Tag Archive for "healing" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘healing’

Prayer for the People of Norway

Posted on: July 24th, 2011 by tobendlight

On July 22, 2011, a brutal bombing attack and shooting spree rocked Norway. On April 16, 2011, the killer went on trial in Oslo. This prayer was written in the days after the violence. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For the People of Norway
Author of life,
Man has turned violent,
Cutting down youth in Utoya, Norway,
Our children,
Future leaders,
Brothers and sisters,
Crushing lives,
Upending dreams,
Attacking hope for tomorrow.

Source and Creator,
Grant a perfect rest under your tabernacle of peace
To the victims of murder in Utoya
Whose lives were cut off by violence,
An act of witless aggression.
Remember the survivors of this horror,
And the victims of any disaster,
Any violence, suffering or despair.
Grant them shelter and solace,
Comfort and consolation,
Blessing and renewal.
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,
Put an end to anger, hatred and fear,
And lead us to a time when no one will suffer at the hand of another.
Grant the people of Norway Your protection,
Your wholeness and healing,
And Your peace.

Postscript: This is an adaptation of a prayer I wrote in response to recent attacks in Mumbai, which was based on two of my other prayers, “At the Hand of Violence” and “In Devastation.” You’ll also find related prayers in my “Liturgy for 9-11.”

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Violence in Mumbai

Posted on: July 13th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is a prayer for victims of violence, a response to the attacks in Mumbai today. It’s an adaptation and combination of elements of two of my other prayers: “At the Hand of Violence” and “In Devastation.”

Violence in Mumbai
Author of life
Source and Creator,
Grant a perfect rest under your tabernacle of peace
To those who lost their lives the attacks in Mumbai,
Whose lives were cut off by violence,
An act of witless aggression.
Put an end to anger, hatred and fear
And lead us to a time when no one will suffer at the hand of another.
May their souls be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst.

G-d of justice and mercy,
Remember the survivors of this attack,
And the victims of any disaster,
Any violence, suffering or despair.
Grant them shelter and solace,
Comfort and consolation,
Blessing and renewal.
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 Mumbai Your protection,
Your wholeness and healing,
And Your peace.

Postscript: My daughter Dana asked me to write “At the Hand of Violence” for Brendon z”l, her friend who was brutally murdered in the streets of Chicago three years ago. It first appeared here on April 21, 2011. “In Devastation” was a response to the earthquake in Haiti. It was posted on Jan. 11, 2011, for the first anniversary of that disaster. It has been revised and reposted for the earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan. For related prayers, see my “Liturgy for 9-11.”

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For Endurance

Posted on: June 9th, 2011 by tobendlight

This short prayer incorporates the theme of the morning blessing Asher Yatzar, thanking G-d for the complexity of the human body. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below (website only). The text follows.

For Endurance
My body is a mystery.
So strong, so fragile.
It can suffer great pain,
Endure to reach triumph,
But a small moment can bring collapse and death.

My body is a mystery,
A gift of intricacy and beauty.
Powerful,
Endowed with the ability to take light and air and food
And make them into energy and action.

What then is my life?
How then will I use this gift?

I will thank You for Your kindness and abundance.
I will treasure the moments of strength and vigor.
I will surrender to moments of weakness and distress.

G-d, who provides sustenance and health,
You are the Source of Life.

Postscript: Here’s another alternative for use in morning prayer, “Morning Blessings.”

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G-d’s Plan: An Introspection

Posted on: May 14th, 2011 by tobendlight

A prayer/poem about surrender, about the dance of grief and joy, the paradox of of love and loss, the duet of doubt and faith, the unbreakable bond between life and death. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows. This prayer appears in my book This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day.

G-d’s Plan: An Introspection
If G-d’s plan
Followed my plan,
I would have no scars on my skin
Or in my heart.

If G-d’s plan
Followed my plan,
I would not have felt the fire or the ice,
Heard the beauty or the terror,
Seen the new bud or the dying leaf.

If G-d’s plan
Followed my plan,
I would not have learned to grieve or to cherish,
To hope or surrender,
To be broken and still be whole.

