Posts Tagged ‘Torah’

 

Obediah: A Short Story

Posted on: June 4th, 2011 by tobendlight

This story celebrates the love Torah and the great joy of passing that love from generation to generation. It’s great for Shavuot  and Simchat Torah. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Obediah
One morning, after his father went to t’fillah, Obediah the sofer’s son snuck into Papa’s workshop to write his own Torah. The workshop was so tidy, the surface of Papa’s desk clean and ready. Obediah took a sheet of parchment from a large wooden drawer. He took a jar of ink and a quill off the shelf and climbed into Papa’s chair so he could reach the top of the desk. He poured some ink into a small glass just like his father. And as he dipped the quill into the ink a shiver of joy went through him. Obediah would write his own Torah! The Torah of his father and his father and his father, who received it from the rabbis, who received it from the prophets, who received it from the judges, who received it from Joshua, who received it from Moses himself, who stood in G-d’s Holy Presence at Mount Sinai. And for a moment Obediah was there, he was there at Sinai with Moshe and Aaron and Miriam. Obediah saw the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud. He heard the blast of G-d’s shofar and the deafening silence that followed. He watched as G-d held the holy mountain over the people’s heads. And Obediah the sofer’s son said to no one in particular, “Na’aseh v’neeshma. I will do, and I will listen.”

So Obediah began to write. Bresheit. In the beginning. Barah. Created. Elohim. G-d. “Yes!” Obediah thought. What could be more true and perfect and full of love then G-d in the beginning creating us in order of give us the Torah? In order to give me the Torah?

Just then, Papa walked into the study. Obediah looked up at Papa and looked back at his work. Drips of ink on the desk. Smudges on the back of the parchment. And three beautiful words of Torah.

“Papa, I’m writing a Torah.”

Papa picked him up and scolded him and told Obediah never to do this again and that Obediah did a beautiful job and never to do this again and how proud Papa was of Obediah and never to do this again. Papa put Obediah back in the chair, a tear of joy in his eye. “We’ll clean this up together,” Papa said out loud. But in his heart Papa said, “Shecheyanu v’kiy’manu v’higyanu lazman hazeh.”

And G-d looked down at Obediah and Papa and all the work which in creating G-d had made. And G-d said, “Tov Me-od.” It is very good.

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

Postscript: Click here for a list of all of my short stories. Click here for a list of Shavuot prayers and stories.

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

For the Joy of Learning

Posted on: May 29th, 2011 by tobendlight

wordleSLearningThis is a prayer to express joy for the gift of learning. It’s another in my series of creativity prayers.“For the Gift of Song” describes the common framework used in this series. This piece appears in my book This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

 

For the Joy of Learning
G-d, we give thanks for the joy of learning,
For the love of teaching and being taught,
For the gift that connects us to You,
To each other
And to Your Divine word.
Your wisdom is near to us,
In our hearts and in our mouths,
In our hands and in our lives,
So that we may teach it to each other
With humility and love.
Hear our prayer for those who teach and learn,
Bringing new light to Your people Israel.
Make the moments together a celebration.
Let heaven pour wisdom and strength through them
So that they overflow with enthusiasm and wonder
Drawing others into Your service.
So that when we witness the love of learning
Our souls turn back to You for wisdom.
Together, we offer this journey back to heaven,
And rejoice.

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

Postscript: Be sure to check out the other prayers in this series: “For the Gift of Song,” “For the Gift of Words,” “For the Gift of Dance,” “For the Gift of Art,” “For the Gift of Music,” “For the Gift of Laughter” and “For the Gift of Torah Scholarship.”

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: Rural & Distance Education NSW

Meditation for a Child’s First Torah Reading

Posted on: May 19th, 2011 by tobendlight

backlittorahThis prayer was inspired by a video of a friend’s daughter reading Torah, although it wasn’t her first time chanting. Add the Shehecheyanu to the end of this prayer. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows. Here are two related short, short stories: “Mendel Baruch” and “Motyl the Fool.”

