Posts Tagged ‘service to God’

 

Chop, Carry, Bake

Posted on: January 20th, 2016 by Alden

bread2Here’s a simple new prayer about bringing our gifts into the world. It’s prayer for tikun olam, healing the world.

Chop, Carry, Bake
We stand before
The hand of G-d,
The hand of earth and fire,
Of substance and mystery,
The hand of flour and water,
Of gifts and blessings
The hand of life and death.

Open your hand to the needy,
While you can,
Before your strength fades,
For you are called
To extend your heart in righteousness,
To extend your human hand in kindness,
To share your bounty and your labor,
In service to creation.

We stand before
The hand of G-d,
In awe and wonder,
To chop wood,
To carry water,
To bake bread,
To bring it into the world
In love.

© 2016 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: See also my social justice prayers, including: “Lesser Children,” “To the Streets,” “Against Worker Exploitation,” “Against Hunger” and “Against Human Trafficking.” Here’s a link to more prayers for social justice.

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: Lagniappe = A little bit extra

Tzav: Fire and Ash

Posted on: March 22nd, 2015 by Alden

Fire and AshesEarly in this week’s Torah portion we learn about tending the fire on the sacrificial altar, both the manner in which wood will be kindled and added to the fire, as well the removal of ash, which is first set off to the side of the altar, but is ultimately removed to a clean place outside of the camp. Ashes, of course, will ultimately choke a fire. Here’s a new prayer for parashat Tzav, honoring the holiness of both the fire and the ash.

Fire and Ash
My love of G-d
Rises like savory smoke,
A sweet smell,
Ascending from the altar
Of my heart.

The fires burn.
Prayer. Healing.
Joy. Hope. Surrender.
Keep them burning.
Keep them alive and strong,
In the sanctuary of your heart.

Smoke will rise.
Ash will fall.

Let us carry these ashes
To a holy place.
They are the dust that remains
When we set our lives
A blaze with joy and passion.

Tend the fire in your heart
With wisdom.
Give it power.
Let it breathe.
Make your life
A tabernacle of blessing.
Your life will be as incense
On the altar of G-d,
Sweet and savory,
With the scent of glory,
Leaving holy ash
As a sign of your devotion.

© 2015 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Please read these related prayers “Salt and Honey,” “Dust and Water” and “Fire and Water.”

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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.

Photo Source: Daniel Hardman’s flickr photo stream

The Details of Beauty

Posted on: July 11th, 2014 by Alden

 

IMG_5616A gift for Shabbat. A reminder. A reminder for those in sorrow and grief, those who are tired, numb and especially to those who’ve run to bomb shelters all week. Shabbat Shalom.

The Details of Beauty
Remember
The details of beauty
With your eyes.
The autumn leaf,
A baby’s cry,
Small wonders to remind you
Of joy and wonder.

Remember
The details of love
With your breath.
The soft smile
And gentle hand,
Small wonders to remind you
Of awe and majesty.

Remember
The details of faith
With your pulse,
The quiet prayer,
The hymn of glory,
Small wonders to remind you
Of devotion and service.

G-d of Old,
The details of beauty
Surround us.
Love and faith are
Our inheritance.
Teach us to see clearly in each day
The small wonders
You set before us.
To take them in,
To feel their power
And to rejoice.

© 2014 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Here are more prayers with a similar theme: “This MomentBeing Present,” “Leaving” and “Small Moments.” If you haven’t yet, please take a look at my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing, and consider ordering a copy, where some of these prayers appear.

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: Alden Solovy

 

 

This Moment

Posted on: June 3rd, 2012 by tobendlight

IMG_1925Every moment is another opportunity to teach and to serve, to summon holiness and love into the world. This appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

This Moment
How did I arrive in this place?
This joy and wonder.
This grief and loss.
This hour. This moment. This life.
Choices. Events. G-d.
My decisions. The decisions of others.
The hand of our Creator.

Holy One,
Help me to see that I am exactly
Where I need to be
To learn and to serve,
To be and to become,
To live as an instrument of healing and love,
Charity and forgiveness,
Kindness and grace.

How did I arrive in this moment?
How did I get this blessing,
This gift,
To be exactly where I can learn and serve
In G-d’s Holy Name?

© 2012 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Here are more prayers with a similar theme: “Being Present,” “Leaving” and “Small Moments.”

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.

Photo Source: Alden Solovy (in the Grand Canyon)

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