Posts Tagged ‘war’

 

When Will We Sing?

Posted on: April 25th, 2024 by Alden

Tradition holds that the newly-freed Israelites crossed the Red Sea on the seventh day of their journey. With Pharoah’s army in hot pursuit, God opens the path to life and salvation. Then we sing! The Torah reading for the seventh day of Passover includes the triumphant Song of the Sea (Exodus 15), led by Miriam and Moses. In the name of the 133 remaining hostages in Hamas captivity in Gaza, this poem asks: “When Will We Sing?”

When Will We Sing?
We know what happens next.
Pursued by an army of hate,
Pinned between death by sword
And death by drowning,
God parts the sea and we cross to salvation.

O, to dance at the shores of safety with 133.
O, to sing of redemption at the banks of refuge.
Hasn’t their pain and suffering
Yet risen to the highest
Realms of heaven?

We know what is supposed to happen next.
Miriam and Moses lead us in triumphant song.
God of Mercy, when will we sing?
When will we sing of freedom again?

© 2024 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight

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Postscript: See also: “Elijah and Miriam: Two Poems for Passover.”

Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, 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. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

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Photo Source: Rothschild Haggadah, ca. 1450, National Library of Israel via Wikipedia

Posters, Necklaces and Graffiti

Posted on: March 10th, 2024 by Alden

A prayer poem for the hostages held in Gaza, abducted by Hamas on October 7. We pray for their health, safety, and immediate return to Israel and the arms of their families.

Posters, Necklaces, and Graffiti
When evil took you hostage,
We made you into a poster,
A tee shirt,
And a necklace.
A hoodie, a hat, and an empty chair.
Slogans and graffiti
Painted on walls and carved into our hearts.
A yellow ribbon,
A feast without guests,
A timer counting the days,
The hours,
The minutes,
And the seconds
Of your captivity.
Rallies, marches, and protests,
To keep your absence,
Your kidnapping and captivity,
Alive in evert moment of our days,
And every action of our lives.
To take your cause
To the seats of power around the globe.
So that when you return
You know how we yearned for you,
Prayed for you,
And fought for you
Throughout your ordeal.

© 2024 Alden Solovy

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Postscript: Here are some of my other prayer poems coming out of October 7 and the war: “Nothing Left but Tears,” “The Court of the Captives,” “Tears and Rain,” and “To Hope Again.”

Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, 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. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

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Photo by Alden Solovy

To Hope Again

Posted on: March 6th, 2024 by Alden

A prayer poem about the pain of losing hope and the struggle to find hope again, turning to the most unexpected source of potential answers…those who were murdered in the shock and terror assault on Israel on October 7.

To Hope Again
My heart has abandoned this world,
To seek the lost who refuse
Entrance to heaven.

Yes, the innocent dead
Have refused their places
In the holy realms,
To fly on the wind,
To dwell among the stars,
To haunt the bloody earth
With messages of love and despair,
Beseeching comfort from the ancient deep
From which all life emerged.

My heart has abandoned this world,
Praying to learn from the innocent dead
How to hope again.

© 2024 Alden Solovy

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Postscript: Here are some of my other prayer poems coming out of October 7 and the war: “Nothing Left but Tears,” “The Court of the Captives,” and “Tears and Rain.”

Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, 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. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo by Alden Solovy

Al Hanism, 5784

Posted on: December 6th, 2023 by Alden

On Hanukkah it’s traditional to add Al Hanisim, “About the Miracles,” to the Amidah and the Grace after Meals. How do we praise God’s miracles in the aftermath of the shock assault, kidnappings, and wanton violence on Shabbat Simchat Torah? How do we say this prayer in the face of war? Here’s an adaptation of Al Hanisim for this difficult year. The adaptation of the traditional Hebrew — a collaboration with Avital Ordan — reflects the idea that some miracles happen in secret, known as nissim nistarim.

על הניסים, תשפ”ד

For all the miracles,
Seen and unseen,
Done and yet to be done,
We thank You.

God of miracles,
Ancient and new,
We do not wait for signs and wonders,
Defending our people and our land,
Fighting to free the hostages.