 

 

Meditation for a Child’s First Torah Reading
Holy one,
Ancient Source of wisdom and truth,
My daughter / son is about to enter
The sacred garden of Your Law,
Chanting Torah on behalf of our people for the first time.
How splendid is this moment!
How amazing in beauty and hope!
May this be the beginning of a miraculous journey,
A sacred romance of head and heart
Between my daughter / son and the wisdom of the ages,
Between my child and Your Holy Word.
Grant me the ability to listen and to hear
As she / he gives voice to Your mysteries.
May this moment herald a life
Dedicated to unlocking the secrets
Hidden in our holy texts.
May I be privileged to hear her / him
Read Torah again and again,
Always remembering my joy in this moment,
My heart full of praises.
[Add Shehecheyanu.]

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

Postscript: Here’s a short, short story about reading Torah for the first time, “Hershal Dovid: A Torah Reading Story.”

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and TwitterPlease consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: Judea Reform Congregation

Hershal Dovid: A Torah Reading Story

Posted on: May 12th, 2011 by tobendlight

backlittorahThis 131-word story is about the joy of reading Torah. The story is named for my cousin Jon’s oldest son, David. I got the idea after attending his Bar Mitzvah. It’s similar in theme and texture to two other short, short stories: “Mendel Baruch” and “Motyl the Fool.” To listen, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

 

 

Hershal Dovid : A Torah Reading Story
When Hershal Dovid stepped up to read Torah for the first time, when he walked up to the bimah and took his place on the pulpit, when he held the yad in his hand and pointed it at the Sacred Scroll, the parchment gleamed before his very eyes. Hershal’s body began to tremble, his heart filled with a luminous flow of holy light, his voice filled with the radiance of Divine gifts. As he chanted in perfect pitch, in perfect cadence, with perfect inflection, the Torah itself joined in the song. Hershal Dovid and the Word of G-d sang a duet of everlasting love, of everlasting devotion, the song of the ancient and the new, of the finite and the infinite, of our longing for G-d, of G-d’s longing for us.

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

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and TwitterPlease consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: Judea Reform Congregation

For the Arrival of Shabbat

Posted on: January 26th, 2011 by tobendlight

800px-Shabbat_CandlesA prayer to celebrate the gifts of Shabbat. The closing lines are from Shalom Aleichem. Please listen along as you read. (Click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.)

For the Arrival of Shabbat
Well of Life,
Bless my heart with the gifts of Shabbat,
The presence of Your love in my pulse,
Your glory in my chest
And Your wonder in my breath.

Bless my eyes with the gifts of Shabbat,
Seeing the beauty of the candle sticks,
The Kiddush cups and challot.

Bless my lips with the gifts of Shabbat,
Rejoicing in song and prayer,
Singing melodies ancient and new.

Bless my ears with the gifts of Shabbat
Hearing hymns and praises,
The nigunim of old,
And blessed words of Torah.

Bless my soul with the gifts of Shabbat,
Awe and thanksgiving,
Calm and surrender,
Beauty, righteousness and peace.

Let these gifts descend gently on all Your people Israel,
So that together,
Wherever we may be,
In one voice
From the four corners of earth we sing,
Boachem l’shalom
Malachay ha’shalom,
Malachay elyon.

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

Postscript: You may enjoy these two short, short stories about Shabbat, “Sarah Rivkah: A Challah Baking Story” and “Mendel Baruch: S’hema on Shabbat.”

If you use this prayer, please click “like” on this page and subscribe. Please take a moment to post a link to your Facebook page, your blog or mention it in a tweet. Thanks. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!

Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

On Spiritual Service

Posted on: November 14th, 2010 by tobendlight

Congratulations to Rabbi Andrea London on her installation as senior rabbi of Beth Emet: The Free Synagogue. Our worship was awesome, the study was lead by rabbi/scholars from around the world and the party was rockin’ with music from Shakshuka. It was an honor to be asked to write a prayer for this event. 

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

On Spiritual Service
A Prayer for Andrea London’s Installation as Senior Rabbi at Beth Emet

With profound gratitude
We give thanks for the men and women
Who dedicate themselves to spiritual service,
Offering their lives to a higher power,
A higher wisdom,
A higher calling.

In Your Divine wisdom,
Adonai our G-d,
You have blessed Beth Emet with a legacy of powerful leadership,
Boundless love and steadfast devotion from our rabbis.
Among these many gifts,
You have brought Andrea London
To lead and to serve our sacred community,
A woman of compassion, awareness and learning,
With the heart and soul of a witness on Sinai,
A teacher, a scholar and a friend.

