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Archive for the ‘Gratitude’ Category

Gratitude for Work

Posted on: March 5th, 2017 by Alden

This is a simple prayer of gratitude for having a job. It can be easy to take for granted at times, especially with a challenging job or a difficult boss. This prayer appears in the Labor Day section of This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day, along with a social justice prayer “Against Worker Exploitation.” Optional language appears in [brackets].

Gratitude for Work
God on high,
I’m grateful for the opportunity to work,
To contribute,
To provide for my well-being
[And the well-being of my family].
Let me use this gift for good,
In service to others
And Your holy name.

Remember the poor and the homeless,
The needy and the unemployed,
So that they find dignity and fulfillment
In the works of their hands
And the works of their minds.
Rescue them from the shadow of fear.
Bless all who are jobless with a livelihood
So that they know health and happiness,
Security and peace.

Source of goodness and life,
Grant me success and prosperity in all my endeavors.
Grant me the ongoing joy of fruitful labor.

Postscript: See also the social justice prayers “Against Worker Exploitation” and “Against Poverty.”

Please check out my Meet the Author video and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and 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: Career Rocketeer

On Handing Down an Heirloom Tallit at a Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Posted on: March 27th, 2016 by Alden

This idea for this prayer was suggested by a member of Rodef Shalom Congregation, Pittsburgh, whom I met while serving as their 5776 Yom Kippur Scholar. The idea resonated for me because I have three heirloom tallitot that I plan to pass along, when the time is right. Places for personalizing the prayer are shown with blank lines, followed by [instructions in brackets]. Other word choices are identified with a slash (“/”). This piece appears in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press.

On Handing Down an Heirloom Tallit at a Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Dear __________ [add name],
At this moment of your bar/bat mitzvah
I/we bequeath this tallit to you as a symbol of my/our pride in you
And in the hope that it will keep you connected to our history and our heritage.
This tallit was _________ [add background of the tallit].

May this moment be the beginning of a miraculous journey.
May this tallit become a cherished symbol of your Jewish life.
My prayer is that each time you put it on
You remember our family’s devotion to you,
That you remember this special moment,
And you remember the Jewish call to heal the world.
May it be God’s will that one day
You pass this tallit to the next generation, in love.

G-d of our fathers and mother,
Bless my/our _______ [identify the relationship; such as: daughter, grandson, niece]
With health and prosperity,
Wisdom and happiness,
A life of blessings and peace.
How splendid is this moment!
How amazing in beauty, trust and joy!
My heart is full.

ברוך אתה ה’ אלקינו מלך העולם
.שהחינו וקימנו והגיענו לזמן הזה
Baruch ata adonai elohenu melech ha olam,
shehecheyanu, v’kiyimanu, v’higiyanu laz’man hazeh.
Blessed are You Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe
Who has given us life, sustained us, and allowed us to reach this day.

Postscript: Related prayers include: “Meditation on a Child’s First Torah Reading,” “Bind and Wrap,” “Light of G-d” and “Gathering, A Dream of Reunion.” And this is a related story called “Hershal Dovid: A Torah Reading Story.”

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: Learn Hebrew Pod

Prayer with Wings

Posted on: March 20th, 2016 by Alden

This is another prayer of yearning, yearning for the impossible, to know that my prayers have been heard. This is an important theme in my writing. Other prayers with similar intentions include “Rise on Wings: A Prayer of Borrowing” and “Prayer Released.”

Prayer with Wings
Just once, Holy One,
Just once before I die
Let me feel my prayers with my entire being,
The radiance and the glory of my heart
Rising to meet You,
My soul reaching toward the unreachable,
My eyes blazing toward the unseeable,
My mind open to the unknowable,
My blood flowing gracefully through Your river of light.
Let me become a prayer with wings,
Gliding on the currents of faith,
Soaring into beams from heaven
Bursting forth from the moment of creation.

Just once, Holy One,
Just once before I die
Let my prayers enter the gates of heaven,
To plead for peace
And to sing Your praise.

Postscript: Here are several more prayers about prayer: “Invitations,” “Prayers of My Heart,” “Whispered Prayer,” “Prayer for You, Prayer for Me,” “For Prayer” and “To Pray.”

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: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Digital Library

In Gratitude for Your Gifts

Posted on: January 10th, 2016 by Alden

This prayer of gratitude is one of my few attempts at an English alphabetic acrostic. Here, the acrostic is in second word of the first two sets of indented lines, and the first word of the third set. Many Psalms are Hebrew acrostics, such as Psalm 145, the core of the Ashrei. Many classic piyyutim also incorporate acrostics. A sample of the poetic structures of famous piyyutim can be found on Wikipedia.

In Gratitude for Your Gifts
Guardian of my life.
Guide of my spirit:

In Awe we seek You,
With Blessings we reach You,
In Communion we call to You,
With Devotion we come to You.
With Enthusiasm we turn to You,
In Faith we trust in You,
With Gratitude we look to You,
In Humility we yearn for You,
With Inspiration we return to You,
In Joy we praise You.

