Tag Archive for "hope" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘hope’

Ha’azinu: We Are Music

Posted on: October 14th, 2016 by Alden

In this week’s parasha Ha’azinu (Deut. 22), Moses sings a majestic farewell song, beginning by calling on the heavens to hear. The Haftarah (II Sam. 22:1-51) is David’s Song of Thanksgiving. This prayer/poem is about embodying the music of life, hearing the music created when we move in and out of moments together. This piece appears my forthcoming book, This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings, from CCAR Press.

We Are Music
Quiet now.
Listen.
Breathe.
And listen.

You are music.
Your breath and hands,
Your smile and tears,
Your eyes and pulse,
Are notes that dance
In the space between us.

We are music.
A symphony conducted
By the rhythm of life,
By G-d’s hand,
By our choices, day-by-day.

Our notes play on,
Separately, together,
The sacred sound of living.
Our music waltzes,
Making melodies fresh and new,
Never heard again,
Bass lines that pulse from our hearts
To the Soul of the Universe.

Joy bends sorrow.
Sorrow bends hope.
Hope bends grief.
Grief bends love.
Love bends joy.

Quiet now.
Listen.
Breathe.
And listen.

The silence is your longing.
The silence is your yearning for a different song.
The music of your own will
Blocks your heart to the harmonies
Already dancing around you,
To the chorus already singing around you.

Oh, you hidden delight of heaven.
Oh, you secret gift of G-d.
We are music.
We are music.
The music plays
Through us.

Postscript: While Moses calls on the heavens to give ear, this meditation calls on us to listen to our own — and to each other’s — hearts. This is my second meditation incorporating instructions to the reader into the prayer. The first is called “Invitations.” Both include this exclamation: “Oh, you hidden delight of heaven. Oh, you secret gift of G-d. Please see also: “Life as a Symphony,” “For the Gift of Song” and “For the Gift of Music.” This prayer first appeared on this site on Feb. 6, 2013.

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: Picks and Sticks Music

After Matthew: Safety after Violent Weather

Posted on: October 7th, 2016 by Alden

This is a prayer for safety and healing after Hurricane Matthew. Even as the storm moves up the Florida coast, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas have begun the tasks of clean-up, mourning and rebuilding. The perspective is gratitude for survival. It’s difficult to capture in one prayer the range of outcomes and individual experiences from weather events. Here’s a prayer “For the People of Haiti.” For those who have yet to experience the storm, please see “Safety During a Hurricane.” Here’s a prayer “For First Responders” who put thier own lives at risk to save others. Optional language is shown in [brackets].

After Matthew: Safety after Violent Weather
G-d of heaven and earth,
Source of All,
The storm has passed.
Earth, sea and sky are quiet.
The tempest moved on.

Thank you for the kinship of neighbors and friends
As we work together to clean up after violent weather.
Bless those who were injured with healing and recovery.
Bless those who lost family or friends with comfort and hope.
Provide food and clothing, warmth and comfort, to all in need.
Thank you for providing safety and shelter
To my [family][friends][neighbors][parents][children].
Thank you for the emergency and rescue workers
Who kept watch and risked their lives for our community.
As we return to our daily lives,
We pray for the victims of any disaster,
Any violence, suffering or despair.

Blessed are You, our Rock and our Shelter.

Postscript: This prayer first appeared here as “After Irene: A Prayer after Violent Weather” on August 27, 2011. Another example of a prayer after violent weather: “After the Tornadoes.” Other weather and disaster related prayers include: “In Devastation (For the People of Haiti),” which I then rewrote as “In Devastation (For the People of New Zealand)” and used as part of a prayer “For Japan.” I used the prayer “For First Responders (to the Earthquake in Haiti)” as the inspiration for a prayer called “Memorial Prayer for 9-11 First Responders.”

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Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons, Hurricane Fran 1996

Meditation before the Vidui

Posted on: September 15th, 2016 by Alden

This meditation is to help prepare for a thorough and honest self-assessment before the confession litany, the Vidui, traditionally recited five times on Yom Kippur. It’s recited on Rosh Hashanah and is used in Selichot services. Originally posted as a “Meditation before the Yom Kippur Vidui,” a friend suggested using a title that makes clear this can be used throughout Elul in preparation for the High Holy Days.

Meditation before the Vidui
G-d of Old,
Judge and Sovereign,
Healer and Guide:

Today I recount my deeds,
The sins I’ve committed,
The blessings I’ve bestowed.

Today I recall my year,
The challenges I’ve faced,
The decisions I’ve made.

Today I reach into my heart,
The moments of anger,
The moments of love.

By Your command
G-d of Mercy,
I lay bare the secrets within me,
Light and darkness,
My gentle hand and my clenched fist,
My strength and conceit,
Anger and fear.

By Your command
G-d of Wisdom,
I open myself to see truth,
Beauty and degradation,
The holy and the profane,
The victorious and the guilty.

