Tag Archive for "hope" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘hope’

Israel Soon

Posted on: June 11th, 2011 by tobendlight

On Sunday I leave for Israel. This trip is about connecting with people and the land and healing from a raft of losses: my wife z”l, my job, my home. My joy and excitement at how the trip is shaping up are beyond my expectations. Through the power of the web – email, Facebook, my website – I will reconnect with old friends and will meet and stay with people I’ve never physically met, friends of friends, the family of friends and Internet pals who have opened their homes. Some of the trip is planned, some will simply evolve while I’m there. Thanks to the many, many people who have helped along the way.

I plan to continue to post new prayers for the three weeks that I’m gone, but I have no idea what will actually happen. To celebrate the start of my journey, here are links to three prayers about Israel:

“Israel: A Meditation” – On the love of Israel our people and our nation
“Jerusalem: A Meditation” – On the joys and sorrows of our sacred city
“For Peace in the Middle East” – A hope for the future

And here are links to three prayers about travel:

“For Travel” – A traveler’s prayer
“On the Road” – For the blessing of meeting people on the journey
“On the Trail” – The awe and wonder of physical and spiritual treks

Please use these prayers. See “Share the Prayer!” in the right hand column. For notices of new prayers posted here, please subscribe. To read four to six mini-prayers each week, as well as notices of new prayers posted to the site, please join the To Bend Light fan page on Facebook.

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.”

For the Joy of Learning

Posted on: May 29th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is a prayer to express joy for the gift of learning. It’s another in my series of creativity prayers.“For the Gift of Song” describes the common framework used in this series. This piece appears in my book This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For the Joy of Learning
G-d, we give thanks for the joy of learning,
For the love of teaching and being taught,
For the gift that connects us to You,
To each other
And to Your Divine word.
Your wisdom is near to us,
In our hearts and in our mouths,
In our hands and in our lives,
So that we may teach it to each other
With humility and love.
Hear our prayer for those who teach and learn,
Bringing new light to Your people Israel.
Make the moments together a celebration.
Let heaven pour wisdom and strength through them
So that they overflow with enthusiasm and wonder
Drawing others into Your service.
So that when we witness the love of learning
Our souls turn back to You for wisdom.
Together, we offer this journey back to heaven,
And rejoice.

Postscript: Be sure to check out the other prayers in this series: “For the Gift of Song,” “For the Gift of Words,” “For the Gift of Dance,” “For the Gift of Art,” “For the Gift of Music,” “For the Gift of Laughter” and “For the Gift of Torah Scholarship.”

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: Rural & Distance Education NSW

Offerings

Posted on: May 22nd, 2011 by tobendlight

In this simple set of rhythmic, parallel verses we affirm the connection between G-d’s gifts and our responses. The result is hope for a lasting dialogue with G-d. In communal worship this can be used as a congregational mediation or it can be read responsively. I use this prayer during week five of counting the Omer. It appears in This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Offerings
When G-d offers love, I offer my heart.
When G-d offers wisdom, I offer my mind.

When G-d offers beauty, I offer my senses.
When G-d offers silence, I offer my patience.

When G-d offers challenge, I offer my strength.
When G-d offers trial, I offer my faith.

When G-d offers pain, I offer my dignity.
When G-d offers fear, I offer my courage.

When G-d offers grief, I offer my endurance.
When G-d offers shame, I offer my amends.

When G-d offers death, I offer my mourning.
When G-d offers life, I offer my rejoicing.

When G-d offers joy, I offer my thanksgiving.
When G-d offers awe, I offer my wonder.

When G-d offers righteousness, I offer my blessings.
When G-d offers holiness, I offer my praise.

Postscript: Other prayers about G-d’s gifts include: “This Bounty,” “These Blessings” and “In Plain Sight.” This “Meditation After the Yom Kippur Vidui” is also about offering ourselves in service to G-d.

Photo Credit: The Word in Hebrew

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.”

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

A Prayer for Mom

Posted on: May 4th, 2011 by tobendlight

Here’s a prayer to honor Mom. “For the Matriarch” is from a series of prayers celebrating family, including “For the Patriarch,” “For Our Brothers,” “For Our Sisters”and “For the Family Historian.” Each opens with the tone of psalm and ends with a blessing. They all appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For the Matriarch
For our matriarch,
A song of strength and hope.

Guardian of generations,
Keeper of traditions,
Hand of guidance and love,
We are blessed by your wisdom and purpose,
Your work to bind us to our heritage,
Your dedication to peace in our homes
And joy in our lives.
You remind us to open our hearts to our brothers and sisters,
Fathers and mothers,
Daughters and sons.
You remind us to honor and cherish cousins of cousins of cousins,
And to live together, in harmony,
By G-d’s holy word.