Source of all being,
Light of the earth:

In Kindness You heal us,
In Love You sustain us,
In Mercy You forgive us,
With Nobility you bless us,
With Openness You hear us,
With Peace you comfort us.
In Quiet we hear You,
With Radiance You bestow divine gifts,
With Splendor You renew the world,
In Trust You’ve given us free will.

Soul of the universe,
Grant us:

Understanding to follow Your word,
Vigor to live by Your law,
Wisdom to follow Your path,
Yearning to study Torah,
Zeal for justice and peace.

Postscript: The original version of my prayer “Elijah” is an acrostic, although when I revised and expanded the prayer, I chose to forgo the acrostic. I haven’t experimented with much with this form. Dealing with several letters – in particular, ‘x’ – is a challenge. In this prayer, I’ve chosen to avoid the issue by leaving it out.

Photo Source: Judaism.com

Quick Blessing for a Past Love

Posted on: December 30th, 2015 by Alden

In my single life, before and after my marriage to Ami z”l, I’ve been blessed with the company of women who’ve loved deeply, women who have been sources of strength and inspiration. Sometimes I wonder how they’re doing, if they’re happy and contented, and I send a brief blessing out into the world. This blessing for a past love appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Quick Blessing for a Past Love
Light from my past,
You were once the joy of my present
And the hope of our future.
I remember you with affection
And pray that you have found
Joy and contentment,
Prosperity and peace.
Your loving heart and your gentle hand
Remain a source of quiet warmth
Even as the rhythm of our lives
Move in separate directions.
May you dwell in the tent of health and happiness
Secure in a life of friendship and love
Rejoicing in a life of awe and wonder.

Postscript: There are eight prayers of love and friendship in my book Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing which can be ordered here. This is one of 16 “Quick Prayers.” Click here for the full list.

Tweetable! Click here to tweet this: Pray for someone who you once loved: “Quick Prayer for a Past Love” http://bit.ly/1Vp3x6u New from @ToBendLight

Photo Source: QuotesGram

Cornerstone

Posted on: November 8th, 2015 by Alden

This prayer honors the pioneers and advocates for women in Jewish religious life and communal leadership. The idea came to me one Rosh Chodesh morning at the Kotel while singing Hallel in support of women’s rights at the Kotel. As we sang these words from Psalm 118 – “The stone the builders rejected is become the chief corner-stone” – I thought: “Sisters, you are the stone that the builders rejected. And you’ve become the cornerstone of our future.” This piece appears in This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer from CCAR Press.

Cornerstone
Build a house of glory to G-d,
Build a house of praise to our Maker:
A house of prayer,
A house of song,
A house of Torah,
A house of truth.

Sisters of Israel,
How wondrous that your voices resound in our tents,
That your insights echo in our streets,
That your prayers have become our song.
The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
The heart the builders rejected has become the fountainhead.
The service the builders rejected has become the foundation.
The wisdom the builders rejected has become the teaching.

G-d of our ancestors,
Bless the women who lead our people,
Rabbis and cantors, educators and activists,
Philanthropists and organizers, scholars and researchers,
Expanding our understanding and love of Torah.
Bless the work of their hands and the work of their hearts.
Rejoice and be glad.
Let the struggle continue
Until no one questions your birthright,
Until no one denies your place,
When the Kotel is redeemed
And the agunah is freed,
For your light will free us all.

All Your works praise You,
Adonai our G-d,
And the righteous bless Your Name.

Postscript: In Psalm 118, ‘the builders’ refer to two non-Jewish B.C.E. sources declaring that Israel has been destroyed. Here ‘the builders’ takes on a different meaning, referring to any Jewish authority or individual that oppresses women. Here’s a link to a related prayer called “Messengers among Us,” which asks if we’d recognize G-d’s messengers if they “…were women in talitot and t’fillin, winging freely, full voiced, Shema Yisroel…” See also “Jew against Jew,” a prayer to end sinat chinam written after experiencing hatred expressed toward women at the Kotel.

Tweetable! Click here to tweet this: “Sisters of Israel, how wondrous that your Torah resounds…” Prayer for women rabbis and leaders by @ToBendLight. http://bit.ly/1PvQqig

Photo Source: Gems in Israel

Pinchas: Mountain Prayer at Twilight

Posted on: July 7th, 2015 by Alden

The death of Moses is foretold in this week’s parasha, Pinchas. When the time comes, Moses will ascend yet another mountain, see the land that he cannot enter and die. Unlike his visits up Sinai, when his physical vision is shrouded in the cloud of G-d, Moses will see the inheritance of the people Israel. I imagine a moment near dusk, as he continues to take in the beauty of the land, knowing that he will not see the new day. This prayer uses a time-honored tradition in Jewish liturgy, incorporating relevant quotes from Psalms. It also incorporates a quote from the Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech. Quotes are shown in italics, with references in (parenthesis).

