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Archive for the ‘Hopes’ Category

Rise on Wings: A Prayer of Borrowing

Posted on: October 11th, 2015 by Alden

Your prayer lifts mine. My prayer lifts yours. But what happens when there’s no “lift” left in my own prayer? Does my prayer weigh your prayer down? Does my prayer become a burden? Not if you lend me your prayer with mercy and love. This piece appears in This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer from CCAR Press.

Rise on Wings: A Prayer of Borrowing
Let my soul rise
On the wings of your prayer.
My heart, heavy.
My voice, tired.
My strength, fleeting.
My breath, shallow.
My sight, obscured.

Your voice dazzles,
Filling the space with radiance and majesty.
A sacred melody.
A call of the ages.
An echo of eternity.
A pulse of holiness.
A harmony of light.

Let my yearning ascend
On the rhythm of your song.
Let my hope soar
On the music of your words.
Lend me your courage and your thunder.
And when we reach the gates of heaven,
I will be witness to your mercy and love.

Postscript: Prayers about prayer is a recurring theme in my work, including: “Invitations,” “Prayers of My Heart,” “Whispered Prayer,” “Prayer for You, Prayer for Me” and “Prayer with Wings.”

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

Congregational Prayer at the High Holidays

Posted on: September 13th, 2015 by Alden

A new prayer for 5776. A leader of one of my synagogues in Israel asked me to write a community prayer. The request comes at a time when we face difficult challenges and losses. Here are two versions, short and long, posted for Kehillat Yedidya. Both adaptable for use by any congregation. Use the blank line to add the name of your synagogue. Word choices are separated with a slash (“/”).

Congregational Prayer at the High Holidays (Short Version)
G-d of Old,
Bless our holy congregation,
Kehillat Yedidya [use your synagogue’s name _______________ ],
During these days of awe and forgiveness.
We are Your servants,
Lovers of Torah,
Beautiful in our imperfection,
Doing Your will when joy surrounds us,
Doing Your will, even yet, when our hearts are broken.

G-d whose name is Mercy,
Our lives are in Your hands.
You number our days.
Grant our [synagogue/shul/kehilla/temple]
Steadfast compassion and enduring devotion.
Let us celebrate together with fullness of heart.
Let us mourn together under a tent of comfort and care.
Let us serve you from generation to generation,
A light of Your Holy Word.

Congregational Prayer at the High Holidays (Full Version)
G-d of Old,
Bless our holy congregation,
Kehillat Yedidya [use your synagogue’s name _______________ ],
During these days of awe,
These days of judgment,
These days of forgiveness.
We are Your servants,
Men, women and children,
Old and young,
Lovers of Torah,
The strong and the infirm,
Teachers and students,
Lovers of Your way,
Beautiful in our imperfection,
Doing Your will when joy surrounds us,
Doing Your will, even yet, when our hearts are broken.

G-d whose name is Mercy,
G-d whose name is Truth,
Our lives are in Your hands.
Our time is fleeting.
You number our days.
Grant our [synagogue/shul/kehilla/temple] steadfast compassion,
Enduring devotion,
Strength, wisdom and kindness.
Let us celebrate together with fullness of heart.
Let us mourn together under a tent of comfort and care.
Let us serve you from generation to generation,
A light of hope,
A light of love,
A light of Your Holy Word.

Postscript: Wishing all of my friends around the world — and all of the wonderful synagogues I attend in Israel and the U.S. — a joyous and healthy year. Here’s a link to an annotated list of all of my High Holiday prayers.

Tweetable! Click here to tweet this: “Bless our holy congregation during these days of awe…” A new High Holiday prayer by @ToBendLight https://tobendlight.com/?p=13529

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

Quick Prayers

Posted on: September 8th, 2015 by Alden

“Quick Prayers” provide handy, fast, easy-to-recite prayers for specific circumstances. Here’s an annotated list of my “Quick Prayers.” Click on the title to read the full prayer. They are:

“Quick Prayer on Waking” – For a gentle day
“Quick Meditation for Today”- To be a source of blessings
“Quick Meditation at Noon” – To make the day great
“Your Name: Quick Prayer at Dusk” – To remember G-d
“Quick Meditation at Night” – A prayer of gratitude
“Quick Prayer for Sleep” – For a night of rest and renewal
“Bird Song at Midnight” – On restless nights
“Quick Prayer at a Turning Point” – For guidance
“Quick Prayer for Healing” – For all in need
“Quick Prayer for My Healing” – For my healing
“Quick Prayer for Healing (Specific)” – Naming one in need
“Quick Prayer of Gratitude” – Thanks for G-d’s gifts
“Quick Prayer of Joy”- For joy and delight
“Quick Blessing for a Friend’s Departure” – Blessings on the way
“Quick Prayer for Compassion” – To act with compassion
“Quick Blessing For a Past Love” – For someone special

Six of these prayers — including “Quick Blessing For a Past Love” and “Quick Prayer for Healing” — appear in Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing, which you can order here.

