SOUL FULL

A Momentum Publication

With contributions from Momentum Trip Leaders, Community Leaders, Lay Leaders, Staff, and Participants

Written and Edited by Dr. Ronit Ziv-Kreger

Copyright © 2022 Momentum Unlimited Inc.

All rights reserved

English translation by Ronit Ziv-Kreger

Translation copyright © 2022 Momentum Unlimited and Ronit Ziv-Kreger

All rights reserved

Unattributed personal prayers copyright © 2022 Ronit Ziv-Kreger and Momentum Unlimited.

Please note that this volume includes sacred texts, and should be treated accordingly.

Book and cover design by Ira Ginzburg

Printed in Israel

A Momentum Publication

Abridged First Edition

The creation of the book was made possible with the generous support of The Zalik Foundation.

Considerable research and expense have gone into the creation of this publication. No part of this publication (content or design) may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Momentum Unlimited, except in case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Dedicated with love to our daughtersDaniella, Arianna and Sophia.

May you lead joyous and meaningful lives. May your souls be filled with Jewish wisdom And may your prayers be answered for the good.

Love, Your parents

Helen and David Zalik

“This book is just beautiful. The translation is true to the original yet speaks to the heart and mind of the mature, contemporary Jew irrespective of background. It is profound and poetic, and opens the world of prayer to all.

I see this work as a magnificent resource for connecting with The Creator.

I have reviewed every page, offered guidance throughout its development, and enthusiastically endorse it.”

Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits, Rosh Kollel, Jerusalem Kollel and Rosh HaYeshiva, Yeshivat Aish HaTorah

“I’m glad that the ancient debate between ‘fixed prayer’ and ‘personal prayer’ was never resolved. Together, we need the unifying power of fixed liturgy, but individuals need to plead from their own heart. Yet, the cry of the heart often goes unexpressed. Each prayer I read in this extraordinary book opened a latch in my soul, helping me unlock my own heartfelt words.”

— Yochi Brandes, author of award-winning novels on Jewish figures who initiated revolutions

“Finding the holy in daily life has been my passion for the past three decades.

The wonderful contributions in this book are a tremendous aid to help you do that. Read it. Use it. Share it.”

— Alan Morinis, Ph.D., founder, the Mussar Institute; author, Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar

“Our ancestors understood the strength of prayer to open the gates of heaven. This collection includes personal prayers and the prayers of our sages, which were passed from parent to child and from grandparent to grandchild. This book is a guide to your inner self and to finding your place as a link in the chain of Jewish generations.”

Aliza Lavie, Ph.D., former member of the Knesset and author of A Jewish Woman’s Prayer Book

“This book has taken my breath away! What a creation of love, dedication, and soulfulness.”

Hedy Schleifer, founder, Encounter-Centered Couples Therapy

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Creating Shabbat Light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Blessing the Children 78

Peace Be Upon You: Shalom Aleichem 80

A Woman of Strong Character: EshetChayil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Shabbat Evening Kiddush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Handwashing 88

Blessing for Eating Bread: Challah 90 Shabbat Day Kiddush: Kiddush Rabbah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Song for Shabbat: Menuchah Vesimchah –Restorative Rest and Joy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Short Shabbat Songs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Songs for the Final Hour of Shabbat: The Third Shabbat Meal Psalm 23, Mizmor LeDavid. . . . . . . . . 98

Beloved of the Soul: Yedid Nefesh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Transitioning from Shabbat to the Workweek: Havdalah Part I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Blessings of Separation: Havdalah Part II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Celebrate – Shavua Tov! 106 Soul Full Together 108

Celebrate the Year – Holidays at Home

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

New Moon/Rosh Hodesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Festival Candle Lighting 116

for Festival Evenings 118 Kiddush for the Evening of Rosh HaShanah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Rosh HaShanah Symbolic Foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Daytime Kiddush for Festivals and Rosh HaShanah 130 Spiritual Cleansing Ritual: Tashlich 132 The Ethiopian Holiday Sigd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Sukkot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

The Miracles of Hanukkah and Purim 137 Passover and the Search for Chametz / Leavened Bread 140 Israel Memorial and Independence Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Shavuot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Soul Full Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Give Thanks Blessings for the Everyday and the Exceptional Introduction 146

Blessing the Home and Affixing a Mezuzah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Bedtime Shema Part I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Bedtime Shema Part II 152

Bedtime Shema Part III 154

Bedtime Shema Part IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Traveler’s Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Prayer for Israel Defense Force Soldiers 162

Health-Care Worker's Prayer 164

Encounter the Wonders of Nature with Gratitude . . . . . . . . . . 166

Encounter the Beauty of Nature with Awe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

The Blessing of Scent 170

Encounter the Unknown with Strength 172

Encounter Miracles with Wonder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Soul Full Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Hear the Soul Speak Prayers for Vulnerable Moments Introduction 181 Mind and Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Before Surgery 183

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Hope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Seeking a Soul Mate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 Seeking Fertility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Seeking Love and Friendship with a Foe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

A Woman’s Prayer for the Shabbat before the New Moon . 199 Love 200

Upon Getting Engaged to be Married 200

For a Bridegroom 202 Bride’s Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

A Father’s Prayer for his Daughter/Son and New Son/ Daughter (In-Law) Upon their Wedding 205

Prayer of a Mother-in-Law 206

For Intimacy of a Married Couple 208 Fostering Love in One’s Family 211

Birth 212

For Conception 212

For Fertility 214 Labor 216

Preparing for Birth 218 Becoming a Mother 219 Becoming a Father 220

The Gift of a Daughter Upon Giving a Girl Her Name 221 Welcoming a Son A Mother’s Prayer before Her Son’s Circumcision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

For a Father before His Son Is Circumcised . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Nursing for the First Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Raising Children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

First Day of School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

A Mother’s Prayer before Her Son’s Bar Mitzvah or Her Daughter’s Bat Mitzvah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Grown Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Mother upon Her Daughter’s First Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Fostering Children’s Healthy Independence. . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Home and Homeland 240 Seeking a Safe Home 240

Prayer for Our Homes 241

Visiting Israel 242 Prayer at the Kotel 243

Letting Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Upon the Loss of a Pet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

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Losing a Pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

For Divorce or a Breakup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 Grieving for a Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

A Prayer for Peaceful Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Confession before Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Before Memorial Anniversary: Yahrtzeit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 Successes and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

On Taking a New Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Retirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Before a Talk on a Hard-to-Share or Hard-to-Hear Topic . 257

Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Sustenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Prioritizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

Taking Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Preparing for Prayerful Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

Facing a Challenge or a Troubling Situation. . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 Loving an Addict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Struggling with Addiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 Seeking Guidance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 Before a Negotiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 Avoiding Gossip

Negative Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

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Foreword

◊ ◊ ◊

After I returned from Momentum’s very first trip to Israel in 2009, I started to sing the Shema each night to my daughters, Daniella (then three years old) and Arianna (then one and a half; Sophia was not even born yet). It felt foreign, uncomfortable, and even slightly disingenuous. After all, having grown up in the former Soviet Union where practicing Judaism (or any religion for that matter) was illegal, I learned there is no God.

Yet, night after night as I sang and reaffirmed to my daughters that God is listening, I started to consider that maybe God is. That led to questions. The questions led to learning and the learning to decisions.

With that first utterance of the Shema, I chose to raise my daughters in a world where human life has purpose and where actions have meaning. I chose to raise my daughters in a world with God.

Our lives are a series of small, uncomfortable actions we call “growth,” in the context of a greater reality.

I hope the chapters that follow will lead you to wonder, question, learn, and touch this greater reality in ways that are a blessing to you and others.

Helen Zalik President of the Board, Momentum

◊ ◊ ◊

I remember my first prayer. I was a little girl in Toronto, and my bubby, of blessed memory, took me to a bingo game. The sights and sounds were thrilling, and my heart was beating out of my chest because I needed only one more number to win. I looked up and prayed to God: “B-17, B-17.… I’ll never ask for anything else ever again.” They did not call B-17.

It took years of “Simon Says” prayer on the High Holidays (“The congregation will please rise…”) before I was able to tiptoe back to prayer in my mid-twenties. Many years later, in 2008, I gathered with seven other women in the mountains

of Utah to dream, to envision a “home run” idea that just might strengthen an ever-weakening Jewish people. We were very different as people but had similar upbringings and experiences with prayer – uninspired standing and sitting in synagogue, slowly drifting away from Judaism along with spouses and children.

Perhaps, we realized, it was time to understand why we are standing… and what we stand for.

We came up with many ideas, but one took off like a rocket: Focus on the Jewish mother. Influence the influencer. The vision that took root all those years ago is now an organization called Momentum. Our flagship program has brought tens of thousands of Jewish mothers (and now fathers) from all over the world to Israel for an eight-day transformational experience. The Israel journey is part of a life-changing year of learning and growth that takes place in their home community in partnerships with hundreds of organizations worldwide.

Each day of the Israel experience unpacks a Jewish value that unites us, and one of those values is emunah, faithfulness and trust. The highlight of that day is visiting the Kotel, the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. Just before walking arm in arm to touch its ancient stones, we share many of the ideas that you will find here in Soul Full – that prayer is a deep, personal conversation with God, a connection between you and your Creator in any language, at any time, that spills out from the depths of your heart and soul. Many tears are shed as we pray for those we love most. We ask for health, success, and a clear path to our true potential. We call out for Israel and the Jewish people, for unity, for protection. We pray for healing on behalf of the world, for peace, harmony, and loving fellowship. It is a transformational moment. We invite you to be part of it. Turn these pages now and get a personal taste of what it means to connect and elevate. May your soul, indeed, become full.

Lori Palatnik Founding Director of Momentum

Introduction

WELCOME TO SOUL FULL

How do you connect to yourself, to others, to God, through prayer? It is the central question that animates this book, but it is not a new question. It has been asked for centuries by sages and scholars, parents and children, longtime practitioners, and newcomers alike. As with so many of the formative questions in Judaism, there is no single answer. The answers are found in the exploration. It is by seeking that your soul emerges: your inner self, your core, that most enduring essence that transcends the everyday, outlives the corporeal, and makes you who you are.

To connect with Jewish prayer is to connect with your soul. This book is your invitation to embark upon this timeless and often challenging mission. It is an invitation to nourish your core by exploring the words of our people, words that have been crafted with care and intention in the shared Jewish language of possibility and potential. That is why we call it Soul Full.

These pages offer a rich collection of prayers, blessings, and reflections. Whatever your relationship with a Power greater than yourself, we hope you can find yourself here. Like any relationship, developing and sustaining a closeness with God is work, dynamic and complex. Even the word “God” is challenging – an English placeholder for a myriad of Hebrew designations, none of which can hold that which is beyond language to express. We encourage you to learn more about the name of God along your journey, leaning on the resources in this book (see p. 287 for support). There are times when you might feel distance, and times when the existence of God feels abundantly clear. We each have our own journey and we are on the fast track when we show up, seek, and engage.

MOMENTUM’S APPROACH

Momentum’s1 approach is woven throughout this book – inspiring you to explore Jewish values, to bring new insights into your life to strengthen your family and community, and to embrace unity without uniformity. Embedded

1 For more about Momentum, see p. 294 and momentumunlimited.org.

in prayer are the Jewish values of learning and growth, courage, faithfulness and trust, generosity and gratitude, and human dignity. These values help you chip away at the shell of indifference that can all too easily begin encasing your heart. The gift of prayer is not all or nothing – so this book offers you different gateways to find what calls to you. Prayer gives you a unique opportunity to connect to Israel as you join with your people to turn toward Jerusalem with a shared yearning for a better world for all.

In this book we’ve gathered prayers from around the world to focus on that which unites us rather than divides us, with a hope that we all connect through its blessings and poetry to a fuller spectrum of people with love, empathy, and a calmer and more receptive heart.

USING THIS BOOK

Each chapter of this book is a gateway drawn from the forthcoming Momentum prayer companion, SoulFull:GatewaystoJewishPrayer. Crafted with you in mind, the chapters feature a selection from structured prayer on the left side, and personal prayer on the right. The structured words on the left are texts used the world over for generations. They are full of tried-andtrue wisdom. They are a central component of the shared vocabulary of the Jewish people. They offer a language that will allow you to worship with any Jewish community around the world. These verses are a daily reminder that regardless of where you are on your Jewish journey, you are a part of something bigger than yourself – a global Jewish family, past, present, and future. On the right side of each page, you will find opportunities for reflection and connection – explanations, stories, and questions designed to help elucidate structured prayer. There are also personal prayers born of the yearning, experience, and expression of our global community. We inherit this legacy of improvisation and personalization of prayer from our ancestors. Take, for example, the prayers of Hannah or the poetry of King David’s psalms. Such prayers have been part of the Jewish liturgy throughout the ages.

