Posts Tagged ‘healing’

 

Nothing Left but Tears

Posted on: October 16th, 2023 by Alden

A new song in response to the terror invasion into Israel by Hamas. Lyrics by Alden Solovy, Music by Sue Radner Horowitz. Watch and listen to Sue singing “Nothing Left but Tears.” The video follows links to download PDFs of the chords and/or the sheet music.

Nothing Left but Tears
I must be made of water.
I have nothing left but tears.

Daughters. Mothers.
My spirit aching.
Sisters. Brothers.
A heart that’s breaking.
I must be made of water.
I have nothing left but tears.

Blood and terror.
Children dying.
Fear and anger.
So much crying.
I must be made of water.
I have nothing left but tears.

Oh this heartbreak,
Silence howling.
Oh this heart ache,
Terror prowling.
I must be made of water.
I have nothing left but tears.

Not just water.
These tears, they feed me.
My bones are iron.
My people need me.

Lyrics © 2023 Alden Solovy, Music © 2023 Sue Radner Horowitz

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Postscript: Listen to another Solovy / Horowitz collaboration, “Hallel in a Minor Key.”

Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, 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. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

For the People of Morocco (After the Earthquake)

Posted on: September 11th, 2023 by Alden

Two prayers for the people of Morocco as the death toll rises after the recent earthquake. I first posted these prayers after an earthquake Haiti in January 2010. I have either revised these prayers or used elements of them in other prayers after other earthquakes around the world.

In Devastation (For the People of Morocco)
G-d beyond my understanding,
The earth has turned violent,
Sweeping our brothers and sisters off their feet,
Crushing homes and lives,
Upending dreams,
Toppling the foundations of hope and sustenance.
A shallow breath beneath the rubble
And wailing in the streets.
The injured and the dead.
The new widow,
The new orphan,
The newly bereft turn to You
Divine Source of abundance and grace.

G-d of justice and mercy,
We pray for the people of Morocco,
And the victims of any disaster,
Any violence, suffering or despair.
Grant them shelter and solace,
Comfort and consolation,
Blessing and renewal.
May a world of justice, righteousness and mercy
Come swiftly to their aid.
Grant them endurance to survive,
Strength to rebuild,
Faith to mourn,
Courage to heal,
And devotion to each other.

Heavenly Guide,
Hand of love and shelter,
Grant the people of Morocco Your protection,
Your radiance,
And Your peace.

Prayer For First Responders (to the Earthquake in Morocco)
Crisis and chaos,
Confusion and loss,
A scene of sweeping destruction,
The first responders arrive
Among the breathless and dazed,
The frenzied, driven wild with fear and grief,
The incapacitated, the dead,
The weary, the lost, the injured,
And survivors forcing themselves
Beyond their limits
To fight devastation.

G-d whose ways are secret,
Bless these first responders with endurance
To be of maximum service in this moment of immeasurable need.
Bless their limbs with strength,
Their eyes with courage,
Their hands with gentleness,
So that they become a source of hope and love.
Give them the tools they need in the days and hours ahead.
Protect them from physical harm,
Shield them from emotional pain,
And guard them from taking this trauma into themselves.

G-d of justice and mercy,
We pray for the people of Morocco.
Let the world rally on their behalf.
May the deeds of the first responders
Find favor in Heaven
And bring healing on earth.

© 2023 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight

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Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, 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. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: NDTV World

For the People of Turkey (After the Earthquake)

Posted on: February 7th, 2023 by Alden

Two prayers for the people of Turkey as the death toll rises after today’s earthquake. I posted these two prayers 12 years ago after an earthquake struck Turkey then. These prayers were first written after an earthquake Haiti in January 2010. I have either revised these prayers or used elements of them in other prayers after other earthquakes around the world.

In Devastation (For the People of Turkey)
G-d beyond my understanding,
The earth has turned violent,
Sweeping our brothers and sisters off their feet,
Crushing homes and lives,
Upending dreams,
Toppling the foundations of hope and sustenance.
A shallow breath beneath the rubble
And wailing in the streets.
The injured and the dead.
The new widow,
The new orphan,
The newly bereft turn to You
Divine Source of abundance and grace.

