Living in Jerusalem, I’m told, eventually every writer, sooner or later, writes about cats. I suppose the same thing could be said about Key West, with its Hemmingway polydactyl (six-toed) cats. I’ve lived there, too.
The One about Kittens
There are so many
Frightened kittens
In Jerusalem
And the world.
People, too.
Frightened of the callous streets,
The angry souls,
And the silent hearts.
There are so many
Frightened kittens
In the world.
People, too.
Wide-eyed,
Sad-eyed,
Looking for scraps
Of warmth and love.
This Rosh HaShanah — as the specter of another socially-distant holiday looms — let’s renew our dreams of peace, a pervasive peace encompassing wholeness, health, renewal, vitality, and resilience. To share that prayer on Erev Rosh HaShanah 5782, Rebecca Schwartz, cantorial soloist at Congregation Kol Ami, Elkins Park, PA, created a new musical setting for my short blessing “Pervasive Peace.” Watch her singing the blessing on this video, or click the triangle in the bar below for audio only. Follow along with the lyrics, below. The sheet music is available on oysongs here. Combining this music with “Wildly Unimaginable Blessings,” text also below, creates a beautiful sung and spoken two-prayer liturgy for the New Year. To read more about the thinking behind “Pervasive Peace,” read this article in RavBlog.
Pervasive Peace May it be Your will, G-d of our fathers and mothers, That the year ahead brings a pervasive and complete peace On all the inhabitants of the earth, Beyond all the dreams of humanity.
Y’hi ratzon mil’fanecha, Elohei avoteinu v’imoteinu, Shehashanah haba-ah tavi shalom muchlat v’shaleim Al kol yosh’vei teiveil, Mei-ever l’chol chalomot ha-enoshut.
Wildly Unimaginable Blessings Let us dream Wildly unimaginable blessings… Blessings so unexpected, Blessings so beyond our hopes for this world, Blessings so unbelievable in this era, That their very existence Uplifts our vision of creation, Our relationships to each other, And our yearning for life itself.
Let us dream Wildly unimaginable blessings… A complete healing of mind, body, and spirit, A complete healing for all, The end of suffering and strife, The end of plague and disease, When kindness flows from the river of love, When goodness flows from the river of grace, Awakened in the spirit of all beings, When G-d’s light, Radiating holiness, Is seen by everyone.
Let us pray — With all our hearts — For wildly unimaginable blessings, So that G-d will hear the call To open the gates of the Garden, Seeing that we haven’t waited, That we’ve already begun to repair the world, In testimony to our faith in life, Our faith in each other, And our faith in the Holy One, Blessed be G-d’s Name.
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Postscript: Thanks to Rav Aytan Kadden for his help with the Hebrew. The sheet music is available on oysongs here. Find more of Rebecca’s music at www.rebeccasongs.com.
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A prayer for hope and survival as time passes after the devastating condo collapse in Surfside, Florida. May we all know safety and peace of mind in our homes.
For Surfside, Florida
This waiting is exhausting,
This watching is devastating,
This wondering is heartbreaking,
As the painful and grueling work
Of digging through rubble
Feels endlessly slow.
G-d beyond understanding,
We pray for the dead and the lost
After the calamity and catastrophe
In Surfside, Florida,
Hoping against the destruction and tears
For moments of rescue and reunion.
For the dead, grant them peace under your wings.
For the lost, grant them delivery, life, and health.
For their families, grant them strength and endurance.
For the community, prepare a path to healing.
Of all places, let us feel safe in our homes and dwellings,
With our families, friends, and dear ones.
Bless the 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.
Protect them from physical harm,
Shield them from emotional pain,
And guard them from taking this trauma into themselves.
G-d of heaven and earth,
Heavenly Guide,
Hand of love and shelter,
Grant the people of Surfside, Florida,
Your protection,
Your radiance,
And Your peace.
A simple meditation about why G-d called your soul to earth, and what it says about the choices you make.
Summoned to the World Something you do Will resonate Throughout eternity. That is why you are here. To touch time With your soul. To create ripples In the flow of our days.
You were summoned to the world By G-d’s will. Holiness aspires The work of your hands. The divine requires The prayers of your heart.
Create beauty. Spread love. Embody kindness. Do justice. Pursue peace. Always knowing that The moment of your life Summoned by eternity, The moment of your life Without which the universe Could not stand, Is a secret In heaven and on earth.
A short meditation inspired by Rav Abraham Isaac Ha-Cohen Kook‘s idea of the constant prayer of the soul, that our souls have a deep longing to be in constant prayer and that we can cultivate that yearning.
The Language of Your Soul
The language of your soul,
That fountain of blessings inside you,
Pouring forth in a river of love,
From you to G-d,
And G-d to you,
Sustaining life and creation itself,
Always seeking to sing goodness,
And beauty,
And truth,
Can only be summoned
From the secret chambers
Of your heart.
One You Love Is a bridge To the moment of creation, The moment When G-d’s heart Could no longer be contained, When light exploded In a big bang, Creating billions and Billions of stars, Millions and Millions of galaxies, Planets, moons, Solar systems without number, And one, Only one, You.
Yes, You are The impossible Yet here-you-are Miracle of love. The impossible Yet here-you-are Miracle of life. The impossible Yet here-you-are Miracle of G-d’s Loving hand And outstretched arm, Created in the same instant that Holiness, mercy, beauty, goodness, Righteousness and grace, Began to expand Throughout the universe.
On Saturday evening we finish counting three weeks of the Omer. With four more weeks to go, we have metaphorically left Egypt behind, but — on the spiritual journey — we are closer to Egypt than Sinai. This is a meditation on being in the place between. This piece appears in my latest book This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayerfrom CCAR Press.