Mountain Prayer at Twilight
This splendor,
This yearning of cliffs and crests,
This longing of ridges and heights,
The hint of eternity,
The poetry in rock,
Stretches from horizon to horizon,
Beyond the limits of this world.
Power. Thunder. Silence.

How glorious are the peaks at dusk?
How majestic at twilight?
The heights of the mountains are G-d’s. (Psalms 95:4)

I just want to do God’s will.
And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain.
And I’ve looked over.
And I’ve seen the Promised Land. (Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.)

The mountains skipped like rams,
The hills like young sheep. (Psalms 114:4)
This beauty,
This echo of infinity,
The music of transcendence,
The steadfast power,
Summons us home.
Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of G-d. (Psalms 114:7)

This twilight,
Let it be for shelter.
The coming daybreak,
Let it be for hope, for dedication, for renewal.
Let the mountains bear peace to the people,
And the hills, through righteousness. (Psalms 72:3)

Postscript: My other prayers that use mountains as images include: “The Mountain of My Heart,” “The Soldiers on this Mountain,” “About Miracles,” “Summon My Heart” and “Come Walk.”

Tweetable! Please help share this prayer with this suggested tweet (including the link): “…the hint of eternity, the poetry in rock, stretches from horizon to horizon…” Mountain Prayer at Twilight: https://tobendlight.com/?p=13160

Photo Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Digital Library

The Gifts of Our Lives

Posted on: April 4th, 2015 by Alden

This new prayer of gratitude includes an alphabetical acrostic. Acrostics were a mainstay of Jewish liturgical poems, known as piyutim. This piece combines the acrostic with a four-part structure that repeats in each of the internal stanzas, using the metaphor of G-d as “well,” “source,” “foundation” and “crown.” In an early draft of a prayer called Elijah, I spelled his name with the initial letters in each of the opening lines, but later revised the piece to broaden its scope, losing the acrostic.

The Gifts of Our Lives
With gratitude and appreciation
We give thanks for the gifts
Which flow into our lives day-by-day.
A river of divine blessing.

For You are the well of Abundance,
The source of Beauty,
The foundation of Courage
And the crown of Dreams.

You are the well of Energy,
The source of Faith,
The foundation of Grace
And the crown of Hope.

You are the well of Insight,
The source of Justice,
The foundation of Kindness
And the crown of Love

You are the well of Mercy,
The source of Nourishment,
The foundation of Our Lives
And the crown of Peace.

You are the well of Quiet,
The source of Righteousness,
The foundation of Strength
And the crown of Truth.

For You are the well of Understanding,
The source of Vitality,
The foundation of Wonder
And the crown of Years.

With gratitude and appreciation
We give thanks for the gifts
Which flow into our lives day-by-day.
A river of divine blessing.

Postscript: Note that this acrostic is incomplete, it that I did not create lines for the letters ‘q’ and ‘z.’ My other prayers of gratitude include several favorites: “Fresh Delights,” “Now,” “One Gift,” “Unseen Lands” and “Sacred Cargo.”

Photo Source: Heaven Now

Vayakhel-Pekudei: For the Gift of Art

Posted on: March 10th, 2015 by Alden

In this week’s double torah portion, Vayakhel-Pekudei, the master artist Bezalel is named to direct the creation of the tabernacle, all of its symbols and tools, as well as the vestments of the priests. From Impressionism to Dada, from sculpture to photography, from Michelangelo to Chagall to Hokusai, the visual arts are amazing. Here’s another prayer celebrating creativity. It follows the same structure as the others in this series, which is explained in the introduction to “For the Gift of Song.”

For the Gift of Art
G-d, we give thanks for the gift of art,
For pencil and paint,
For glass and fabric,
For metal and stone,
For the gift that sees wisdom and beauty hidden in Your works,
For the skill and love that creates and crafts,
Releasing divine radiance for others to see.
Hear this prayer for those who fashion art
Revealing the secret glories of Your creation.
Make their works Your vessel.
Let heaven pour its vision through them
So that they overflow with Your light
Drawing others to Your glory.
So that when we see their works,
Our souls turn back to You in appreciation.
Together, we offer our gratitude back to heaven,
And rejoice.

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Postscript: Be sure to check out the other prayers in this series: “For the Gift of Song,” “For the Gift of Words,” “For the Gift of Dance,” “For the Gift of Music,” “For the Gift of Laughter,” “For the Gift of Torah Scholarship” and “For the Joy of Learning.” This prayer first appeared on this site on July 2, 2010; this version has slight modifications.

Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons, ‘Windows Open Simultaneously (First Part, Third Motif)’ by Robert Delaunay

On Starting a New Job

Posted on: March 1st, 2015 by Alden

Here’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.

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