The Shtiebel Siddur
©Rabbi Ben Newman 2017
ISBN-13:
978-1548227166
ISBN-10:
1548227161
If you are a dreamer, come in
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer...
If you’re a pretender, come sit by the fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!
— Shel Silverstein
This siddur is an Instruction manual for the Shabbat and Havdalah modules on the jOS
(The Jewish Operating System).
The manual contains a series of "apps." Each app is designed to perform a specific psychological, intellectual, physical, or spiritual function. These apps are best run in a communal setting, but individuals and families can certainly run them at home.
Each entry in this manual contains a statement of the function the particular app is meant to fill and the specifics of how it is run.
Lighting Candles
ברוך אתה יי אלוהינו מלך העולם
אשר קדשנו במצותיו וציונו להדליק
נר של שבת
Function: To create a feeling of relaxation, peace, warmth and letting go of stress and tension.
Action: Light two candles meditatively. Slowly wave hands around the light, spreading it out in all directions.
Cover your eyes with your hands and say the following meditatively:
This is a blessing. The ability to light candles, take a deep breath and rest. Having the time to move beyond time and let go of my workday world and be together in comfort and peace.
(Take a deep breath)
Then say: thank you.
Welcoming the Messengers
שלום עליכם מלאכי השרת
Function: To reflect upon the messengers who have visited us this week and to discern the messages.
Action: According to legend, an angel accompanies each person to and from the synagogue on Shabbat evening for protection and companionship. “Angel” in Hebrew is Malach which can mean both angel and messenger. Reflect on your week- the people and the situations you have encountered. Some may have been pleasurable, some challenging--these are your messengers. For each messenger, reflect upon what they have come to teach you.
Take a deep breath. Chant or sing the following as you reflect:
(Chords: A to G)
Welcome among us, messengers of shalom,
angels of the Highest One,
from deep within us, Majesty of Majesties,
the blessed Holy One.
Come, then, in shalom,
blessing us with shalom,
leaving us with holy shalom,
from deep within us, Majesty of Majesties,
the blessed Holy One.
( by Burt Jacobson)
Ana Be-Koach: Untying the Tangles
אנא בכח
Function: Below is the first line of a magical prayer ascribed to Rabbi Nechuniah ben Hakanah. The whole prayer contains 42 words, the initials of which comprise the secret unpronounceable 42 letter name of God.
With this practice, we call on that aspect of the universe that moves through obstacles, dissolves resistance and opens the way forward for us. In Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism) this aspect of the universe is called hesed (unbounded Love) and is depicted on the right side of the Tree of Life.
Action: Take a deep breath. Begin by asking yourself, “What are the obstacles (inner or outer) that are getting in my way?” Lay that obstacle lovingly on the altar of the song. Tap your foot to the rhythm. Listen to the melody. When you are ready, join the musicians in singing the song. As you sing, allow the power of hesed/unbounded love of the right side to move through you forcefully opening the way ahead and delicately untying the tangles within you.
Words/Chords:
Dm- C-Dm
Dm --C-Gm-Dm-C-Dm
Dm------
Dm ---C-----Dm-----C------Dm
We invoke the Love
Of the right side
Get the tangles
to untie
May our joyous songs come to rise
Purify and untie open up the sky/mind.
Ana be-Koach gedulat yemincha, tatir tserurah, tatir tserurah, kabel rinat, rinat amcha, sagveynu tahareinu norah.
(By Rabbi Ben Newman)
Come my Darling: Feeling the Sacred
לכה דודי לקראת כלה פני שבת נקבלה
Function: To help one perceive the sublime in our physical mundane world.
Action: Take a deep breath. Listen to the music. Tap your foot to the rhythm. When you are ready, join the musicians in singing the song. Try to let go of inhibitions-hold off on being self-conscious about the sound of your voice. No one is judging you. Look at your physical surroundings. Try to find the spark of the Divine in everything you see.
Words/Chords:
C------F----C-----F----C----G----C
F-----C----G-----C
Chorus:
Come my darling to meet the queen
Around, inside and in-between
Come my darling to meet the bride
(Who dwells beyond)x2 and inside.
