Tag Archive for "grief" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘grief’

Against Human Trafficking

Posted on: January 6th, 2011 by tobendlight

Human trafficking is a crime against humanity that still flourishes. This prayer uses the broadest definition of human trafficking: illegal trade of humans for sexual exploitation, forced labor or modern-day slavery. The sex trade is the key driver of trafficking. This prayer is appropriate for the Passover Seder and appears in my book, Haggadah Companion: Meditations and Readings. To listen, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Addendum, October 14, 2015: The FBI announced that 149 underage trafficking victims were recovered and 153 pimps were arrested in a nationwide human trafficking operation conducted throughout the United States last week. Here’s a link to the FBI press release. Here are eight facts about the sex trade.

Against Human Trafficking
G-d of the prisoner,
G-d of the slave and the captive,
The voice of suffering echoes across the land.
Lonely weeping in a night that never ends.
Our brothers
Are sold like coal
To be burned and discarded,
Traded like empty boxcars,
To haul unbearable loads of
Cruelty and degradation.
Our sisters
Are kidnapped and conned,
Used like empty vessels,
Their bodies abused and violated,
Their hearts and souls assaulted.

Source of comfort,
Rock of love and truth,
You call upon us to stand
In the name of justice and freedom:
To witness against human life
Treated as chattel,
To fight those who
Trade human beings as property,
To muster our power and energy
Against this force of evil.

Bless those who dedicate their lives to human rescue.
Grant them the fortitude to battle in the name
Of the unknown, the unseen,
Those who have been forgotten.
May the work of their hands never falter
Nor despair deter them from their holy calling.

Bless those in human bondage with hope and courage.
Grant them the strength and fortitude
To face the shames and tyrannies forced upon them.
Hasten their release.
Grant them lives of health and prosperity,
Joy and peace.

Blessed are You, G-d of All Being,
Who summons us to liberate the oppressed.

Postscript: Other prayers in this series include “Against Poverty” and “Against Tyranny.” In January, 2011, this prayer was used by the ATZUM Task Force on Human Trafficking http://www.tfht.org/. TFHT was headed to Israel to lobby for criminalizing the act of buying sex. The demand for paid sex fuels the crime of human trafficking. As part of the mission send off, Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor of Congregation Da’at Elohim in New York City read it at Friday night services. Peggy Sakow and other members of the Temple Emanu-El Beth Sholom, Montreal, Committee Against Human Trafficking and Interfaith Coalition were profoundly generous in their guidance and support of crafting this prayer. Three other social justice prayers appear in Haggadah Companion: Meditations and Readings, including “Against Poverty.”

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Photo Source: Children and the Law Blog of the Southwest Juvenile Defender Center

Shame

Posted on: October 18th, 2010 by tobendlight

Can shame be a blessing? Can shame be blessed? This prayer is part of a series of prayers about difficult emotions, including “Doubt,” “Fear” and “Anger.” Listen while you read by clicking on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Shame
G-d of my heart,
Source of my spirit,
I’ve been swallowed by a dirge
And elevated by songs of celebration.
I’ve judged myself harshly
And given myself grace.
I’ve climbed to see the glorious sunset
And have laid low, shivering against a pounding storm.

I live between moments of joyous surrender
And times of lonely isolation,
Between calm and storm,
Between shame and wonder.

Shame is a mirror.
Shame is a doorway.
Shame is a guide.

Holy One,
G-d of mysteries beyond my understanding,
Help me to see my shames as teachers and guides,
As reminders of my sacred humanity,
Leading me to a vision of my best self.
Let shame be the gateway to truth
So that I may release it without fear,
In awe and righteousness.

Blessed are You, Redeemer of the lost,
Who created shame so that we might discover the path to wisdom.

Postscript: Here are prayers about “Doubt,” “Fear” and “Anger.”

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My Battle

Posted on: October 12th, 2010 by tobendlight

This meditation out came of my work as part of the ManKind Project. It’s a prayer/poem for men about reclaiming the sacred masculine, that deep well of strength, pride and energy in all men that our culture teaches us to suppress. The third stanza suggests naming your Higher Power. Several suggestions appear in [brackets]. Feel free to choose one of the suggestions, use a name for G-d that’s not shown here or to skip the line entirely.

Please listen along as you read. (Click on the triangle in the slider bar below. The entire text follows.)

My Battle
Today I go into battle.
It’s the battle for my heart.
Who am I before G-d?
Who am I before humanity?
Who’s that man in the mirror?
He’s not an opponent,
He’s my challenger.
He’s not a judge,
He’s my guide.
He’s not a boy,
He’s a man.

Today I go into battle,
It’s the battle for my soul.
What is my life?
What is my purpose?
Who will I be, today?
What choices will I make?
To hide from fear or face it?
To bury my shame or embrace it?
To deny my anger or use its power to build and create?
To deny my grief or use its power to heal and bless?

Today I go into battle,
I do not go alone.
I take my brothers as my companions,
The patriarchs as my guides,
And the [Fear of Isaac][the Rock of Jacob]
[the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob]
[Father Sky][the Ancient Spirit]
As my Source and Shelter.
I take honesty as my sword
And truth as my shield.
I take love as my creed
And integrity as my code.
Mystery and wonder will open the gates of tomorrow.

Today I go into battle.
It’s the battle for my life.

Postscript: Check out these prayers for men: “My Work Remains,” “For the Lost” and “My Heart Knows What It Needs,” as well as a list of other prayers for and about men.

