Tag Archive for "Book of Numbers prayer"

Two Prayers for Matot-Masei 5777

Posted on: July 19th, 2017 by Alden

Here are two prayers for this week’s double Torah reading: Matot-Masei. Matot stresses the sacredness of vows to God. They’re serious, solemn and binding. “Vows” portrays love as a scared oath. In Masei we read: “…for blood, it polluteth the land…” (Numbers 35:33). Blood may not be spilled on holy ground. “Blood on Holy Ground,” a prayer for peace, expands the definitions of “innocent blood” to all of humanity and “ground” to the entire earth.

Vows
What vow can I make before You
God of the ages?
What vow can I make before You
My people?
Empty words sting the heart.
Empty promises rend the soul.

This is my pledge:
To love with all of my being,
To the best of my ability,
Even when love seems to have departed.
Yes, some days I will love
More deeply, more fully,
You, my God,
And you, good people.
Some days I will struggle
Even to love myself.
Yet here is my vow,
Simple and pure,
To remember that love surrounds us.
Not to give up
On love,
On loving,
On the love that flows from You,
On the love that surrounds us all.

Blood on Holy Ground
We have all shed blood on holy ground.
Christians. Muslims. Jews.
We have all used anger, violence and hatred
To prosecute our cause.
Woe unto the land
That has soaked in so much blood.
Woe unto the generations
That has soaked in so much death.

We have all shed tears on holy ground.
Christians. Muslims. Jews.
We have all buried the lost
And dressed the wounds
Of those who prosecuted our cause.
Woe unto the generations
Who have tasted so many tears.
Let no one proclaim innocence.
Let no one proclaim justice.
Let no one proclaim God’s blessing.

We have all prayed for peace on holy ground.
Christians. Muslims. Jews.
Woe unto the land
That has waited for our words to become deeds.
Let these hopes become the work of our hands.
Let these blessings become the work of our hearts.
Let no blood be shed on holy ground.
Let all ground be holy.
And let peace spread to the four corners of the earth.

Postscript: My other prayers for peace include: “For Peace in the Middle East,” “To Win the Peace,” “Children of Gaza, Children of Israel” and “When Peace Comes: A Meditation.” “Blood on Holy Ground” first appeared on this site on July 14, 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.

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Naso 5775: Place Your Name upon Us

Posted on: May 26th, 2015 by Alden

This week’s parasha includes the Priestly Blessing, three lines of remarkable beauty and power. The line immediately after – a line that gets precious little attention in the classic Torah commentaries, like Hertz and Stone – appears to give us an important clue to how the blessing works. “So shall they put My Name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:27) Inspired by that verse, this meditation includes one stanza for each of the Kabbalistic sefirot. To make this meditation accessible to all, the ninth stanza provides the option shown in [brackets] to use either “Torah” or “Your word.”

Place Your Name upon Us
Place your name upon us
G-d of grace,
So that we may bring peace and love
Into the world.

Place your name upon us
G-d of justice,
So that we may bring awe and discipline
Into the world.

Place your name upon us
G-d of beauty,
So that we may bring harmony and compassion
Into the world.

Place your name upon us
G-d of eternity,
So that we may bring strength and endurance
Into the world.

Place your name upon us
G-d of splendor,
So that we may bring humility and wonder
Into the world.

Place your name upon us
G-d the foundation,
So that we may bring healing and bonding
Into the world.

Place your name upon us
G-d of sovereignty,
So that we may bring nobility and majesty
Into the world.

Place your name upon us
G-d of understanding,
So that we may bring mystery and creation
Into the world.

Place your name upon us
G-d of wisdom,
So that we may bring righteousness and [Torah / Your word]
Into the world.

Place your name upon us
G-d the One,
So that we may return to You
Our Source, the Crown, our destination.

Postscript: Even Rashi’s commentary on the line is remarkably terse. See also “Your Name, Quick Prayer at Dusk,” which I posted for Emor 5775 and Va’eira 5773.

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Posts Tagged ‘Book of Numbers prayer’

Two Prayers for Matot-Masei 5777

Naso 5775: Place Your Name upon Us

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