Posts Tagged ‘sisters’

 

Vayishlach 5775: Family Healing

Posted on: November 30th, 2014 by Alden

Family Tree HealingIn this week’s Torah portion, Jacob attempts to reconcile with his brother. This is a prayer for healing family wounds. Much as Jacob prepared to encounter Esau, this is a prayer for the spiritual willingness to heal. Choices to tailor the prayer to particular family situations are in [brackets]; use these choices or your own language. This prayer appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Family Healing
G-d of Old,
Our family has been fractured,
Torn apart by _________________ [anger, violence, death, alcoholism, suicide, disease, mental illness, neglect, abuse, abandonment, finances],
Old wounds that have steeped into our bones and our blood,
Our thoughts and our words.
Release me from my anger and my guilt,
So I may see my kin with new eyes –
Their losses and fears,
Their pain and shame –
And therefore find a source of
Forgiveness and renewed love.

Well of Blessings,
Lead us to new vision and new wisdom,
The place where love rests safely in our hearts
And peace waits quietly in our hands.

G-d of Generations,
Grant healing to my family, speedily,
So that we may rejoice together in Your gifts,
With joy and thanksgiving.

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

Postscript: Here’s the prayer I posted for Vayishlach 5773, “The Descent,” a prayer about wrestling with angels. My prayer “For Family” includes a similar message to this prayer, but more softly stated. Here are prayers of family praise: “For the Patriarch,” “For the Matriarch,” “For Our Sisters,” “For Our Brothers” and “For the Family Historian.” This prayer first appeared on this site on November 8, 2012.

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. If you like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet. Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: Pinterest, Family Constellations

Family Healing

Posted on: November 8th, 2012 by tobendlight

This is a prayer for healing family wounds. Choices to tailor the prayer to particular situations are in [brackets]. Use this or other language to describe your family circumstances. My prayer “For Family” includes a similar message, more softly stated. This prayer appear in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Family Healing
G-d of Old,
Our family has been fractured,
Torn apart by _________________ [anger, violence, death, alcoholism, suicide, disease, mental illness, neglect, abuse, abandonment, finances],
Old wounds that have steeped into our bones and our blood,
Our thoughts and our words.
Release me from my anger and my guilt,
So I may see my kin with new eyes –
Their losses and fears,
Their pain and shame –
And therefore find a source of
Forgiveness and renewed love.

Well of Blessings,
Lead us to new vision and new wisdom,
The place where love rests safely in our hearts
And peace waits quietly in our hands.

G-d of Generations,
Grant healing to my family, speedily,
So that we may rejoice together in Your gifts,
With joy and thanksgiving.

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

Postscript: Here are prayers of family praise: “For the Patriarch,” “For the Matriarch,” “For Our Sisters,” “For Our Brothers” and “For the Family Historian.”

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.

For the Family Historian

Posted on: October 14th, 2010 by tobendlight

This is a prayer for the one who holds the flame of family history. I wrote it in honor of our family historian, Irwin Keller. Irwin posted this prayer on a Jewish genealogy website and it was subsequently published in the spring 2010 edition of Morasha, the newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois. It’s part of my series of prayers for family, including “For the Patriarch,” “For the Matriarch,” “For Our Brothers” and “For Our Sisters.”

Please listen along as you read. (Click on the triangle in the slider bar below. The entire text follows.)

For the Family Historian
For the family historian,
        A song of thanksgiving.

Guardian of the family tree,
Keeper of our history,
We are blessed with your love and devotion,
Your tireless efforts to know our heritage,
Your work to keep us united,
Your joy in rediscovering brothers and sisters
Once separated, apart no more.
Your work reminds us to love and cherish the living,
To honor and praise the dead,
To embrace the lost,
To welcome each other home.

G-d of mystery and wonder,
Bless our family with strength and peace,
Wholeness and love,
Health and prosperity.
May sons and daughters find joy under the chupah.
May our parents be given long lives and easy deaths.
Bless us with children, grandchildren and great grandchildren,
So that the generations expand,
A wondrous celebration of Your gifts.

Blessed are You, G-d of our mothers and fathers,
Who delights in family wholeness and love.

© 2010 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Other prayers for family members include: “For the Patriarch,” “For the Matriarch,” “For Our Brothers” and “For Our Sisters.”

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.

For Our Sisters

Posted on: September 5th, 2010 by tobendlight

This prayer celebrates our sisters. I have two, Mara and Blair. I love them with all my heart. This prayer is part of a series rejoicing in family, including “For the Patriarch,” “For the Matriarch,” “For Our Brothers” and “For the Family Historian.”

To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

 

For Our Sisters
For our sisters,
A dance of  joy.

Sister, to have you is a blessing,
A gift of grace and love.
Your dignity is my shield,
Your compassion, my cloak,
Your wisdom, my guide,
Your laughter, my hope.
Your triumphs witness your endurance,
Your purpose
And your power.
You are my sister by birth,
My sister by choice,
My sister through heartache
And my sister through blessings.

G-d of sisterly devotion and warmth,
Bless our family with understanding
And our sisters with passion, prosperity and peace.
May their devotion inspire us to kindness and service.
Bless our days with moments together,
Celebrations of love and loss,
So that we may bring renewal and rejoicing into our lives
And into the world.

Blessed are You, G-d of sisters,
Who delights in sisterly love.

© 2010 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postcsript: If you like this prayer, you may also like “For the Patriarch,” “For the Matriarch,” “For Our Brothers” and “For the Family Historian.”

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.

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