By Your command
G-d of Salvation,
I reclaim all that I am
And all that I’ve done,
My pride and my shame,
Returning to You
So that I may redeem my days
With awe and righteousness.

Postscript: Note that the traditional Siddur includes a Vidui in Tachanun, but only in Israel. This prayer wasn’t conceived with regular use in mind. Thanks to Rabbi Joseph Meszler for the suggestion. This was originally published on Aug. 30, 2011. Click here for the 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.

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Photo Source: Kedem Auction House

Meditation on the Vidui

Posted on: September 6th, 2016 by Alden

This prayer was originally posted as a “Meditation after the Yom Kippur Vidui.” A friend pointed out that with a broader name for the prayer it — and my “Meditation Before the Yom Kippur Vidui” — can be used on Selichot, as well as throughout the month of Elul as preparation for the High Holy Days, the Yamim Noraim.

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 men,
And for the sins I’ve committed against women,
I offer new vision.

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.

Postscript: Thanks to Rabbi Joseph Meszler for the suggestion. This was originally published on Aug. 31, 2011. Click here for the 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.

Photo Source: Va-yehi Or

For the People of Italy (Prayer after the Earthquake)

Posted on: August 24th, 2016 by Alden

Here are two prayers after an earthquake struck Italy today: one for the people and one for first responders. They were originally written days after an earthquake hit Haiti in January 2010. I’ve also used elements of them in prayers after earthquakes in Turkey, New Zealand and Japan.

In Devastation – Prayer for the People of Italy
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 Italy,
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 Italy Your protection,
Your radiance,
And Your peace.

Prayer for First Responders to the Earthquake in Italy
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 Italy.
Let the world rally on their behalf.
May the deeds of the first responders
Find favor in Heaven
And bring healing on earth.

Postscript: I’m looking for someone willing to contribute translations into Italian, which I’ll post here. I’m happy to give credit. For those who suffered deaths of family members here are various yizkor 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. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: The Austrailian

In Memoriam, Orlando — “Love Wins: A Pride Prayer”

Posted on: June 15th, 2016 by Alden

Our vocal response to hate: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18), in Hebrew pronounced “ve’ahavta lere’acha kamocha” and written ואהבת לרעך כמוך! This slightly-revised version of this prayer is in memoriam to the victims of racist terror and massacre of LGBT persons in Orlando on Sunday. See: “For Orlando, For the USA” and “Pride Wins: A Prayer after Homophobic Brutality.” In the end, love wins.

Love Wins: A Pride Prayer
One day, the words ‘coming out’ will sound strange,
Oppression based on gender or orientation will be a memory,
History to honor and remember,
The pain of hiding, repressing, denying,
Honoring the triumphs of those who fought to be free,
Remembering the violence and vitriol that cost lives.

When love wins,
When love wins at long last,
ואהבת לרעך כמוך,
Ve’ahavta lere’acha kamocha,
‘Love your neighbor as yourself’
Will be as natural as breathing.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!

One day, love will win every heart,
Love will win every soul,
Fear will vanish like smoke,
And tenderness for all will fill our hearts.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!
Ve’ahavta lere’acha kamocha!

Love wins. In the end,
Love wins.
All genders,
All orientations,
All people,
All true expressions of heart.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!
Ve’ahavta lere’acha kamocha!

Let this come speedily,
In our day,
A tribute to the many
And the diverse
Gifts from heaven.
A tribute to love deep and true,
Each of us for one another.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!
Ve’ahavta lere’acha kamocha!

[ctt template=”8″ link=”N74X7″ via=”yes” ]”When love wins, when love wins at long last, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ will be as natural as breathing….”[/ctt]

Postscript: In this version, I’ve replaced four lines in the second to last stanza with the line ‘all people,’ removing the lines ‘man for man, woman for woman, woman for man, man for women.’ The change is the result of a comment on the URJ site to “For Orlando, For the USA:” “This is a beautiful prayer, but I wonder if ‘men and women’ should be changed to ‘people’ because it was a queer nightclub and there is a high probability that nonbinary people where also victims of this hate crime.” Thank you to my friend Cantor Evan Kent for his suggestions on an earlier draft of this prayer.

This prayer was written after anti-semetic vitriol was hurled at LGBT Jews at the Creating Change 2016 Conference. To read the full background, go to the original post, which first appeared on this site on January 22, 2016.

Photo Source: Tufts Hillel, JQUEST (Jewish Queer Students at Tufts)

Prayer with Wings

Posted on: March 20th, 2016 by Alden

This is another prayer of yearning, yearning for the impossible, to know that my prayers have been heard. This is an important theme in my writing. Other prayers with similar intentions include “Rise on Wings: A Prayer of Borrowing” and “Prayer Released.”

Prayer with Wings
Just once, Holy One,
Just once before I die
Let me feel my prayers with my entire being,
The radiance and the glory of my heart
Rising to meet You,
My soul reaching toward the unreachable,
My eyes blazing toward the unseeable,
My mind open to the unknowable,
My blood flowing gracefully through Your river of light.
Let me become a prayer with wings,
Gliding on the currents of faith,
Soaring into beams from heaven
Bursting forth from the moment of creation.