G-d of justice and mercy,
We pray for the people of Turkey,
And the victims of any disaster,
Any violence, suffering or despair.
Grant them shelter and solace,
Comfort and consolation,
Blessing and renewal.
May a world of justice, righteousness and mercy
Come swiftly to their aid.
Grant them endurance to survive,
Strength to rebuild,
Faith to mourn,
Courage to heal,
And devotion to each other.

Heavenly Guide,
Hand of love and shelter,
Grant the people of Turkey Your protection,
Your radiance,
And Your peace.

Prayer For First Responders (to the Earthquake in Turkey)
Crisis and chaos,
Confusion and loss,
A scene of sweeping destruction,
The first responders arrive
Among the breathless and dazed,
The frenzied, driven wild with fear and grief,
The incapacitated, the dead,
The weary, the lost, the injured,
And survivors forcing themselves
Beyond their limits
To fight devastation.

G-d whose ways are secret,
Bless these first responders with endurance
To be of maximum service in this moment of immeasurable need.
Bless their limbs with strength,
Their eyes with courage,
Their hands with gentleness,
So that they become a source of hope and love.
Give them the tools they need in the days and hours ahead.
Protect them from physical harm,
Shield them from emotional pain,
And guard them from taking this trauma into themselves.

G-d of justice and mercy,
We pray for the people of Turkey.
Let the world rally on their behalf.
May the deeds of the first responders
Find favor in Heaven
And bring healing on earth.

© 2023 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight

New here? Subscribe here to get my newest prayers by email.
Share the prayer! Email this to a friend.

Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, 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. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: NPR

Two Reproductive Freedom Prayers

Posted on: June 14th, 2022 by Alden

Here are two new social justice prayers, written as the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to strip away reproductive rights. The first is written in a ‘classic’ prayer format, while the second is one of my “Psalms of Protest.”

Addendum: On 24 June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The Right to Choose
One day,
On the day the world is perfected,
Rape, incest, and all violence
Will vanish from the earth.
On that day,
Medical science will have safe and effective answers
To every risk of pregnancy,
And only those willing and able to raise a child–
Physically, spiritually, financially, emotionally –
Will become pregnant.
On the day the world is perfected,
Every pregnancy will result
From the holy desire to bring forth life
And to raise children,
Without fear of medical or personal consequences.

Until that day,
God of justice,
Defend and protect
Reproductive freedom
In the US and throughout the world.
Grant those who face this profound decision
Wisdom and strength.
Surround them with loving support
And caring professionals.
Guard them, their caregivers, and clinics,
Against verbal violence and physical attack.
Let no court and no politician
Stand in the way
Of the right to choose.

Reproductive Freedom: Psalm of Protest 20
A psalm of protest,
Sung on earth
Before the gates of government.

Thunder, you heavens,
Quake, you earth,
At the rise of injustice
And the return of oppression
By the self-righteous and the arrogant,
Attacking reproductive rights
From the halls of power,
Stripping away hard-won freedoms,
Stripping away protection
For self-determination and medical justice.

We remember
Every sister
Who bled out in a fever
In a filthy backroom,
Abandoned by society,
With no rights
And no choices.

Bear witness, you mountains,
To murder
By the denial of choice.

Give testimony, you seas,
Against those who would threaten,
Subvert, limit, and seek to control
The rights of others.

Rise up, you of faith and conscience,
In the name of liberty,
In the name of justice,
In the name of choice.

“The Right to Choose” and “Reproductive Freedom: Psalm of Protest 20” are © 2022 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com.

New here? Subscribe here to get my newest prayers by email.

Please check out my CCAR Press Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. The individual books are: This Joyous Soul, This Grateful Heart, and This Precious Life. Here’s a link to my ELItalk, “Falling in Love with Prayer..” 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.