(Hebrew: Lecha dodi, likrat kallah, pnei shabbat nekabelah)
Verses:
“Protect” and “remember” in one word
When we listen the quiet voice is heard
Filling and surrounding the entire world
Every difference being blurred
To meet Shabbat let us go
It will hold us and let us know
Yah is one -feel the flow
As together we grow and glow and go.
Wake up, wake up. A guest is coming
Get on your feet, dance and laugh and sing
Wake up wake up, that is our song
Get to your feet and come along
Spreading out to right and left
Yah is blessing Yah is blessed
Someday we know the time will come
So let's celebrate as the work is done
(stand up and face the door)
Come in peace crown of the sublime
I am yours and you are mine
We feel the joy of sacred time
[bow to the left and right]
Come queen come queen, on us do shine.
(By Rabbi Ben Newman)
Psalm 92: Relaxing into the Shabbat Vibe
תהילים צ"ב
Function: To inspire feelings of relaxed celebration and the joy of gathering in community for a break from our workday week. Also to open the channels in our psyche to let creativity flow.
Action: Take a deep breath. Listen to the music. Tap your foot to the rhythm. When you are ready, join the musicians in singing the song. Lose yourself in the music.
Words/Chords:
Bm, F#, G, D, F#
A ballad, a Song, a ditty for shabbat.
An anthem, a chorale, some funky rock.
A hymn a chant, and a lullaby
As the shabbos day is drawing nigh
It is good to give thanks to Yah our God
To sing to your exalted name
How great are you works Adonai
How deep are your thoughts oh one on high
The righteous will blossom like a palm,
Grow like the cedar of Lebanon
Their gray hair shall be their crown;
New and ripe their songs will sound.
Showing that Yah is constant
My Rock, the One who is no nonsense.
(By Rabbi Ben Newman)
Barchu: Calling Out Together
ברכו
Function: To connect us with each other as we call on the Source of Inspiration and Creativity.
Action: Take several deep breaths and try to clear your mind. Imagine your mind as an empty field or a blank slate. Take a moment and look at the faces of the people around you. Then begin to join in the call and response chant.
As you sing notice what appears in the empty space you have created in your mind.
Words/Chords:
C Dm C Dm
Bar-----chu (2x) Dear One (2x)
Dm C C Dm
Shechinah (2X) Holy Name (2X)
Dm C Dm
When I call on the light of my soul, I come home. (2x)
(By Lev Friedman)
Ahavah Rabbah: Opening up to Love
ברכו
Function: To help us feel love within ourselves and in the world around us.
Action: Take several deep breaths. Think of someone who loves you or has loved you unconditionally. Imagine that person giving you a warm hug. Feel their love penetrate your mind and body.
Chant the following Words/Chords:
C
Ahavah
C-F-C
Ahavah Rabbah
Bb –F -C
Ahavtanu
Shma: Listening for Oneness
שְׁמַע, יִשְׂרָאֵל ה' אֱלוהֵינוּ, ה' אֶחָד
Function: To inspire a feeling of unity, oneness, and love.
Action: Take a deep breath. Imagine the boundaries that separate you with the rest of the world falling away as you join in the song.
Words/Chords:
A-----D ( REPEAT)
(bridge) Bm -----D----A
The stone that the builder refused
Will always be the head cornerstone. (2x)
Maybe you’re a builder,
Maybe you’re a stone
'Cause the things people refuse
Are the things they should use
Do you hear me?
Hear what I say!
Even ma’asu habonim
Haytah le-rosh pinah
Even ma’asu habonim
Haytah le-rosh pina
Here I am baby
I am, a builder's stone!
Don't you pick and refuse me, listen
The things people refuse
Are the things they should use
Do you hear me
Hear what I say
Shma Yisrael Adonai eloheynu
Shma Yisrael Adonai echad
Shma Yisrael Adonai eloheynu Adonai echad
(by Bob Marley, King David, Deuteronomy 6:4, and Rabbi Ben Newman)
Who is Like You?: Clearing a Path to Redemption
מי כמוך
Function: To create a sense of hope for a situation where someone is stuck between a rock and a hard place. This can be a personal problem, a family or community issue, or even a national or global issue.