Just once, Holy One,
Just once before I die
Let my prayers enter the gates of heaven,
To plead for peace
And to sing Your praise.

Postscript: Here are several more prayers about prayer: “Invitations,” “Prayers of My Heart,” “Whispered Prayer,” “Prayer for You, Prayer for Me,” “For Prayer” and “To Pray.”

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

Pride Wins: A Prayer after Homophobic Brutality

Posted on: February 21st, 2016 by Alden

Shira Banki

The city of Jerusalem renamed Zion Square in memory of Shira Banki, murdered at 2015’s Pride Parade. An ultra-Orthodox Jewish extremist stabbed six participants, murdering the 16-year-old. The plaza was renamed Tolerance Square.

Addendum, June 13, 2016: In Orlando early Sunday, 50 people died in the deadliest mass shooting is U.S history, domestic hate and terror focused on a popular gay nightclub. Here’s a prayer “For Orlando, For the USA.” And Nov. 19 became another murderous moment for the community in Colorado Springs.

Pride Wins: A Prayer after Homophobic Brutality
Pride will not be crushed by violence.
Pride will not be crushed by hatred.
Pride wins. Love wins.
Beauty and joy win.

G-d of healing,
Bless the LBGTQ community
With Your comfort and care
In the anguish and pain after yet another
Senseless and vicious attack against the innocent,
An act of calculated violence against Your children.
Bless the victims with healing and strength.
Bless their families with solace and support.
Bless the community with resolve and well-being.

Let the day be near when
Gender and sexual orientation
Are no longer used an excuse for brutality or cruelty.
Let the day be near when
Justice and righteousness prevail,
Guiding us all to delight fully in each other,
Our similarities and our differences,
A tribute to the vast wonder of Your creation.

Postscript: Here’s a song written by Julie Silver in Shira’s memory. See also, “Love Wins: A Pride Prayer, Jewish.”

Photo Source: Facebook, via JTA

In Sorrow

Posted on: January 31st, 2016 by Alden

This is new a prayer for moments of sorrow, regardless of whether they’re tied to a particular event – such as a loss or trauma – or are more general feelings of depression or despair. Here’s a related prayer called “Seasons of Sorrow.” Both appear in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day.

In Sorrow
Ancient One,
Send light into this darkness
And hope into this despair.
Send music into this emptiness
And healing into this aching heart.

Air.
All I need is air.
A breath to give oxygen
To the anguish within.
A breath to give voice
To the howl in my heart.
A breath to set me free.

I am undone.
Crushed silent by sorrow.
Bereft by loneliness and loss.
Still yearning for healing.
Still yearning for love.
Still yearning for You.

Ancient One,
Send light into this darkness
And hope into this despair.
Send music into this emptiness
And healing into this aching heart.

Postscript: This is one of the few prayers in which I use the same language for the opening and closing stanzas.

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

For My Children as I Enter Hospice Care

Posted on: January 27th, 2016 by Alden

This is prayer of contemplation and love for a difficult moment that forces a family to recognize the fragility of life and inevitability of death. It appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. Optional inserts appear in [brackets]. Fill in details using the blank lines and following the instructions in (parentheses).

For My Children as I Enter Hospice Care
My G-d,
In the days ahead,
[The weeks and the months,]
I will face challenges as I surrender to _____________ (name of the disease).
My heart and my hopes,
My love and my questions,
Also turn toward my children [and grandchildren].
How will they cope?
How will they continue?
How will their experience of my passing
Shape their lives?

This I pray:
In the time that remains,
Let me be a source of love,
A light of comfort,
A lamp of hope,
A well of blessings.
Grant me the ability to care for my children,
Even as they yearn to provide support and understanding for me.

[Optional insert: Repeat the following paragraph for each child]
Bless my child ___________ (child’s name)
Who _____________ (thoughts about what he/she is feeling now)
With _____________ (specific concerns and prayer for that child).

G-d of health and healing,
Watch over my children
In their hour of need.
Watch over them when I have departed.
Let our love for each other
Shine brightly through the days ahead,
So that it lasts beyond the length of my days,
As a testimony to your Holy Name.

Postscript: Here are two additional prayers about entering hospice. Other healing prayers from Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing include: “For Surgery,” “Upon Recovery from Surgery,” “For a Critically-Ill Child,” “For a Critically-Ill Mother,” “For a Critically Ill Father” and “For Healing the Spirit.”

Photo Source: Here Women Talk

Posts Tagged ‘hope’

Ha’azinu: We Are Music

After Matthew: Safety after Violent Weather

Meditation before the Vidui

Meditation on the Vidui

For the People of Italy (Prayer after the Earthquake)

In Memoriam, Orlando — “Love Wins: A Pride Prayer”

Prayer with Wings

Pride Wins: A Prayer after Homophobic Brutality

In Sorrow

For My Children as I Enter Hospice Care

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