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

For Those Who Endure Chronic Conditions

Posted on: March 28th, 2022 by Alden

This piece began with Georgia and Gary Freedman-Harvey who envisioned a community prayer for those — like their son Ezra — who live the trials and triumphs of chronic conditions. They envisioned a prayer that would uplift the community in support of one another, with the tone of healing for all, a prayer in which we might see ourselves holding each other with care and compassion. As members of Temple Beth El, San Pedro, CA, they approached Rabbi Cassi Kail with the idea, who brought it to me. Here’s what we created.

For Those Who Endure Chronic Conditions
God of our mothers and fathers,
Watch over all who
Live with genetic disorders,
Life-threatening medical conditions,
And chronic or degenerative diseases.
Bless them with endurance and resilience,
Fortitude and hope,
With opportunities to thrive and shine
Even as their conditions
Progress.
Watch over them,
Their families and friends,
Our community,
And all of humankind.

We pray
For the wisdom and insight
To see each member of our community
With clear eyes and an open heart,
As another human being,
A whole person
With hopes and dreams,
Proud of who they are,
Striving to be their best selves,
Struggling with this life,
And loving it, too,
As we all do.

Rock and Shelter,
Grant us all the ability
To see each other’s humanity clearly,
To cherish each other’s individuality,
To care deeply about one another,
To mourn our losses and
Celebrate our victories together,
So that we live, act, and pray
As one community
Of care and blessing.

.בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אלהינו מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַמֵּכִין מִצְעֲדֵי גָֽבֶר
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, hameichin mitzadei gaver.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who strengthens our steps.

© 2022 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com.

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Postscript: Thanks to Georgia and Gary Freedman-Harvey and Rabbi Cassi Kail for your faith in my work.

Please check out my CCAR Press Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. The individual books are: This Joyous Soul, This Grateful Heart, and This Precious Life. Here’s a link to my ELItalk, “Falling in Love with Prayer..” 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.

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: Access Health

For Three Leaders, For the World

Posted on: March 15th, 2022 by Alden

A new prayer for Ukraine and the world. The intention of this prayer is flexibility in use. The three middle stanzas can be removed from the prayer as the situation changes, or if a particular individual or congregation does not want to specifically name world leaders in prayer. It seems to me, however, that in this precarious moment prayers for key leaders are critical. They’re offered here as important, but optional as we all yearn for peace. Along with my “Hero of Ukraine,” this could be part of a multi-prayer liturgy for peace in the region and the world.

For Three Leaders, For the World
G-d of compassion,
Put an end to the war in Ukraine
And all wars throughout the world.
Look with favor on the refugees,
The homeless, the wounded,
The suffering, the starving,
And the newly bereaved.
Grant a perfect rest
Under Your canopy of peace
To those who have perished
At the ugly hand of war.
Extend Your canopy of peace
From the highest heavens
To this earth.

Bless Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
With continued strength and resolve
To defend his people against the onslaught,
Inspiring world sympathy and support.

Bless U.S. President Joe Biden
With wisdom and skill to face the challenge of history
As Europe prepares for a broader conflict
And fears world war.

Bless Russian President Vladimir Putin
With a change of mind,
A change of heart and soul,
To release the tools of war,
To pick up the tools of peace.

G-d of peace,
Release the citizens of Ukraine
From occupation and war.
Grant them resilience and vitality.
Give them comfort and hope.
End this violence and suffering.
For life renewed.
For healing and building.
For a better world.
“Let justice come in waves like water
And righteousness flow like a river” (Amos 5:24),
So that “nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).

© 2022 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com.

New here? Subscribe here to get my newest prayers by email.

Postscript: See also: “Hero of Ukraine.”

Please check out my CCAR Press Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. The individual books are: This Joyous Soul , This Grateful Heart, and This Precious Life. Here’s a link to my ELItalk, “Falling in Love with Prayer..” 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.