A book of this nature can be daunting, regardless of how familiar you may be with Jewish prayer. Prayer is a process – it’s not all or nothing. If you have five minutes, open your heart with one of the morning blessings on pages 24–67 and elevate your mood with gratitude. If you have time at the end of the day, keep Soul Full on your nightstand and spend a few minutes with the Bedtime Shema on pages 150–157 before you fall asleep. Follow your heart and start with the content that speaks to you. It is our hope that you encounter the presence of the divine on every page, in each word and the spaces in between. Soul Full is a resource for individuals around the world, for anyone who seeks a path to the soul, to the love, creativity, and joy that follow within us, and is curious about the path of Jewish prayer in this exploration. The book can also be a springboard for group learning, with your loved ones or in partnership with one or more friends. Each chapter concludes with Soul Full Together, a guide similar to a book club designed to build confidence, connection, and community. It includes activities and conversation questions for small groups and families with children of all ages.

WELCOMING THE SOUL

We are each born with an inner essence that is free and unencumbered. Whether we call this essence our core or our soul, it’s where we feel peace and exuberance. It’s where we express love. Connecting with it inspires us to act authentically and with open and innate curiosity. And yet, life can all too often tarnish or conceal this inner core. Uncovering your original center and living from it is what we mean when we say Soul Full. Some access their core in soul-awakening moments while dancing, skiing, or hiking; others access it through poetry, art, meditation, or intimacy, and some through history, physics, or gardening. No matter the way, spiritual work and growth is about removing the tarnish and returning us to ourselves, to our original wonder. Inner success is about discovering your true self and expressing it in your thoughts, feelings, actions, and words.

PRAYER AS A REFLEXIVE VERB

Prayer has been called the quill of the heart. Indeed, words have a role in this work of discovery and rediscovery. God created the world with words! With words and the silence between them we touch the immortal, transmitting

something beyond place and time. Words and silence take us from occasional soul-awakening moments into spiritual practices that have the power to dissolve the barriers concealing our core. They offer pathways to reside more regularly in connection with our soul.

That is why the Hebrew word for praying, lehitpallel, is a reflexive verb – an action that we do unto ourselves. We intervene with ourselves. We self-reflect and self-assess. Our sages describe the practice of lehitpallelas the service and work of the heart. The famous humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers advocated that for a person to grow, they need an environment that provides them with a space for open and genuine self-disclosure, acceptance of positive regard, and empathic listening. He wrote, “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.”2 With a prayer practice, you can build this for yourself. With time, the presence you encounter is your own soul, the Oneness that is your essence, which is part of the One. That which is Beyond the self provides this empathic acceptance and love. Further, the energy of your soul is infectious; when you activate it in yourself, it’s easier to draw it out in others, and those around you will get stirred as well.

PERSONAL PRAYER

My grandmother Tzivia was soulful – the kind of person almost everyone befriends quickly. She was a warm and engaging listener who seemed to enter the world of anyone she was with. She spoke five languages fluently and learned them not in school, but rather in conversation with her diverse neighbors in Jerusalem. Her speech was playful, peppered with colorful idioms and stories from an array of cultures.

But what stood out to me most about her words was how much they were in conversation with the Beyond. Throughout the day, she addressed God as a beloved friend, a coach, a confidant – whether she was cooking, shopping in the shuk (market), helping at an orphanage, resolving conflicts among neighbors, or just crossing the street.

My grandmother’s prayers were conversational and deeply personal. They remind me of the prayers so abundant in Torah stories, the prayers of our ancestors who turned to God with the burdens of their hearts and minds. The

2 Carl R. Rogers, OnBecomingaPerson:ATherapist’sViewofPsychotherapy.

Torah has a whopping 140 references to people praying, not to mention the entire book of Psalms.

Of those 140 references, the rabbis elevate one as the model: Hannah’s prayer. In closing, we turn to this paradigmatic story of Hannah. Hannah is painfully barren. Her hope is to have a child. She goes on a pilgrimage of prayer to plead for that child.3 She prays with deep intention and presence. She speaks from her heart, forming the words of her prayer with her lips, speaking softly so as not to be heard by others. Her unique manner of prayer captured the attention of the sages throughout history, so much so that they used her model as the basis upon which laws of Jewish prayer would be built.4

Many explanations have been offered for why Hannah was selected from all the possible biblical exemplars of how to pray. One that we find compelling5 is that Hannah links her personal prayer with big, audacious dreams for a better world. The Torah records a second prayer of Hannah6 in which she prays for a better world. She asks God to strengthen those who are faltering and weak, so that the hungry will hunger no more. “God, raise the poor from the dust, lift up the needy from the dunghill, to seat them with nobles.” She prays for the demise of oppressors who abuse their power.

Hannah closes her prayer by asking for leadership that will follow God’s values. Hannah’s son becomes the prophet Samuel, who anoints King Saul and King David. Hannah captured something essential about prayer, not only in how she prayed, but also in asking for what she most yearned for and linking it to big, audacious dreams for lifting up the world for the benefit of all.

This book is our prayer that we all dream big and pray audaciously.

From Hannah’s timeless prayer to Grandma Tzivia’s conversation murmurings to the traditional prayers of the siddurto the personal prayers around the world today, all these forms of prayer hold a sanctity that can lift and illuminate our lives.

3 I Samuel 1.

4 Babylonian Talmud, tractate Brachot 31a.

5 I learned this from Rabbi David Silber, founder and dean of the Drisha Institute of Jewish Education in New York.

6 I Samuel 2:1–10.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks beautifully describes the siddur as “the choral symphony the covenantal people has sung to God across forty centuries, from the days of the patriarchs until the present day. In it we hear the voices of Israel’s prophets, priest and kings, its sages and scholars, poets and philosophers, rationalists and mystics singing in calibrated harmony.”7

We hope you hear your own prayers as part of this calibrated harmony spanning the generations.

May this companion become your companion. May it serve you as you deepen your connection to a life lived with soul. May you be blessed to have your prayers answered in a way you can palpably feel, understand, and cherish. May these chapters be gateways to a world of words that belongs uniquely to you, in this journey we walk together.

Ronit Ziv-Kreger Director of Education, Momentum

7 The Koren Sacks Siddur, introduction.

Notes on Translation

Because the Almighty is not limited by any language, we can pray in our mother tongue. In addition to the prayers of the heart, there is a boundless landscape of Jewish liturgy layered with meaning. Each phrase, each word, leads us to ever-deeper terrain. Even among native Hebrew speakers, fluency in the lexicon of our prayers – which draws from Biblical Hebrew, Rabbinic Hebrew, and Aramaic – is rare.8 So while we can pray in any language, accessing the depth of ancient prayers, our shared heritage, calls for translation and explanation.

When reflecting on the challenge of translation, Canadian Jewish author Anne Michaels wrote that translators must make a choice – some sacrifice detail to meaning, others sacrifice meaning to exactitude. While the writer moves from life to language, the translator moves from language to life. Both are immigrants.

Embarking on the journey from sacred language to life as your translator, with trepidation, I’ve felt the tension Michaels so aptly describes. In many cases a literal translation of prayer causes the words to lose the essential meaning and poetic flow. But to move too far afield from literal meaning can render prayer unrecognizable; a violation of integrity and reverence. I have sought balance, a commitment to both essence and precision. Much care and prayer was given to the decision of translating the well-known formula that opens most blessings, Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha’olam. We hope the result, “Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world,” moves you from language to life, honoring the essence of the Hebrew and the magnitude of its meaning in a vibrant, authentic, and accessible way.

God’s most intimate name, the four-letter (ה-ו-ה-י) Name of God, is not pronounced. Our sages guided that in prayer we say Adonai when this name appears, which is how it is translated in this book. You can learn more about this intimate Name of God and about the meaning of the word Adonai on pp. 287–289.

8 Nefesh HaChaim (2:13) says that even with good translation and explanation we access only “a drop in the ocean” of the depths of meaning encoded by our sages.

But how to translate references to God using pronouns? God is neither female nor male, but Hebrew is a gendered language that renders God most often as a masculine noun, and sometimes as a feminine noun. When you encounter pronouns for God in this translation, you will find three options. Depending on context, rhythm, and grammar, we use the Name itself in lieu of a pronoun, the neutral pronoun You or Your, or a masculine or feminine pronoun, following the Hebrew.

The second part of the well-known formula of blessings, asher kideshanu bemitzvotav, is rendered “who has made us holy with Your commandments.” This choice was made with careful consultation with rabbinic authorities since the Hebrew is gendered and strict precision would have it translated as “His commandments.”

When an English word serves as a placeholder for God or the Name of God –for example, the Almighty or Divine Presence – the words are capitalized to designate them as honorific names and to give clarity to the reference. However, when those same words are used to describe God or God’s Presence, they are not capitalized, for example: God is almighty. May God’s divine presence shelter us with peace.

German Jewish philosopher Walter Benjamin compared the work of translation to an archaeologist painstakingly reconstructing an ancient vessel. Just as shards of pottery must be recognizable as pieces of a larger vessel, both the original and the translation must be recognizable as part of a greater language.

We invite you to explore the greater language of prayer as you make your way through this book. Some of our translation choices may stand out to you, others you won’t even notice. We hope you learn from both. The great writer Hayim Nahman Bialik, often referred to as Israel’s national poet, famously wrote that reading in translation is like kissing through a veil. Soul Full is an opportunity to lift the veil, and we are honored to be a part of the relationship that follows.

Introduction

Morning is the master key that unlocks the new day and its potential. When you elevate the first moments of your day, every hour after is imbued with deeper promise.

Jewish tradition provides a “morning outline” to usher us forward most powerfully. It is called Birkot HaShachar, literally “dawn blessings.” This ancient spiritual technology provides a template for your own dawn, allowing you to meet the day ahead focused, open, and inspired.

The Morning Blessings cultivate awareness, gratitude, grounding, and grace. Every blessing in the series moves you forward from passive sleep to enlivened awareness and action.

In Hebrew, the words “preparation” (hachanah) and “intention” (kavanah) share the same root. It is also the same root as the word for “yes” (ken). When you prepare for the day and clarify your intentions for the day, you access the natural positivity in your core. In that mix, possibilities unfold. Birkot HaShachar are an invitation to start with gratitude and to ask: What is my yes today? How can I step into my life with more of my potential?

In the Morning Blessings each of the themes not only describes the physical, but also offers a vision of how the physical symbolizes our psychological as well as spiritual strivings. For example, the physical ability to stand and stretch our bodies can be used as a psycho-spiritual symbol of our personal freedom to stand up for what matters to us. This morning ritual reminds you that you need not be dragged down by yesterday. Today, new possibilities are open.

The Morning Blessings are a guide toward becoming a blessing yourself. As a practice, they help you connect with your soul and access your purpose. You have a unique contribution to share with the world. In honoring your uniqueness, you reflect God’s call to Abraham: Go forth and be a blessing. May these words be as much of an inspiration for you today as they have been for our ancestors for generations.

May the Morning Blessings come to be (or continue to be) a reminder to be exactly who you are meant to be to continue finding ways to connect to the One within and beyond, and to manifest that connection throughout your day, sharing your passion for life with others. May you meet each morning with an affirmative “yes” of preparation and intention, and may these ritual blessings transform the content and depth of your days.

chai vekayam,

bechemlah, rabbah

LEARNING

It’s easy to take for granted that we’ll wake up to a new day each morning, but each day of life is a gift. Our first morning words affect our consciousness for the day. Toward what are you orienting yourself today? What gifts do you want to call to your attention to set your intention of the day?

REFLECTION

If we are so grateful, we might expect the prayer to end with affirming our faithfulness to and trust in God, to whom we are expressing our gratitude. But the prayer ends with God’s faithfulness to and trust in us! What is one thing you can do to make this a good day? How can this action reflect God’s trust in you?

INSPIRATION

Jewish tradition invites us to assume an “attitude of gratitude” from the moment we open our eyes. Grammatically, it would be correct to say, “I am thankful.” However, the order in the prayer is “Thankful am I.” Our first word of the day is an expression of appreciation, rather than a direct reference to ourselves. What might your family life be like if you and members of your family began each morning taking stock of your gifts and blessings?

