Posts Tagged ‘renewal’

 

For A Critically-Ill Father

Posted on: July 27th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is a healing prayer for fathers, structured in parallel to my prayer “For a Critically-Ill Mother.” My prayer “For a Critically-Ill Child” has a decidedly different structure and tempo. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows. This prayer will appear in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

For A Critically-Ill Father
Holy One,
G-d of health and healing,
My father’s body is failing.
Illness holds him.
Grief and fear hold me.

Ancient One,
Well of hope,
Grant my father
A quick and complete recovery.
Relieve his suffering.
Remove his pain.
Return him to health.
Restore him to life.

Rock of my heart,
Comfort and shelter,
You know the path ahead.
You know the journey.
You hear our prayers.
G-d who healed Miriam in the desert,
Bring Your healing power to my father
_______________ (father’s name in Hebrew or your native tongue)
So that he may know life and health,
Joy and peace.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
Creator of fatherly wisdom and strength,
Source of love,
Rock of life.

© 2011 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Other prayers for healing include: “For a Critically Ill Child,” “For a Critically Ill Mother,” “For Surgery,” “Upon Recovery from Surgery” and “For Healing the Spirit.”

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.

Halfway Point

Posted on: June 23rd, 2011 by tobendlight

When I arrived in Israel, my grief came rushing in. The feeling was so close to the surface that I felt fragile like glass, glass at the edge of a mountain. In a strong wind. It took all my strength not to break into tears – and into pieces – at any moment. So I hardened my heart. For safety.

I began to have a fantasy: I’m sitting on a park bench next to the oldest Chasid in the world. He has a long white beard and soft smiling eyes. His black coat lies across his lap, his white shirt glistening with sunlight. I’m yelling at him. “What gives you the right to be so certain, so sure? How dare you? How dare you? To think you think that you know. That you think you have secrets.” My intestines boil and my bones shake. His eyes continue to smile, his hands folded across his lap. I shout and I yell and I scream  and then I collapse onto his shoulder. I’m crying the tears of a thousand men who haven’t cried for a thousand years. Sobbing. Wailing. He takes his arm and lays it gently across my back.

In Tzfat, I met some dear, sweet Jews, young and old. I didn’t yell at any them, Chasid or progressive. I cried a few tears. Not many. Instead, I listened. Then I started to sing again. And to open my heart. As they would say, Baruch Hashem.

This shift is reflected in the changing emotions of the three prayers that I’ve completed so far in Israel, written in this order:

I’m now a little more than halfway through my journey. I’ve slept in six cities and 10 different beds. I’ve met, spoken to and hiked with more than 50 people: families and students, young professionals and travelers, long-time olim and olim chadashim, old friends and friends-of-friends, secular Jews and Chabadniks. More to come.

Baruch Hashem.

© 2011 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Please excuse any intermittent technical problems with the header of this site. I’ll address it when I am back in the U.S.

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.

Israel Soon

Posted on: June 11th, 2011 by tobendlight

On Sunday I leave for Israel. This trip is about connecting with people and the land and healing from a raft of losses: my wife z”l, my job, my home. My joy and excitement at how the trip is shaping up are beyond my expectations. Through the power of the web – email, Facebook, my website – I will reconnect with old friends and will meet and stay with people I’ve never physically met, friends of friends, the family of friends and Internet pals who have opened their homes. Some of the trip is planned, some will simply evolve while I’m there. Thanks to the many, many people who have helped along the way.

I plan to continue to post new prayers for the three weeks that I’m gone, but I have no idea what will actually happen. To celebrate the start of my journey, here are links to three prayers about Israel:

And here are links to three prayers about travel:

  • “For Travel” – A traveler’s prayer
  • “On the Road” – For the blessing of meeting people on the journey
  • “On the Trail” – The awe and wonder of physical and spiritual treks

© 2011 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

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.

Shavuot Prayers and Stories

Posted on: June 2nd, 2011 by tobendlight

ShavuotPrayers and stories for Shavuot. To read them, click on the name of the prayer.

Learning and Loving Torah

Holiness and Our Relationship with G-d

Short stories about the love of Torah

And a  prayer about Counting the Omer: “The Season of Counting.”

