Tag Archive for "life" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘life’

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

In Times of War

Posted on: May 2nd, 2011 by tobendlight

Here’s a prayer to be said in times of war. Of course, it’s a prayer for peace. It’s also a prayer for life, safety, hope and sound judgment from our national leaders. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below.

In Times of War
Ancient One,
G-d of compassion and mercy,
Our country is at war.
Our soldiers take arms,
Once more,
In pursuit of justice,
To defend and to protect life and liberty.

Grant our leaders with insight and strength
To guide our nation on a path of wisdom,
Using our power and might with courage, with caution and with care.
Keep our soldiers safe.
Return them swiftly in life and in health.
Bless the injured and wounded with Your healing hand
And their families with Your loving grace.
Grant a swift end to this and all human violence
So that fear and struggle give way to joy and hope.
Send compassion and protection
To refugees, widows and orphans
From every land and every conflict.

Guardian of Life,
Source and Shelter.
Bring harmony and tranquility
To all nations and all peoples
So that we may renew and rebuild,
In the name of compassion,
In the name of peace.

Blessed are You, Source of Peace.

Postscript: Here’s a prayer “For Peace in the Middle East.” Also, see my post about a liturgy for 9-11 for a prayer called “To the Terrorist.”

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.

Carry Me

Posted on: April 17th, 2011 by tobendlight

Jews are called upon to take action, to work in partnership with G-d for tikkun olam. Yet at times I just need G-d to carry me through the day. This is a prayer for G-d’s presence, so that I can live a life of service. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below (website only). The text follows.

Carry Me
G-d, carry me today,
With Your love,
Your grace,
Your wisdom and strength.
G-d, carry me today,
With Your power,
Your justice,
Your holiness and law.
G-d, carry me today,
Through stormy winds and rough seas,
The obvious and unforeseen
Challenges and losses,
The uneven flow of my emotions,
My fears and my shames.

Today, G-d on high,
I will not succeed alone.
I will not survive alone.
I need Your majesty and might,
Your dignity and righteousness,
To carry me through the day ahead.
With You as my Rock and Shield
I will face this day with an answer
To loneliness and dread,
Misgivings and mistakes,
To stand with courage and freedom
Against misfortune and deceit.

G-d, carry me today.
Give me healing hands,
A quiet mind,
Gentle speech
And a forgiving heart.
Let me feel You in my chest.
Let me feel You in my limbs.
Let me feel You by my side.

Blessed are You, G-d of All,
You are the answer to those in need.

Postscript: Other prayers about connecting with G-d’s love and healing the heart include: “The Wound,” “This Stubborn Heart” and “Witnessing: A Meditation.”

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

Meditation for Today

Posted on: April 12th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is a simple daily prayer for a kindness, gentleness and peace from This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. It is applicable in times of joy and times of duress.

Meditation for Today
G-d,
Help me through this day.
Guide me toward kindness, gentleness and peace.
Grant me strength and endurance,
Courage and humor,
So that I may do Your will with a full heart,
In joy and in love.
Grant me wholeness, wonder and awe.
Then, G-d of Old,
I will become a source of blessings,
A light of Your word.

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and my two CCAR Press books: This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings 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 by Alden Solovy

In Memory of an Organ Donor

Posted on: April 4th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is a Yizkor prayer for those who have become organ donors in death. The last sentence is the classic ending of a Yizkor prayer. In this recording, I say the prayer in memory of my wife Ami z”l, who was an organ donor in her death. To listen along, click the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

In Memory of an Organ Donor
G-d of endings and beginnings,
G-d of past and future,
G-d of death and life,
Grant a perfect rest to ______________________ (name),
Whose death brought new life and new hope to others
Through the gift of his / her [vital] organs.
May those who received these gifts live lives of health and service,
Reflecting the love and devotion,
And the highest ideals,
Of our/my [father / mother / sister / brother / child / wife / dear one].
Bless our family with peace
Knowing that the hour of his / her death
Became a moment of life for others.
May this act of generosity echo through the generations,
A source of hope and comfort.
May his / her soul be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst.

Postscript: See two related prayers “For Organ Donation” and “On Waiting for an Organ Transplant,” as well as two memorial prayers: “For Bereaved Children” and “For the Bereaved.” In 1991, the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America approved organ donations as permissible, even required, from brain-dead patients. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist scholars and rabbis support and encourage donation. In 1992, a revered ultra-Orthodox rabbi ruled that organ transplantation is permissible. Please see the Halachic Organ Donor Society for Jewish resources. Here’s a resource on how various religions view organ donation.

