Yom Kippur. A day of prayer. Of fasting. Of repentance. It can be deadly dull, hour after hour, year after year. Yet, I’ve experienced moments that have taken my breath away. These experiences went far beyond a deep connection with prayer. They shifted my relationship to G-d and my understanding of myself. They also inform my work as a poet and liturgist. I wrote about them in the Times of Israel, in an essay titled “Cry No More: Three Prayers, Two Visions and a Fire.” I invite you to read it as part of you Yom Kippur preparation.
May you be inscribed for a year of health and happiness, awe and wonder, prosperity and peace.
For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.
This three-stanza prayer/poem reflects the spiritual journey of t’shuva, repentance and return. The first stanza represents the month of Elul, when we are literally called to introspection by the sound of the shofar. The second stanza represents Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgment that also heralds the joy and hope of a new heart and another chance to live a life of holiness. The third stanza represents Yom Kippur, when, after 40 days of introspection and one intense day of prayer and fasting, our spirits are renewed. Our hearts stir throughout these 40 days, but differently as the progression of themes and emotions lead us to new awareness, new behavior and new relationships with ourselves, with the world and with G-d.
Let Your Heart Stir
Breathe in the sound of the shofar.
Let the trumpet of our people
Be the voice of your heart.
For your soul knows the call.
Let your heart stir
And your eyes open, anew.
Taste the sweetness of the new year.
The delight of healing,
The joy of possibilities,
The pleasure of being.
Let your heart stir
And your eyes open, anew.
Exalt in the triumph of forgiveness.
Let the glory of repentance
Be the light of your days,
For your spirit knows the way home.
Let your heart stir
And your eyes open, anew.
Tweetable! Click here to tweet this: “Breathe in the sound of the shofar. Let the trumpet of our people
Be the voice of your heart…” A prayer: https://tobendlight.com/?p=8243
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 onFacebookandTwitter.
This is a New Year prayer about love. Why? Those of us who are alone yearn for a partner. Those of us in relationships need to nurture them with joy and love. To adapt this prayer for singles or couples, use either “me” or “us,” shown in [brackets]. This prayer appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.
In This Turning: A New Year’s Day Meditation
Darkness and grace
Mourning and thunder
Light and rejoicing
Daybreak and open sky
Here I surrender
To the chance for love
Your warm breath
Your loving hands
The fire in your eyes
The hope in your heart
What gifts wait in this turning
To you
To myself
This joy
This adventure
What gifts wait in this turning
And this yearning
This new year
This new wonder
Let blessings rain down
Upon [me/us] from heaven
And let hope settle softly
Upon this open heart
Let this be the time to sing
To dance
To play
And to delight in another
Glorious
Day
This prayer is about having compassion for ourselves while repairing the damage we’ve done to self and others. I wrote it after my first Yom Kippur in Jerusalem, my first in Israel as an oleh chadash. I use it on Yom Kippur and during the Counting the Omer, day 10, “compassion in discipline.” It appears in my bookThis Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press.
Cry, No More
Cry no more for the sins of the past.
Rejoice in your repentance and your return.
For this is the day that G-d made
To lift you up from your sorrow and shame,
To deliver you to the gates of righteousness.
Remember this:
Love is the crown of your life
And wisdom the rock on which you stand.
Charity is your staff
And justice your shield.
Your deeds declare your kindness
And your works declare your devotion.
Cry no more for your fears and your dread.
Rejoice in your blessings and your healing.
For this is the day that G-d made
To raise your countenance and hope,
To deliver you to the gates of holiness.
“Awake, ye sleepers from your slumber, and rouse you from you from your lethargy. Scrutinize your deeds and return in repentance.” – רמב”ם
Are you awake? Are you listening? Are you fully present in this moment? Are you fully present in your life? Are you fully present in G-d’s world? When you hear the call of the Shofar on Yom Kippur, when the great Tekiah sounds, will you be ready to rise up and live a life in service to G-d’s holy word?
Here are links to five meditations about waking up to some of G-d’s gifts – truth, joy, holiness, love and Torah – posted now in anticipation of Yom Kippur. They follow the same rhythm and structure: an introduction of three short stanzas; the assertion that G-d’s gifts are present in the universe; a call to reengage with purpose (“Awake you slumberers!”); a reminder of what we may have forgotten; and a call to action.
“…joy is in the dawn and the dusk,
The silence and the great expanse,
The flow of light from G-d’s grace,
Divine wonder and awe,
Calling out to you dear sisters and brothers:
‘Awake you slumberers!
