On Starting a New Job

First-Day-on-JobHere’s a prayer of thanks for beginning a new job. It is one of several prayers about employment and unemployment, including: “Upon Losing Employment,” “Upon Gaining Employment” and “On Professional Achievement.” Optional text is shown with [brackets] and word choices are separated with slashes (“/”). Parnasa is the Hebrew word for livelihood; it encompasses more than just a job, including the ability to provide a full life.

On Starting a New Job
G-d of sustenance,
Thank you for the gift of this job,
This opportunity for parnasa,
This opportunity be a productive
Contributor to the economy
[And renewed financial well-being].
May this new job be a source of blessings
For me [and my family].
Let this be the springboard to
[Professional / career / entrepreneurial / managerial] success.

Bless those still in need of employment.
Grant them income and livelihood
So that none suffer the lack of financial resources,
So that they know health and happiness,
Security and peace.

Source of goodness and life,
Grant me success on this new path
And prosperity in all my endeavors.
May this be an opportunity to learn and to grow,
In the joy of fruitful labor.

Blessed are You,
G-d of bounty and grace,
Who has seen me through my hour of need
And brought me the gift of work.

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

Postscript: Here’s a related social justice prayer “Against Worker Exploitation.”

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: Career Rocketeer

 

Tags: , , ,

“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