Tag Archive for "hope" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘hope’

Yom Kippur Meditation I

Posted on: August 30th, 2011 by tobendlight

Confession – vidui – is not a major theme of Jewish daily prayer, but it becomes central on Yom Kippur when a communal confession is traditionally recited five times. Here’s a new meditation to prepare for a thorough and honest self-assessment. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Meditation Before the Yom Kippur 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: 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: The Eden Center

Prayer After Hurricane Irene: Safety After Violent Weather

Posted on: August 27th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is a prayer of gratitude for safety and healing after a major storm. It’s difficult to capture in one prayer the unique experiences of individuals and the range of outcomes from weather events. For those who experienced Hurricane Irene days ago, please excuse the tardiness of this offering. For those who have yet to experience the storm, please see “Safety During a Hurricane.” Optional language is shown in [brackets].

After Irene: 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: Another example of a prayer after violent weather: this spring I wrote “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.”

Photo Source: WHSV3 News

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.

For Work

Posted on: August 22nd, 2011 by tobendlight

Here’s a prayer for those seeking employment. Choices for the reader are shown in [brackets]. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For Work
G-d of the laborer and the professional,
Of the craftsman and the entrepreneur,
Of the clerk and the executive,
Bless us with skill and wisdom
So that we may find employment
And financial security.
Give us energy and fortitude,
Courage and hope,
As the economy [struggles to revive][slows][remains uncertain].
Help us to discover hidden talents
And new strengths that are valued by employers.

As I begin another [day][week][month][year]
Of unemployment,
Help me to remember all of Your gifts,
So that I can envision a prosperous future.
May I find work that provides meaning and sustenance.
May opportunities become plentiful for all.

Blessed are You,
G-d of bounty and grace.

Postscript: Here’s a prayer to be said “Upon Losing Employment” and one to be said “Upon Gaining Employment.” This is a prayer “Against Worker Exploitation.” Here’s a link to an annotated list of prayers for social justice.

Photo Source: Deccan Chronicle

For My Child’s Surgery

Posted on: August 16th, 2011 by tobendlight

This prayer is for parents to say before a child’s surgery. Gender choices are identified with a “/” slash. Here’s a related prayer “For a Critically Ill Child.” This will appear in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For My Child’s Surgery
G-d of health and healing,
I surrender my daughter /son to the physician’s hand,
The surgeon’s knife,
The nurse’s care,
Placing her / his body in the cradle of others,
Just as I pray for you to hold her / his soul with Your loving hands.

Bless her / his surgeon with a steady hand,
Keen vision and a passion for healing.
Bless her / his caregivers with wisdom and skill,
With compassion, focus and dedication.
Bless our family with ease and comfort,
Energy and endurance, tranquility and peace.

Source of life,
Bring Your healing power to my daughter / son
_______________ (child’s name in Hebrew or your native tongue).
Remove her / his pain,
Relieve her / his distress,
And cure her / his body, mind and spirit.
Bless her / him with strength, courage and hope
So that she / he may know life and health,
Joy and love.
And grant her / him a full and speedy recovery.

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

Postscript: This prayer is adapted from “For Surgery.” Other prayers for healing include: “Upon Recover from Surgery,” “For a Critically Ill Mother,” “For a Critically Ill Child,” “For a Critically Ill Father” and “For Healing the Spirit.”

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R’fuat HaNefesh: Healing the Soul

Posted on: August 5th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is a lovely prayer for healing the soul directed toward a specific individual. It did not, however, come off as planned. I intended to write a prayer/poem in praise of the soul. Instead, I wrote this prayer for healing the soul. It prayer appears in Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. Optional language is shown in [brackets] and word choices are identified with a slash (/). To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

R’fuat HaNefesh
G-d of the spirit,
G-d of the soul, the breath and the wind,
Look with kindness and favor on __________________, (name)
My [father /mother / sister / brother / son / daughter / friend / husband / wife / partner]
Whose heart aches,
Crushed and fallow,
Whose heart yearns,
Empty and broken.
G-d of the nefesh, ruach and neshama,
Guide his / her soul
Back to wonder and mystery,
Sacred moments and glorious days,
So that he /she knows the power of Your love
And the wisdom of Your word.
May his / her soul shine,
A light and blessing
For our people Israel.

Postscript: Other prayers for healing include: “For Surgery,” “Upon Recover from Surgery,” “For a Critically Ill Mother,” “For a Critically Ill Child,” “For a Critically Ill Father” and “For Healing the Spirit.” All of them appear in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

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

Photo Source: ifDawn.com

Small Moments

Posted on: July 28th, 2011 by tobendlight

This prayer is about seeking the smallest moments of beauty and compassion. When we seek compassion, our souls bonds with the idea that it is an essential human quality. The prayer was written, in part, as an antidote to another of my prayers, a challenging piece called “Witnessing: A Meditation.” To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Small Moments
Have you seen the secret nod of understanding between old friends?
Or the first wobbly steps of a child?
Have you heard an old man sigh as he sits down in a chair?
Have you captured, from the corner of your eye,
An act of gentle sweetness,
A fleeting gesture nearly missed as you rushed by?

Listen and hear.
Look and see.
Touch and feel.
Breath and smell.
Taste and remember.