PERSONAL PRAYER

I thank You for the nature that surrounds me, for the love and friendship in my life, for the ability to discover and enjoy this world. Give me the strength to connect and be connected. Grant me the spiritual courage to create.

Accepting and easing the burden of my loved ones.

— Shani Zadikario, Rannana, Israel

LEARNING

Water symbolizes rebirth. The breaking of embryonic fluid ushers in a baby’s birth. Passing through the Red Sea ushered in the birth of the Jewish nation. Each morning after acknowledging that our soul is newly refreshed and restored, the ritual washing of hands orients us to feel reborn. Each day is a new beginning!

INSPIRATION

The Hebrew word used for “washing” in this prayer also means “elevating.” With gratitude for sleep’s rest and fresh perspective, we wash away its inactivity and prepare our hands for the sacred service of taking action to care for our family and community.

REFLECTION

What would you like to wash away this morning to approach the day with fresh strength and emotional clarity? Why do you think the washing ritual is directed at our hands rather than, say, our faces or another part of our body?

PERSONAL PRAYER

As I do this ritual washing of the hands, i intend to purify myself and wash away what is extraneous from the night and the day that has passed.

As I raise my hands to my eyes, I intend to be as an extended hand of the Creator in my thoughts, words, and actions;

A spark of the essence of the One whose entire Being is lovingkindness.

Please, God, bless my hands and actions, so that I can serve as a faithful channel of divine abundance in the world.

Orit Avivi-Cohen, Kfar Uria, Israel

HEALTH OF THE BODY

This blessing of gratitude for the intricate wonders of our body is said upon exiting the restroom.

הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב

,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא

,הָמְכָחְּב םָדאָָה תֶא רַצָי רֶׁשֲא וֹב אָרָבוּ

.םיִלוּלֲח םיִלוּלֲח ,םיִבָקְנ םיִבָקְנ ַעוּדָיְו יוּלָג ,ךֶדוֹבְכ אֵּסִכ יֵנְפִל

,םֶהֵמ דָחֶא ַחֵתָּפִי םִאֶׁש

,םֶהֵמ דָחֶא םֵתָּסִי וֹא םֵיַקְתִהְל רָׁשְפֶא יִא

.ךיֶנָפְל דֹמֲעַלְו

,הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב

.תוֹשֲׂעַל איִלְפַמוּ רָׂשָּב לָכ אֵפוֹר

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who formed humans with wisdom and created within each openings and cavities. It is revealed and known before the throne of Your glory that if even one of them were to be ruptured or blocked, it would be impossible to survive and stand in Your Presence.

Blessed are You, Adonai, Healer of all flesh, who does wonders.

LEARNING

This prayer expresses gratitude to God for the workings of the human body. It is recited after using the restroom. It’s easy to take good health for granted until a challenge presents itself. The inner workings of our bodies are intricate, and its entire balance can be thrown off when one part does not work. This prayer serves as a daily reminder to express gratitude for our health and to do our part to preserve it.

REFLECTION

What is one thing you can do today to care for your physical or mental health?

PERSONAL PRAYER: Blessed are You for creating my beloved children within me, completely whole, faithful and wise at their roots.

May they always go in their unique ways, accompanied by hope.

When I stand before You it is clear how fragile life is how fleeting.

Keep my family safe, our bodies and minds healthy, so that we may do Your will.

— Roni Ezra Friedman, Jerusalem, Israel

INSPIRATION

When a baby is born, the airway, which was closed in utero, opens so that the baby can breathe. Other passages in the circulatory and respiratory systems close for healthful heart functioning. The Talmud1 puts it well: “Closed passages open and open passages close; otherwise the infant could not survive for even one hour.”

Such hidden miracles take place in our bodies every single day!

1 Tractate Niddah 30b.

HEALTH OF THE SOUL

,יַהֹלֱא

.איִה הָרוֹהְט יִּב ָּתַתָּנֶׁש הָמָׁשְנ

,הָּּתְרַצְי הָּתאַ ,הָּתאָרְב הָּתאַ ,יִּב הָּּתְחַפְנ הָּתאַ

.יִּבְרִקְּב הָּרְּמַׁשְמ הָּתאְַו

,יִנֶּמִּמ הָּלְטִּל דיִתָע הָתּאְַו

.אוֹבָל דיִתָעֶל יִבּ הָּריִזֲחַהְלוּ

,יִבְּרִקְב הָמָשְׁנַּהֶשׁ ןַמְז לָכּ הוהי ךיֶנָפְל יִנֲא הָדוֹמ/הֶדוֹמ

.יַתוֹבֲא יֵהֹלאֵו יַהֹלֱא

.תוֹמָשְׁנַּה לָכּ ןוֹדֲא ,םיִשֲׂעַמַּה לָכּ ןוֹבִּר

,הוהי הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ

.םיִתֵמ םיִרָגְפִל תוֹמָשְׁנ ריִזֲחַמַּה

My God, the soul You placed in me is pure. You created it, You formed it, You breathed it into me, and You sustain it within me. Though one day You will take it from me, You will restore it to me in the time to come.

As long as the soul is within me, I will thank You, Adonai, my God and God of my ancestors, Director of all events, Master of all souls. Blessed are You, Adonai, who restores souls to lifeless bodies.

LEARNING

Each person has a unique soul. This prayer reminds us that God breathed our soul into us, and that no matter what our past actions, no matter how we feel, our soul is untainted. It is inherently pure, free from distortions of past experiences or mood. Jewish mystical tradition tells us that each soul is part of God. You have a divine soul! This endows you with awesome power to carry out its mission in this world.

INSPIRATION

Our soul craves to reunite with its Source. Rav Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook, the first chief rabbi of pre-state Israel, says that the soul is always praying.3 When we make time to be prayerful and listen for our soul’s prayer, we support the divine bonding for which the soul yearns.

PERSONAL PRAYER

REFLECTION

In Hebrew, the words for “soul” and “breath” come from the same root. Deep breathing can lower stress in the body.2 How could bringing attention to your breath in the morning benefit you? What other times in the day might this be helpful to you?

Creator of the universe my spark has extinguished the husk around my soul has tightened.

My inner joy has faded, my soul is beating, searching, awakening anew each morning, asking: Where are You?

Orna Ohahon, Shoham, Israel

2 https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/relaxation-techniques-breath-controlhelps-quell-errant-stress-response.

3 https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/relaxation-techniques-breath-controlhelps-quell-errant-stress-response.

BLESSING FOR TORAH STUDY

the

רֶשֲׁא ,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב .הָרוֹת יֵרְבִדְבּ קֹסֲעַל וּנָּוִצְו ויָתוְֹצִמְבּ וּנָשְׁדִּק

Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech HaOlam, asher kideshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu la’asok bedivrei Torah.

ךְתָרוֹת יֵרְבִּד תֶא , וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי ,אָנ בֶרֲעַהְו וּנְחַנֲא הֶיְהִנְו ,לֵאָרְשִׂי תיֵּב ךְּמַע יִפְבוּ וּניִפְּב יֵאָצֱאֶצְו (וּניֵאָצֱאֶצ יֵאָצֱאֶצְו) ,וּניֵאָצֱאֶצְו יֵדְמוֹלְו ,ךֶמְׁש יֵעְדוֹי וּנָלֻּכ ,לֵאָרְשִׂי תיֵּב

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has made us holy with Your commandments and instructed us to engage in (studying and living) the words of Torah.

Please our God, make sweet the words of Torah in our mouths, and in the mouths of Your people, the house of Israel. Let us, and our children (and their children) and the children of Your people the house of Israel, all know Your name and be students of Your Torah for its own sake. Blessed are You, Adonai, who teaches Torah to the people of Israel.

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Master of the world, who chose us from among all the people and gave us His Torah.

Blessed are You, Adonai, Giver of the Torah.

LEARNING

One way to understand what Torah is about is to consider other Hebrew words with the same root: pregnant (harah), instruction (hora’ah), parent (horeh), teacher (morah), and light (ohr). Torah is pregnant with instruction from the Ultimate Parent and Teacher about living a luminous life! So, while Torah is vast, the blessing is about engaging in studying and living words of Torah; and a little can have great impact when it makes our behavior kinder.

REFLECTION

We ask that the Torah be sweet in our mouth. A mouth can both taste and articulate; so, too, are we meant to taste and articulate Torah learning. What learning has been sweet for you? What Torah ideal has affected your behavior in a way that was kind, generous, or loving? How might you share a little Torah regularly with your children (or with other children), and what impact can you imagine this having on your children’s children?

PERSONAL PRAYER

INSPIRATION

“The beginning of the Torah is loving-kindness, the middle of the Torah is loving-kindness, and the end of the Torah is lovingkindness.”4 This teaching goes on to give the following three examples of God’s loving-kindness: clothing Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden in the beginning, paying a healing visit to Abraham when he was recovering from his circumcision in the middle, and burying Moses at the end. The teaching concludes by inviting us to follow God’s ways in order to build our character.

God, please bless me, and all parents, to dance Your Torah in delight. So its sweetness is not only in our mouth but in our bones, in ways that keep the sparkle in our children’s eyes as they grow. Let Torah kindle in us new capacities as we face frontiers. Let it nurture intimacy, open hearts, and uplifted consciousness from generation to generation.

4 MidrashTanhuma,Vayishlach 10.

God bless

and protect

shine

and give you grace.

vichuneka

lecha shalom

LEARNING

Each of the three phrases, which constitute the blessing that priests were instructed to offer the Israelites, bestows both a gift and a supplication for protection from potential pitfalls that would prevent the gift from being well used. The first blessing is for material resources and protection from being corrupted by them.6 The second is for the light of Torah and wisdom to be used graciously and to guard against becoming arrogant from one’s Torah learning. The third is for spiritual closeness to God and protection of this gift so that it will be used to bring peace and not division.

INSPIRATION

The Jewish people are called a “nation of priests” by God.7 From the first encounter Abraham has with God, he’s told to be a blessing and promised that his descendants will confer blessing. On Friday night, many parents use the priestly blessing to bless their children. They place their hands on their child’s head and recite it. Many parents also add a personalized blessing to the traditional one, sharing bright spots they observed in their child over the course of the week.

REFLECTION

How do you confer blessing onto others? Consider your immediate and extended family as well as your community and colleagues.

PERSONAL PRAYER

The priestly benediction: Simple and powerful, asking God for His blessing and protection, at every level and every moment. May God’s light shine on each of us, gently and lovingly, like a parent, grandparent, or adored teacher. Please, God, turn toward me always, with love, attention, and opportunities for growth. Grant me inner peace with Your loving nod, and acceptance and understanding that everything is done by Your hand.

Nancee Gross, North Bethesda, Maryland

6 Inspired by Rabbi Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno and Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. 7 Exodus 19:6.

LIFE, AND COMMUNITY

רוּקִּבוּ

תַסָנְכַהְו

full reward awaits us in

world that is coming:

of parents;

acts of lovingkindness;

early for learning,

evening;

guests;

the sick;

תַיָוְלוּ

ןוּיִּעְו

a

celebrating joyfully;

with what’s needed for

to the dead;

prayer;

peace between people

to

of these.

LEARNING

The sages of the Talmud describe in this passage what makes for a good family – honoring parents; what makes for a good life – doing acts of loving-kindness in all of our pursuits and engaging in learning; and what makes for a good community – attending to hosting and welcoming those on the outskirts, caring for those in need, celebrating joyful events, supporting people through loss, praying with intention, fostering forgiveness and peace among people. Torah study contributes to these all.

REFLECTION

What would you include on a checklist of what makes for a good family, a good life, and a good community?

PERSONAL PRAYER

Teach me to love and to make peace. Let the sweetness of Your Torah remove the bitterness of my words.

INSPIRATION

The word keneged, rendered here as “corresponds to,” first appears in Torah referring to God saying it’s not good for Adam to be alone and it’s time to make Adam a corresponding helper. What could our sages have meant by Torah being keneged all other behaviors listed? Perhaps they are telling us that this is also a checklist for the behaviors that studying Torah should foster. Maybe these behaviors can help hasten a transformation of a world that is coming.

Allow the light of Torah to expose the darkness in my secret places. Give me the strength to live in Your image by honoring the needs of others, accepting their differences, and forgiving their shortcomings.