Action: Take a deep breath. Imagine the scene of the Israelites at the Sea. The have just fled Egypt and the Egyptian soldiers are riding after them in chariots. They are stuck between an oncoming enemy and the Red Sea. Moses gets on his knees and prays. God say to Moses: “Now is not the time for prayer, now is the time for action!” One of the Israelites, Nachshon ben Aminadav takes one tentative, yet courageous step into the sea. Once the water reaches his mouth, the sea begins to part. He has combined hope and action to get through this obstacle. Think of a hopeless situation in your life. As you sing the words, see if any solutions present themselves. What concrete actions can you take to remedy the situation? Breathe into your fears and breathe out hope.
Words/Chords:
Dm-----C---Dm---C---Dm
Dm-----C------Dm------C-------Dm
Who is like You, Yah, among the mighty?
Who is you, Yah, glorious and holy;
Fearful in praises, and working wonders?
Your children saw your power
Splitting the sea
Moshe, Miriam, and Aharon
Taking them to safety
This is the God in which I believe
The Possibility of Possibility
Just when hope seems lost to me
A strong wind comes parting the sea
______________________________________
The leader chants:
This is a blessing.
To recognize the miracles that surround us
And to feel the possibility of redemption.
(By Rabbi Ben Newman)
Amidah: Standing in Silence
עמידה
Function: To provide alone time with however the individual conceives of the Divine. For those who do not believe in “God” per se, this is time to connect with their inner voice that speaks, to listen for what arises, and to have a silent conversation with yourself about your hopes, dreams, concerns and challenges.
Action: Stand in silence. Take some deep breaths. After engaging in prayer or contemplation, listen for an responses, answers, or more questions. When you are finished, please sit down.
Healing Prayer: Healing Energy to flow
רפואה
Function: To send our healing energy to those in need of healing.
Action:
Mention the names of those in need of healing. Meditate for a moment on what sort of healing they are in need of- healing of the body? Of the mind? Of the spirit? As the song below is chanted, concentrate your mind on sending that healing to them.
Adapted from Fix You by Coldplay
C, Csus, Am, C
F-- C--G
C Csus Am G/Csus
Rofeh kol basar u’mafli laasot
Wonder worker you make us whole
Ana el Nah refah na lah,
Please heal us now!
F G F
Light will guide us home
Make us free and less alone
And we will try to fix You-- C, Csus, Am, G
C F
Tears stream down your face
C G
When you lose something you cannot replace
C F C G
Tears stream down your face and I
Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I
May the light guide us home
Make us free and less alone
And we will try to fix you.
Davar/Word: Reflection and Discussion.
דבר
Function: To inspire creative and critical thinking. To provide the individual with inner wisdom that arises from their encounter with the teaching, story, poem. To help the individual form meaningful constructs and frames for engaging the world.
Action: Listen reflectively to the teaching, story, or poem. When the presenter opens up the floor for discussion, participate in the discussion. Try to really listen to what others are saying rather than just thinking about what you are going to say when it is your turn. Try to formulate pertinent responses to the comments of others.
Aleinu/One Day: A Call to Action
עלינו
Function: To call to mind the brokenness of the world, and inspire us to dedicate ourselves to repair it.
Action: Take a deep breath. Think about some of the problems facing our communities, country, and world today. Think about what small steps you can take to help. Remember that one person can make a difference. As the rabbis said, “it is not up to you to finish the work, but neither may you desist from it.”
Sing:
(Chords: C-G-Am-F-C)
Sometimes I lay Under the moon And thank God I'm breathing Then I pray Don't take me soon 'Cause I am here for a reason. Sometimes in my tears I drown
But I never let it get me down. So when negativity surrounds I know some day it'll all turn around because… All my life I've been waiting for I've been praying for
For the people to say That we don't wanna fight no more There will be no more wars
And our children will play
One day [6x]
It's not about Win or lose 'Cause we all lose When they feed on the souls of the innocent Blood-drenched pavement Keep on moving though the waters stay raging
In this maze you can lose your way (your way) It might drive you crazy but don't let it faze you, no way (no way) Sometimes in my tears I drown (I drown)
But I never let it get me down (get me down) So when negativity surrounds (surrounds) I know some day it'll all turn around because...