Do you recall the radiance of sunrise?
Or the brilliance of the full moon?
Do you savor the small moments
Of joy and wonder bursting forth around you?
Do you notice the gifts of friendship, kindness and love?
If you do, bless you.
If you don’t, these blessings await you.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
Source of daily splendor,
You gave us vision and understanding
So that we can witness and celebrate
Acts of generous spirit,
Expressions of compassion and healing,
The tiniest gestures of holiness and love.
Open our hearts to the precious glories of our days.

Blessed are You, Holy One of Old,
Beauty abounds.

Postscript: I use this prayer for the 20th day of counting the Omer: “Bonding in Compassion.”

Photo Credit: Good Life Zen

For A Critically-Ill Father

Posted on: July 27th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is a healing prayer for fathers, structured in parallel to my prayer “For a Critically-Ill Mother.” My prayer “For a Critically-Ill Child” has a decidedly different structure and tempo. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows. This prayer will appear in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

For A Critically-Ill Father
Holy One,
G-d of health and healing,
My father’s body is failing.
Illness holds him.
Grief and fear hold me.

Ancient One,
Well of hope,
Grant my father
A quick and complete recovery.
Relieve his suffering.
Remove his pain.
Return him to health.
Restore him to life.

Rock of my heart,
Comfort and shelter,
You know the path ahead.
You know the journey.
You hear our prayers.
G-d who healed Miriam in the desert,
Bring Your healing power to my father
_______________ (father’s name in Hebrew or your native tongue)
So that he may know life and health,
Joy and peace.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
Creator of fatherly wisdom and strength,
Source of love,
Rock of life.

Postscript: Other prayers for healing include: “For a Critically Ill Child,” “For a Critically Ill Mother,” “For Surgery,” “Upon Recovery from Surgery” and “For Healing the Spirit.”

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.

Father’s Meditation

Posted on: July 20th, 2011 by tobendlight

Here’s another prayer written with my own children in mind.

Father’s Meditation
Gracious and Compassionate One,
Mother of the Universe,
Father of Life,
Source and Shelter,
Hear this prayer:

My children are Yours,
To guide and protect with Your strong hand,
To nurture and care with Your outstretched arm,
To hold and heal with Your loving ways.
Grant them vitality and fortitude
As they build lives of their own.
Fill their days with friendship and hope,
Joy and adventure,
Thanksgiving and peace.
Ease their burdens and relieve their struggles.
Grant them years of prosperity and serenity,
Wisdom and courage,
Gratitude and wonder.
May they enjoy the fruits of Your creation
In service to Torah and our People Israel.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
G-d of our ancestors,
G-d of generations.

Postscript: Another prayer that I wrote for my daughters is called “For Bereaved Children.” And here’s a parent’s prayer for when “My Child Leaves Home.”

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For Summer

Posted on: July 10th, 2011 by tobendlight

A prayer for the new season that appears in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. Other seasonal prayers that appear in This Grateful Heart include: “For Winter,” “For Summer,” “For Autumn” and “For Rain.”

For Summer
Heat and light,
Day overtakes night,
Warm air settles over the earth,
The land vibrant with growth.
Your creatures build and thrive.
Mornings, alive with motion,
As warmth surrenders to heat.
Nights, bursting forth with wonder.
Bless this day, God of seasons,
Bless the summer with energy and vitality
So that all of Your creatures
Enter the coming seasons
With the fullness of Your bounty.

God of time and space,
May this season be a blessing and a teacher.
Make me like the land,
Fertile with sustenance and beauty.
Make me like the midnight sky,
Sparkling with ancient gifts.
Bless my days with service
And my evenings with rest.
Make me like the summer dawn,
Vibrant, awake, vital and ready.

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Postscript: Other seasonal prayers that also appear in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day include: “For Winter,” “For Summer,” “For Autumn” and “For Rain.”

Photo Source: Gary on Our Monthly Photo Album

The Way Home

Posted on: June 30th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is prayer about returning to the Land of Israel. It’s the antidote to a piece I posted two weeks ago called “To Find Home,” a difficult prayer/poem about struggling to find a sense of home. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

The Way Home
G-d of Old
The One who led our ancestors to a land of promise,
A vision of abundance,
Milk and honey from holy soil,
Grant me the strength to follow that sacred path,
Trials in the desert,
Trials of heart,
The journey home.

Ancient One,
Your Voice resounds in the hills,
Your Call echoes in the valleys,
Your Mysteries waiting
In the desert and by the seas.

Home is in my breath,
In my eyes,
In my heart.
Home is in the joy and the laughter,
In the work and the struggle,
In the toil and in the rest.

Blessed are You, G-d of our Ancestors,
You are the way home.

Postscript: Please take a moment to read “To Find Home” and compare it to this prayer. Which one resonates more for you? Which one are you more likely to use in your own prayer? Here are links to the other prayers I’ve written here in Israel: “Sages” and “A Song that Holds My Heart.”

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Posts Tagged ‘hope’

Yom Kippur Meditation I

Prayer After Hurricane Irene: Safety After Violent Weather

For Work

For My Child’s Surgery

R’fuat HaNefesh: Healing the Soul

Small Moments

For A Critically-Ill Father

Father’s Meditation

For Summer

The Way Home

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