What, then, keeps me locked in fear,
In dread of yielding to Your great works,
Your awesome love,
Your radiant power?
What small desire,
Petty hope –
What yearning of self –
Blocks my service in G-d’s holy name?

G-d on high,
Release me from my judgments and designs.
Open my heart to You fully,
Without reservation.
Cast out my doubts and shames,
To receive Your divine wisdom and strength.

G-d of All Being,
Wise and true,
Make my limbs Your tools and
My voice Your messenger.
Make my heart Your tabernacle,
A dwelling place of holiness
And splendor.

Postscript: Related prayers include: “This Wound,” “Seeking G-d” and “Near the End: A Meditation.”

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

Transitions

Posted on: May 9th, 2011 by tobendlight

Last night I tossed in bed, half awake, half asleep, in prayer. It wasn’t fun. When I woke, more like emerging from a semi-hypnotic state, my first thought: write that dream as a prayer. It was impossible. Words were the lesser part of the experience. It was an ebb and flow of thoughts, emotions, images, love for my daughters, for my family, for myself, love of G-d, fear and joy, dread and hope, pride and shame, mystery and light. What I captured is my sense of that prayer, which resonates with humility and endurance. The prayer itself is beyond my reach. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Transitions
G-d of sacred moments,
G-d of endings and beginnings,
Hear this prayer for guidance and deliverance
As my life moves in new directions,
Onto new paths,
Into uncertain water.

Grant me courage as an answer to fear,
As the winds blow,
Strength as an answer to doubt,
As the storms gather,
And wisdom as an answer to uncertainty.

Grant me grace in the face of obstacles,
As fires rage,
Patience in the face of detours,
As the earth trembles,
And trust in the face of the unknown.

Grant me joy in my successes,
As the sun warms the land,
Humor in my defeats,
As the cactus opens a flower,
And acceptance throughout my days.

Grant me faith in Your guidance,
As songs lift my heart,
Gratitude for Your works,
As love lifts my life,
And joy in Your gifts.

G-d of Old,
Rock and Shelter,
My time is a blink,
My journey a puff of wind,
My life fragile and fleeting.
Therefore,
G-d of Secrets,
Grant me delight,
Luminous, majestic delight,
In using these blessings
In service to Your Holy Name.

Postscript: I use this prayer for the 26th day of counting the Omer. My other prayers about transitions include three favorites: “Leaving,” “River” and “Rhythms.”

Photo Credit: NOAA Photo Library

In Times of War

Posted on: May 2nd, 2011 by tobendlight

Here’s a prayer to be said in times of war. Of course, it’s a prayer for peace. It’s also a prayer for life, safety, hope and sound judgment from our national leaders. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below.

In Times of War
Ancient One,
G-d of compassion and mercy,
Our country is at war.
Our soldiers take arms,
Once more,
In pursuit of justice,
To defend and to protect life and liberty.

Grant our leaders with insight and strength
To guide our nation on a path of wisdom,
Using our power and might with courage, with caution and with care.
Keep our soldiers safe.
Return them swiftly in life and in health.
Bless the injured and wounded with Your healing hand
And their families with Your loving grace.
Grant a swift end to this and all human violence
So that fear and struggle give way to joy and hope.
Send compassion and protection
To refugees, widows and orphans
From every land and every conflict.

Guardian of Life,
Source and Shelter.
Bring harmony and tranquility
To all nations and all peoples
So that we may renew and rebuild,
In the name of compassion,
In the name of peace.

Blessed are You, Source of Peace.

Postscript: Here’s a prayer “For Peace in the Middle East.” Also, see my post about a liturgy for 9-11 for a prayer called “To the Terrorist.”

At the Hand of Violence: A Yizkor Prayer

Posted on: April 21st, 2011 by tobendlight

My daughter Dana asked me to write a prayer for her friend Brendon z”l who was brutally murdered in the streets of Chicago. The last sentence is the classic ending of a Yizkor prayer.