Awake you who sleepwalk through…”
Are you ready to “Let Truth,” “Let Joy,” “Let Holiness,” “Let Love” and “Let Torah” guide your life? Each of these meditations is aimed at helping us back to G-d’s gifts. And each of these links also includes audio of the meditation.
If you like this prayer, post a link to your Facebook page, your blog or as part of a tweet. And don’t forget to click “like” on this page. Thanks. Please subscribe. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!”
This meditation for the last service of Yom Kippur is the second prayer inspired by a song composed by my cousin Irwin Keller for Neilah called “At the Closing of the Gates.” To hear this prayer, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.
Meditation Before Neilah
Wait.
There is something else,
G-d of Old,
I must show You.
It’s dark
And secret.
Part sadness.
Part anger.
Part fear.
Listen.
There is something else,
G-d of Old,
I must tell You.
It’s hard
And heavy.
Part pride.
Part guilt.
Part shame.
Stay.
There is something else,
G-d of Old,
I need from You.
It’s ancient
And new.
Part Torah.
Part Mitzvot.
Part joy and love and light.
G-d of Justice,
G-d of Mercy,
Hear my plea.
Wait for me to return to You.
Listen as I confess to You.
Stay as I struggle to live my life as a blessing,
According to Your wisdom,
According to Your law,
According to Your word.
Tweetable! Click here to tweet this: “Wait. There’s something else, G-d of Old, I must show You…” Powerful Neilah prayer by @ToBendLight https://tobendlight.com/?p=4268
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.
This prayer is about standing at the gates of heaven in prayer. It alludes to the Un’taneh Tokef which asserts that t’shuva (repentance), t’fillah (prayer) and tzdakah (charity) are key to a full reconciliation with G-d, with oneself and with the world. It was inspired by a song written by my cousin Irwin Keller for Neilah called, “At the Closing of the Gates.” This prayer is the result of listening to his song, with a few changes recommended by Irwin. To listen to his song, click on the triangle in the first bar, below. “At the Closing of the Gates,” by Irwin Keller:
To listen to the words of the prayer while reading, click on the triangle in the second bar. The text follows. “At the Gates,” by Alden Solovy:
At the Gates
At the gates of repentance
You will be asked:
Are you ready to enter?
Are you ready to live a life of t’shuva?
The gates of repentance
Surround my heart.
Unlock my fear,
G-d of Old,
So I may enter
The well of love
With wonder and awe.
At the gates of charity
You will be asked:
Are you ready to enter?
Are you ready to live a life of tzdakah?
The gates of charity
Surround my deeds.
Unlock my fortitude,
Source and Shelter,
So I may enter
The well of healing
With righteousness and strength.
At the gates of devotion
You will be asked:
Are you ready to enter?
Are you ready to live a life of t’fillah?
The gates of devotion
Surround my spirit.
Unlock my faith,
Rock of Israel,
So I may enter
The well of mystery
With prayer and rejoicing.
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. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.
This list of prayers and stories for Yom Kippur id divided by topic: Vidui (confession), T’shuva (Repentance), Neilah (closing service), Living in Holiness, Sacred Time and Death/Mourning. Here are several additional lists of prayers for Elul, Rosh Hashana and Sukkot. Here’s a link to yizkor and memorial prayers.
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 onFacebookandTwitter.
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 onFacebookandTwitter.
Here’s a short meditation on asking G-d for guidance and support to live a life of righteousness. It’s a nice opening prayer for a moment – or an hour – of reflection on the journey of t’shuva, the journey of repentance, return to G-d and the commitment to a life of righteousness. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.
To Ask
Holy One,
G-d of my heart,
What is it that You ask of me,
In my joy and wonder?
What is it that You ask of me,
In my grief and pain?
What is it that You ask of me,
In my vitality and strength?
What is it that You ask of me,
In my weakness and decline?
Ancient One,
Grant me the will and the desire,
The spirit and the purpose,
To serve You with love.
To ask for Your guidance.
To seek Your help.
To do Your will.
To learn Your Torah.
To act with righteousness.
To live with humility.
To rejoice in all Your gifts.
Postscript: Click here for the full list of prayers for the Yamim Noraim, including prayers for the New Year, meditations on death and mourning and a link to yizkor and memorial prayers. Also, check out this list of prayers for the month of Elul.
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. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.
“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