Tag Archive for "world" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘world’

For Three Leaders, For the World

Posted on: March 15th, 2022 by Alden

A new prayer for Ukraine and the world. The intention of this prayer is flexibility in use. The three middle stanzas can be removed from the prayer as the situation changes, or if a particular individual or congregation does not want to specifically name world leaders in prayer. It seems to me, however, that in this precarious moment prayers for key leaders are critical. They’re offered here as important, but optional as we all yearn for peace. Along with my “Hero of Ukraine,” this could be part of a multi-prayer liturgy for peace in the region and the world.

For Three Leaders, For the World
G-d of compassion,
Put an end to the war in Ukraine
And all wars throughout the world.
Look with favor on the refugees,
The homeless, the wounded,
The suffering, the starving,
And the newly bereaved.
Grant a perfect rest
Under Your canopy of peace
To those who have perished
At the ugly hand of war.
Extend Your canopy of peace
From the highest heavens
To this earth.

Bless Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
With continued strength and resolve
To defend his people against the onslaught,
Inspiring world sympathy and support.

Bless U.S. President Joe Biden
With wisdom and skill to face the challenge of history
As Europe prepares for a broader conflict
And fears world war.

Bless Russian President Vladimir Putin
With a change of mind,
A change of heart and soul,
To release the tools of war,
To pick up the tools of peace.

G-d of peace,
Release the citizens of Ukraine
From occupation and war.
Grant them resilience and vitality.
Give them comfort and hope.
End this violence and suffering.
For life renewed.
For healing and building.
For a better world.
“Let justice come in waves like water
And righteousness flow like a river” (Amos 5:24),
So that “nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).

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Postscript: See also: “Hero of Ukraine.”

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.

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Photo Source: News Sites

Shavua Tov Live! with Trisha, Devon and Alden

Posted on: March 21st, 2020 by Alden

This is your personal invitation to an online reading of prayer and poetry, with song and meditation, to uplift your week. Ritualwell is hosting a half-hour event featuring Devon Spier, Trisha Arlin and me on Sunday, March 22, at 1:00 p.m. eastern time on Zoom. Register in advance here. We’ll each read from our work. Devon will lead a chant and I’ll lead a Six-Word Prayer moment. Here’s a taste of the event. Remember to register.

Trisha Arlin’s “Instead of: A Prayer for Peace“

Blessed Yah, Creator, Created, Creating…
We pray for peace,
For ourselves and the world,
Even if only for one day:

Instead of anger, we choose kindness.
Instead of revenge, we choose justice.
Instead of resentment, we choose empathy.
Instead of work, we choose rest.
Instead of ideology, we choose compromise.
Instead of destruction, we choose community.
Instead of fear, we choose endurance.
Instead of invective, we choose prayer.
Instead of violence, we choose peace.

Blessed Yah, Creator, Created, Creating…
We give thanks for this day of peace.
May it change us, may it change the world,
And let us say, Amen.

Chant to be led by Devon Spier

From the head on my shoulders
To the soles of my shoes
Somebody someone comin’ through

From the soul ‘bove my shoulders
To the soles of my shoes
Somebody someone comin’ through

La da da da da da da da da!
Da da da da la la la la da da (x2)

לֹא בָאֵשׁ יְהוָה; וְאַחַר הָאֵשׁ, קוֹל דְּמָמָה דַקָּה
But Adonai was not in the fire
And after the fire a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12)

“Spiritual Vandals” by Alden Solovy
At the gates of an ancient city
A spiritual vandal cracked into my heart.
Stunned,
Expecting the blood of my grief and shame
To sizzle on the hot stone,
Ready to shout,
‘How dare you touch that sacred place,’
I saw a river of light flowing through me.
Starlight. Moonlight. Sunlight. Your light. My light.
Light from the moment of creation.
So much radiance and glory.
Suddenly on my knees,
My forehead on the pilgrim’s path,
I wept.

Now I wait at the gates
For you.
To invite you close,
To let me see the fissure in your heart
Ready to burst,
To touch it with love,
To crack you open
So that you can see the majesty and the beauty
That flows through us all.

Listen,
Dear sisters, dear brothers:
Do not fear the vandals who guard
The gates of mercy.
For mercy is love,
And love is light,
And light seeks light,
And these angels only want to show
That it’s been inside you
All along.

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Postscript: Remember to register in advance here. You’re also invited to join my Six-Word Prayer Facebook page, and my daily gratitude Facebook page called “Grateful Heart, Joyous Soul, Precious Life.” Thanks again to Ritualwell.

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and my two CCAR Press books: This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings 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. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

For Aleppo and Syria

Posted on: October 17th, 2016 by Alden

In a vicious and cruel civil war, Aleppo has become a symbol of suffering and brutality, along with thousands upon thousands of Syrian refugees. This prayer ends with the hope that a nation of justice and peace will spring forth from this tragedy.

ADDENDUM, April 4, 2017: This week, the people of Syria faced the worst chemical attack in years. As of April 7, after the U.S. bombing raid, I’ve added a reference to chemical attacks and Idlib Province to this prayer, where the attack took place.

For Aleppo and Syria
G-d of All,
Protector and Redeemer,
Watch over the people of Syria
As they endure a prolonged and brutal civil war.
May a world of justice, righteousness and mercy
Come decisively to their aid.
Grant physical and emotional safety to
Citizens and residents,
And all who dwell there,
During this time of struggle and strife.