And as I advocate for the oppressed and abused, and extend my heart and hand to the sick and hurting, let it be Torah, let it be You, the world sees.

Dana Green Pina, Lake Worth, Florida

TZITZIT

Blessed are You, Adonai, our

has made us holy with

commandments and instructed us regarding the command of tasseled garments.

TALLIT

Blessed are You, Adonai, our

the

with

commandments and instructed us

ourselves

LEARNING

The mitzvah of tzitzit, wearing tasseled four-cornered garments, is given in the Torah so that we “look at it and recall all the commandments of Adonai and observe them,” rather than “go about following” our “heart and eyes in lustful urges.” This mitzvah is given after the Torah’s account of the twelve spies Moses sent into the Promised Land to “go about” checking it out and bringing back a report. Ten of the twelve spies brought back a report that included slander against the land, which disheartened the Israelites. Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, reported that “the land we went about scouting is an exceedingly good land… flowing with milk and honey.”

INSPIRATION

Do our hearts and eyes always lead us after unholy urges? Consider Ecclesiastes: “O youth, enjoy yourself while you are young! Let your heart lead you to enjoyment in the days of your youth. Follow the desires of your heart and the glances of your eyes – but know well that God will call you to account for all such things.”8

REFLECTION

What might have distinguished Joshua and Caleb’s seeing from the other ten spies in going about the land? How might our seeing be inspired by them, so we can avoid being led off-track by lustful urges of hoarding honor, money, or other unholy desires?

PERSONAL PRAYER

The tallit wraps around me, comforts and protects me, and helps me connect to God.

It’s as if God is holding me and telling me to have faith, and that everything will be all right.

It is at that time I feel like I can talk to Him in my own words and ask Him to help me be a better father, husband, and provider, and to one day reach my potential.

Rob Siemens, Boca Raton, Florida

8 JPS translation of Ecclesiastes 11:9.

TEFILLIN

Standing, place the hand-tefillin on the biceps of the left arm (or right arm if you are left-handed), angled toward the heart, and before tightening the strap, say:

.םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב ַחיִנָהְל וּנָּוִצְו ויָתוְֹצִמְּב וּנָׁשְּדִק רֶׁשֲא

.ןיִלִפְּת

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has made us holy with Your commandments and instructed us to put on tefillin.

Wrap the strap of the hand-tefillin seven times around the arm. Place the headtefillin above the hairline, centered between the eyes, and say:

םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָּתאַ

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has made us holy with Your commandments and instructed us regarding the commandment of tefillin.

Adjust the head-tefillin, and say:

Blessed is the name of His glorious majesty for ever and ever.

Wind the strap of the hand-tefillin three times around the middle finger, saying:

I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, loving kindness and compassion. I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know Adonai.

LEARNING

One way to think about the mitzvah of tefillin is as an alignment practice between heart, mind, and actions. Tefillin comprise of two leather boxes with straps. The boxes contain parchment scribed with four Torah passages.9 The boxes are strapped to one’s upper arm angled to the heart and to one’s head. The arm straps extend to the hand, which symbolizes one’s actions. One of the most difficult bridges to cross is between our heart and mind. Emotions can be all-consuming and interconnected. Representing this, the arm tefillin has all four passages inscribed on a single piece of parchment and placed in the single box. But our minds categorize and make distinctions. Representing this, the head tefillin requires four individual pieces, each placed in their own sub-compartment of the box. May we dedicate heart and mind to act and live with meaning and equanimity.

INSPIRATION

kapo with dozens of bread and margarine rations. I only know that every morning many of us rose before the call-up to perform this mitzvah. Jewish law would not have required it under the circumstances. One is not obligated to sacrifice his life for the sake of donning tefillin. And yet, Jews who did not know each other, who perhaps did not even speak the same language, met each morning at dawn, exposed themselves to nameless dangers for the sake of not interrupting a millennia-old tradition. I do not understand it. I will never understand whence they derived so much courage.”10

REFLECTION

What practice helps you create peace between your mind and your heart?

PERSONAL PRAYER

Exalted are You, God, for giving us Your framework for living, for connecting us to You, and for instructing us to wear tefillin.

My bond to You is eternal and rooted in goodness, devotion, and understanding.

— Rick Popowitz North Potomac, Maryland

Professor Elie Wiesel wrote quite often about tefillin. Even in Auschwitz it remained a practice that he and others held to. “I don’t know how, but someone had managed to smuggle in a pair of tefillin by bribing a 9 Exodus 13:1–10, Exodus 13:11–16, Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and Deuteronomy 11:13–21. 10 Elie Wiesel, “Friendship,” in AgainstSilence:TheVoiceandVisionofElieWiesel (New York: Holocaust Library, 1985), vol. II, p. 37. The essay was originally published in 1982.

LEARNING

Rav Yitshak Luria, the famous 16th-century kabbalist, instructed adding this verse from the Torah11 as part of the morning blessings.12 He explained that the saying of this verse uplifts the impact of one’s prayer. He recommended that we envision all the people of Israel as one body and behave accordingly; for example, if a friend is in trouble, we share in their sorrow.

INSPIRATION

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe, taught it was not enough to just think or reflect upon loving others, but instead one needs to speak the words out loud so that they affect our actions. He explained that just as a house is lifted from below (e.g., when raising it to redo its foundation), if we want to be uplifted, we’ll do well to uplift those who are at the bottom of our community. Just as parents get great joy when their children care for each other, so it is for the Creator.13

REFLECTION

How might this intention affect your prayer? PERSONAL PRAYER

As I work to repair and better myself, give me the inspiration to inspire my neighbors as well.

Give me the power to love myself enough so I can also open my heart to my neighbors, to deeply listen to their needs so I can help and uplift them.

Give me the sight to see beyond my own needs and the strength to care, love, and respect those around me.

Sharon Litwak Los Angeles, California

11 Leviticus 19:18.

12 ShulchanAruch, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, and MinhageiHaArizal,PeturaDeAbba, p.3b by Rabbi Chaim Vital.

13 January 2021, http://chabadpedia.co.il/index.php/(הליפת( לבקמ ינירה.

LEARNING

Jewish tradition invites us to say blessings on each action as we move through our morning, beginning with the intelligence to make distinctions. When we appreciate that even a birdbrain can make distinctions between light and darkness, we can marvel at the human mind’s refined capacity.

INSPIRATION

The Hebrew word sechvi in this blessing has been translated as both “rooster” and “heart.” Animals instinctively know when to sleep and when to wake up, synced as they are with either their diurnal or their nocturnal circadian rhythm. We humans also have a circadian rhythm, but we often use technology, caffeine, and electricity to shortcut what our hearts are telling us and to trick ourselves out of fulfilling our needs. In this blessing, we thank God for the natural ability to distinguish when our bodies and souls need the alternating states of sleep and wakefulness.

REFLECTION

What will help us to listen to what our hearts, our inner “roosters,” are telling us we need?

PERSONAL PRAYER

Grant me the miracle of seeing the miracle of the past of my life, of my children and my sustenance.

To be happy with what was in loss or in love.

With growth that allows joy in the present. And to understand and to know that from everything can come good.

To dare to touch reality in the way of truth. Hila Malovany, Jerusalem, Israel

are

Adonai, our

Majesty of the world, who has not made me a slave.

LEARNING

Israeli singer and songwriter Aharon Razel includes the following line about this prayer in the lyrics to his song “We Make Ourselves”: “I now understand why we say, ‘who has not made me a slave’ and we don’t say, ‘who has made me a free person.’ Because God makes us not be a slave, but it’s Torah (and our inner work) that makes us be a free person!”14

INSPIRATION

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote: “Nothing is as hard to suppress as the will to be a slave to one’s own pettiness. Gallantly, ceaselessly, quietly, man must fight for inner liberty. Inner liberty depends upon being exempt from domination of things as well as from domination of people. There are many who have acquired a high degree of political and social liberty, but only very few are not enslaved to things. This is our constant problem – how to live with people and remain free, how to live with things and remain independent.”15

REFLECTION

What petty resentments or mindsets limit your inner liberty, and what is one doable step you can take toward liberty?

PERSONAL PRAYER

God, please grant me the insight to see all that I cannot see inside myself that keeps me enslaved: Enslaved by unhelpful beliefs, thoughts, and feelings; Held captive by emotional wounds and blaming; Yoked to my past, my shame. I pray You give me strength to forgive, to let go, and to take responsibility for all that I can be.

Belinda Gold, Sydney, Australia

14 He bases this on a teaching by Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach, which he learned from Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Galinsky.

15 Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath, 89–90.

of the

from

LEARNING

We all have blind spots. The founder of the Hasidic movement, the Ba’al Shem Tov, said, “Our eyes are constantly seeing great and awesome things, only we don’t know what we are seeing.” Indeed the real seeing actually happens in our brains. About half the human brain is dedicated to vision and seeing. Yet seeing what is right in front of us can’t be taken for granted. Hagar, mother of Ishmael, was losing hope of finding water with which to keep her son alive in the desert. “And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water” (Genesis 21:19). While she was not blind, God widened Hagar’s perspective so that she could recognize and see what she needed to see.

REFLECTION

Like Hagar, what might we not be seeing that’s hiding in plain sight? How might we open our eyes and yearn prayerfully to see what’s been right before us all along: the people we love along with those we’ve neglected, the words that have not been said, the unexpressed needs, and the undiscovered joys?

INSPIRATION

A group of American schoolchildren was asked to 16 Excerpted from the Koren Aviv Siddur, 34.

list what they thought were the present Seven Wonders of the World. While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not yet finished her paper. She asked her if she was having trouble with her list. The little girl replied, “Yes, a little. I couldn’t quite make up my mind because there are so many. I think the Seven Wonders of the World are: to see, to hear, to touch, to taste, to feel, to laugh, to love.” The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wondrous.16

PERSONAL PRAYER

I know my eyes are not open enough to see the miracles You do for me, each day.

Please give me the sight to see the beauty that surrounds me: Let me truly see my children, give me the eyes to appreciate my husband.

Allow me to feel fortunate – every day, anew.

Please give me the strength and the power to see and understand what I cannot yet see.

Daphna Kaminetsky, Modiin, Israel

LEARNING

This blessing can be about stretching our limbs in the morning, or it can be about God giving us the ability to overcome habitual behaviors we have a hard time shaking. Overuse of technology, unhealthful eating, a fierce temper – this blessing reminds us that we have the capacity to free ourselves from bad habits. We ask God to release us from being trapped by the events of our past, the way we have seen things, any misconceptions, and unhelpful regrets.

REFLECTION

When should we hold back our help to allow someone to independently develop what they need in order to thrive? When has someone supported you in freeing yourself from that which imprisoned you? What support would you wish for to help you move forward in areas in which you feel stuck?

INSPIRATION

A butterfly struggling to emerge from its chrysalis has very soft wings. It must struggle out of its chrysalis on its own in order to grow strong and be able to survive in the outside world.

PERSONAL PRAYER

God, please allow me, each and day, to believe that I can begin again, to know that I am not bound by negative patterns. And behavior I yearn to change. With Your boundless mercy and love, please help me grow: changing what I can, and forgiving myself for what I cannot.

I thank You, God, for the ability to turn to You when I feel shackled, and to know that in your boundlessness, I am able to grow.

— Tami Levy, Riverwoods, Illinois

of the

the

LEARNING

This act of kindness, of clothing the naked, is one of the first described in the Torah. In the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve realized they were naked, God provided clothing for them in an act of compassion even though they had flouted God’s will.17

REFLECTION

How can we emulate God by clothing the naked? When we clean out our closets, could we be mindful about the quality of the clothing we donate and to whom we donate it? Are there people in our own community for whom we can provide something new before a holiday, instead of our hand-medowns?

PERSONAL PRAYER

We are born naked of hatred, our soul clothed in love. Each day, may I clothe myself in spirituality through prayer and connection to God.

May I cast off evil thoughts and actions, and clothe myself in compassion and kindness.

May I shed any layers of judgment and jealousy, and allow the purity of my soul to encompass my entire being.

Lara Garfinkel, Vaucluse, Australia

INSPIRATION

The prophet Ezekiel describes the Jewish people as “naked” in the land of Egypt18 – we were naked of spiritual guidance. When we engage in Torah learning, or in creating spiritual moments or opportunities for others, we too are “clothing the naked.”

17 Genesis 3:21. 18 Ezekiel 16:7, 22.

Adonai, our

Majesty of the world, who makes the bent upright.