Tweetable! Click here to tweet this: 16 useful “Quick Prayers,” Easy-to-recite prayers for specific moments from @ToBendLight https://tobendlight.com/?p=13099

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

Ki Tavo: Be the Blessing

Posted on: September 2nd, 2015 by Alden

This week’s parasha, Ki Tavo, lists blessings and curses. “All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you harken to the voice of Adonai your God.” (Deut. 28:2) Blessings come from accepting God’s law; curses come from rejecting it. “…if you do not harken to the voice of Adonai your God… then all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.” (Deut. 28:15) This prayer centers on the idea that we are the tools of both.

Be the Blessing
To be a blessing, to be a curse.
To speak with kindness, to speak in anger.
To act with compassion, to act with cruelty.
With a loving heart or with threatening hands.
To build. To destroy.
To lift up. To tear apart.
Mindful or thoughtless.
Careful or careless.
Openhanded. Closefisted.
Honest. Corrupt.
To strive for holiness, or to abandon God’s word.

To be a blessing, to be a curse.
You gave us this choice, God of generations.
To bless ourselves, to curse ourselves.
To bless each other, to curse each other.

Let blessings pour forth from my life.
Let blessings rain down from heaven.
God’s blessings will fill our days.
God’s blessings will surround us all.

Be the blessing.
Be the blessing.
Be the blessing.

Postscript: See also “An Amazing Life,” “A Moment of Blessing,” “Receiving Blessings,” “Umbrella of Blessings” and “Garden of Blessings.”

Photo Source: Russham: Faith, Inspiration and Challenging Thoughts

Ekev: Come, Rain

Posted on: August 6th, 2015 by Alden

The middle paragraph of the Shema comes from this week’s Torah portion, Ekev, which says that rain is a reward for our love and service to G-d. This meditation is on the blessing of rain. I wrote it on a sleepless night in a one-man tent during a rainstorm at a campground overlooking the Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee. This piece appears in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press. To listen while you read, click the triangle in the bar below.

Come, Rain
Come, rain,
Pour forth
Upon this barren land,
Upon this barren heart.
The earth is dry,
My chest is withered
And love has fled
For more fertile ground.

Come, rain,
Pour forth
With abandon,
Fill the air with moisture,
Feed the ground with promise,
Let living water
Soak through me,
A gift of heaven,
A gift of holiness,
A fountain of glory,
A well of healing,
A source of power,
Pounding through my thirsty veins.

Postscript: My other prayers about rain include “For Rain,” “The Flood” and “About the Rainbow.” This prayer first appeared on this site on March 15, 2015.

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: Alden Solovy

Two Prayers by Teens

Posted on: August 4th, 2015 by Alden

Here are two prayers written at two different sessions of my teen writing workshop. We used the same process, but the conversations about prayer were much different. So were the results. Yesterday at NewCAJE6, I led an intensive teacher training called “Pray in Our Own Words: Generating Excitement for Prayer,” which included teaching the technique I use with teens to write a common prayer.

For a Better World
Acknowledge us, O God,
So we may know wisdom, strength, justice and kindness;
So we will witness the miracle of life, love and peace;
So that the doors of understanding open for us and for our children.
As we learn to fulfill our duties to you Adonai,
Rekindle the light of mitzvot
And protect us all.

‘Wowl-ing’ to God
God is the original superhero.
You are awesome, the deliverer of truth and faith.
You give us creativity, which is the opportunity to make all that is good and evil.
We thank, praise and sanctify your knowledge, light and change, forever.
Thank you for giving us all choices.
Thank you for the unique universe.
Help us long for the life, ability, soul, body and love
That makes our destiny beautiful and, most of all, ours.
Sanctity humus, the moon, the sun, and light.
Praise beauty, awe and wide double rainbows.
All love trees.
Let us ‘Wowl’ at the moon and rejoice in Your Awesomeness.

Postscript: If you’re interested in learning more about my workshops for adults and teens, please drop me an email at alden@tobendlight.com. ‘Wowl’ is a word the teens coined by combining the words ‘wow’ – as in ‘praise G-d’ – and ‘howl, as in howling at the moon. It means: ‘howling with spiritual intent to celebrate the beauty G-d put in this world.’

Tweetable! Here’a suggested tweet. Please tweet it (with link): Two awesome prayers written by teens at @tobendlight workshops:

Photo Source: Living a Life of Writing

Bird Song at Midnight

Posted on: July 26th, 2015 by Alden

This is a prayer for comfort on restless nights. It’s my fourth using birds as the central metaphor. See also: “Bird is Bird,” “First Bird” and “Soarbird.” Click on the video to hear students from HUC-JIR in New York recite it. The text follows. This meditation appears in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press.

Bird Song at Midnight
Sometimes a bird will sing at midnight.
Perhaps restless, perhaps confused,
Perhaps so full of joy and love
That music bursts forth.