Perhaps the acts of survival
And moments of heroism
On that Black Shabbat,
Hint at God’s guiding hand
Hidden from our sight.
Let us pray for unseen miracles.

Perhaps the hostages
So far released,
Remind us of
God’s power to redeem.
Let us pray for miracles
For all to see
As in the days of old.

Woe to our hearts
That these miracles are incomplete,
That our soldiers still fight and die,
Kill and are killed,
For this land and this nation.

Woe to our hearts
That these miracles are unfinished,
That hostages still languish in captivity
As the pawns and trophies of heartless terror.

God of miracles,
Ancient and new,
We do not wait for signs and wonders.
We take this as our sacred task,
Defending our nation.
Still we yearn for Your mighty hand
And outstretched arm
To bring us blessings
Hidden or revealed.

על הניסים ועל הפרקן ועל הגבורות ועל התשועות ועל המלחמות הנסתרות והנגלות, שנעשו, שנעשות, שיעשו איתנו בכל עת ועת, בימים האלה ובזמן הזה

We thank You for the miracles, the redemption, the heroics, the blessings, and the victories hidden and revealed, that You did, are doing, and will do for us in every age, in these days and at this season.

Al hanissim v’al hapurkan v’al hagvurot v’al hat’shuot v’al hamilhamot hanistarot v’haniglot she’nasu, she’naasot she’yi’asu eitanu b’col et va’et bayamim ha’eleh u’vazman hazeh.

© 2023 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight

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Postscript: I learned about nissim nistarim at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies learning with Rabbi Michael Hattin. A version of Al Hanisim is also added to the Amidah and the Grace after Meals during Purim. Thanks to my friends Haim Watzman and Miriam Fine for their comments on earlier drafts.

Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, 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. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

Thirteen Birds

Posted on: November 26th, 2023 by Alden

Thirteen Hamas hostages were released on Friday evening, the first of a planned set of four releases, totaling 50 hostages. On Saturday another 13 or 14 were to be released. As of this writing, Hamas has postponed the release and continues to delay. In Israel, these moments are fraught with mixed emotions, joy at the releases – especially the children – combined with fear, anger, and sorrow knowing that so many more hostages will remain in captivity. The slow, day-by-day release feels like a form of slow torture, as do the delays, as does the knowledge that so many more will be left behind.

Thirteen Birds
Thirteen birds
Flew from the depths of darkness,
To the light
Of home.

How much like a vision of glory,
Like the dawn of creation,
When birds first took flight,
To see their faces,
Free birds again,
To see their families
Hold them and
Bring them close.

How much like torture
To wait for the next flock
To be released
From the subterranean cage.
Restless anticipation,
Watching for signs
Of life,
Waiting as the heartless captors
Taunt us with delays,
Waiting for more of our children
To be set free
From the bowels of the earth.

Thirteen birds
Flew home
From the depths of hell,
Into the arms of love,
Into the bosom of our people.
We pray and we wait,
For more to be released.
We pray and we wait
For all of our birds to
Fly home.

© 2023 Alden Solovy

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Postscript: My first draft of this prayer poem was much darker, emphasizing the pain of the trickle of release and the fear that many more hostages will remain in the hands of Hamas. Thanks to my friend Miriam Fine for reminding me that my work is about hope, even in the face of deep pain and sorrow.

Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, 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. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: Schneider Children’s Hospital on Times of Israel

The Court of the Captives

Posted on: October 30th, 2023 by Alden

This is a prayer poem for all of the hostages in Gaza. We at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies have a special link to hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the son of our own Rachel Goldberg. He is wounded and needs urgent medical care. Hear Rachel speak to the UN. This FaceBook post will help US citizens write letters to your congresspersons urging their support for a speedy release of the hostages. #bring_hersh_home #BringThemHomeNow

The Court of the Captives
One day,
The court of the captives
Will convene
Before the halls of power.
They will bring
Their torment and suffering
As evidence against us,
As evidence of our failure
To protect them,
As evidence of our failure
To redeem them
With speed and urgency.

On that day,
The court of the innocent
At the gates of heaven
Will join the chorus –
The newly murdered,
Babies and dreamers,
Parents and children –
Bringing their blood
As evidence against us,
As evidence of our failure
To protect them,
As evidence of our failure
To secure our land and our people.