At the Hand of Violence: A Yizkor Prayer
Author of life
Source and Creator,
Grant a perfect rest under your tabernacle of peace
To ______________________ (name),
My [father / mother / sister / brother / child / wife / dear one / friend]
Whose life was cut off by violence,
An act of witless aggression.
We remember his / her wisdom, talents and skills,
Joy, laughter and tears.
Let these memories continue to bless us
Even as we pray for him / her to find peace
In the world to come.
Put an end to anger, hatred and fear
And lead us to a time when no one will suffer at the hand of another.
May his / her soul be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst.

Postscript: See also these other memorial prayers: “In Memory of an Organ Donor,” “For Bereaved Children” and “For the Bereaved.” Click here for a full list of memorial and yizkor prayers.

In Memory of an Organ Donor

Posted on: April 4th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is a Yizkor prayer for those who have become organ donors in death. The last sentence is the classic ending of a Yizkor prayer. In this recording, I say the prayer in memory of my wife Ami z”l, who was an organ donor in her death. To listen along, click the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

In Memory of an Organ Donor
G-d of endings and beginnings,
G-d of past and future,
G-d of death and life,
Grant a perfect rest to ______________________ (name),
Whose death brought new life and new hope to others
Through the gift of his / her [vital] organs.
May those who received these gifts live lives of health and service,
Reflecting the love and devotion,
And the highest ideals,
Of our/my [father / mother / sister / brother / child / wife / dear one].
Bless our family with peace
Knowing that the hour of his / her death
Became a moment of life for others.
May this act of generosity echo through the generations,
A source of hope and comfort.
May his / her soul be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst.

Postscript: See two related prayers “For Organ Donation” and “On Waiting for an Organ Transplant,” as well as two memorial prayers: “For Bereaved Children” and “For the Bereaved.” In 1991, the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America approved organ donations as permissible, even required, from brain-dead patients. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist scholars and rabbis support and encourage donation. In 1992, a revered ultra-Orthodox rabbi ruled that organ transplantation is permissible. Please see the Halachic Organ Donor Society for Jewish resources. Here’s a resource on how various religions view organ donation.

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Photo Credit: Donate Life Organ and Tissue Donation Blog

This Wound

Posted on: March 29th, 2011 by tobendlight

A new prayer about healing wounds of the heart, of the soul, of the spirit. Please listen along by clicking on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows. This prayer appears in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

This Wound
G-d of my heart,
This wound is too deep for me to heal
Without You,
Your power and Your grace.
Remove the walls of grief that separate me from
Your love and Your blessings.
You call us to life,
To hope,
To service,
To seek and to do,
To heal and to complete Your creation.

G-d of gentle moments,
I surrender my life to
Your awesome works,
Your secret ways.
Reunite me with myself,
With my fellows
And with the world,
To do Your will in humble service.

Blessed are You,
Your love is eternal.

Postscript: Other prayers about healing the heart include: “This Stubborn Heart” and “Witnessing: A Meditation.” Please consider purchasing my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

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. If you like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet.

Japan’s Disasters

Posted on: March 14th, 2011 by tobendlight

A prayer for the people of Japan. Also see “For the People of Japan,” both written in response to the earthquake, tsunami and resulting nuclear disaster.

Addendum: November 22, 2016: An earthquake has struck off the coast of Japan and a tsunami warning is in effect.

For Japan
G-d of earth and sea,
Of ocean and shore,
Hear the voices of our
Brothers and sisters from Japan:

Our eyes know horror,
Our bodies know fear,
Our limbs know terror,
And catastrophes mount.
We are bereaved and bereft,
Injured and wounded
After earthquake and tsunami,
A tide of death and devastation.
This nation that knows atomic destruction
Now faces nuclear calamity.

Heal this land, G-d of Old.
Heal this people, G-d of Mercy.
Heal this nation, G-d of Justice.
May the suffering end and the disasters cease.

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Photo Source: YouTube

Posts Tagged ‘healing’

Prayer for the People of Norway

Violence in Mumbai

For Endurance

G-d’s Plan: An Introspection

Transitions

In Times of War

At the Hand of Violence: A Yizkor Prayer

In Memory of an Organ Donor

This Wound

Japan’s Disasters

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