffering.
Remove her pain.
Return her to health.
Restore her to life.

Rock of my heart,
Comfort and shelter,
You know the path ahead.
You know the journey.
You hear our prayers.
G-d who healed Miriam in the desert,
Bring Your healing power to
_______________ (mother’s name in Hebrew or your native tongue)
So that she may know life and health,
Joy and peace.

Blessed are You,
Adonai our G-d,
Creator of motherly wisdom and grace,
Rock of life,
Source of love.

Postscript: Here’s another prayer for our mothers, “For the Matriarch.” And prayers for healing: “For a Critically Ill Child,” “For a Critically Ill Father,” “For a Critically Ill Sister or Brother,” “For Surgery,” “Upon Recovery from Surgery” and “For Healing the Spirit.” Please share the healing: post a link to one of these healing prayers to your Facebook page or to your blog. Email a link to a friend in need.

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.

For the Family Historian

Posted on: October 14th, 2010 by tobendlight

This is a prayer for the one who holds the flame of family history. I wrote it in honor of our family historian, Irwin Keller. Irwin posted this prayer on a Jewish genealogy website and it was subsequently published in the spring 2010 edition of Morasha, the newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois. It’s part of my series of prayers for family, including “For the Patriarch,” “For the Matriarch,” “For Our Brothers” and “For Our Sisters.”

Please listen along as you read. (Click on the triangle in the slider bar below. The entire text follows.)

For the Family Historian
For the family historian,
A song of thanksgiving.

Guardian of the family tree,
Keeper of our history,
We are blessed with your love and devotion,
Your tireless efforts to know our heritage,
Your work to keep us united,
Your joy in rediscovering brothers and sisters
Once separated, apart no more.
Your work reminds us to love and cherish the living,
To honor and praise the dead,
To embrace the lost,
To welcome each other home.

G-d of mystery and wonder,
Bless our family with strength and peace,
Wholeness and love,
Health and prosperity.
May sons and daughters find joy under the chupah.
May our parents be given long lives and easy deaths.
Bless us with children, grandchildren and great grandchildren,
So that the generations expand,
A wondrous celebration of Your gifts.

Blessed are You, G-d of our mothers and fathers,
Who delights in family wholeness and love.

Postscript: Other prayers for family members include: “For the Patriarch,” “For the Matriarch,” “For Our Brothers” and “For Our Sisters.”

Please use these prayers. See “Share the Prayer!” in the right hand column.

For notices of new prayers posted here, please subscribe. To read four to six mini-prayers each week, as well as notices of new prayers posted to the site, please join the To Bend Light fan page on Facebook.

Posts Tagged ‘mother’

Vayishlach 5775: Family Healing

Mother’s Meditation

Father’s Meditation, Revised

Family Healing

For Family

A Prayer for Mom

For A Critically Ill Mother

For the Family Historian

“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

Your contribution helps support the creation of new prayers available to all on this site.