During the seven weeks from Passover to Shavuot, the period from the exodus to revelation on Sinai, Jews count the days and the weeks. And so we remember the journey from the depths of slavery to the heights of G-d’s Holy Presence. According to mystical practice, each week has a theme (and each day a sub-theme) that leads us to revelation. Here are links to prayers and meditations for each week of Counting the Omer:

  • Week One: Chesed (Lovingkindness, Love, Benevolence)
  • Week Two: Gevurah (Discipline, Justice, Restraint, Awe)
  • Week Three: Tiferet (Beauty, Harmony, Compassion, Truth)
  • Week Four: Netzach (Eternity, Endurance, Fortitude, Ambition)
  • Week Five: Hod (Humility, Splendor)
  • Week Six: Yesod  (Foundation, Bonding)
  • Week Seven: Malchut – Nobility, Sovereignty, Leadership)

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 Source: Congregation Or Chadash

Omer, Week Seven: Malchut

Posted on: May 30th, 2011 by tobendlight

malkhut1Here’s a list of prayers for the themes of week seven of Counting the Omer: Malchut– Nobility, sovereignty, leadership. They’re listed in my suggested order, from day 43 at the top of the list to day 49 at the bottom. To read them, click on the name of the prayer.

And a prayer about Counting the Omer: “The Season of Counting.”

During the seven weeks from Passover to Shavuot, the period from the exodus to revelation on Sinai, Jews count the days and the weeks. And so we remember the journey from the depths of slavery to the heights of G-d’s Holy Presence. According to mystical practice, each week has a theme (and each day a sub-theme) that leads us toward revelation. Here are links to prayers and meditations for each week of counting the Omer and Shavuot:

  • Week One: Chesed (Lovingkindness, Love, Benevolence)
  • Week Two: Gevurah (Discipline, Justice, Restraint, Awe)
  • Week Three: Tiferet (Beauty, Harmony, Compassion, Truth)
  • Week Four: Netzach (Eternity, Endurance, Fortitude, Ambition)
  • Week Five: Hod (Humility, Splendor)
  • Week Six: Yesod  (Foundation, Bonding)
  • Week Seven: Malchut (Nobility, Sovereignty, Leadership)
  • Shavuot

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: Kabbalah Names

Omer, Week Six: Yesod

Posted on: May 23rd, 2011 by tobendlight

yesod1Here’s a list of prayers for the themes of week six of Counting the Omer: Yesod– Foundation, bonding. They’re listed in my suggested order, from day 36 at the top of the list to day 42 at the bottom. To read them, please click on the name of the prayer.

And a prayer about Counting the Omer: “The Season of Counting.”

During the seven weeks from Passover to Shavuot, the period from the exodus to revelation on Sinai, Jews count the days and the weeks. And so we remember the journey from the depths of slavery to the heights of G-d’s Holy Presence. According to mystical practice, each week has a theme (and each day a sub-theme) that leads us toward revelation. Here are links to prayers and meditations for each week of counting the Omer and Shavuot:

  • Week One: Chesed (Lovingkindness, Love, Benevolence)
  • Week Two: Gevurah (Discipline, Justice, Restraint, Awe)
  • Week Three: Tiferet (Beauty, Harmony, Compassion, Truth)
  • Week Four: Netzach (Eternity, Endurance, Fortitude, Ambition)
  • Week Five: Hod (Humility, Splendor)
  • Week Six: Yesod  (Foundation, Bonding)
  • Week Seven: Malchut (Nobility, Sovereignty, Leadership)
  • Shavuot

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: Kabbalah Names

Omer, Week Five: Hod

Posted on: May 16th, 2011 by tobendlight

hod1Here’s a list of prayers for the themes of week five of Counting the Omer: Hod – Humility, splendor. They’re listed in my suggested order, from day 29 at the top of the list to day 35 at the bottom. To read them, please click on the name of the prayer.

And a prayer about Counting the Omer: “The Season of Counting.”

During the seven weeks from Passover to Shavuot, the period from the exodus to revelation on Sinai, Jews count the days and the weeks. And so we remember the journey from the depths of slavery to the heights of G-d’s Holy Presence. According to mystical practice, each week has a theme (and each day a sub-theme) that leads us toward revelation. Here are links to prayers and meditations for each week of counting the Omer and Shavuot:

  • Week One: Chesed (Lovingkindness, Love, Benevolence)
  • Week Two: Gevurah (Discipline, Justice, Restraint, Awe)
  • Week Three: Tiferet (Beauty, Harmony, Compassion, Truth)
  • Week Four: Netzach (Eternity, Endurance, Fortitude, Ambition)
  • Week Five: Hod (Humility, Splendor)
  • Week Six: Yesod  (Foundation, Bonding)
  • Week Seven: Malchut (Nobility, Sovereignty, Leadership)
  • Shavuot

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: Kabbalah Names

G-d’s Plan: An Introspection

Posted on: May 14th, 2011 by tobendlight

Grand Canyon SkyA prayer/poem about surrender, about the dance of grief and joy, the paradox of of love and loss, the duet of doubt and faith, the unbreakable bond between life and death. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows. This prayer appears in my book This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day.