Between Egypt and Sinai Between Egypt And Sinai There is only the journey. The long march from what was To what might be, From servitude To service, From pain To purpose, From Pharoah To G-d’s holy mountain.
Some days, More than I care to admit, I am closer to Egypt than Sinai, Closer to narrowness of mind And constriction of heart. Still I see the mountain And rededicate myself To the destination.
Between Egypt And Sinai There is only one question. Are we ready To become a nation of priests, Guided by Torah, Serving G-d, The Jewish people, And all of humanity With our hands, With our souls, And with our lives.
Here are three meditations for Tu B’Shvat. It’s also called Rosh HaShanah La’Ilanot, the ‘New Year of the Trees,’ which begins Wednesday evening, Jan. 27, 2021. A festival of renewal and hope, it’s celebrated as an ecological awareness day, as well as a day for planting trees.
Orchid, Cedar and Date Palm If only I could see Your love as an orchid blossom, I would smell the secret scent of holiness From the heavens.
If only I could see Your love as a cedar in Lebanon I would stand tall in the strength Of Your glory.
If only I could see Your love as a date palm, I would become the sweet fruit Of divine plenty.
This Prayer is a Tree Could it be That a prayer Is like a tree Falling in the woods? No one needs to hear Its thunderous crash, For its nutrients to soak Back into the earth. For its hollows To provide shelter. For it to become One with life itself.
Let your prayers Pour out upon The fertile ground Of your heart. Let your prayers Feed your aching soul.
Could it be That your prayer Is like a tree Falling in the woods? No one needs to see it Crack and tumble For it to clear space For new growth. For it to open space, Letting sunlight Penetrate the deep. For it to become One with life itself.
Tending Gardens Wildflowers bloom, A field of colors, A meadow on a hillside, Wild and free, Tended by sun and rain, Gently painted by the will of the earth.
Another place of delight, My garden blooms, A blueprint from my heart, Guided by my hand Tended with love and affection Planted according to my design.
G-d of splendor, Grant me the willingness to plant gardens And the wisdom to leave other gardens To Your loving hand. Teach me the beauty of doing And glory not doing. Grant me the power to act And the strength to refrain. Let my will to create, And my willingness to accept, Find balance and harmony In my heart and in my hands, So that my doing, And my not doing, Serve Your will And Your world.
This is a two-prayer liturgy to end 2020 and start 2021, combining my Rosh Hashanah 5780 prayer “Pervasive Peace” with my Rosh Hashanah 5781 prayer “Wildly Unimaginable Blessings.” They’re big, audacious prayers that we’ve earned after a year of global pandemic.
Wildly Unimaginable Blessings Let us dream Wildly unimaginable blessings… Blessings so unexpected, Blessings so beyond our hopes for this world, Blessings so unbelievable in this era, That their very existence Uplifts our vision of creation, Our relationships to each other, And our yearning for life itself.
Let us dream Wildly unimaginable blessings… A complete healing of mind, body, and spirit, A complete healing for all, The end of suffering and strife, The end of plague and disease, When kindness flows from the river of love, When goodness flows from the river of grace, Awakened in the spirit of all beings, When G-d’s light, Radiating holiness, Is seen by everyone.
Let us pray — With all our hearts — For wildly unimaginable blessings, So that G-d will hear the call To open the gates of the Garden, Seeing that we haven’t waited, That we’ve already begun to repair the world, In testimony to our faith in life, Our faith in each other, And our faith in the Holy One, Blessed be G-d’s Name.
Pervasive Peace May it be Your will, G-d of our fathers and mothers, That the year ahead brings a pervasive and complete peace On all the inhabitants of the earth, Beyond all the dreams of humanity.
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.
After the eight days — after the Eternal Lamp stayed alight for eight days on one day of oil — the rededicated Temple was back in service to the Israelite nation. The miracle of the oil led to a renewed ability to serve G-d. For today, that echo make Hanukkah a call to rededicate of our lives to serving the Most High. See also “The Season of Dedication.” The idea for a post-Hanukkah meditation came from my friend Cantor Evan Kent.
Meditation for the End of Hanukkah
The miracle didn’t end
After eight days.
The miracle was about hearts,
The miracle was about hands,
Rededicated to the service
Of G-d and humanity,
Rededicated to Torah and mitzvot,
Rededicated to the Soul of the Universe.
The miracle didn’t end
After eight days of consecrated oil ran out,
Eight days of consecrated oil
Burning radiant in holy testimony
To G-d’s saving power.
The miracles of love and hope
Still shine luminous
In your heart.
We are surrounded by light.
We are sources of light.
We are mirrors of G-d’s light.
And so, we are called to serve the Most High,
With prayer and song,
With chesed and g’milut chasadim,
With tikkun and tikkun olam,
With ahava and ahavat chinam.
The miracle is ours now.
We will carry it into the world.
We will be the light itself.
The light of justice,
The light of peace.
“Alden has become one of Reform Judaism’s master poet-liturgists…" - Religion News Service, Dec. 23, 2020
“Mesmerizing, spiritual, provocative, and thoughtful, Alden was everything you would want in a guest scholar and teacher.” – Rabbi Denise L. Eger, Congregation Kol Ami, Los Angeles, and Past President, CCAR
"Alden Solovy has become one of the most revered liturgists of the last decade…" - Jewish Post & Opinion, March 29, 2023
“Alden left everyone feeling inspired.” – Cantor Jeri Robins, Shabbat Chair, NewCAJE6
Living in Jerusalem, I’m told, eventually every writer, sooner or later, writes about cats. I suppose the same thing could be said about Key West, with its Hemmingway polydactyl (six-toed) cats. I’ve lived there, too.
