Queen and King
On Friday evening we yearn for the arrival of the Sabbath Queen, recalling the mystics of Safed who walked into the fields singing to greet her.…
Read articleFarewell, Beloved: A Havdalah Meditation
This meditation for Havdalah is patterned after my Shabbat meditation, “Come Beloved.” Together, the two prayers bookend Shabbat with parallel rhythms and language, borrowing images from…
Read articleBlessing Myself for Shabbat
This is a new take on an old custom: blessing our children on Shabbat. In this prayer, we take a moment to bless ourselves, an act…
Read articleShabbat Settles on Jerusalem
Here’s a short meditation on Shabbat in Jerusalem. I wrote this at a poetry workshop at Limmud UK. Here are links to more of my Shabbat…
Read articleShabbat as a Meditation
This meditation moves through the themes of Shabbat, reinforcing the rhythm of the day, the internal music of Shabbat. It takes us from candle lighting and…
Read articleShabbat Blessing for Children Who Have Left Home
One of my great joys of parenthood is putting my hands on my daughters’ heads and blessing them. As they went off to college and to…
Read articleBlessing For a Spouse / Partner
I know a young couple who bless each other at the Shabbat table: they hold hands, look into each other’s eyes, then give and receive a blessing. This…
Read articleWelcome, Sabbath Queen
This is a Hebrew poetry “smash-up,” combining the themes of the Yiddish song כוח with the image of the Sabbath Queen from the liturgical poem לכה…
Read articlePrayers of My Heart
This is a short and simple prayer about living with joy and tenderness, guided by G-d’s word. To listen, click on the triangle in the bar…
Read articleShabbat Prayers and Stories
In Israel, Shabbat sparkles. Here’s an annotated list of my prayers, blessings and stories with Shabbat as the central theme. My (current) favorites are “Come, Beloved” and “Shabbat Settles on…
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