G-d of motherly wisdom and grace,
Bless our family with health
And our matriarch with vision, endurance and hope.
May her devotion inspire us to live by our highest ideals,
Guided by Torah.
Bless our lives with laughter
And our days with purpose,
So that we bring radiance and splendor to our family
And to the world.

Blessed are You, G-d of our mothers,
Who provides just and righteous women
In every generation.

Postscript: The photo is my mom. She was an actress. I welcome ideas for more topics in this series of family prayers. Others include: “For the Patriarch,” “For Our Brothers,” “For Our Sisters”and “For the Family Historian.” This prayer was first posted on May 9, 2010.

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

Photo Source: Mom

For New Love

Posted on: April 24th, 2011 by tobendlight

This prayer is to be recited by an individual after recognizing the beginning of romantic love. It recognizes the strength and fragility of a new relationship. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For New Love
G-d of mystery and majesty,
Creator of redemption and hope,
I give thanks for the gift of new love.
Grant me the gentleness and courage,
The bravery and patience,
To let this love unfold like a flower,
A source of wonder and beauty
To be nurtured, blessed, praised and cherished
For what it is in this moment:
A seed with tiny imperceptible roots
And the beginning of a fragile stem hidden within.
It may take hold – and this would be beautiful –
Or it may wash away, which is the nature of some things.
This seed has so much energy,
So much G-d given yearning for life,
Yearning to hold fast in the cradle of earth,
Yearning to reach for warmth and light,
That it may yield a meadow,
A sea of wild flowers,
Perhaps fragile,
Perhaps sturdy,
Always seeking light and air and earth.
Or it may disappear in the wind.

Heavenly source of radiance and splendor,
Let this new love be a blessing.
Give it strong roots to stay planted firmly against the elements
And a hearty stalk to bend gracefully with the seasons.
You who know the deepest mysteries of the heart,
May our moments together yield blessings for us
And for everyone we meet.

Blessed are You,
Source of blessing and love.

Postscript: In case you were wondering, there’s no particular significance to my posting this prayer now. One day I’ll use it. Not today. My other prayers about love include: “Let Love,” “The Cut That Heals,” “To Seek Your Love” and “A Heart of Love.”

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: Alden Solovy

This Bounty

Posted on: April 14th, 2011 by tobendlight

This prayer celebrates G-d’s bounty and grace, making it a lovely prayer for both Sukkot and Thanksgiving. It will appear in This Grateful Heart, my forthcoming from CCAR Press.

This Bounty
G-d of abundance,
You have blessed me
With Your bounty
Your love,
Your grace,
The treasures of Your creation.

In gratitude for these gifts,
Holy One,
Bless me with wisdom
To use them with skill,
In service to Your holy name.

Bless me with humility
To use them with joy
In service to Your creation.

Bless me with a generous heart
And a forgiving hand
In service to Your commandments.

Bless me with a strong arm
And a curious mind
In the name of tikkun olam.

Bless me with gentle speech
And joyous laughter,
So that all my works
Summon holiness into Your world.

Then, Rock of Israel,
I will honor Your glorious gifts
With all my being.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
Your bounty calls us to service.

Postscript: Here are a few prayers with a similar theme: “Life as A Banquet,” “These Blessings” and “Giving Thanks.” And If you would, please put in a quick prayer for Dana, Marty and me. Thanks.

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: WikiMedia Commons

Let Love

Posted on: April 6th, 2011 by tobendlight

What if we could embody love? Love would light up our days, our lives and the lives of those around us. Together, we could light up the world. This is from a series of prayers that invokes a prophetic voice, the voice of spiritual challenge, calling on us to embody all that is good. The series includes “Let Truth,” “Let Joy,” “Let Holiness” and “Let Torah.” To listen, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Let Love
Let love wash over your face,
Caress your eyes,
Brush your lips.

Let love pulse through your heart,
Warm your lungs,
Fill your chest.

Let love strengthen your bones,
Ignite your nerves,
Awaken your flesh.

For love is in the air and in the wind,
The current and the waters,
The flow of gifts from G-d’s creation,
Divine bounty and grace,
Calling out to you dear sisters and brothers:
‘Awake you slumberers!
Awake you who walk warily into the day and dejected into the night.
Have you forgotten My gifts and treasures?
Have you forsaken the beauty around you?
Have you surrendered your joy and passion?’

This, then, is G-d’s command:
Let love wash over you,
Pulse through you,
Pour strength into you.
Let love carry you into luminous days
And radiant nights.
Sing and dance,
Laugh and play,
Lifting your life with passion and hope.
Let love be your messenger and your message.

Blessed are You, G-d of love.

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Photo Credit: Epic Love

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.