Fill me with song on sleepless nights.
Fill me with music in the lonely deep.
Let the promise of a new day
Bring comfort and consolation.

Postscript: Thanks to CCAR Press and HUC-JIR for creating this lovely video. See also: “Bird is Bird,” “First Bird” and “Soarbird.”

Video Source: CCAR Press

Devarim 5775: Teachers of Israel

Posted on: July 22nd, 2015 by Alden

We begin the final book of Torah this week with Parashat Devarim, detailing the last weeks in the life of Moses, in which he shifts from great leader to the first teacher of Torah. He becomes, in earnest, Moshe Rabeinu, Moses our teacher. This is a prayer for pure and humble hearts for today’s teachers of Torah.

Teachers of Israel
Teachers of Israel,
Keep your Torah humble
And your hearts pure.
Keep joy before your eyes
And gratitude before your heart.
Know this day that your wisdom
Is a gift from heaven.
Your knowledge is a tribute
To your Maker.
Then, your teaching will become
An offering of service
To the G-d of our people.

Teachers of Israel,
Keep your Torah pure
And your hearts humble.
Keep righteousness before your eyes
And understanding before your heart.
Teach in the fullness of joy.

To Praise, not to be praised.
To Bless, not to be blessed.
To Glorify, not to be glorified.
To Extol, not to be extolled.
To Sanctify, not to be sanctified.

So that your wisdom blesses the world,
Blesses the nations,
And blesses the people Israel.

Postscript: Here are more prayers for Torah teachers and scholars: “Sages,” “To the Streets,” “For the Gift of Torah Scholarship” and “For the Joy of Learning.”

Tweetable! Here’a suggested tweet. If you like this prayer, please tweet this (including the link):
“Teachers of Israel, keep your Torah humble and your hearts pure…” A prayer for our teachers: https://tobendlight.com/?p=13215

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons/Google Art Project

Quick Prayer for Compassion

Posted on: July 19th, 2015 by Alden

Here’s another in my “Quick Prayer” series, short prayers focused on a particular topic. The last line includes a choice to use either Hebrew or English for the concept of repairing the world, with the choice separated by a slash (“/”). Here’s another prayer “For Compassion.”

Quick Prayer for Compassion
G-d of mercy,
You endowed us with sympathy and compassion,
Giving us moments of rejoicing
And moments of sorrow.
Help me to turn them both into blessings.
Let me remember the joys,
So that I bring them into the world as hope.
Let me remember the pain,
So that I bring it into the world as healing.

Blessed are You, G-d of love,
Let Your gifts fill our days,
Let Your wisdom fills our hearts,
In service to tikkun olam / repairing the world.

Postscript: This prayer can also be used during Elul and during the Counting of the Omer. For a related but harder-edged prayer, see “Witnessing: A Meditation.”

Tweetable! Here’a suggested tweet. Please tweet it (with link): Lovely “Quick Prayer for Compassion” by @tobendlight at: https://tobendlight.com/?p=13322

Photo Source: A Yoga Life

Balak: Your Dwelling Place

Posted on: June 28th, 2015 by Alden

Ma Tovu is one of my favorite prayers. The opening line comes from this week’s Torah portion, Balak. Balak hires Bil’am to curse the people Israel, but instead he blesses them. The blessing includes this line, which opens Ma Tovu: “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwellings, O Israel!” [Numbers 24:5] According to rabbinic interpretation, the ‘tents’ are ‘tents of Torah’ and the ‘dwellings’ are synagogues. This prayer turns the metaphor once again, stating that our lives can be the dwelling place of G-d’s glory when we do the work of love and charity. Two lines from Ma Tovu, traditionally said upon entering a synagogue, frame the second stanza.

Your Dwelling Place
When I pray,
When I quiet my mind and open my heart,
I become a priest/priestess
In the house of God.

G-d,
I love Your house,
Your habitation,
The dwelling place of Your glory.
Let me serve You with my hands,
With the toil of healing the world,
With the labor of kindness and compassion.
And I will become Your abode
Of love and charity,
Of thanksgiving and peace,
Doing Your will in joy,
Rejoicing in Your work.
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,
Thy dwellings, O Israel!

Let my life become a temple,
A sanctuary of praise and service,
And You will dwell
In me.

Postscript: Some of my other prayers that borrow quotes directly from the liturgy include: “Come, Beloved,” “Sephardi Quarter Note,” “Gathering: A Dream of Reunion” and “Affirmation of Faith.”

Archive for the ‘Hopes’ Category

Rise on Wings: A Prayer of Borrowing

Congregational Prayer at the High Holidays

Quick Prayers

Ki Tavo: Be the Blessing

Ekev: Come, Rain

Two Prayers by Teens

Bird Song at Midnight

Devarim 5775: Teachers of Israel

Quick Prayer for Compassion

Balak: Your Dwelling Place

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