G-d of our mothers and fathers,
You delivered Andrea, Danny, Yonah and Liora to our community
To show us lives of beauty and grace, compassion and joy.
Continue to bless Rabbi London
With insight and wit, energy and zeal, wisdom and humor,
So that her work summons holiness into our lives and the world.
Bless her home and her family with thanksgiving, gentleness and peace.
Bring her awe and wonder as she strives to enrich our lives,
And ease her burdens and sorrows in her moments of need.
Lend her Your boundless strength and Your abiding love.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
Who has provided wise, passionate leaders for this congregation.
Guide Rabbi London to build on this foundation in Your Holy Name,
With clarity, vision and purpose.
Let Torah shine its light upon her path.
Let justice and righteousness be her destination.

© 2010 Alden Solovy, Beth Emet-The Free Synagogue 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.

Motyl the Fool

Posted on: August 25th, 2010 by tobendlight

Hallelujah Scroll JamieThis short, short story celebrates the pure, unbounded joy of loving Torah. It’s a favorite and great for Simchat Torah. Here are more stories and prayers for Simchat Torah, including a prayer For The Gift of Torah Scholarship.” The image is from a poster created for my Whispered Prayer” by sofer Jamie Shear. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

 

Motyl the Fool
Motyl doesn’t know a single word of Talmud. He can’t recite a single verse of Torah. But when he lifts the Sacred Scroll on Simchat Torah, when he holds the wood in his hand and the velvet brushes his cheek, when the song wraps itself around his heart, the parchment itself can feel his joy. Motyl dances, clutching the Torah to his chest and singing with all his might, “Torah orah, Torah orah, hallelujah!” One by one the words of the Law rise off the Scroll to dance with him. He dances with Breisheit and Shabbat, with Shema and Hineni. And Motyl the Fool can feel the fire of G-d’s Word. Motyl doesn’t know a single word of Talmud. He can’t recite a single verse of Torah. Motyl doesn’t need to. The words know him.

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

Postscript: The full Whispered Prayer” poster is available for sale as a downloadable PDF. Click here for the full list of prayers for the Yamim Noraim. Here are focused lists of prayers for Elul, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Simchat Torah. And here’s a link to yizkor and memorial prayers.

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.

The Season of Healing

Posted on: July 21st, 2010 by tobendlight

Tzfat Kabbalah ElulThe Days of Awe are a time for introspection and self-assessment in anticipation of repentance, forgiveness, thanksgiving and rejoicing. This rhythm binds who we are now to who we will become. It frees us from everything that holds us back. It is a season of healing. This piece appears in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press.

The Season of Healing
This is the season of healing:
Of healing our hearts and minds,
Of healing the moments we share with each other
And the moments we share with ourselves.

This is the season of memory:
Of remembering our parents and grandparents,
The love of generations,
The holiness of our ancestors.

This is the season of stillness,
The season of silence and quiet:
Of deep breaths,
Of open eyes,
Of compassion and consolation.

This is the season of healing:
The season of grief turning to wonder,
Of loss turning toward hope,
The season that binds this year to the next,
The season that frees this year from the next,
The season that heralds the redemption of spirit
And our return to God’s Holy Word.

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

Postscript: This piece appears in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press. Here’s a link to other prayers for the Yamim Noraim, the High Holy Days.

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: TzfatKabbalah.org

Mendel Baruch: S’hema on Shabbat

Posted on: June 17th, 2010 by tobendlight

I peeked. Yes, once I peeked open my eyes during the S’hema. The tradition is to focus one’s mind uniquely on this prayer. To do so, many people cover their eyes. So do I. This once, I peeked. I needed to see. What I thought I saw — could it have been real? — led to this short, short, 108 word story.

To listen while you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Mendel Baruch
One Shabbat morning, Mendel Baruch recited a perfect S’hema. His mind clear, his heart pure, his very soul declaring the unity of G-d. The entire congregation called out to heaven in love with heaven’s own words.
S’hema Yisrael…” The chant rising from the men and women…
“The Eternal our G-d…” Almost visible, like smoke forming the script of Torah…
“The Eternal is One.” Like calligraphy drawn with song rising to praise the Holy Name.
When the words touched both heaven and earth, the angels joined the prayer. In that moment, the space between here and beyond was filled with Torah. And nothing, nothing existed but G-d’s holy word.

© 2010 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.

“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