All my life I've been waiting for I've been praying for For the people to say
That we don't wanna fight no more There will be no more wars And our children will play. One day [6x]
One day this all will change Treat people the same Stop with the violence Down with the hate One day we'll all be free And proud to be Under the same sun
Singing songs of freedom like, heyo….
One day [2x] All my life I've been waiting for I've been praying for For the people to say That we don't wanna fight no more There will be no more wars And our children will play One day [6x]
Ve-Ne’emar Ve-Haya Adonai, le-melekh al kol ha aretz, bayom ha-hu bayom ha-hu, yihiei adonai echad, u-shmo, u-shmo, u-shemo, echad.
(By Matisyahu)
Zikaron Phone/Wind Telephone
קדיש
Function: To connect the individual to loved ones and ancestors who have died.
Action: Sit down at the phone. Think of someone who has died that you wish to call. Pick up the receiver. Dial their number- either their old number from when they were alive or another number that comes to you. Talk to them. Listen in your mind and heart for what they say back to you. Jot down anything you want on the paper by the phone. Remember to take the paper with you.
Kaddish
Hebrew
Transliteration:
Yitgadal v’yitkadash sh’mei raba b’alma di-v’ra chirutei, v’yamlich malchutei
B’chayeichon uvyomeichon uvchayei d’chol beit yisrael, ba’agala
uvizman kariv, v’im’ru: “amen.” Y’hei sh’mei raba m’varach l’alam ul’almei almaya.
Yitbarach v’yishtabach, v’yitpa’ar v’yitromam v’yitnaseh, v’yithadar v’yit’aleh v’yit’halal sh’mei
d’kud’sha, b’rich hu, l’eila min-kol-birchata v’shirata, tushb’chata
v’nechemata da’amiran b’alma, v’im’ru: “amen.” Y’hei shlama raba min-sh’maya v’chayim aleinu
v’al-kol-yisrael, v’im’ru: “amen.” Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu
v’al kol-yisrael, v’imru: “amen.”
Kirtan Version:
May his/her/their name(s) be blessed.
Yehei Shmei Rabbah Mevorach le-Olam u-lealmei Almaya
Le-eilah, u-le-eilah min-kol birchata ve-shirata
-Rabbi Andrew Hahn
Havdalah---הַבְדָּלָה
HAVDALAH /SEPARATION
La-Yehudim
La-Yehudim haytah orah, be-simcha, ve-sasson, vikkar. Ken Tiyeh Lanu
In past days, we have dwelled in light, joy and gladness. May it be for us again.
Am to G
Do you get the joke?
One saves me, I do float
Above the stars into the sky
A human being can fly
; with courage, unafraid
A decision must be made
Through strength and song
We will prevail before it is too long
Draw water in joy, from the living well.
For freedom we must all stand up and ring a bell
Being saves the bless-ed folk
Seeing bring us to our yolk
There is one Being who has many faces in all worlds
Being of Many Faces, a fortress of secret truth
Lucky is the one who trusts in You.
Answer us too,
Sacred Power when we call.
Grant us light, gladness and honor for all
Miracle of Saftey brought to those before
possibilities and solutions we cannot ignore
I lift the Saving Cup and call upon
The Source of Life
Which saves us from all wickedness and strife::
We give thanks for the fruit of the vine
We give thanks for spices fine
We give thanks for the light of fire. We give thanks for the One that separates.
Between the holy and the mire,
yay dai dai dai dai…...
