Tag Archive for "morning blessings"

Posts Tagged ‘morning blessings’

Before Morning

Posted on: August 27th, 2017 by Alden

In the dark and quiet night, a deep yearning sigh for a day of gentle kindness, blessings and peace. Half-awake, a yearning that arrives before morning…

Before Morning
Before morning breaks,
Before the birds begin to sing,
As dawn approaches from beyond the horizon,
And the deep quiet night prepares to depart,
Let the angels secretly bless me.
Let their song echo in my yearning soul.

Before morning breaks,
Before the traffic builds,
As light approaches from the waking day,
And responsibilities prepare to arrive,
Let the love of life surround me,
And joy flow from my grateful heart.

G-d who created light,
Holy One who renews creation,
Bless the coming day with Your majesty and love.
Bless the hours with Your kindness and grace.
Bless the moments with hope and healing.
Let our songs of praise rise before You,
And let peace descend from the highest heavens
To cover the earth.

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: National Park Service

Light of G-d

Posted on: November 11th, 2015 by Alden

This meditation is inspired by the morning ritual for putting on the tallit, which opens with the two lines of barchi nafshi, (Psalm 104:1-2), continues with the blessing l’hitataif b’tzitzit and closes with four lines beginning mah yakar chasdecha (Psalm 36:8-11). Wrapping ourselves in the tallit, we remember that we’re surrounded by G-d’s light.

Light of G-d
How bright is Your garment of light!
How vast the curtain of heaven!
How great Your splendor and majesty!

I stand before You
In service to Torah and Mitzvot.
Ready. Willing. Present.
Dedicating my heart to You.
My soul singing in praise.

In Your light, we see light.
In Your light, we are bathed in light.
Wrapped in Your light,
We are sheltered by light.

Blessed are You,
Bringing light to the upright in heart.

Postscript: The lines “in Your light, we see light” and “in Your light, we are bathed in light” are alternative translations of the words “b’orech neireh or” from Psalm 36. The former and more literal of the two is from The Koren Siddur. The latter is from Siddur Sim Shalom. See also: “Bind and Wrap,” “Gathering: A Dream of Reunion” and “Morning Blessings.”

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

Quick Prayer on Waking

Posted on: July 11th, 2013 by tobendlight

This brief prayer borrows its intention and theology from modeh ami, the traditional Jewish prayer said immediately on waking up in the morning, echoes of which are heard in the second stanza. The prayer is another in my series of quick prayers. Here’s a related set of prayers called “Morning Blessings.”

Quick Prayer on Waking
G-d,
Grant me a gentle day,
A kind and a sweet day,
A day of light and breath,
A day of love and service.

Holy One,
Thank You for renewing me to life.
For restoring my soul to my body
And for returning me
In joy and gratitude
To Your gifts and blessings.

Postscript: See also: “Quick Meditation for Today,” “Quick Meditation at Noon,” “Your Name: Quick Prayer at Dusk,” “Quick Meditation at Night” and “Quick Prayer for Healing.” Here’s a short, short story about saying morning blessings called “Bracha Simcha.”

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Photo Source: Yellow Sunrise, Wikipedia

Modeh Ani

Posted on: May 19th, 2013 by tobendlight

Here’s a new meditation based on a line of Jewish prayer. I’ve taken the prayer said on waking up, Modeh Ani, and created a ‘loop’ by shifting and replacing three words: ‘soul,’ ‘love’ and ‘trust.’ As the verses progress, the first of these words moves out and the other two move over to fill the empty spot, with a new word entering in the last position. The loop completes when the three original words prayer reenter one-by-one until the line is restored.

Modeh Ani
מודה אני לפניך מלך חי וקיים שהחזרת בי נשמתי בחמלה, רבה אמונתך
Modeh (modah) ani lifanekha melekh ḥai v’kayam sheheḥezarta bi nishmahti b’ḥemlah, rabah emunatekha.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my soul with love
Filled with Your eternal trust.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my love with trust
Filled with Your eternal hope.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my trust with hope
Filled with Your eternal kindness.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my hope with kindness
Filled with Your eternal justice.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my kindness with justice
Filled with Your eternal mercy.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my justice with mercy
Filled with Your eternal peace.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my mercy with peace
Filled with Your eternal soul.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my peace with soul
Filled with Your eternal love.

I thank You, G-d,
Creator of life, Eternal One,
For restoring my soul with love
Filled with Your eternal trust.

Postscript: I’ve used the same technique of shifting and replacing words in another prayer “For Devotion” which begins with the line “O Lord, open You my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise” (Psalms 51:17). This line is used to set the intention for devotion in prayer before reciting the Amidah. See also: “Affirmation of Faith” and “Gathering: A Dream of Reunion.”

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Photo Source: LadyMama.org

Posts Tagged ‘morning blessings’

Before Morning

Light of G-d

Quick Prayer on Waking

Modeh Ani

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