Tag Archive for "love" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘love’

Pride Wins: A Prayer after Homophobic Brutality

Posted on: February 21st, 2016 by Alden

Shira Banki

The city of Jerusalem renamed Zion Square in memory of Shira Banki, murdered at 2015’s Pride Parade. An ultra-Orthodox Jewish extremist stabbed six participants, murdering the 16-year-old. The plaza was renamed Tolerance Square.

Addendum, June 13, 2016: In Orlando early Sunday, 50 people died in the deadliest mass shooting is U.S history, domestic hate and terror focused on a popular gay nightclub. Here’s a prayer “For Orlando, For the USA.” And Nov. 19 became another murderous moment for the community in Colorado Springs.

Pride Wins: A Prayer after Homophobic Brutality
Pride will not be crushed by violence.
Pride will not be crushed by hatred.
Pride wins. Love wins.
Beauty and joy win.

G-d of healing,
Bless the LBGTQ community
With Your comfort and care
In the anguish and pain after yet another
Senseless and vicious attack against the innocent,
An act of calculated violence against Your children.
Bless the victims with healing and strength.
Bless their families with solace and support.
Bless the community with resolve and well-being.

Let the day be near when
Gender and sexual orientation
Are no longer used an excuse for brutality or cruelty.
Let the day be near when
Justice and righteousness prevail,
Guiding us all to delight fully in each other,
Our similarities and our differences,
A tribute to the vast wonder of Your creation.

Postscript: Here’s a song written by Julie Silver in Shira’s memory. See also, “Love Wins: A Pride Prayer, Jewish.”

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Photo Source: Facebook, via JTA

Love Wins: A Pride Prayer, Jewish

Posted on: January 24th, 2016 by Alden

This prayer-poem of Pride is grounded in the Jewish view of love: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Levit. 19:18), pronounced “ve’ahavta lere’acha kamocha.” In other words, love wins. This piece appears in Mishkan Ga’avah: Where Pride Dwells, a groundbreaking collection of LGBTQ prayers, poems, liturgy, and rituals.

Love Wins: A Pride Prayer, Jewish
One day, the words ‘coming out’ will sound strange,
Oppression based on gender or orientation will be a memory,
History to honor and remember,
The pain of hiding, repressing, denying,
Honoring the triumphs of those who fought to be free,
Remembering the violence and vitriol that cost lives.

When love wins,
When love wins at long last,
ואהבת לרעך כמוך,
‘Love your neighbor as yourself’
Will be as natural as breathing.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!

One day, love will win every heart,
Love will win every soul,
Fear will vanish like smoke,
And tenderness for all will fill our hearts.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!

Love wins. In the end,
Love wins.
Man for man,
Woman for woman,
Woman for man,
Man for women,
All genders,
All orientations,
All true expressions of heart.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!

Let this come speedily,
In our day,
A tribute to the many
And the diverse
Gifts from heaven.
A tribute to love deep and true,
Each of us for one another.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!

Postscript: Thank you to my friend and fellow proud Jerusalem resident Cantor Evan Kent for his suggestions on an earlier draft of this prayer.

Photo Source: Tufts Hillel, JQUEST (Jewish Queer Students at Tufts)

Quick Blessing for a Past Love

Posted on: December 30th, 2015 by Alden

In my single life, before and after my marriage to Ami z”l, I’ve been blessed with the company of women who’ve loved deeply, women who have been sources of strength and inspiration. Sometimes I wonder how they’re doing, if they’re happy and contented, and I send a brief blessing out into the world. This blessing for a past love appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Quick Blessing for a Past Love
Light from my past,
You were once the joy of my present
And the hope of our future.
I remember you with affection
And pray that you have found
Joy and contentment,
Prosperity and peace.
Your loving heart and your gentle hand
Remain a source of quiet warmth
Even as the rhythm of our lives
Move in separate directions.
May you dwell in the tent of health and happiness
Secure in a life of friendship and love
Rejoicing in a life of awe and wonder.

Postscript: There are eight prayers of love and friendship in my book Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing which can be ordered here. This is one of 16 “Quick Prayers.” Click here for the full list.

Tweetable! Click here to tweet this: Pray for someone who you once loved: “Quick Prayer for a Past Love” http://bit.ly/1Vp3x6u New from @ToBendLight

Photo Source: QuotesGram

Faith to Pray

Posted on: December 15th, 2015 by Alden

What does it mean to pray, knowing that our prayers may not be answered? People fall ill. Friends die. Bad things happen to good people. This new prayer about prayer is part of my answer. Careful readers will note that, taken together, the three stanzas allude to the V’havta paragraph of the Shema: “And thou shalt love Adonai your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deut. 6:5)

Faith to Pray
Grant me willingness,
G-d of old,
To pray with my whole heart,
Knowing that You will not
Grant my every hope,
Nor change the nature of the universe
To fulfill my deepest desires.

