Posts Tagged ‘spirit’

 

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

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

A Heart of Vision

Posted on: May 7th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is from a new series of prayer/poems that combine the vision of the spiritual traveler with the voice of admonishing prophet. The result is a warning about the dangers of the mystical journey. It ends on a note of hope, acknowledging that even in despair G-d is with us. Other prayers incorporating the voice of the prophet include: “Let Love,” “Let Joy,” “Let Truth,” and “Let Holiness.”

To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below (website only). The text follows.

A Heart of Vision
I cannot see truth with my eyes.
I cannot gain wisdom with my sight.
Only my heart can know
Mystery and majesty,
Awe and wonder,
Glory and grace.

Listen dear sisters,
Dear brothers!
Do not be quick to pray
For vision from the center of your being,
To see from the inside out.
When your heart pulses with joy and laughter
You will rise weightless into the sky.
But when your heart cries its tears of blood
You will be naked and alone in the arms of G-d.

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

Postscript: Other prayer/poems in this series include “A Heart that Hears” and the upcoming “A Heart of Love.”

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.

A Prayer for Mom

Posted on: May 4th, 2011 by tobendlight

Ada Publicity ShotHere’s a prayer to honor Mom. “For the Matriarch” is from a series of prayers celebrating family, including “For the Patriarch,” “For Our Brothers,” “For Our Sisters”and “For the Family Historian.” Each opens with the tone of psalm and ends with a blessing. They all appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

 

For the Matriarch
For our matriarch,
A song of strength and hope.

Guardian of generations,
Keeper of traditions,
Hand of guidance and love,
We are blessed by your wisdom and purpose,
Your work to bind us to our heritage,
Your dedication to peace in our homes
And joy in our lives.
You remind us to open our hearts to our brothers and sisters,
Fathers and mothers,
Daughters and sons.
You remind us to honor and cherish cousins of cousins of cousins,
And to live together, in harmony,
By G-d’s holy word.

G-d of motherly wisdom and grace,
Bless our family with health
And our matriarch with vision, endurance and hope.
May her devotion inspire us to live by our highest ideals,
Guided by Torah.
Bless our lives with laughter
And our days with purpose,
So that we bring radiance and splendor to our family
And to the world.

Blessed are You, G-d of our mothers,
Who provides just and righteous women
In every generation.

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

Postscript: The photo is my mom. She was an actress. I welcome ideas for more topics in this series of family prayers. Others include: “For the Patriarch,” “For Our Brothers,” “For Our Sisters”and “For the Family Historian.” This prayer was first posted on May 9, 2010.

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 use or like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet.

Photo Source: Mom

Omer, Week Three: Tiferet

Posted on: May 3rd, 2011 by tobendlight

tiferethPrayers for week three of Counting the Omer: Tiferet– Beauty, harmony, compassion, truth. They’re listed in my suggested order, from day 15 at the top of the list to day 21 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

After the Horror

Posted on: May 1st, 2011 by tobendlight

YomHaShoahCandleThis prayer can be used as part of a liturgy for Yom HaShoah, specifically for reclaiming life in the shadow of death. Since the wording is general, it can also be used as a meditation after any event in which many die and others live. Another prayer in my Yom Hashoah liturgy is called “Tears of Crystal, Tears of Broken Glass,” calling on the imagery of Kristallnacht. Click here for the entire Yom HaShoah liturgy. To listen while you read, please click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

 

After the Horror
Hold fast to the breath of life.
Hold fast to the song of life.
Hold fast to the soul of life.

This is my sacred duty, G-d of old,
As survivor, as witness, as a voice of history and truth.
Why else did I live when so many died?
Why else do I stand when so many were put to rest?
Why else do I hope and yearn when so many were silenced?

Hold fast to awe and wonder.
Hold fast to radiance and light.
Hold fast to mystery and majesty.

This is my sacred duty, G-d of old,
As mourner, as testimony to horror and destruction.
What else remains? What else endures?
What more can You ask of me,
But to choose life in the shadow of death?

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

Postscript: After the attacks in Toulouse, France, I wrote “At the Hand of Anti-Semitism: A Yizkor Prayer.” Yom HaShoah also reminds me of my gratitude and love for Israel, reflected in this piece, “Israel: A Meditation,” which is also part of my Yom HaShoah liturgy.

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 use this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet.

Photo Credit: Highland Park Conservative Temple

Omer, Week Two: Gevurah

Posted on: April 25th, 2011 by tobendlight

gevura1Here’s a list of prayers for the themes of week two of Counting the Omer: Gevurah– Justice, discipline, severity, restraint, awe. They’re listed in my suggested order, from day 8 at the top of the list to day 14 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 One: Chesed

Posted on: April 19th, 2011 by tobendlight

chesed1Here’s a list of prayers for your use during week one of Counting the Omer: Chesed– Lovingkindness, love, benevolence. They’re listed in my suggested order, from day 1 at the top of the list to day 7 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

“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

“Alden left everyone feeling inspired.” – Cantor Jeri Robins, Shabbat Chair, NewCAJE6