(by Ben Newman)
הִנֵּה אֵל יְשׁוּעָתִי, אֶבְטַח וְלֹא אֶפְחָד
כִּי עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ יְיָ, וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה
וּשְׁאַבְתֶּם מַֽיִם בְּשָׂשׂוֹן, מִמַּעַיְנֵי הַיְשׁוּעָה.לַייָ הַיְשׁוּעָה, עַל עַמְּךָ בִרְכָתֶֽךָ סֶּֽלָה
יְיָ צְבָאוֹת עִמָּֽנוּ, מִשְׂגָּב לָנוּ אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב סֶֽלָה
יְיָ צְבָאוֹת אַשְרֵי אָדָם בֹּטֵֽחַ בָּךְ. יְיָ הוֹשִֽׁיעָה, הַמֶּֽלֶךְ יַעֲנֵֽנוּ בְיוֹם קָרְאֵֽנוּ.
לַיְּהוּדִים הָיְתָה אוֹרָה וְשִׂמְחָה וְשָׂשׂוֹן וִיקָר
כֵּן תִּהְיֶה לָּֽנוּ. כּוֹס יְשׁוּעוֹת אֶשָּׂא, וּבְשֵׁם יְיָ אֶקְרָא
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּֽפֶן
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא מִינֵי בְשָׂמִים
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא מְאוֹרֵי הָאֵשׁ
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַמַּבְדִיל בֵּין קֹֽדֶשׁ לְחוֹל, בֵּין אוֹר לְחֹֽשֶׁךְ, בֵּין יִשְׂרָאֵל לָעַמִּים, בֵּין יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי לְשֵֽׁשֶׁת יְמֵי הַמַּעֲשֶׂה. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, הַמַּבְדִיל בֵּין קֹֽדֶשׁ לְחוֹל
Havdalah: Transliteration
CAPO III
(Am--- G)
Henei el yeshuati, eftach veloh efchad
kee ozi vezimrat-ya, va-yehi liyeshua.
Ushavtem maim besason mimeaynei ha-yeshua
la-donai ha-yeshua al amecha be-rkatecha sela.
Adonai zevaot imanu misgav-lanu elohey yaacov-sela
Adonai zevaot ashrey-adam boteach-bach
Adonai hoshia hamelech-yaanenu biom koreanu.
layehudim hay-ta ora ve-simcha ve-sason veikar ken teheye lanu
kos yeshuot essa ve-beshem ashem ekra.
nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei -
nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei
Am
Ay nay nay nay nay nay nay nay
F
Nay nay nay nay nay nay nay nay
Dm Em
Nay nay nay nay nay nay nay nay
Am Em Am
Nay nay nay nay nay nay
C Dm F G
Baruch ata Adonai Elokeinu
C Dm Em
Melech ha'olam
F G C Dm
Bo'rei peri hagafen
F G Am EmAm
A-aaa-a-mein
(Repeat Chords for other berachot)
barooch atta Adonai eloheinu melech ha-ollam bore menay besamim
amen!
barooch atta Adonai eloheinu melech ha-ollam bore meoray ha-esh
amen!
barooch atta Adonai eloheinu melech ha-ollam hamavdil bein kodesh le-chol
Am to G,
nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei -
nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei - nei – nei
Eliyahu HaNavi/Miriam HaNeviah
Am, E7, Am
Am, C, E
Am, G
Am, Dm E7, Am
Dm—Am—Dm—
Am—E7--Am
1. Eliyahu Hanavi Eliyahu HaTishbi Eliyahu HaGiladi
2. Miriam HaNeviah Oz ve-Zimra be-yadah, Miriam tirkod itanu l'hagdil zimrat olam.
Miriam tirkod itanu l'taken et ha-olam.