Grant me faith,
G-d of compassion,
To pray with my entire soul,
Understanding Your promise
To hear our songs and prayers,
Trusting that those prayers
Bring a measure of holiness into the world,
Whether or not I see it or feel it,
As surely as hatred and violence
Pushes holiness away.

Grant me courage,
G-d of mercy,
To pray with all of my might,
Turning those prayers into actions,
Using my strength in service to tikun olam,
To work with dedication on repairing the world,
So that my prayers become blessings,
And my days become a beacon of light and love.

Postscript: Thanks to my friend Cantor Sheri Allen, Congregation Beth Shalom, Arlington, Texas, for the conversation that led to this prayer. It is one of several prayers about prayer, including: “For Prayer,” “Prayer Released,” “Prayers of My Heart,” “Whispered Prayer,” “To Pray” and “All Returns to Prayer.” I’ve also written a prayer “Before Writing a Prayer” and one for “After Writing a Prayer.”

Tweetable! Click here to tweet this: “Grant me faith, G-d of compassion, to pray with my entire soul…” From “Faith to Pray” from @ToBendLight https://tobendlight.com/?p=13912

Photo Source: Church of the Living G-d

Rise on Wings: A Prayer of Borrowing

Posted on: October 11th, 2015 by Alden

Your prayer lifts mine. My prayer lifts yours. But what happens when there’s no “lift” left in my own prayer? Does my prayer weigh your prayer down? Does my prayer become a burden? Not if you lend me your prayer with mercy and love. This piece appears in This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer from CCAR Press.

Rise on Wings: A Prayer of Borrowing
Let my soul rise
On the wings of your prayer.
My heart, heavy.
My voice, tired.
My strength, fleeting.
My breath, shallow.
My sight, obscured.

Your voice dazzles,
Filling the space with radiance and majesty.
A sacred melody.
A call of the ages.
An echo of eternity.
A pulse of holiness.
A harmony of light.

Let my yearning ascend
On the rhythm of your song.
Let my hope soar
On the music of your words.
Lend me your courage and your thunder.
And when we reach the gates of heaven,
I will be witness to your mercy and love.

Postscript: Prayers about prayer is a recurring theme in my work, including: “Invitations,” “Prayers of My Heart,” “Whispered Prayer,” “Prayer for You, Prayer for Me” and “Prayer with Wings.”

Photo Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Digital Library

Ekev: Come, Rain

Posted on: August 6th, 2015 by Alden

The middle paragraph of the Shema comes from this week’s Torah portion, Ekev, which says that rain is a reward for our love and service to G-d. This meditation is on the blessing of rain. I wrote it on a sleepless night in a one-man tent during a rainstorm at a campground overlooking the Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee. This piece appears in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press. To listen while you read, click the triangle in the bar below.

Come, Rain
Come, rain,
Pour forth
Upon this barren land,
Upon this barren heart.
The earth is dry,
My chest is withered
And love has fled
For more fertile ground.

Come, rain,
Pour forth
With abandon,
Fill the air with moisture,
Feed the ground with promise,
Let living water
Soak through me,
A gift of heaven,
A gift of holiness,
A fountain of glory,
A well of healing,
A source of power,
Pounding through my thirsty veins.

Postscript: My other prayers about rain include “For Rain,” “The Flood” and “About the Rainbow.” This prayer first appeared on this site on March 15, 2015.

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: Alden Solovy

Two Prayers by Teens

Posted on: August 4th, 2015 by Alden

Here are two prayers written at two different sessions of my teen writing workshop. We used the same process, but the conversations about prayer were much different. So were the results. Yesterday at NewCAJE6, I led an intensive teacher training called “Pray in Our Own Words: Generating Excitement for Prayer,” which included teaching the technique I use with teens to write a common prayer.

For a Better World
Acknowledge us, O God,
So we may know wisdom, strength, justice and kindness;
So we will witness the miracle of life, love and peace;
So that the doors of understanding open for us and for our children.
As we learn to fulfill our duties to you Adonai,
Rekindle the light of mitzvot
And protect us all.