Grant deliverance to the residents of Aleppo and Idlib Province,
The children and the beleaguered,
Battered,
Torn apart by unrelenting bombardment,
And chemical attacks,
Surrounded by violence,
Enduring as food and electricity run low.
Let relief reach them quickly.
Bless all of the Syrian refugees
With safety and security.

End this campaign of terror
And set the people of Syria on the course
To a peaceful and prosperous future.
Grant them new leaders with courage and wisdom,
Rebuilding the land,
Creating a haven of justice and freedom for all.

Source and Shelter,
Grant peace to all nations,
So that truth and harmony resound
From the four corners of the earth.

Blessed are You, G-d of All,
Forging nations and peoples
In the crucible of history.

Postscript: Please take a moment to read “For Peace in the Middle East” and “Israel: A Meditation.” This prayer is a revision and expansion of a prayer “For Syria” that first appeared here on July 8, 2012.

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: BBC/Reuters

For Syria

Posted on: July 8th, 2012 by tobendlight

This is a prayer for the people of Syria. According to CNN, “…more than 10,000 people have been killed since the Syrian crisis began in March 2011. What started as peaceful protests against the regime spiraled into a bloody government crackdown and armed uprising…”

This prayer is based on a prayer “For Libya,” which is based on a prayer “For Egypt.”

For Syria
G-d of All,
Protector and Redeemer,
Watch over the people of Syria
As they face war, revolt, violence and unrest.
Grant physical and emotional safety to
Citizens and residents,
And all who dwell there,
During this time of struggle and strife.
May a world of justice, righteousness and mercy
Come swiftly to their aid.
Grant wisdom and courage to its leaders
So that they end their campaign of terror
And begin the journey toward a peaceful and prosperous future.
Lead them on the path of justice.
Direct them on the road to freedom.
Make them a shining light of peace.

Source and Shelter,
Grant safety and security to all nations,
So that truth and harmony resound
From the four corners of the earth.
May this time of struggle and challenge for Syria
Become a blessing for its inhabitants
And for the world.

Blessed are You, G-d of All,
Forging nations and peoples
In the crucible of change
Throughout history.

Postscript: This was adapted from “For Libya,” which was based on a prayer “For Egypt.” Please take a moment to read “For Peace in the Middle East” and “Israel: A Meditation.”

If you like this prayer, post a link to your Facebook page, your blog or as part of a tweet. And don’t forget to click “like” on this page. Thanks. Please subscribe. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!”

Be’chol Lashon (In Every Tongue)

Posted on: October 26th, 2011 by tobendlight

This prayer celebrates diversity in Jewish life. It honors the work of Be’chol Lashon (In Every Tongue) by envisioning a time when we look beyond our differences – gender, skin color, age, sexuality, conversion, observance – to see one House of Israel in service to G-d, our people, and tikkun olam. I wrote it at the suggestion of Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder, Be’chol Lashon’s rabbi-in-residence. The organization used it at their family camp and posted it to their website. It appears in This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer from CCAR Press.

Be’chol Lashon (In Every Tongue)
We sing praises
Be’chol lashon,
In every tongue, in every voice,
In joy and sadness,
With music and with love.

We seek truth
Be’chol lashon,
In every tongue, with every breath,
In study and prayer,
With faith and with purpose.

We pursue justice
Be’chol lashon,
In every tongue, in every land,
In word and deed,
With strength and with courage.

We study Torah
Be’chol lashon,
In every tongue, in every generation,
In wonder and awe,
With zest and with zeal.

We are one people,
Present on Sinai,
Where G-d spoke Be’chol lashon,
In every tongue,
To every soul,
To every heart,
The whole House of Israel.

Postscript: Thanks again to Rabbi Ruth for suggesting this prayer and for her earlier invitation for me to write “A Liturgy for 9-11.”

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

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

Photo Source: Be’chol Lashon (In Every Tongue)

For Libya

Posted on: September 1st, 2011 by tobendlight

This is a prayer for the people of Libya so that the Arab Spring will herald a new era of safety and prosperity for all people, peace and stability for all nations. Can you image a synagogue reopened there? To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below (website only). The text follows.

For Libya
G-d of All,
Protector and Redeemer,
Watch over the people of Libya
As they face war, revolt, violence and unrest.
Grant physical and emotional safety to
Citizens and residents, visitors and guests,
During this time of struggle and strife.
Grant wisdom and courage to its new leaders,
And insight to its advisors,
So that they forge a peaceful and prosperous future.
Lead them on a path toward justice.
Direct them on the road to freedom.
Make them a shining light of peace.

Source and Shelter,
Grant safety and security to all nations,
So that truth and harmony resound
From the four corners of the earth.
May this time of challenge for Libya
Become a blessing for its inhabitants
And for the world.

Blessed are You, G-d of All,
Forging nations and peoples
In the crucible of change
Throughout history.

Postscript: This was adapted for Libya from a prayer “For Egypt.” Please take a moment to read “For Peace in the Middle East” and “Israel: A Meditation.” Thanks to my friends Ros Roucher and Rabbi Paul Kipnes, Congregation Or Ami, Calabasas, Calif., for their comments on a draft of this prayer.

If you like this prayer, post a link to your Facebook page, to your blog or as part of a tweet. And don’t forget to click “like” on this page. Thanks.

Please subscribe. For reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” in the right hand column.

Posts Tagged ‘world’

For Three Leaders, For the World

Shavua Tov Live! with Trisha, Devon and Alden

For Aleppo and Syria

For Syria

Be’chol Lashon (In Every Tongue)

For Libya

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