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: News Sites

Family Caregivers

Posted on: August 16th, 2021 by Alden

This is a prayer to be said on behalf of those family members and friends who have taken on the task of daily caregiving of another member of the family or a close friend, devoting their days and energy to the care of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, and other dear ones.

Family Caregivers
G-d of health and healing,
Bless our family and friends
Who have taken on the sacred task
Of giving care and comfort
To their loved ones,
Committing their time, energy, and physical labor
To the well-being of dear ones
At a time of immeasurable need.
Grant them wisdom and skill,
Compassion and dedication,
Energy and endurance,
As time passes and tasks increase.
Remind them to care for themselves,
And to nourish their own bodies and souls,
So easily forgotten in this time of need.

Source and Shelter,
Rock of life,
Bless all who dedicate themselves
To the care of others,
And bring lasting health and healing
To all in need.

© 2021 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com.

New here? Subscribe here to get my newest prayers by email.
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Postscript: Thanks to my friend Joel Africk for the idea for this prayer.

Please check out my CCAR Press Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. The individual books are: This Joyous Soul , This Grateful Heart, and This Precious Life. Here’s a link to my ELItalk, “Falling in Love with Prayer..” 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: CDC

For an Alcoholic or Addict

Posted on: June 7th, 2021 by Alden

A prayer to be said those suffering from alcoholism, addiction, or both. Optional language is in [brackets], with choices separated by a slash (“/”). This prayer and three others on addiction and mental illness appear in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. A list of many of my related prayers can be found in the postscript at the end of this post.

For an Alcoholic or Addict
G-d of Old,
I call out to You
From the depths of despair.
My [father/mother/sister/brother/son/daughter/friend/husband/wife/partner/loved-one]
Suffers from the disease of [alcoholism / addiction / alcoholism and addiction,]
[Compounded by mental illness,]
Causing emotional, spiritual, and physical self-harm.
I am afraid and ashamed.
I am sad and lost.
The disease is powerful.
The possibilities are frightening.

G-d of health and well-being,
Teach me to care for myself
In the midst of crisis and chaos.
Teach me to bring love and kindness into my day,
Serenity and perspective into my life,
Especially when I feel hopeless or lost.
Teach me to trust Your will.

G-d of healing,
Bring my loved-one,
In mercy,
To recovery.
Show Your awesome works
And Your marvelous ways.
Grant healing of body
And healing of spirit.
Grant relief to all who suffer from alcoholism or addiction
So that they may become
Living reflections of Your divine gifts
And Your healing power.

Blessed are You, G-d of health and healing.

© 2013 Kavanot Press and Alden Solovy from Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing

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Postscript: My wife Ami z”l died of her alcoholism 12 years ago. It might have been suicide. We’ll never know. See also: “My Depression,” “Mental Illness,” “Cutting: A Prayer to End Self-Mutilation,” “My Child’s Self-Inflicted Wounds,” “These Troubled Children,” “Suicide Attempt by My Spouse/Partner,” “My Child’s Suicide Attempt,” “Yizkor after My Child’s Suicide,” and “Yizkor after a Suicide.”

Please check out my CCAR Press Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. The individual books are: This Joyous Soul , This Grateful Heart, and This Precious Life. Here’s a link to my ELItalk, “Falling in Love with Prayer..” 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: Canyon Vista Recovery Center

For George Floyd’s Family

Posted on: April 21st, 2021 by Alden

After a moment of joy and relief at the guilty verdicts in the murder of George Floyd, my overwhelming emotion is sorrow, my heart immediately with a daughter without her father and a brother without his brother. This is a prayer for justice and healing, my anger and indignation already expressed in “Strangled by Police: Psalm of Protest 17” which I’ve added here to create a two-prayer liturgy. Both pieces refer to Amos 5:24, envisioning a time when justice will flow as water.