On that day,
The court of the captives,
And the court of the innocent,
Will minister to each other
At the gates of righteousness,
Both in heaven
And on earth,
Offering torn cloth
Soaked in tears
To bind their wounds,
To bless the living,
And to console the lost.

Today,
Yes, today,
The court of the captives
And the court of the innocent in heaven
Convene,
Arraying the charges
Before us,
And wait,
Still wait,
For us to answer.

© 2023 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight

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Postscript: This prayer / poem was influenced by my previous piece: “After Uvalde: The Court of the Innocent.”

Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, 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. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source:

Nothing Left but Tears

Posted on: October 16th, 2023 by Alden

A song in response to the terror invasion into Israel by Hamas. Lyrics by Alden Solovy. Music by Sue Radner Horowitz. Here is Sue singing “Nothing Left but Tears.” Find links to download the chords and/or the sheet music below the video. The lyrics follow.


Nothing Left but Tears

I must be made of water.
I have nothing left but tears.

Daughters. Mothers.
My spirit aching.
Sisters. Brothers.
A heart that’s breaking.
I must be made of water.
I have nothing left but tears.

Blood and terror.
Children dying.
Fear and anger.
So much crying.
I must be made of water.
I have nothing left but tears.

Oh this heartbreak,
Silence howling.
Oh this heart ache,
Terror prowling.
I must be made of water.
I have nothing left but tears.

Not just water.
These tears, they feed me.
My bones are iron.
My people need me.

Lyrics © 2023 Alden Solovy, Music © 2023 Sue Radner Horowitz

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Postscript: Listen to another Solovy / Horowitz collaboration, “Hallel in a Minor Key.”

Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, 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. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Tears and Rain: A Prayer for Success in War

Posted on: October 9th, 2023 by Alden

On Shemini Atzeret — combined with Simchat Torah here in Israel — we began to say tefilat geshem the prayer for rain since the day marks the start of the rainy season here. That was the day of the devastating Hamas invasion into Israel which has led us to war. “Rain and Tears” is my second new prayer/poem since the invasion. The first is called “War on Simchat Torah.”

Tears and Rain: A Prayer for Success in War
We prayed for rain,
And we got tears.

Yes, we said the ancient words –
משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם
Masheev ha’ruach u’moreed hagashem
Acknowledging G-d as the One
Who makes the rain fall
And the wind blow,
But we got tears,
So many tears
Flowing like rain
That would not relent.
Tears for the dead.
Tears for the wounded.
Tears for the kidnapped,
And tears for the captives.
Tears for the soldiers.
Tears for the reservists.
Tears for our sons.
Tears for our daughters.
Tears for our friends,
And tears for our families.
Tears for our nation.
Tears for our people.
So many tears.

So many tears.

G-d, who makes the rain fall,
G-d, who makes tears on earth,
Send us Your tears from heaven,
But only if You send them
As blessings,
Only if You send them as signs
That You will be with us
As we defend our nation,
That You will be with us
As we fight to end the terror
That dwells in our midst,
The terror that still lurks at our doorstep.

© 2023 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight

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Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, 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. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

War on Simchat Torah

Posted on: October 7th, 2023 by Alden

Shabbat Simchat Torah 5784 / 2023. I’ve been inside a bomb shelter more today than in the entire 11.5 years I’ve been in Israel combined. ‘This is not a situation, or a round of fighting,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. ‘ We are at war.’ This is a multi-prayer liturgy on this difficult day, and for the days ahead. It begins with a new prayer, ‘War on Simchat Torah,’ then moves to ‘For the Soldiers of the IDF’ and concludes with ‘Israel: A Meditation.’

War on Simchat Torah
On the ground,
We rejoice with the Torah.
In the air,
The missiles fly.
On the ground
The attack has come, as well.
Some still dance
With the Torah,
While others shelter in place.

We are at war,
Even as we remember
The blessings of G-d’s word,
Even as we pledge
To be true to our faith
And to live according
To G-d’s instructions.

