Tag Archive for "hope" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘hope’

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.

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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.”

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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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: 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.

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.

Spring, Again

Posted on: March 16th, 2011 by tobendlight

Spring arrives again on March 20, 2011. Here’s a prayer for the season. To listen as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For Spring
Shimmering, radiant air
Alive with new warmth.
Sunshine waking the earth,
Calling the grasses to grow,
Bulbs to prepare flowers.
Winds clear the last remnants of seasons past,
Old leaves and dry branches
Making way for new life.
And the rain joins the sun to feed the land.
Bless this day, G-d of seasons.
Bless the Spring with energy and hope.
Be present with us as we celebrate the glory of creation
Planting the land and our lives with Your gifts,
These gardens of holiness and love.

G-d of time and space,
May this season be a blessing and a teacher.
Make me like the sunshine, a source of light.
Make me like the earth, a source of bounty, ready to give.
Bless my days with service and my nights with peace.
Make me like a garden,
A source of beauty and purpose,
Sustenance and splendor.

Postscript: Other seasonal prayers include: “For Rain,” “For Autumn,” “For Winter” and “For the New Year.” This prayer was first posted on March 23, 2010.

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.

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

Let Holiness

Posted on: March 13th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is part of a series of prayers invoking a prophetic voice, the voice of spiritual challenge, including “Let Truth,” “Let Joy,” “Let Love” and “Let Torah.” I use this prayer during week seven of counting the Omer, gevurah b’malchut. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Let Holiness
Let holiness sparkle from your face,
Radiate from your eyes,
Emerge from your lips.

Let holiness enter your heart,
Infuse your lungs,
Expand your chest.

Let holiness fortify your bones,
Fire your nerves,
Enliven your flesh.

For holiness is in the earth and the sky,
The storm and the quiet,
The flow of blessings from G-d’s creation,
Divine wisdom and mercy,
Calling out to you dear sisters and brothers:
‘Awake you slumberers!
Awake you who move empty and hollow from sunset to sunset.
Have you become blind to awe and wonder?
Have you rejected the gifts that surround you?
Have you abandoned your hope and your being?’

This, then, is G-d’s command:
Let holiness enter you,
Fortify you,
Shine through you.
Let holiness carry you into marvelous moments
And majestic years.
Learn and teach,
Study and pray,
Lifting your life with zest and zeal.
Let holiness be your journey and your destination.

Blessed are You, G-d of holiness.

Postscript: See also: “Let Truth,” “Let Joy,” “Let Love” and “Let Torah.”

Photo Credit: Kiriat Moshe

For the People of Japan

Posted on: March 11th, 2011 by tobendlight

After an earthquake hit Haiti last January, I wrote two prayers: one for the people and one for first responders. Here they are revised after a tsunami unleashed by Japan’s biggest recorded earthquake slammed into its eastern coast Friday. I’ve also written a new prayer for Japan to encompass the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.

In Devastation (Prayer for the People of Japan)
G-d beyond my understanding,
The earth has turned violent,
Shaking land and sea,
Sweeping our brothers and sisters off their feet,
Crushing and drowning homes and lives,
Upending dreams,
Toppling the foundations of hope and sustenance.
A shallow breath beneath water and rubble
And wailing in the streets.
The injured, the dead, the starving.
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 Japan,
All swept into chaos by earthquake and tsunami,
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 Japan Your protection,
Your radiance,
And Your peace.

Prayer For First Responders
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 Japan.
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 also revised these prayers when an earthquake hit New Zealand earlier this year. This particular revision adds a few words and lines to acknowledge the tsunami. Here’s a link to a new prayer for Japan encompassing the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.

Please use these prayers. See “Share the Prayer!” in the right hand column.

For the People of New Zealand

Posted on: February 22nd, 2011 by tobendlight

In the days after an earthquake hit Haiti last January, I wrote two prayers: one for the people and one for first responders. Here they are, revised after an earthquake struck New Zealand this morning.

In Devastation (Prayer for the People of New Zealand)
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, the dead, the starving.
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 New Zealand,
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 New Zealand Your protection,
Your radiance,
And Your peace.

Prayer For First Responders (to the New Zealand Earthquake)
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 of justice and mercy,
We pray for the people of New Zealand.
Let the world rally on their behalf.
May the deeds of the first responders
Find favor in Heaven
And bring healing on earth.

Please use these prayers. See “Share the Prayer!” in the right hand column.

In Plain Sight

Posted on: February 8th, 2011 by tobendlight

G-d’s gifts are everywhere. Is that why they’re so hard to find? This prayer comes from a heart of humility, a heart of love, a heart of yearning. I have selected this prayer for week 5 of Counting the Omer. This prayer appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

In Plain Sight
Ancient One,
G-d of Old,
Teacher, Guide and Shelter,
Your gifts are hidden in plain sight.
Why do I struggle to see
Love and light,
Hope and tomorrow,
The moment that just was
And the moment that will be?
My warm breath
And my grieving heart.
The gifts of this life.

Source of All Being,
Grant me the vision to see the gifts around me,
The wisdom to share Your bounty and grace,
And the humility to praise Your Holy Name.

Postscript: This prayer appears in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. See also “Garden of Blessings” and “Life as a Garden.”

Photo Credit: USDA NRSA Photo Gallery

For First Responders to the Earthquake in Haiti

Posted on: January 18th, 2011 by tobendlight

On Jan. 20 the URJ will host an update webinar on conditions in Haiti one year after a catastrophic earthquake. On Sunday former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier returned without warning after a 25-year exile saying he wanted to help rebuild. In the days after the earthquake, I wrote two prayers: one for the people of Haiti and one for first responders, who often internalize the trauma of a disaster.

For First Responders (to the Earthquake in Haiti)
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 of justice and mercy,
We pray for the people of Haiti.
Let the world rally on their behalf.
May the deeds of the first responders
Find favor in Heaven
And bring healing on earth.

Postscript: Click here for the prayer for the people of Haiti. The epicentre of the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake was near the town of Léogâne, approximately 25 km (16 miles) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. The Haitian government estimated that 230,000 people had died, 300,000 were injured and 1,000,000 made homeless. (Source: Wikipedia.)

Please use these prayers. See “Share the Prayer!” in the right hand column.

Posts Tagged ‘hope’

This Bounty

Let Love

This Wound

Spring, Again

Japan’s Disasters

Let Holiness

For the People of Japan

For the People of New Zealand

In Plain Sight

For First Responders to the Earthquake in Haiti

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