Dm--Am---E----Am
1. Bimhera be-yameinu yavo eleinu, Im moshiach ben david, Im moshiach ben david
2. Bimheyrah be'yameynu hi t'vi'einu el mey ha-y'shuah, el mey ha-y'shuah
Prayerful Songs and Poetry
Olam chesed yibaneh עוֹלָם חֶסֶד יִבָנֶה
Em to D
I will build this world from love... yai dai dai
And you must build this world from love... yai dai dai
And if we build this world from love... yai dai dai
Then G-d will build this world from love... yai dai dai
Olam hesed yibaneh… yai dai dai…
-Rabbi Menachem Creditor
Serve with Joy עבדו את השם בשמחה
Am to G
Yaday dai….ETC
Ivdu Et Hashem Be Simcha (2X)
Bo’u lifanav birnanah lefanav birnanah
Serve your inner inner spirit (2x)
Serve it up with joy (2X)
Up with joy (Repeat)—Rabbi Jack Gabriel
Sanctuary Song
C- F and G
Oh Lord Prepare me
To be a sanctuary
Pure and holt
Tride and true
And in thanksgiving I’ll be a living Sanctuary for you
Ve-asu li mikdash
Ve-shachanti be-tocham
Ve-anachu nevarech yah
Me-atah
Ve-ad olam
Fire on the Altar
אֵשׁ תָּמִיד תּוּקַד עַל–הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לֹא תִכְבֶּה
Aish tamid tukad al hamizbayach; lo tichbeh
Aish tamid (2x)
Lo Tichbeh (4x)
(Leviticus 6:6)
Fire always shall be kept burning on the altar; it shall not go out.
Inside our hearts is a flame that must be kept burning. That fire is our
passion for Life, our yearning for God, our curiosity about the
mysteries, our sparkle of humor, our enthusiasm for the Work. We keep
that fire burning by engaging in spiritual practice, by surrounding
ourselves with beauty, by giving and receiving love and support, and by
fully connecting with what (and whom) we love.
It is crucial to bring attention to that flame on the altar of the heart – to
feed that fire and to guard it with loving vigilance.
- Rabbi Shefa Gold
I Am Holy by Natanel Goldberg
C Em
Life like a river
C
Flow
Em
With the ocean
Dm
Fly
C
On the wind
G
That blows
F
In the winter
C. Em
Dream about love
C. Em
Deep in your dream
Dm C
Live in the ocean
G
Of love
G. C
Close your eyes and feel the wind that is blowing
Em G
Open up your hands and sing
C. Em
I am holy
C
I
Em
Am holy
Dm C. G
I am here to live this life
Dance in not knowing
Know your perfect power
Dance like a lion in the wild
Close your eyes and feel the wind that is blowing
Open up your heart and sing
I am holy
I am holy
I am here to live this life
I am holy
I am holy
I am here to live this life
I am holy
Armageddon Time-
Adapted from Willie Williams
A to G
A lotta people won't get no supper tonight,
A lotta people going to suffer tonight,
'Cause the battle, is getting harder,
In this Iration, it's Armagideon.
A lotta people won't get no justice tonight,
So a lot of people going to have to stand up and fight yeah,
But remember, to praise Yah always
And s/ he will guide you,
In this Iration,
It's Armagideon.
Hey!
A lotta people will be running and hiding tonight,
Said a lotta one gon' to run and hide tonight,
'Cause it's your action,
You must get your fraction,
In this Iration,
It's Armagideon.
A lotta people won't get no supper tonight,
Said a lotta people won't get no justice tonight,
I say remember, to praise Yah always,
And s/he will guide you,
In this Iration,
It's Armagideon.
A lotta people won't get no supper tonight,
A lotta people going to suffer tonight.
So a lot of people going to have to stand up and fight.
A lotta people will be running and hiding tonight
Said a lotta one gon' to run and hide tonight
A lotta people won't get no supper tonight.
Narrow Bridge
Adapted from R’ Nachman of Bratslav
Kol Ha-Olam Kulo, Gesher Tzar Me’od
Ve-Ha-Ikar, Lo Lefached Clal
All the world’s a narrow bridge
But we must not fear
We must not fear
At all
And love love love love love love love not hate
If you’re looking for a guide, follow your heart
And if you’re looking for the world, open your eyes
And do not fear at all
And love… not hate.
For Life Today
Shehecheyanu v'kiyemanu
V'higiyanu laz'man ha-zeh.
Oh, Mystery • Grace unfolding • Oh, Miracle • It's You alone.
Oh, Mystery • Grace unfolding • Oh, Miracle • You bring us home.
--Rabbi Shefa Gold
The Breath of Life
Nishmat kol chai
T'varech et shimcha
Yah eloheinu.