‘Wowl-ing’ to God
God is the original superhero.
You are awesome, the deliverer of truth and faith.
You give us creativity, which is the opportunity to make all that is good and evil.
We thank, praise and sanctify your knowledge, light and change, forever.
Thank you for giving us all choices.
Thank you for the unique universe.
Help us long for the life, ability, soul, body and love
That makes our destiny beautiful and, most of all, ours.
Sanctity humus, the moon, the sun, and light.
Praise beauty, awe and wide double rainbows.
All love trees.
Let us ‘Wowl’ at the moon and rejoice in Your Awesomeness.

Postscript: If you’re interested in learning more about my workshops for adults and teens, please drop me an email at alden@tobendlight.com. ‘Wowl’ is a word the teens coined by combining the words ‘wow’ – as in ‘praise G-d’ – and ‘howl, as in howling at the moon. It means: ‘howling with spiritual intent to celebrate the beauty G-d put in this world.’

Tweetable! Here’a suggested tweet. Please tweet it (with link): Two awesome prayers written by teens at @tobendlight workshops:

Photo Source: Living a Life of Writing

Balak: Your Dwelling Place

Posted on: June 28th, 2015 by Alden

Ma Tovu is one of my favorite prayers. The opening line comes from this week’s Torah portion, Balak. Balak hires Bil’am to curse the people Israel, but instead he blesses them. The blessing includes this line, which opens Ma Tovu: “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwellings, O Israel!” [Numbers 24:5] According to rabbinic interpretation, the ‘tents’ are ‘tents of Torah’ and the ‘dwellings’ are synagogues. This prayer turns the metaphor once again, stating that our lives can be the dwelling place of G-d’s glory when we do the work of love and charity. Two lines from Ma Tovu, traditionally said upon entering a synagogue, frame the second stanza.

Your Dwelling Place
When I pray,
When I quiet my mind and open my heart,
I become a priest/priestess
In the house of God.

G-d,
I love Your house,
Your habitation,
The dwelling place of Your glory.
Let me serve You with my hands,
With the toil of healing the world,
With the labor of kindness and compassion.
And I will become Your abode
Of love and charity,
Of thanksgiving and peace,
Doing Your will in joy,
Rejoicing in Your work.
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,
Thy dwellings, O Israel!

Let my life become a temple,
A sanctuary of praise and service,
And You will dwell
In me.

Postscript: Some of my other prayers that borrow quotes directly from the liturgy include: “Come, Beloved,” “Sephardi Quarter Note,” “Gathering: A Dream of Reunion” and “Affirmation of Faith.”

Let G-d

Posted on: May 21st, 2015 by Alden

This simple prayer is a reminder to invite G-d into our lives and to move in the direction of holiness. My other pieces using birds and flight as a metaphor include: “Soarbird,” “Bird is Bird” and “First Bird.”

Let G-d
Let G-d
Hold majesty before your eyes,
And mystery before your heart.

Let G-d
Place strength in your hands
And radiance in your soul.

Let G-d
Lead you to awe and wonder
And redeem you from fear and shame.

You are cloud and horizon,
A bird in solo flight,
Seeking your flock,
Seeking your journey,
Seeking your place.

Let G-d
Put healing in your hours
And rejoicing in all of your days.

Let G-d
Find you in the open sky
And lift you in joy and grace.

Postscript: You might also like “Fresh Delights” and “Unseen Lands.”

Photo Source: Island Real Estate

Entrances and Exits

Posted on: May 17th, 2015 by Alden

This is a new prayer about living in the best and the highest moments of our lives.

Entrances and Exits
This moment is an entrance:
An entrance to your breath,
An entrance to your heart,
An entrance to your journey,
An entrance to your destination.

This moment is an exit:
An exit from your solitude,
An exit from your fear,
An exit from your wounds,
An exit from your cage.

G-d of Old,
Open my eyes to the majesty
That surrounds us.
Grant me the courage
To enter this day
With wonder and amazement,
With enthusiasm and joy,
With strength and with hope.
Teach me to dance
In the direction of holiness.
Teach me to sail
In the direction of beauty.
Teach me to love
In the direction of wholeness and peace.

The world is Yours
In fullness and glory,
Given to us as a gift
So that we may rejoice
In the mysteries
Around us.

Postscript: See also: “Now.”

Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

Posts Tagged ‘love’

Pride Wins: A Prayer after Homophobic Brutality

Love Wins: A Pride Prayer, Jewish

Quick Blessing for a Past Love

Faith to Pray

Rise on Wings: A Prayer of Borrowing

Ekev: Come, Rain

Two Prayers by Teens

Balak: Your Dwelling Place

Let G-d

Entrances and Exits

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