כי נר מצוות ותורה אור ודרך חיים
For mitzvot are a lamp
And Torah is light
And the way of life. (Proverbs 6:23)

G-d of Israel,
Bless this nation
And protect us
Even as the sirens blare
And combat has come
To our streets.

Let peace be close at hand,
So that we dance
In the gardens and the groves,
In the heights and in the deserts
Once more
In joyous celebration
Of Torah and life.

For the Soldiers of the IDF
Rock of Israel,
Our sons and daughters,
Our brothers and sisters,
Our family and friends,
Have been called to serve,
In the name of peace and justice,
In the name of sovereignty and survival,
To defend and to protect our land
From violence and assault,
From kidnappers and terrorists,
From missile and mortar,
From those who would destroy our nation and our people.

We stand with the defenders of Israel.
We honor the guardians of Zion.
We hold dear the sentries of Am Kadosh.

G-d of Old,
We know the price of safety,
We know the cost of security.
Bless the injured and wounded
In every generation
With Your healing hand.
Bless the dead and the bereaved
With Your love and consolation.
Bless the heroes of our past
And the heroes of the future
With a share in the world to come.

Source of Peace,
Keep our soldiers safe,
And let our soldiers keep us safe,
So that they return in life and in health
To the loving arms of our people.

Israel: A Meditation
Israel,
You are my people.
You are my heart and you are my hope.
We waited together at the mountain
When G-d revealed the Holy Word.
We wandered together through the desert
On the path to sacred soil.
We watched the sea part.
We heard the heavens roar.
We stood at the doorway to freedom,
At the border of a Promised Land.

Israel,
You are my destiny.
You are my joy and you are my truth.
We were victorious at Jericho,
Unyielding at Masada.
We defied empires
For Torah.
We defied kings
For justice and freedom.
We’ve traveled the earth,
Wandered the millennia,
Refugees of the ages,
Homeless and hopeful,
Waiting to return
To native ground.

Israel,
You are my brother in history,
My sister in fortune,
The mother of my courage,
The father of my heart,
The child of my longing,
And the light of generations.
To you I pledge my right arm
And my voice in song.
To you I pledge my soul.
To you I pledge my spirit.

Israel,
You are my nation.
You are my inheritance.
You are my home.

© 2023 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight

New here? Subscribe here to get my newest prayers by email.
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Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, 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. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: Times of Israel / AP

For Three Leaders, For the World

Posted on: March 15th, 2022 by Alden

A new prayer for Ukraine and the world. The intention of this prayer is flexibility in use. The three middle stanzas can be removed from the prayer as the situation changes, or if a particular individual or congregation does not want to specifically name world leaders in prayer. It seems to me, however, that in this precarious moment prayers for key leaders are critical. They’re offered here as important, but optional as we all yearn for peace. Along with my “Hero of Ukraine,” this could be part of a multi-prayer liturgy for peace in the region and the world.

For Three Leaders, For the World
G-d of compassion,
Put an end to the war in Ukraine
And all wars throughout the world.
Look with favor on the refugees,
The homeless, the wounded,
The suffering, the starving,
And the newly bereaved.
Grant a perfect rest
Under Your canopy of peace
To those who have perished
At the ugly hand of war.
Extend Your canopy of peace
From the highest heavens
To this earth.

Bless Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
With continued strength and resolve
To defend his people against the onslaught,
Inspiring world sympathy and support.

Bless U.S. President Joe Biden
With wisdom and skill to face the challenge of history
As Europe prepares for a broader conflict
And fears world war.

Bless Russian President Vladimir Putin
With a change of mind,
A change of heart and soul,
To release the tools of war,
To pick up the tools of peace.

G-d of peace,
Release the citizens of Ukraine
From occupation and war.
Grant them resilience and vitality.
Give them comfort and hope.
End this violence and suffering.
For life renewed.
For healing and building.
For a better world.
“Let justice come in waves like water
And righteousness flow like a river” (Amos 5:24),
So that “nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).

© 2022 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com.

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Postscript: See also: “Hero of Ukraine.”

Please check out my CCAR Press Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. The individual books are: This Joyous Soul , This Grateful Heart, and This Precious Life. Here’s a link to my ELItalk, “Falling in Love with Prayer..” 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.

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: News Sites

“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