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For the Bereaved

Posted on: July 18th, 2010 by tobendlight

.ברוך דין האמת

A prayer of mourning for all who are bereaved, it can be used for a Yartziet, Yizkor or during a period of mourning. It is also part of my liturgy for Yom HaShoah. Please see “For Bereaved Children” for a prayer for children facing loss. Both prayers appears in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. To listen while you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For the Bereaved
Rock of Jacob,
Comfort of Rachel,
Broken and torn,
Shattered and crushed,
Bereaved and bereft,
We declare Your Holy Name.

We praise Your gifts and Your works.
You are Author and Artist,
Architect and Builder,
Source and Redeemer.

We the mourners of Zion and Israel
Comfort each other.
We console the lonely and embrace the lost.
We cry each other’s tears.
Together we recall Your wonder and Your majesty.

Holy One,
Ineffable Redeemer,
Guiding Hand,
Gentle Hand,
Loving Hand,
Light of Israel,
Guardian of Israel.

Postscript: Here are links to “For Bereaved Children” and “After Shiva.”

Photo Credit: Cultura Hebraica

This Stubborn Heart

Posted on: July 13th, 2010 by tobendlight

This is a prayer for a new heart, for healing from within. It can be used as a meditation before the High Holidays. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The entire text follows.

This Stubborn Heart
This heart refuses to heal.
The pain must stay fresh,
The wound must stay open.
How else will I remember
The shattered love,
The scattered dreams?

No more!
I reject this heart that scorns
The balm of time,
The salve of companions,
The grace of music,
The power of the open sky.

Let joy and humor
Fill my chest with passion
For every moment,
Every person,
Every longing,
And every desire.
Let it pump sweetness
From ventricle to ventricle
And into my empty veins.

Cut out this stubborn heart.
Replace it with a clean organ,
Fresh with romance and blood.

Postscript: Here are links to prayers for Elul, prayers for Rosh Hashana, prayers for Yom Kippur and prayers for Sukkot.

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Life as a Symphony

Posted on: July 5th, 2010 by tobendlight

Compassion gains an element of nobility when developed as a spiritual practice. This prayer is about living a reverent and compassionate life. It’s from a set of prayers including “Life as a Garden,” “Life as a Banquet” and “Life as a Ceremony.” Each calls for the introspection to see life as a glorious gift. They appear in Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. To listen while you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Life as a Symphony
G-d of ancient secrets,
Source of life,
Creator of beauty,
Divine light of sacred truth,
My strength has its limits,
My power its purpose,
The energy of life flowing from a secret well beyond my reach
And beyond my imagination.
What I find and what finds me are a mystery and a miracle.

Heavenly hand of radiance and hope,
Author of all being,
Grant me the wisdom and understanding to live my life as a symphony,
A river of majestic music that blesses and sustains life
With holiness and love,
That I repay with kindness and charity.
Give me the passion and the patience to hear the rhythms of Your glorious creation.

You who bring beauty and song,
Guide me with Your power,
Teach me with Your kindness,
Show me the reverence for Your secret truths,
So that I live a life of joy and celebration,
With gratitude for Your creation.

Blessed are You, G-d of salvation and splendor,
Creation sings Your praise.

Postscript: I use this prayer for the 21th day of counting the Omer: “Nobility in Compassion.”

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 Credit: UNCW Randall Library

Tears of Crystal, Tears of Broken Glass

Posted on: April 7th, 2010 by tobendlight

This prayer is about the power of tears, both to hurt and to heal, and is appropriate for use commemorating Kristallnacht, Yom HaShoah and Tisha b’Av. Click here for a six-prayer Yom HaShoah liturgy.

To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Tears of Crystal, Tears of Broken Glass
My tears are crystal and broken glass.
They sparkle, they cut.
They heal, they wound.
They are daybreak and midnight,
Hymn and dirge,
Joyous celebration and lonely mourning.
My tears catch Your Divine Light,
Prisms casting colors across my days
And on my hands.
I pray to hold them gently,
With dignity,
With honor.

I am one of Your children,
One of those You love,
Comforted knowing that I, too,
Am one for whom You cry
Tears of crystal,
Tears of broken glass.

Postscript: Please see the related prayer, “After the Horror.”

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Photo Credit: Highland Park Conservative Temple

For Bereaved Children

Posted on: March 25th, 2010 by tobendlight

This prayer is dear to me. I wrote it on behalf of my daughters. It’s a father’s yearning for his children, my yearning for my daughters as I witness them struggling to cope with the loss of their mother. My wife Ami z”l died after a tragic fall. As a prayer for healing, it echos the themes in the Mourner’s Kaddish, recalling G-d’s majesty and holiness. This prayer appears in my book, Enter These Gates: Meditations for the Days of Awe. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For Bereaved Children
Father of Jacob,
Mother of Rachel,
Source of Awe and Wonder,
Cradle and Shelter,
Our children are lost in tears,
Crushed in sorrow,
Erased in loneliness,
Bent and broken,
Their hopes, dust…
Their joys, cinders…
Their dreams, shadows.

You who comfort Zion and Israel,
Comfort our children in this moment of grievous loss,
And show them the path from darkness to light.
Renew their hope,
Rekindle their joy,
Spark their dreams,
So that they, too, will know Your healing Power,
Your salvation and grace,
Your loving kindness.
Hold them,
Lift them,
Carry them,
Until, refreshed by Your spirit,
They walk upright once again,
Toward holiness and love,
With charity and thanksgiving,
Humility and strength,
In awe and righteousness,
To sing Your praise.

Postscript: Here are links to two mourner’s prayers: “After Shiva” and “For the Bereaved.” Please consider purchasing Enter These Gates: Meditations for the Days of Awe.

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

Posts Tagged ‘grief’

Against Human Trafficking

Shame

My Battle

For the Bereaved

This Stubborn Heart

Life as a Symphony

Tears of Crystal, Tears of Broken Glass

For Bereaved Children

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