The breath of all life will praise Your name,
YHVH our God.
The Art of Blessing the Day
-Adapted from Marge Piercy
Each day we find a new sky and a new earth
with which we are trusted like a perfect toy.
We are given the salty river of our blood
Winding through us, remember the sea and
Kindred under waves, hot pulsing knocking
In our throats: consider our cousin the grass
And trees, all bright scattered rivulets of life.
We are given the wind within us, the breath
To shape words that steal time, that touch
Like hands and pierce like bullets, wakening
Truth and deceit, sorrow and pity and joy,
Wasting precious air in complaints, in lies,
In floating traps for power on the dirty air.
Yet holy breath still stretches lungs to sing.
We stand in the midst of the burning world,
To burn with compassionate love and justice
To turn inward and find holy fire at the core,
To turn outward and see the world that is all
One flesh with us, see under the trash through
The smog,the furry bee in the apple blossom,
Troutleaping, candles our ancestors lit for us.
Fill us as the tide rustles into marsh reeds.
Fill us as rushing waters overflow pitchers,
Fill us as light fills a room with its dancing.
Let little quarrels of bones, snarling of lesser
Appetites and the whining of the ego cease.
Let silence still us to show us Your shining
And we can out of stillness rise and praise.
Or Chadash • A New Light
Or chadash al tziyon ta'ir
V'nizkeh chulanu m'heirah l'oro
Baruch atah YHVH, yotzer ham'orot.
Let a new light shine on Zion, and may all of us speedily merit this light.
Blessed are You, YHVH, fashioning the celestial lights.
V'ahavta • Return the Love
V'ahavta et Adonai elohecha b'chol l'vavcha
uv'chol nafshecha uv'chol me'odecha.
V'hayu had'varim ha’eileh asher anochi
m'tzv'cha hayom al-levavecha.
V'shinantam l'vanecha v'dibarta bam
b'shiv'techa b'veitecha uv'lech't'cha
vaderech uv'shochb'cha uv'kumecha.
Uk'shartam l'ot al yadecha v'hayu l'totafot
bein einecha. Uch'tavtam al mezuzot beitecha
u'visharecha.
Love YHVH your God with all your
heart, all your soul, all your might.
Set these words that I command you
today on your heart.
Teach them to your children; speak of
them in your home and on your way,
when you sleep and when you wake.
Bind them as a sign on your hand. Let
them be like symbols before your eyes.
Write them on the doorposts of your
house and on your gates.
V'hashevota • Return to Heart
V'hashevota el l'vavecha
Ki YHVH hu ha-Elohim.
Return to your heart: know that YHVH is God.
V'ne'emar v'hayah YHVH l'melech al
kol ha-aretz. Bayom ha-hu yihyeh
YHVH echad ushmo echad.
It is said: YHVH will be sovereign over all the earth.
On that day, God's name will be One and God's name will be One.
To Light Candles…
To light candles in all the worlds this is Shabbat.
To light Shabbat candles is the leap of a soul pregnant with secrets,
to a magnificent sea, filled with the mysteries of the fire of sunset.
As I light the candles, my room turns to a River of Fire, my heart sinks in emerald waterfalls.--- Zelda (translator unknown)
The Philosophers’ Prayer
From the cowardice that shrinks from new truth, from the laziness that is content with half truth, from the arrogance that thinks it has all truth—O God of truth deliver us
Wings of Peace
Ufros aleinu sukkat, sukkat, shelomecha
Spread over us wings of peace, wings of peace shelomecha
Nature is God’s Niggun
Nature is God's niggun,
a wordless melody of unfolding life.
To awaken to God we must hear the niggun,
To awaken to God we must listen in deep silence.
Silence arises when thinking ceases.
If we would know God, we must quiet the mind,
Cease the chatter that passes for knowledge.
When in fact it only flatters the foolish.
We cannot live without words,
but let us not imagine that words are sufficient.
As a symphony needs rest to lift music out of noise,
so we need silence to lift truth out of words.