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 Credit: Donate Life Organ and Tissue Donation Blog

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.

Things Break

Posted on: March 26th, 2011 by tobendlight

Each day we face the flow of endings and beginnings. G-d’s love remains. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Things Break
Things break. Things die.
People break. People die.
The end approaches
Sometimes swiftly,
Sometimes slowly,
Sometimes secretly,
Sometimes in plain sight.

Things thrive. Things live.
People thrive. People live.
Vitality flows from the heavens.
Energy reaches up from the core of the earth.
Love shines from the center of my heart.

G-d of time and space,
All beginnings lead to endings.
All endings are beginnings.
Grant me the wisdom to see life as a sea
Of losses and gains,
A tide of joy and heartache,
Birth and death,
Illness and recovery,
The sacred and the profane.

G-d of All,
Glorious and Holy,
Things thrive, things break.
People live, people die.
Your love is Eternal.

Postscript: These prayers are also about beginnings and endings: “Leaving,” “Arriving,” “Now” and “Near The End: A Meditation.”

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.

My Child Leaves Home (A Parent’s Prayer, Revised)

Posted on: March 20th, 2011 by tobendlight

Tomorrow my daughter Dana moves to Los Angeles. She’s lived with me for three months between college and career. This prayer was first written and posted last year. In the past few weeks I’ve become more keenly aware of the array of emotions captured here: joy for Dana’s achievements, concern with my own life transition. Here it is in Dana’s honor, revised (tweaked, really) based on comments from readers.

My Child Leaves Home (A Parent’s Prayer)
Holy One,
Heavenly Guide,
My daughter / son is leaving home
To begin the adventure of an independent life.
Bless her / his journey with joy and wonder.
Let opportunity open like a rose before her / his eyes.
Be her / his compass and her / his shield.
Lead her / him on a path of discovery
Guided by the love of Torah,
A commitment to mitzvot,
And dedication to the Jewish people.
Bless her / him with mentors and teachers,
Companions and friends,
Scholars and rabbis,
To support and guide her / him along the way.

In this marvel,
In this glorious moment of growth fulfilled,
My heart struggles with contradictions:
Pride and fear,
Joy and grief,
Love and loss.
The landscape of my life is shifting,
Offering new challenges and new choices
In the very moment my child departs.
Give me the wisdom and the strength to honor my own life
With gentleness and courage,
And to embrace the beauty and promise of the time to come.

G-d of our fathers and mothers,
G-d of sacred transitions,
Bless my daughter / son
_______________ (child’s name in Hebrew or your native tongue)
As she / he sets out on this new life.
May she be a blessing to her / his [new] community.
Lead us back to each other often,
With stories of marvelous moments and amazing discovery.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
Who watches over the lives of our children.

Postscript: As I noted (more eloquently) after the original post, this is a prayer of affluence. The ability to send a child to college, or help to launch her into the world, is a blessing in itself.

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 Organ Donation

Posted on: February 27th, 2011 by tobendlight

The death of my wife Ami z”l at a hospital in Maine led to her last act of service on this earth: becoming an organ donor. This prayer gives thanks for organ donation. I’ve also written a prayer “In Memory of an Organ Donor,” which I recite in her memory. And here’s a prayer to be said “On Waiting for An Organ Transplant.” To listen while you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows. This prayer appears in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

For Organ Donation
G-d of health and healing,
We give thanks for the medical science
That allows us to remove organs from one person
And implant them into another,
Renewing life for the critically ill.
Bless all those who dedicate their lives to this sacred task.
Grant strength and fortitude to the scientists and researchers,
Surgeons, nurses and clinicians,
Administrators and other professionals
Whose efforts give life.
May the work of their hands never falter.
Shine Your light on those who,
Still living, give so freely of themselves.
Grant them health, prosperity and long life.
Remember those who have given of themselves in death,
Providing vital organs to those on the edge of life.
May this final act of charity and love
Be a testimony to their lives.
Grant their families comfort, consolation and peace.

Blessed are You, G-d of miracles,
Who heals, blesses and sustains life.

Postscript: Here’s an update to this prayer called: “For Organ and Tissue Donation.” My other prayers for healing include: “For Surgery,” “Upon Recovery from Surgery,” “For Healing the Spirit” and “For a Critically Ill Child.” 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.

Photo Source: Fairtransplant.org

Posts Tagged ‘life’

A Prayer for Mom

In Times of War

Carry Me

This Bounty

Meditation for Today

In Memory of an Organ Donor

This Wound

Things Break

My Child Leaves Home (A Parent’s Prayer, Revised)

For Organ Donation

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