LEARNING

This blessing is about standing up tall and proud to do what we need to do in this world. When we stand tall, we can see a broader perspective and see where we are and where we are going.

REFLECTION

What do I kvetch about as I rise up in the morning getting out of bed? What if alongside each kvetch I would add, “Thank you, God, for allowing me to straighten up today”?

In which areas am I timid, and could ask God to help me grow tall and proud?

INSPIRATION

The Hebrew letter feh appears twice in the word kefufim, which means “bent.” The feh looks like it is literally curled up in the fetal position, exactly like the meaning of kefufim. We all have times in our lives where we just want to curl up and hide from our responsibilities or from the craziness in the world. This blessing reminds us that God gives us the strength to stand up and face our lives.

PERSONAL PRAYER

Grant me the will to seek and the wisdom to understand what holds me down, and the courage and strength to stand upright and show my best that is within. May I lead by example so that others around me Strive to stand tall.

I am grateful to You for giving me each new day as an opportunity to grow.

Sue Morris, Sydney, Australia

above the

LEARNING

One of the first things God did during Creation was to collect the waters and expose the dry land, which offers us so much, including stability.

REFLECTION

What stable and unstable relationships are in your life? What else has stability or instability for you: finances, physical and mental health, social position? In what way can you thank God for what is stable and pray for that which feels unstable?

PERSONAL PRAYER

God, thank You for the perfect balance You created in this world. We need water to live, yet cannot survive when enveloped in it.

In this we learn to bring balance into our hearts. Life-giving water connects us to every living thing, reminding us we’re part of the magnificent story that is life on earth. And Your hand is in it all.

Lindy Diamond, Cape Town, South Africa

INSPIRATION

It’s mind-boggling to consider that the same water that flowed on Earth in ancient times is still flowing today, connecting every human who ever lived!

LEARNING

This blessing literally means that God prepares the footsteps of humankind. Humans are the only species that walks upright. In Jacob’s famous dream, the ladder described in the Torah “is rooted to the ground, yet its top reaches the heavens.”19 This is also a metaphorical description of the human being. Our feet are rooted to the ground, yet our souls strive to transcend. In this blessing, we thank God for preparing our paths as unique human beings with an impact to leave on the world, an impact that connects our soul’s striving with the footsteps of our actions.

REFLECTION

How can we open our hearts and minds to see messengers and messages as signposts for the path that is ours to walk?

INSPIRATION

This blessing is an appreciation that God prepares our footsteps not only as a species, but also as individuals. It acknowledges a personal relationship in which God attends to our unique path, cheers our successes, joins in lamenting our mistakes, and provides what we need in order to learn from those mistakes.

PERSONAL PRAYER

Allow me to accept that I can’t know where the paths of life will lead.

Embed in me the understanding that in choices there is no absolute evil or absolute good. Open my eyes to see Your guidance; May that guidance be toward a path for good. Pour into me the faith that we will arrive at the most fitting destinations, even if the way bends and is not always clear. Teach me to step with confidence.

— Sigal Benglas, Rehovot, Israel

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who provided me with all I need.

LEARNING

Most of the blessings are in the present tense, yet this one is expressed in the past. Why not say “who provides me all I need”? Oftentimes sadness, hardship, and misfortune may appear to be filling up our lives, but it is only later, further down the road, that we can look at the past with new perspective, understanding the value in how things happened.20

INSPIRATION

Each human being is born with a toolbox full of strengths. We may notice, as we grow up, that we are also missing some tools. We may sense that other people have certain strengths and advantages that we do not have. In life, each of us has a unique mission to fulfill in our lifetime. One of the clues we can use to determine what that mission might be is to peek inside our toolbox and get a sense of what is meant to be achieved with those exact tools. Looking into someone else’s toolbox will do nothing to achieve our mission, and will only distract and discourage us from doing our jobs.

REFLECTION

How might your life change if you felt happy with what you had? What might it feel like to own the idea that you have what you need? We thank God for our needs, but we are often unclear about what are needs and what are wants. Perhaps when we say this blessing, we can recall that God has given us everything we need – and many of the things we want. Which needs and wants has God gifted you with?

PERSONAL PRAYER

Blessed are You, God, who gives me all I need.

Please, see my heart’s yearnings, and remove desires that are unhelpful.

Purify my soul to the permitted, allow me what I need, for myself and for my children.

Protect my children from ways that are not theirs. Guide their ways, and be there for them as they need.

— Orly Cohen Gefen, Kibbutz Naan, Israel

20 Adapted from the Koren Ani Tefilla siddur, 31.

,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב

לֵאָרְׂשִי רֵזוֹא

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who girds Israel with fortitude.

,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב .הָראְָפִתְּב לֵאָרְׂשִי רֵטוֹע

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who adorns Israel with magnificence.

LEARNING

Sometimes, we need God to gird us with fortitude and strength toward a goal; other times, we need God to help us notice the magnificence that is already inside and all around us. These prayers together invite us to notice and seek both.

INSPIRATION

REFLECTION

“‘Whoisstrong?Onewhoconquers their evil inclination.”21

When have you shown heroism? What does this kind of strength or fortitude mean for you? When have the Jewish people shown strength? Is there a relationship between overcoming the evil inclination and being adorned with magnificence? If so, what would be an example?

“The Jewish people’s strength is a unique strength. It is a strength that is manifest not through the conquering of others, by overpowering them or destroying them. Rather, it is a strength that comes from the ability of a person to conquer themselves. This is the strength of the Divine soul, the ability to conquer one’s physicality and base desires, which is thousands of times greater than the strength [needed] to take over a city. This is the strength [expressed in this blessing] which girds the Jewish people, the foundation of pure morality.”22

PERSONAL PRAYER

Please, God, grant us strength to muster courage to live with sincerity of the heart, with words of truth. Let us not to be subject to external murmurings which crouch by our vulnerabilities.

Bless me, God, to see the marvels of Creation in Your world. Bless us with the capacity to feel the splendor of Your peace.

Rachela Samimi-Golan, Reut, Israel

21 Ethics of Our Fathers (Pirkei Avot) 4:1. 22 Rav Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook, OlatRe’iya.

Adonai,

of the

from my

and slumber from my eyelids.

LEARNING

This final morning blessing is about removing slumber and stagnation from our outlook on life. Ma’avir, the Hebrew verb used for removing sleep here, connotes passing into a new outlook or a different state of consciousness. From this same root comes the word ivri, “Hebrew,” one who passes over to the other side. We ask God to remove from us what has kept us static or closed, and to open us to see with new eyes.

REFLECTION

During sleep, we often dream of or think about the previous day’s emotions or anxieties. As the effects of sleep pass from our eyes, we are faced with a new sense of clarity with which to face our new day. What insights can we use from the night’s thoughts or dreams to approach our day with renewed vigor? Which of our worries or anxieties must we consciously allow to pass from our consciousness? If we have regrets from yesterday, how can we make them right today?

INSPIRATION

Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin23 explains, “The words, Baruch Atah, which are usually translated as, ‘Blessed or praised are You,’ are more essentially a realization that God is the Source of all blessing, and a prayer that God increase blessings in the world.” May our eyes awaken today to see blessings all around us, and in doing so draw and foster more blessings.

PERSONAL PRAYER

God, grant me the awareness that while my eyes are closed, You are orchestrating what I cannot see so that when I open my eyes, I will contemplate Your handiwork. As I gently rub my eyes, remind me to be gentle with myself. Remind me that life is fragile like my eyes, and allow me to feel You, As You grant me protection and rest, just as my eyelids do.

— Louise Whittaker, Johannesburg, South Africa

23 Nefesh HaChaim, section 2.

Adonai, our

Majesty of the world, who gives strength to the weary.

LEARNING

The word koach, “strength,” is used in the Torah to describe the self-congratulatory attitude some regress into when they become successful. The Torah warns us not to say, “My strength and the might of my hands have brought me my success.”24 With this blessing, we not only ask God to give us strength when we need it, but we also remind ourselves that when we feel strong, there’s divine strength flowing through us.

INSPIRATION

We all have strengths. Our patriarch Abraham was strong in kindness. Rachel was strong in her sense of privacy. Joseph was strong in his morality. King David was strong in using his musical and poetical talents to express gratitude to God. Queen Esther was strong in self-sacrifice for her people. Remember your strengths and talents, thank God for them, and use them to better the world.

REFLECTION

What do you do when you are fatigued? Some people drink coffee, some take a rest, and some simply plow through the exhaustion. We all need strength to get through our day. When you are feeling weary, could you consider adding talking with God or noticing the gift of breath to your arsenal?

PERSONAL PRAYER

As I open this day weary from the night, fearing the day’s hardship, I ask of You to give me the wisdom to notice and welcome the powers within me. Remind me to shine a light on my strengths, and empower me to act on my feelings to do good. Give me the sense to recognize powers in others. Fulfill me when I am drained to rise above my work, to achieve meaning, and to be mindful and appreciative of my successes.

Roni Amitai-Raz, Tel Aviv, Israel

Soul Full Together

Whether you are exploring Soul Full with your family or as part of a group, each chapter concludes with Soul Full Together, activities designed to build confidence, connection, and community.

FOR FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

Our Morning Blessing

Creating a Blessing Bag takes about five minutes and is the only thing you need for an activity that you can do once or once a month! to make blessing a part of your child’s morning.

Prep: Create a Blessing Bag. On slips of paper, write the title of each of the Morning Blessings from pp. 24–67. Put them in a bag marked “Blessings.”

Set the stage by asking your children: How do we start each day?

Phrase this question in an age-appropriate way that works for them: What do we do in the morning? What do we do before school? What is morning like in our family? You can ask them to tell you, or you can invite them to draw a picture.

• What feelings come up for them?

• What stands out as good?

• What is something they’d like to change?

Then, unpack the idea of blessings by naming and explaining. What is a blessing? What do you think it means to be a blessing? Share your ownideasandheartheirs.Tellyourchildrenthatyouhopetoaddmeaningto the morning. Getting up and out the door is often the hardest part of the day. We can make each day better by adding blessings to our morning!

Now, bring out the Blessing Bag. Share what it is: a special bag with twelve different Jewish blessings. We are going to choose one (or one each month) and see how we can use it to add blessings to our morning. Invite someone to choose the first blessing. Readtheblessingandtogethertalkaboutwhatitmeansintermsyourchildren understand.

You can also invite your child to illustrate the blessing. Hang the drawing in a place everyone sees daily, like the fridge or the front door. Stay accountable as a family. Carve out a moment on the drive to school to ask (or remind) your children about this month’s blessing. Return to the blessing after school or at the dinner table to share how the blessing came alive over the course of the day. Put a sweet note that features the blessing in your child(ren)’s lunch box, under their pillow, or on a Post-it on their bathroom mirror.

Together, you have created a practice. Repeat the activity monthly if you can twelve blessings over the course of a year. Notice the small ways that blessings change your family dynamic, and share the idea and its impact with friends.

FOR FAMILIES WITH TWEENS AND TEENS Bless Is More

You’ve heard the phrase “less is more,” and it can be true. Adding one more thing to your morning routine might seem like an impossible task. But we’d like to argue that bless is more. Taking the time to pause, even for a moment, to intentionally add a blessing to the morning routine of your tweens and teens can actually create more: more time, more openness, more awareness in your family.

Review the Morning Blessings from pp. 24–67. When you think about your child(ren) who they are, what they need which blessing stands out as the most powerful? The most helpful? Tomorrow morning before you say goodbye to your child(ren), share with them how they are a blessing to you, to their friends, to their siblings, or others. This may be the blessing they are most able to hear from you. Alternatively, offer them a blessing: Start small! Stand tall. Be strong. Be your best self today. These are all beautiful blessings, and a great place to begin. You can also invite your tweens and teens to bless you in return.

Create a practice. It’s not easy to make meaning. Keep at it. Studies show that it takes twenty-one days to create a habit. Revisit the morning blessings when your child(ren)’s needs change we all need different blessings at different times and as our lives shift.

Stay accountable! Put a note on the fridge or the front door that says BLESSING. Try to notice how your family dynamics shift when blessing becomes a morning ritual in your home. Share your practice and its impact with family and friends.

FOR GROUPS

From Ritual to Routine

1. Distinguish between Routine and Ritual

Most of us have a morning routine. Invite participants to share theirs. Ask: What is the difference between a routine and a ritual? Welcome a variety of responses.