For George Floyd’s Family
The courtroom is silent, for now,
But the walls echo with shouts from the streets,
Joy and relief for a verdict of guilty,
For a moment of truth, at long last.
But the heavens,
The heavens still weep
For the soul of a man taken too soon,
For another fatherless daughter,
And another brotherless brother,
For you, George Floyd,
For your family,
And for Duante Wright, Rayshard Brooks,
Breonna Taylor, Atatiana Jefferson,
And all – the named and the unknown –
Who’ve lost their lives at the hand of police
Because of the color of their skin.

Source of Peace,
The cost of freedom is so high,
Death and bereavement,
Pain and fear,
Sorrow and loss.
We will not cease the work of tikkun olam (repairing the world),
The work for pikuah nefesh (the sanctity of life),
Not until heaven can stop weeping for one more,
And one more,
And one more,
Dead.

G-d of love,
Send Your healing to the family of George Floyd,
Grant them continued strength,
Now and in the days and years to come.
Hold them,
Guide them,
Support them,
As they celebrate a righteous verdict,
And as they continue to grieve
A brother, a father, a man
Whose life was stolen,
Whose death trumpets
The call to action,
And a verdict that heralds
A renewed hope for the day
When “justice will well up as water,
And righteousness as a mighty stream.” (Amos 5:24)
May his soul be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst.

Strangled by Police: Psalm of Protest 17
A psalm of protest,
In memory of George Floyd,
Sung at the gates of justice,
When black men are strangled in the streets,
When power is abused and jails overflow,
When the voiceless are forgotten and minorities misused.
Open, you gates!
Open to the cries of those murdered, jailed or harassed
For being black,
For being a person of color,
For being homeless, indigent, destitute or unwanted,
The detained, the hounded,
The pursued and the persecuted,
Those who are killed while being restrained.
Open, you gates!
Let righteousness flow forth as living waters,
And truth flow forth as healing balm,
To still the hand of violence and hatred,
To cure the heart of bigotry and racism,
To herald fairness and equality,
And bring justice to this land.

“For George Floyd’s Family” is © 2021 and “Strangled by Police: Psalm of Protest 17” is © 2020 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com.

New here? Subscribe here to get my newest prayers by email.
Share the prayer! Email this to a friend.

Please check out my CCAR Press Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. The individual books are: This Joyous Soul , This Grateful Heart, and This Precious Life. Here’s a link to my ELItalk, “Falling in Love with Prayer..” 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: Share My Lesson

Authentic Confession: Meditation on the Vidui

Posted on: July 19th, 2020 by Alden

ashamnuIn preparation for the Yamim Noraim, I’ll lead a free workshop called “Authentic Confessions: Selichot that Matter,” presented by the soon to be launched ‘High Holidays at Home’ from Haggadot.com. Register here for the August 26 webinar. We’ll look at traditional and new texts of the Vidui, the confessional, and we’ll ask: What is an authentic confession? And what are the confessions that matter? Here’s one answer:

Meditation on the Vidui
For the sins I’ve committed against myself,
And for the sins I’ve committed against others,
I offer a new heart.

For the sins I’ve committed against my family,
And for the sins I’ve committed against my friends,
I offer new understanding.

For the sins I’ve committed against children,
And for the sins I’ve committed against adults,
I offer new restraint.

For the sins I’ve committed against neighbors,
And for the sins I’ve committed against strangers,
I offer new insight.

For the sins I’ve committed against the powerful,
And for the sins I’ve committed against the weak,
I offer new wisdom.

For the sins I’ve committed against nations,
And for the sins I’ve committed against peoples,
I offer a new voice.

G-d of generations,
Source of forgiveness and grace,
For the sins that I remember,
And for the sins that I’ve forgotten,
I offer myself, in humble service,
To You, Your Word and Your Holy Name.

© 2011 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: This was originally published on Aug. 31, 2011. Click here for my full list of prayers for the Yamim Noraim. Here’s a focused list of prayers for Elul, another one of prayers for Rosh Hashana, a list of prayers for Yom Kippur and one more for Sukkot. And here’s a link to yizkor and memorial prayers.

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. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.

Photo Source: Va-yehi Or

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