Posts Tagged ‘Passover meditation’

 

Passover Prayers

Posted on: April 2nd, 2011 by tobendlight

matzah-560x420Here’s a list of my prayers that would make lovely additions to your Passover Seder, divided into four categories: prayers about freedom, prayers for social justice, prayers for Hallel and Counting the Omer. Many of them appear in Haggadah Companion: Meditations and Readings. Some appear in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. To read them, click on the name of the prayer:

Prayers About Freedom
Egypt Inside – About personal freedom
Breaking Bonds – Setting ourselves free
The Season of Freedom – A time to be free
Release Me – Freedom from emotions that hold me back
Elijah – Our deepest yearning for a world of wholeness

Prayers for Social Justice
To The Streets – About taking tikun olam to the streets
Against Human Trafficking – For modern-day slaves
Against Tyranny – For an end to the rule of tyrants
Against Poverty – For all to live in economic well-being
Against Worker Exploitation – For fair wages and conditions
Against Hunger – To feed the world
For Women of Congo and Sudan – Against the abuse of these women

Prayers for Hallel
Dance Hallelujah – To dance in praise of G-d
Sing Hallelujah – To sing in praise of G-d
In Praise – To speak in praise of G-d

Counting the Omer and Other Topics
The Season of Counting – About the meaning of counting
For Spring – For the new season
History – About the gifts of memory and history
Jerusalem: A Meditation – “Next year in Jerusalem!”

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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.

Egypt Inside

Posted on: March 29th, 2010 by tobendlight

wollfhaggadahLeaving Egypt is the quintessential Jewish metaphor for the road to freedom. Leaving is only the beginning of that road. Leaving Egypt behind, leaving slavery behind, is much more difficult. This meditation appears in my new book, This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day.

Egypt Inside
This I confess:
I have taken Egypt with me.
I’ve kept myself a slave to grief and loss,
Fear and anger and shame.
I have set myself up as taskmaster,
Driving myself beyond the limits
Of reasonable time and common sense.
I’ve seen miracles from heaven,
Signs and wonders in my own life,
Yet I’ve taken Egypt with me,
Still waiting for the heavens to speak.

G-d of redemption,
With Your loving and guiding hand leaving Egypt is easy.
Leaving Egypt behind is a struggle.
In Your wisdom You have given me this choice:
To live in a tyranny of my own making,
Or to set my heart free to love You,
To love Your people,
And to love myself.

G-d of freedom,
Help me to leave Egypt behind,
To hear Your voice,
To accept Your guidance,
And to see the miracles in each new day.

Blessed are You, G-d of wonder,
You set Your people on the road to redemption.

© 2017 CCAR Press from This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day

Postscript: My book Haggadah Companion: Meditations and Readings includes 18 readings for Passover. Special thanks to Rabbi Peter Knobel who suggested – among many wonderful ideas for my writing and this site – that I think of holidays as opportunities to write new prayers.

Please check out my Meet the Author video 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 Credit: The National Library of Israel

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