A routine is a regularly followed sequence of actions. A routine has purpose but no deeper meaning beyond what it accomplishes. A ritual also follows a series of actions performed in a prescribed order. But rituals have purpose and meaning.

2. Lead a Think-Pair-Share Reflection Exercise

Think: Direct each participant to think about (reflect on or write down) their morning routine, and consider moments that can be imbued with ritual.

For example, if you already wake up, roll out of bed, stumble to the bathroom, and wash your face, consider waking up and saying Modeh Ani (p. 24) before you roll out of bed and stumble to the bathroom. If your morning routine begins by checking your phone, consider keeping Soul Fullon your nightstand and placing your phone almost like a bookmark between pages 24 and 67. When you wake up, center yourself by reading “Family, Life, and Community” before you begin to scroll. Our phones are so often a source of anxiety in the morning, minimizing the miracle of another day and distancing us from what we have by plunging us into what we have yet to do.

Pair: Then, in pairs or groups of three, invite participants to discuss their routines and morning ritual ideas.

Share: Lastly, return to the group and ask participants to share back their most powerful ideas.

3. Create Accountability

Together, you have created a Morning Ritual Roster a collection of ways to create meaning, to infuse routine with ritual by making Morning Blessings a part of your day every day. Invite each participant to choose at least one “ritual infusion” to try between now and your next gathering. Check in with each other! Ritual isn’t easy…that’s why we call it a practice.

Introduction

Our days are full, and our weeks are long; it is rare for us to take the time to think about time. But time, and our relationship to it, is of paramount importance in Jewish thought. We encounter the issue of time in our earliest foundational texts. God speaks the world into existence. For six days God is a Creator, feverishly fashioning the universe with a tumbling plethora of details: designing the cosmos, decorating the earth, fashioning flora and fauna, and creating creatures innumerable, ingenious, and beautiful. God is busy. And then, at the peak of this burst of creative genius, God does something truly remarkable. God stops. God’s last creation is a day of not-creating, a time dedicated to rest. God models for us a formula of six days of doing and one day of being. We call that seventh day Shabbat. It is a day when we let loose our grip on being human “doings” and instead embrace being human beings. The word Shabbat in Hebrew has the same root as the Hebrew word for settle. Shabbat is an invitation to simply be, to settle into the place where we are physically and emotionally. Shabbat can become a practice of internal settling, an opportunity to tend our inner garden, a place where understanding and acceptance can grow, where tenderness, rejuvenating rest, and dreams can flourish.

Visiting this inner garden is a spiritual experience. It can also add to our lives the practical benefits of reconnecting us to our family and community, revitalizing us, and motivating us with wider consciousness and higher aspirations.

Shabbat offers us a taste of deep nourishment for our soul, in a reality outside and above time itself. Our sages describe it as a taste of the world that is coming.1 It is a pause that regenerates us with a sense of possibility and hope,

1 Midrash Tanchuma, Vayikra 8.

that inspires us to step into the next week with the optimism and motivation to help usher in the world that can be.

So integral is Shabbat to the experience of Jewish time that preparing for it is considered a mitzvahin and of itself. As Shabbat draws near, a shift is possible, a shift from the everyday to the holy day, from pressure to possibility. You can celebrate this shift in a variety of ways: by wearing different clothing or eating different foods; by elevating your conversations; by setting a beautiful table; by embracing silence; by breathing, meditating, or moving; by resting, singing, or praying. You can tune into the joy of Shabbat over a full day or in the moments in which you choose to connect. Shabbat is about bringing delight to both body and soul, free from distractions, and about welcoming in a sacred spaciousness. Shabbat is not all-or-nothing. Experiment. Explore. And above all, take the time to enter your inner garden. May the blessings, reflections, and rituals in this chapter serve as a starting point for you to find what is meaningful to you and your family. Enjoy!

THE CHALLAH

a

yourself, your

it

are You, Adonai,

God, Majesty of the world,

has made us holy with Your commandments, and instructed us to separate challah.

Atah, Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech ha’olam, asher kideshanu bemitzvotav, vetzivanu lehafrish challah.

the piece of dough that you removed or wrap it

discard it.

our daily bread with dignity and without dread.

we eat of our bread

that it brings

health, and strength. May we rejoice in life and its grace.

a

and good spirit, may we praise You, the Source of goodness. Please send blessing and success to our endeavors.

Neuda

the

THINK

We use the word challah today to refer to the delicious, braided loaves of bread we enjoy on Shabbat. But the word challah actually comes to us from a directive in the Torah to set aside a small handful of dough when baking a large amount. What was set aside used to be given to the kohanim (priests), the descendants of Moses’ brother Aaron, who worked in the Temple and did not have their own agricultural land. The practice reminds us to give back to those who are in need, and to acknowledge the divine gift in all that we produce.

CONNECT This blessing reinforces the Jewish value that everything comes from a Source greater than ourselves. Judaism is about meaning-making, about reaching beyond the everyday to connect to a deeper purpose. Baking bread is a personal effort, and – let’s be honest – a lot of work. It is precisely at this moment of hard work that we remember the divine gift of the ability to work, and express our gratitude.

REFLECT

We are all created in the image of God, yet you are unique, with qualities, abilities, and interests that make you you. What are your

gifts? What are your talents? To what or to whom do you owe your skills?

PERSONAL PRAYER

Thank You for giving me and my loved ones the strength to live.

I see Your hand in everything: in a grain of wheat growing, and in dough rising before my eyes.

Thank You for allowing me to participate along with You in this process of making bread.

Thank You for answering the prayers that I say while separating challah.

Благодарю тебя за то, что ты наделяешь меня и моих близких силами, чтобы жить. Ты позволяешь увидеть преобразование природы в продукт, показывая связь между всем в этом Мире. Твою руку я вижу во всём: в том, как прорастает зерно, как крепнет колос, как на глазах поднимается тесто. Благодарю тебя за то, что ты позволяешь мне участвовать вместе с тобой в этом процессе создания хлеба. Спасибо, что отвечаешь на мои молитвы, которые я произношу, отделяя халу.

Naomi-Lea Elena Stroganov, Samara, Russia

CREATING SHABBAT LIGHT

own personal

and the world.

for yourself,

are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has made us holy with Your commandments, and instructed us to kindle the Shabbat light.

Atah, Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech ha’olam, asher kideshanu bemitzvotav, vetzivanu lehadlik ner shel Shabbat.

LIGHT A CANDLE

a candle, drink wine.

the Sabbath has plucked the setting sun.

the Sabbath descends, the rose of heavens in her hand.

can the Sabbath plant a vast, shining flower in a narrow and blind heart?

can the Sabbath plant the bud of angels in a heart of frantic flesh?

Zelda Schneurson Mishkovsky (1914–1984), known as “Zelda the Poet”

THINK

Creating light as the last act of the workweek is an iconic mitzvah, one identified with the Jewish people and practiced by Jewish women throughout the ages around the world. After lighting the candles, many women encircle the flames three times with their hands as a symbolic way of bringing the light into their hearts and homes. They then cover their eyes and recite the blessing, followed by a personal prayer. It’s almost magical – when you open your eyes, it’s Shabbat.

CONNECT

“When all work is brought to a standstill, the candles are lit. Just as Creation began with the phrase, ‘Let there be light!’ so does the celebration of Creation begin with the kindling of light.”4

When we cover our eyes we give ourselves the opportunity to pause, and to offer private prayer requests for ourselves, our families, and for all people. Each of us has the potential to shine with expansive, unlimited light, the kind of light that allows us to see each other even through darkness. This kind of light and this kind of seeing is an essential element of shalom bayit, peace in the home. Peace begins not when we all agree, but

when we truly see others and make room for another to coexist in harmony. May Shabbat strengthen our families, allowing us to create a home where everyone is truly seen.

REFLECT

Creating Shabbat light helps us shift from human doing to human being. We take action by lighting our candles, then reflect: What did I do well this week that I want to build on next week? What could I have done differently that I can self-correct next week? It’s a blessing when everyone in our home feels really seen. What is one thing I can do that will help achieve that goal over Shabbat and the week to come?

PERSONAL PRAYER

As I transition from the six workdays to Shabbat, please give me strength. Guide me in caring for our beloved children, educating and loving them so that they each find their way in Torah and in bringing goodness to the world. Guide me in my relationship with my husband. Please keep my soul connected with You. Please heal all who are sick, or alone, or in need, and care for my parents.

Maayan Klein, Israel

4 Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath, p. 66.

be

Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.

ךֵמיִׂשְי

הָקְבִר הָרָׂשְּכ

Yesimech Elohim keSarah, Rivka, Rachel, veLeah.

God bless you and protect you.

God’s face shine upon you and give you grace.

God’s face turn toward you

grant you peace.

Adonai veyishmerecha.

Adonai panav eilecha vichuneka.

Adonai panav eilecha veyasem lecha shalom.

THINK

Many prayers and blessings can be recited in different ways and in different languages, but this most ancient of Jewish blessings is recited precisely, following the exact words of these three lines for our children, both girls and boys. Why? These words were given by God to Aaron and his sons. Part of their role as priests was to bless bnei Yisrael, the Jewish people. We now offer this blessing to our children on Shabbat and holidays, and do so as God instructed: “In this way you shall bless.”5

CONNECT

Among the collections of stories taught by the sages of the Talmud is one that reminds us that Sarah and Abraham did not bless their children; God did.6 But from the time of Rebecca and Isaac, parents took on an active role in blessing their children. It is written in the Torah that “you shall be a blessing,”7 and blessing your children on Shabbat is a moment to live that teaching, to be proactive, to bless others.

REFLECT

Before blessing your children, take a moment to shift your state of mind. What might help you experience the Presence of God as you bless them? How can you make this opportunity an intimate and participatory one? This moment of family connection allows you to take the reins and add a personal blessing to the structured one above. Think about the week your children have had and incorporate their experience into your personal blessing. You can also invite your children to share what blessing they want for the coming week. Regularly adding their hopes to your personal blessing can accustom them to sharing with you what’s in their hearts and on their minds.

5 Numbers 6:23.

6 Bamidbar Rabbah 11:2.

7 Genesis 12:2.

PERSONAL PRAYER

May I merit to have You, God, accompany me and my children throughout our life. May we not turn away from Your love and blessings. May the soul of my child be joyous. May my child feel God’s kind and joyful smile of light. May this give my child the strength to dissolve sorrows. May my child always feel God’s love. Let my child understand his unique role in this world.

— Julia Bernstein, Germany

,תֵרָּׁשַה יֵכֲאְלַמ םֶכיֵלֲע םוֹלָׁש

יֵכְלַמ ךֶלֶּמִמ ןוֹיְלֶע

ךוּרָּב

,םוֹלָּׁשַה יֵכֲאְלַמ םוֹלָׁשְל םֶכֲאוֹבּ

יֵכְלַמ ךֶלֶּמִמ ןוֹיְלֶע יֵכֲאְלַמ

.אוּה ךוּרָּב שׁוֹדָקַה

,םוֹלָּׁשַה יֵכֲאְלַמ םוֹלָׁשְל יִנוּכְרָּב

,םיִכָלְּמַה יֵכְלַמ ךֶלֶּמִמ ןוֹיְלֶע יֵכאְָלַמ

.אוּה ךוּרָּב שׁוֹדָקַה

,םוֹלָּׁשַה יֵכֲאְלַמ םוֹלָׁשְל םֶכְתאֵצ

,םיִכָלְּמַה יֵכְלַמ ךֶלֶּמִמ ןוֹיְלֶע יֵכאְָלַמ

.אוּה ךוּרָּב שׁוֹדָקַה

Welcome, angels of service, angels on high, from the Supreme Majesty of all royalty, the Holy One of Blessing. Enter in peace, angels of peace, angels on high, from the Supreme Majesty of all royalty, the Holy One of Blessing.

Bless me with peace, angels of peace, angels on high, from the Supreme Majesty of all royalty, the Holy One of Blessing. Go in peace, angels of peace, angels on high, from the Supreme Majesty of all royalty, the Holy One of Blessing.

Shalom aleichem, malachei hasharet, malachei elyon, MiMelech malachei hamelachim, HaKadosh Baruch Hu.

Bo’achem leshalom, malachei hashalom, malachei elyon, MiMelech malachei hamelachim, HaKadosh Baruch Hu.

Barchuni leshalom, malachei hashalom, malachei elyon, MiMelech malachei hamelachim, HaKadosh Baruch Hu.