(by Rabbi Rami Shapiro)
We Cannot Merely Pray- Jack Riemer (adapted)
We cannot merely pray to God to end war;
For the world was made in such a way
That we must find our own path of peace
Within ourselves and with our neighbor
We cannot merely pray to God to root out prejudice;
For we already have eyes
With which to see the good in all people
If we would only judge them rightly.
We cannot merely pray to God to end starvation;
For we already have the resources
With which to feed the entire world
If we would only use them wisely.
We cannot merely pray to God to end despair;
For we already have the power
To clear away slums and to give hope
If we would only use our power justly.
We cannot merely pray to God to end disease;
For we already have great minds
With which to search out cures and healing
If we would only use them constructively.
Therefore we pray instead
For strength, determination, and will power,
To do instead of merely to pray;
To become instead of merely to wish;
That our world may be safe,
And that our lives may be blessed.
1977 Philip K. Dick essay entitled, "If You Find This World Bad, You Should See Some of the Others":
"Once in a great while, however, [a writer] happens by chance onto a thoroughly stunning idea new to him that he hopes will turn out to be new to everyone else.
"An odd aspect of these rare, extraordinary ideas that puzzles me is their mystifying cloak of - shall I say - the obvious. by that I mean, once the idea has emerged or appeared or been born - however it is that new ideas pass over into being - the novelist says to himself, 'But of course. Why didn't I realize that years ago?' But note the word 'realize.' It is the key word. He has come across something new that at the same time was there, somewhere, all the time. It truth, it simply surfaced. It always WAS. He did not invent it or even find it; in a very real sense it found HIM. And - and this is a little frightening to contemplate - he has not invented it, but on the contrary, it invented HIM. It is as if the idea created him for its purposes. I think this is why we discover a startling phenomenon of great renown: that quite often in history a great new idea strikes a number of researchers or thinkers at exactly the same time, all of them oblivious to their compeers. 'Its time had come,' we say about the idea, and so dismiss, as if we had explained it, something I consider quite important: our recognition that in a certain literal sense ideas are alive.
Gilbert: “I believe that our planet is inhabited not only by animals and plants and bacteria and viruses, but also by ideas. Ideas are a disembodied, energetic life-form. They are completely separate from us, but capable of interacting with us—albeit strangely. Ideas have no material body, but they do have consciousness, and they most certainly have will. Ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be made manifest. And the only way an idea can be made manifest in our world is through collaboration with a human partner. It is only through a human’s efforts that an idea can be escorted out of the ether and into the realm of the actual.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear]
"What does this mean, to say that an idea or a thought is literally alive? And that it seizes on men here and there and makes use of them to actualize itself into the stream of human history? Perhaps the pre-Socratic philosophers were correct; the cosmos is one vast entity that thinks. It may in fact do nothing BUT think. In that case either what we call the universe is merely a form of disguise that it takes, or it somehow is the universe - some variation on this pantheistic view, my favorite being that it cunningly mimics the world that we experience daily, and we remain none the wiser. This is the view of the oldest religion of India, and to some extent it was the view of Spinoza and Alfred North Whitehead, the concept of an immanent God, God within the universe... The Sufi saying [by Rumi] 'The workman is invisible within the workshop' applies here, with workshop as universe and workman as God. But this still expresses the theistic notion that the universe is something the God created; whereas I am saying, perhaps God created nothing but merely IS. And we spend our lives within him or her or it, wondering constantly where he or she or it can be found.
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.”
― Brené Brown
Body Based Psalm 150
By Rabbi Ben Newman
May Every Body Praise Yah, Haleluyah!
Praise Yah with running and jumping
praise Yah with sitting and standing
Praise Yah with touching and tasting
Praise Yah with kissing and stretching
May Every Body Praise Yah, halleluyah!
Praise Yah with pooping and peeing
praise Yah with sit-ups and singing
Praise Yah with yoga and dancing
praise Yah with lunging and prancing
May Every Body Praise Yah, haleluyah
Praise Yah with tai chi and hugging
praise Yah with karate and resting
Praise Yah with eating and strumming
Praise Yah with drinking and drumming
May Every Body Praise Yah, halleluyah!