 

G-d’s Plan: An Introspection
If G-d’s plan
Followed my plan,
I would have no scars on my skin
Or in my heart.

If G-d’s plan
Followed my plan,
I would not have felt the fire or the ice,
Heard the beauty or the terror,
Seen the new bud or the dying leaf.

If G-d’s plan
Followed my plan,
I would not have learned to grieve or to cherish,
To hope or surrender,
To be broken and still be whole.

What, then, keeps me locked in fear,
In dread of yielding to Your great works,
Your awesome love,
Your radiant power?
What small desire,
Petty hope –
What yearning of self  –
Blocks my service in G-d’s holy name?

G-d on high,
Release me from my judgments and designs.
Open my heart to You fully,
Without reservation.
Cast out my doubts and shames,
To receive Your divine wisdom and strength.

G-d of All Being,
Wise and true,
Make my limbs Your tools and
My voice Your messenger.
Make my heart Your tabernacle,
A dwelling place of holiness
And splendor.

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

Postscript: Related prayers include: “This Wound,” “Seeking G-d” and “Near the End: A Meditation.”

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

 

Omer, Week Four: Netzach

Posted on: May 10th, 2011 by tobendlight

nezach1Prayers for week four of Counting the Omer: Netzach – Eternity, endurance, fortitude, ambition. They’re listed in my suggested order, from day 22 at the top of the list to day 28 at the bottom. To read them, please click on the name of the prayer.

And a prayer about Counting the Omer: “The Season of Counting.”

During the seven weeks from Passover to Shavuot, the period from the exodus to revelation on Sinai, Jews count the days and the weeks. And so we remember the journey from the depths of slavery to the heights of G-d’s Holy Presence. According to mystical practice, each week has a theme (and each day a sub-theme) that leads us toward revelation. Here are links to prayers and meditations for each week of counting the Omer and Shavuot:

  • Week One: Chesed (Lovingkindness, Love, Benevolence)
  • Week Two: Gevurah (Discipline, Justice, Restraint, Awe)
  • Week Three: Tiferet (Beauty, Harmony, Compassion, Truth)
  • Week Four: Netzach (Eternity, Endurance, Fortitude, Ambition)
  • Week Five: Hod (Humility, Splendor)
  • Week Six: Yesod  (Foundation, Bonding)
  • Week Seven: Malchut (Nobility, Sovereignty, Leadership)
  • Shavuot

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: Kabbalah Names

Transitions

Posted on: May 9th, 2011 by tobendlight

800px-Aurora_borealis_in_AlaskaLast night I tossed in bed, half awake, half asleep, in prayer. It wasn’t fun. When I woke, more like emerging from a semi-hypnotic state, my first thought: write that dream as a prayer. It was impossible. Words were the lesser part of the experience. It was an ebb and flow of thoughts, emotions, images, love for my daughters, for my family, for myself, love of G-d, fear and joy, dread and hope, pride and shame, mystery and light. What I captured is my sense of that prayer, which resonates with humility and endurance. The prayer itself is beyond my reach. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Transitions
G-d of sacred moments,
G-d of endings and beginnings,
Hear this prayer for guidance and deliverance
As my life moves in new directions,
Onto new paths,
Into uncertain water.

Grant me courage as an answer to fear,
As the winds blow,
Strength as an answer to doubt,
As the storms gather,
And wisdom as an answer to uncertainty.

Grant me grace in the face of obstacles,
As fires rage,
Patience in the face of detours,
As the earth trembles,
And trust in the face of the unknown.

Grant me joy in my successes,
As the sun warms the land,
Humor in my defeats,
As the cactus opens a flower,
And acceptance throughout my days.

Grant me faith in Your guidance,
As songs lift my heart,
Gratitude for Your works,
As love lifts my life,
And joy in Your gifts.

G-d of Old,
Rock and Shelter,
My time is a blink,
My journey a puff of wind,
My life fragile and fleeting.
Therefore,
G-d of Secrets,
Grant me delight,
Luminous, majestic delight,
In using these blessings
In service to Your Holy Name.

© 2011 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: I use this prayer for the 26th day of counting the Omer. My other prayers about transitions include three favorites: “Leaving,” “River” and “Rhythms.”

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 Credit: NOAA Photo Library

“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

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