Tzeitchem leshalom, malachei hashalom, malachei elyon, MiMelech malachei hamelachim, HaKadosh Baruch Hu.

THINK

If you are unfamiliar with the many angels of Jewish tradition, you are not alone. Angels are called malachim, which literally means “messengers,” and they appear in many stories in the Torah and beyond as messengers of God. This poem is inspired by a teaching in the Talmud about two Shabbat angels that accompany us home on Friday night, bringing peace to our household.8

According to the Jewish mystical tradition of the Zohar, we are also accompanied and protected by heavenly angels throughout the workweek. On Shabbat there is a “changing of the guard,” and the weekday angels are replaced by Shabbat angels, who have a mission to bring peace to our homes. We say, “Welcome, shalom aleichem,” to the Shabbat angels in the first stanza of the song. Some say that when we recite “Go in peace” in the final stanza, we are parting from the weekday angels.9

Shabbat

CONNECT

The prophet Isaiah teaches us to call the Shabbat a delight, and the Jerusalem Talmud expands on this, telling us to make Shabbat a delight for both body and soul, an opportunity for physical and spiritual pleasure. On Shabbat, your home is an outlet for this delight – a place where angels dwell, where our senses are heightened and our soul can be expansive.

REFLECT

When have you seen a home prepared for Shabbat delight? What struck you about it? What are your favorite Shabbat delights? What delights can most nurture you and your family on Shabbat?

PERSONAL PRAYER

Thank you, angels of peace, messengers of the Almighty, for coming to our home.

Thank you for blessing us all week long and on Shabbat. Thank you for protecting my family, accompanying and supporting us in everything we do.

Maria Blumina, Yaroslavl, Russia

8 Babylonian Talmud, tractate Shabbat 119b. 9 Sefat Emet, parashat Vayetzeh.

,אָצְמִי יִמ ,לִיַח־תֶׁשֵא

.הָּרְכִמ םיִניִנְּפִמ קֹחָרְו

,הָּלְעַּב בֵל הָּּב חַטָּב

.רָסְחֶי אֹל לָלָׁשְו

,עָר אֹלְו בוֹט וּהְתַלָמְג

.ָהיֶיַח יֵמְי לֹּכ

[Joyful is one] who has found a woman of strong character.

worth is far greater than precious pearls.

husband trusts in her wholeheartedly, and profits thereby.

,םיִּתְׁשִפוּ רֶמֶצ הָׁשְרָּד

.ָהיֶּפַּכ ץֶפֵחְּב שַׂעַּתַו

,רֵחוֹס תוֹיִּנֳאָּכ הָתְיָה

איִבָּת קָחְרֶּמִמ

ןֵּתִּתַו ,הָלְיַל דוֹעְּב םָקָּתַו

.ָהיֶתֹרֲעַנְל

good treatment of her] treating him well, not bitterly, all the days of her life.

recompenses

She seeks out wool and linen, and works with willing hands.

She is like a ship laden with merchandise, bringing [spiritual and physical] food from afar.

She rises while it is still night to provide food for her household, and a fair share for her staff.

She considers [the worth of] a field and purchases it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard.

WOMAN OF STRONG CHARACTER: ESHET CHAYIL

,ָהיֶנְתָמ זוֹעְב הָרְגָח

.ָהיֶתֹעוֹרְז ץֵּמאְַּתַו

,הָּרְחַס בוֹט יִּכ ,הָמֲעָט

.הָּרֵנ הָלְיַלַב הֶּבְכִי אֹל

,רוֹשׁיִּכַב הָחְלִׁש ָהיֶדָי

.ךֶלָפ וּכְמָּת ָהיֶּפַכְו

,יִנָעֶל הָׂשְרָּפ הָּּפַּכ

.ןוֹיְבֶאָל הָחְלִׁש ָהיֶדָיְו

,גֶלָּׁשִמ הָּתיֵבְל אָריִת אֹל .םיִנָׁש שֻׁבָל הָּתיֵּב לָכ יִּכ

,הָּל הָתְׂשָע םיִּדַבְרַמ

She invests herself with strength, and braces her arms for her tasks.

sees that her

goes well.

light does not go out at night. Her hands are engaged with the spindle, and her palms support the loom. She reaches out her palm to the poor, and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household, for they are all dressed in fine crimson wool. She makes her own tapestries. Her clothing is of fine linen and purple wool. Her husband is well known at [community meeting places, such as] the gates, where he sits with the leaders of the land.

,רֹּכְמִּתַו הָתְׂשָע ןיִדָס

.יִנֲעַנְּכַל הָנְתָנ רוֹגֲחַו

.ןוֹרֲחאַ םוֹיְל קַחְׂשִּתַו ,הָּׁשוּבְל רָדָהְו זֹע

makes fine garments

sells them;

supplies the merchants with sashes.

is robed with strength and dignity, and she [can laugh and] smile [with hope] toward the future.

,הָמְכָחְב הָחְתָּפ ָהיִּפ

.הָּנוֹשְׁל־לַע דֶסֶח תַרוֹתְו

,הָּתיֵּב תוֹכיִלֲה הָיִפוֹצ

.לֵכאֹת אֹל תוּלְצַע

opens her mouth with wisdom,

a lesson of loving kindness is on her tongue.

oversees the ways of her household, and doesn’t eat the bread of idleness.

children stand tall and make her happy; her husband praises her, [saying:] “Many women have excelled, but you surpass them all!”

is deceptive and beauty is vain; it is a God‑fearing woman who deserves praise.

her the reward she has earned, and let her deeds bring her praise at the gates.

THINK

This alphabetical acrostic, known as Eshet Chayil, or“A Woman of Valor,” is taken from the closing chapter of the book of Proverbs.10 Many families sing this poem at the Friday night Shabbat dinner table to honor the mother of the family, to express gratitude for who she is and all she does.

REFLECT

Why are a woman, a wife, and a mother chosen as the representation of Judaism’s greatest treasures? Who are the women you treasure in your life? What are their strengths? How can you further appreciate them? In what ways do you see and treat the women in your life as an eshet chayil, a treasure of moral and physical strength?

CONNECT

A mystery of history: Whom is this poem talking about? Did the author have one incredible woman in mind? Some say it was written by Abraham for his wife Sarah, or by King Solomon for his mother Bathsheba. Another approach teaches that the eshet chayil is not a “who” but a “what” – an allegory for Judaism’s greatest treasures: the soul, wisdom, Shabbat, Torah, the Shechinah (Divine Presence of God), and the Jewish people.

PERSONAL PRAYER

Almighty, in Your loving-kindness, You gave me my dear wife. May You guard her and our children. May no harm come to us, and may there always be love between us. When we have misunderstandings, help us reconcile quickly and easily. Help my wife be joyful and loving, free of harm and despair. Help me know how to meet her physical and spiritual needs. May our home always be blessed with plenty, and may we merit to share with others what You grant us, bringing them joy. Thank You for the gift of praying to You.11

10 Proverbs 31.

11 Excerpted and translated from Kol HaYeshuot by Rabbi Moshe Amiel.

ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ וּנָשְׁדִּק רֶשֲׁא םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ ןוֹצָרְבוּ הָבֲהאְַבּ וֹשְׁדָק תַבַּשְׁו .וּנָב הָצָרְו ויָתוְֹצִמְבּ

הָלִּחְתּ םוֹי אוּה יִכּ .תיִשׁאֵרְב הֵשֲׂעַמְל ןוֹרָכִּז וּנָליִחְנִה ָתְּרַחָב וּנָב יִכּ .םִיָרְצִמ

Baruch Atah, Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech ha’olam, borei peri hagafen. Baruch Atah, Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech ha’olam, asher kideshanu bemitzvotav, veratzah vanu, veShabbat kodsho be’ahavah uvratzon hinchilanu, zikaron lema’aseh vereshit. Ki hu yom techilah lemikra’ei kodesh, zecher litziat Mitzrayim. Ki vanu vacharta ve’otanu kidashta mikol ha’amim, veShabbat kodshecha be’ahavah uvratzon hinchaltanu. Baruch Atah, Adonai, mekadesh haShabbat.

a whisper: It was evening, and it was morning, the sixth day. The heavens and the earth and all they contain were completed. With the seventh day, God had finished the work, ceasing on that seventh day from all the creative work that God had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on that day God rested from all the work of Creation. Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who creates the fruit of the vine. Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has made us holy with Your commandments, and longed for us, and gave us this holy Shabbat in love and longing to be our heritage as a reminder of the work of Creation. It is the first among the holy days of gathering, a reminder of the exodus from Egypt. For out of all the nations You chose us and made us holy, and You gave us Your holy Shabbat in love and longing as our heritage. Blessed are You, God, who makes the Shabbat holy.

THINK

When it comes to Kiddush, the fruit of the vine – whether wine or grape juice – is often the star of the show. But Kiddush is not actually about wine, it’s about time. That’s why the words of Kiddush connect so deeply to the Jewish story, to Creation and the exodus from Egypt. We keep and remember Shabbat as we raise our glasses and speak our story, making this time holy and special.

The words of Kiddush speak of Shabbat as an expression of love and longing. King David said that “wine gladdens the heart,”12 and many embrace this joy by filling their Kiddush cup to the brim, symbolizing Shabbat as a time overflowing with love.

REFLECT

How might you make your Shabbat time an expression of love? What gladdens the heart of each of your family members? How might you tap into each family member’s “love language”13 during Shabbat?

CONNECT

“The Sabbath was a totally new institution in human history and at first no one else could understand it. Jewish tradition has left us a poignant record of one such moment of incomprehension. It

12 Psalms 104:15.

is said that when the Torah was translated into Greek for the first time, there was one sentence that had to be deliberately mistranslated. It was the verse ‘On the seventh day God completed the work that He had made.’ The Greeks could not understand this. Eventually, the line was translated as ‘On the sixth day God completed…’

“Neither Greeks nor Romans could understand the idea that rest is an achievement, that the Sabbath is Judaism’s stillness at the heart of the turning world, and it was this that God created on the seventh day. ‘After six days,’ said Judaism’s sages, ‘what did the world lack? It lacked rest. So, when the seventh day came, rest came, and the universe was complete.’”14

PERSONAL PRAYER

It’s Friday night, the end of the busy and hectic week. It’s now time to take a break from the everyday. I join the community of Jews throughout the world to celebrate a day of rest in recognition of Your resting after Creation. May I find comfort in this day of rest, and the strength to continue working to improve myself.

— Pip Spandorfer, Atlanta, Georgia

13 G. D. Chapman, TheFiveLoveLanguages. 14 Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, A Letter in the Scroll, p. 136.

HANDWASHING

clean, fresh water two or three times over your dominant hand, then two or three

then elevate your hands and recite the following blessing:

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has made us holy with Your commandments, and instructed us regarding [elevating] washing the hands.

Atah, Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech ha’olam, asher kideshanu bemitzvotav, vetzivanu al netilat yadayim.

THINK

Even something as simple and rote as washing your hands can become an elevated, spiritual experience. Ritual handwashing complements soap and water by adding an element of spiritual purpose, helping us make connections between the physical and the spiritual, between the body and the soul. Before we eat bread, we acknowledge this connection. The Hebrew word used in this blessing for the physical washing, netilah, also means elevating our hands, reminding us of the spiritual connection.

CONNECT

Handwashing is connected to eating bread. Why does Judaism offer so many guidelines around what, when, and how we eat? These mitzvot link the physical to the spiritual, the everyday to the holy, reminding us that while we have a body that we must nourish, the core of who we are is not our body, but our soul.

PERSONAL PRAYER

REFLECT

What are some of the actions or activities that awaken a spiritual spark in you? Perhaps it’s hiking or listening to music; maybe it’s yoga or taking a long, hot bath. How might you ignite that spark so that it expands and can be felt in a wider range of activities?

Dear God, please give me clarity of heart and spirit that aligns my actions and intentions with Your will. Help my behavior to reflect my pure soul’s desire for kindness and connection. Help me to display my sincere intention to bring light and comfort to those who depend on me for guidance and nurturing.

— Malka Herzfeld, Chicago, Illinois

You, Adonai,

Majesty of the world,

forth

the earth.

Atah, Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech ha’olam, hamotzi lechem min ha’aretz.

THINK

To help us connect to the ultimate Source of the world, the sages taught that when we derive benefit from the world, we should do it with the recitation of a blessing.15 The Ba’al Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, expanded on this teaching, saying that when we take food in our hands and recite a blessing, our mention of the divine name awakens the spark of the divine within the food itself. Blessings aren’t just words; they’re a language of connection that gives us a profound opportunity to transform our relationship to the world and our role in it.

REFLECT

CONNECT

This blessing thanks God who “brings forth bread from the earth.” What about all the human steps required over many months to transform nature and its elements into a finished product? Wheat must be planted, harvested, and ground into flour before we even begin the myriad steps to turn that flour into bread. The blessing is once again inviting us to live in gratitude for the miracles of our daily life.

PERSONAL PRAYER

Dear God, Thank You for the bounty You have given me today and for the opportunity to share with those who are in need. Bless my soul and my hands, and grant me the clarity to share my gifts with others.

Continue to inspire me to believe in Your wisdom and to receive strength from Your teachings. Guide me, God, so I can always lead with gratitude and faith.

Gisele Pintchuck, Sarasota, Florida

15 Babylonian Talmud, tractate Brachot 43b.

What simple pleasures do you enjoy daily? What helps you express gratitude and not take daily pleasures for granted?

THINK

Our sages taught, “Great is work, for just as Israel were commanded to observe Shabbat, so were they commanded to work.”16 The value of Shabbat is incredible. But Shabbat requires six days of work and creativity first. Shabbat exists in conversation with our workweek. The energy we put into making a better world during the week –engaging in the pursuit of tikkun olam, the work of repairing a broken world – enriches our Shabbat. And it is Shabbat that nourishes our heart,

v’nei Yisrael et haShabbat, la’asot et haShabbat ledorotam, brit olam. Beini uvein bnei Yisrael ot hi le’olam. Ki sheishet yamim asah Adonai

hashamayim ve’et ha’aretz, uvayom hashevi’i shavat vayinafash. Zachor et yom haShabbat lekadsho. Sheishet yamim ta’avod ve’asita kol melachtecha. Veyom hashevi’i Shabbat laAdonai Elohecha, lo ta’aseh chol melachah, atah uvincha uvitecha, avdecha va’amatcha uvhemtecha, vegercha asher bisharecha. Ki sheishet yamim asah Adonai et hashamayim ve’et ha’aretz, et hayam ve’et kol asher bam, vayanach bayom hashevi’i. Al kein beirach Adonai et yom haShabbot vaykadsheihu. Baruch Atah, Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech ha’olam, borei peri hagafen.

which then feeds all we do during the workweek.17

CONNECT Shabbat nurtures humility and the value of equality. It reminds us to see ourselves as equal to all; even indentured servants and animals must rest. Rabbi David Hartman put it this way: On Shabbat, even “the flowers of the field stand over and against man as equal members of the universe. I am forbidden to pluck the flower or to do with it as I please; at sunset [on Friday] the

16 Avot DeRabbi Natan (B), ch. 21. 17 Sefer HaBahir, a book of esoteric Jewish mysticism thought to be redacted in the 12th century.

Kindle Joy – The Magic of Shabbat

The people of Israel will keep Shabbat, observing Shabbat in every generation as an everlasting covenant. It is a sign forever between Me and the people of Israel, for in six days God made the heaven and the earth, and on the seventh day God ceased work and was [as if we could say such a thing] rejuvenated. Remember Shabbat to keep it holy. You should labor for six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is Shabbat for Adonai, your God; on that day, don’t do

any creative work: neither you, your son, your daughter, your male or female [worker, even an] indentured servant, your animal, nor the stranger who lives within your environs. Because in six days Adonai made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, God blessed Shabbat and declared it holy. Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who creates of the fruit of the vine.

flower becomes a ‘thou’ to me with a right to existence regardless of its possible value for me…. The Sabbath aims at healing the human grandiosity of technological society.”18

REFLECT

The founder of cultural Zionism, Asher Ginsburg, best known as Ahad HaAm after the title of his work, wrote, “More than the Jews kept the Shabbat, the Shabbat kept the Jews.”19 What about Shabbat has the power to “keep” us as a people?

PERSONAL PRAYER

I haven’t always guarded Shabbat, but Shabbat has always guarded me. No matter how far I stray, Shabbat comes, effortlessly, as the sun sets, as a flower blooms. With open arms, Shabbat invites me to pause. To stop and watch the sun set. To not pick the flower, but simply watch it bloom. To breathe. To leave the busy week behind me, as if my work is done.

Leora Peretz, Yokneam, Israel

18 Rabbi David Hartman, HeartofManyRooms, pp. 72–73. 19 Add the source

אָבְצ לָּכ םיִמֵאְר תַיַחְו םָדאְָו ןיִּנַּת

.םיִמָלוֹע רוּצ הוהי הָּיְּב יִּכ

וֹתָלֻגְס םַעְל רֶּבִּד רֶׁשֲא אוּה וֹתאֵצ דַע וֹאוֹבִּמ וֹשְּׁדַקְל רוֹמָׁש

םוֹי שֶׁדֹק

Restorative rest and joy bring us light During Shabbat, the day of great delight.

keep and recall it are an aid

witness that in six days Creation was made:

highest heavens, land, and seas,

the host of heavens, rise in high degrees,

monsters, animals, and humanity;

Yah, Adonai, formed all reality.

spoke to His treasured people [spread worldwide]:

Shabbat, from start to finish; make it sanctified.”

holy Shabbat is God’s delight and perk, For on it, God rested from all creative work.

will strengthen you as you follow Shabbat precepts: Arise and pray; He’ll draw you close, ensuring you’re well kept. Recite Nishmat and the Kedushah prayer, Eat with joy; God knows you’re awesome and rare.

two loaves, and the daytime Kiddush, With generous spirit and many a tasty dish, Those who delight in Shabbat will merit great reward: The coming of the redeemer and eternity going forward.

Kindle Joy – The Magic of Shabbat

THINK

You could understand menuchah vesimchah as “rest and joy,” but you would be limiting the expansiveness of this song’s message. The root of the word menuchah is comfort; we’re not talking about regular rest, the kind of rest we feel when we take a break. We’re talking about restorative rest, the kind of rest that comforts body and soul.

And simchah, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks teaches, is never about individuals. It’s the kind of joy we share. Comforting rest and communal joy are pillars of Shabbat worth celebrating in song!

CONNECT

Menuchah has the same root as the name Noah, or Noach in Hebrew. Noah was the first character in Torah who is called a tzadik, a righteous person. What does the restorative rest of Shabbat have to do with Noah? The Jewish mystic and Hasidic traditions teach that tzadikim draw their righteousness from the wellspring of Shabbat, emanating equanimity and a restorative presence.

REFLECT

How do you feel after a deep, undisturbed nap? How do you feel after laughing with your best friends until you’re all crying? What might shift in your life if you “draw from the wellspring of Shabbat,” from menuchah and simchah, restorative rest and communal joy, all week long?

PERSONAL PRAYER

Shabbat rest and joy: I want to feel them.

Help me dip into the energy. Help me make the most of these moments.

To prepare for the day with flowers and good food, candles and wine, songs that pierce the heavens. Holy, holy, holy is the Shabbat day.

I shall emerge better, wiser, closer to You.

Dara Goldschmidt, Moscow, Russia

SHORT SHABBAT SONGS

Singing together is one of the traditions of Shabbat. A good place to start is with short upbeat songs, which like chants, have repetitive lyrics. Clap along, get up and dance, and create your own family traditions.

וֹלֻּכּ םָלוֹעָה לָכּ

.דוֹאְמ רַצ רֶשֶׁגּ רַקִּעהְו לָלְכּ דֶחַפל אֹל

The whole world is a very narrow bridge. And the main thing is not to fear.

Kol ha’olam kulo gesher tzar me’od (x3). Veha’ikar lo lefached klal.

ויָמוֹרְמִבּ םוֹלָשׁ הֶשׂוֹע םוֹלָשׁ הֶשֲׂעַי אוּה לֵאָרְשִׂי לָכּ לַעְו וּניֵלָע ןֵמאָ וּרְמִאְו םוֹלָשׁ הֶשֲׂעַי ,םוֹלָשׁ הֶשֲׂעַי וּניֵלָע םוֹלָשׁ

.לֵאָרְשִׂי לָכּ לַעְו

May the One who makes peace in high places make peace for us and for all Israel, and let us say, Amen.

Oseh shalom bimromav Hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu ve’al kol Yisrael ve’imru Amen. Ya’aseh shalom, shalom aleinu ve’al kol Yisrael.

לֵאָרשְׂי ךֶלֶמ דִוָד !םָיַקְו יַח יַח

David, King of Israel, lives forever!

David Melech Yisrael chai chai vekayam!

וּניֵלָע םוֹלָשׁ אוֹבָי דוֹע !םָלֻּכּ לַעְו ,םָלוֹעָה לָכּ לַעְו וּניִלָע ,םאַלָס .םאַלָס םאַלָס

Peace will come upon us and on everyone!

Salaam,20 On us and on the whole world. Od yavo shalom aleinu ve’al kulam! Salaam, aleinu ve’al kol ha’olam, salaam, salaam.

בוֹטּ הַמ הֵנִּה םיִעָנ הַמוּ

.דַחָי םַג םיִחאַ תֶבֶש

How good and pleasant it is when brothers/sisters dwell together. Hineh mah tov umah na’im shevet achim

SONGS FOR THE FINAL HOUR OF SHABBAT: THE THIRD SHABBAT MEAL PSALM 23, MIZMOR LEDAVID

,דִוָדְל רוֹמְזִמ ׃רָסְחֶא אֹל יִעֹר הוהי

A psalm by David. God is my Shepherd, [tending to me so that] I lack nothing.

,יִנֵציִבְּרַי אֶשֶׁדּ תוֹאְנִבּ ׃יִנֵלֲהַנְי תוֹחֻנְמ יֵמ־לַע

קֶדֶצ־יֵלְגְּעַמְב יִנֵחְנַי ,בֵבוֹשְׁי יִשְׁפַנ ׃וֹמְשׁ ןַעַמְל

God settles me in green meadows, Leading me gently by restful streams. God [regularly] refreshes my soul, Guiding me on paths of justice so that I [can] proclaim God’s name [and nature].

תֶוָמְלַצ איֵגְבּ ךֵלֵא־יִכּ םַגּ ,יִדָמִּע הָתּאַ־יִכּ ,עָר אָריִא־אֹל ׃יִנֻמֲחַנְי הָמֵּה ךֶתְּנַעְשִׁמוּ ךְטְבִשׁ

Even when I must walk through a valley overshadowed by death, I will fear no harm, for You are with me! Your rod [in the form of educative suffering] and Your support [both] give me comfort.

set out a feast before me in the presence of my [inner and outer] adversaries. You anoint my [anxious] head with [soothing] oil, and amply quench my thirst. May goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life, And may I [merit to] be at home with Adonai for evermore.

THINK

Before he became king, David was a shepherd. Becoming who he needed to be to lead the Jewish people was not as simple as caring for a herd. He went through trials and battles, he was pursued by adversaries, he had significant family troubles. Through it all, God was by his side, just as God is by our side as we become who we are meant to be. This psalm is David’s tribute to God as his Shepherd, his acknowledgment that God was with him all along.

REFLECT

Whom do you shepherd? Who shepherds you? What does that look like in dark moments?

PERSONAL PRAYER

From the darkness of night, I awaken to light.

From the depths of pain, I rise up stronger.

From the support of loved ones, I overcome trials.

When I am afraid, I find Your care. When I seek knowledge, You grant me wisdom.

When I am lost, You shepherd me home.

Thank You, God, for Your steadfast Presence is with me.

Lynn Turner Sousley, Overland Park, Kansas

CONNECT

Toward the end of Shabbat, as we prepare to reengage with the world, we speak King David’s powerful line, “I will fear no harm, for You are with me!” May this line and the nourishment of Shabbat bring us the courage to focus on that which is most meaningful and important, even if not easy.

,ןָמֲחַרָה באָ ,שֶׁפֶנ דיִדְי ךָנוֹצְר לֶא ךָדְּבַע ךֹשְׁמ ,לָיּאַ וֹמְכּ ךָדְּבַע ץוּרָי ךָרָדֲה לוּמ הֶוֲחַתְּשִׁי

וֹל בַרֱעֶי יִכּ .םַעָֽט לָכְו ףוּצ תֶפֹֽנִּמ

,םָלוֹעָה ויִז ,הֶאָנ ,רוּדָה ךָתָבֲהאַ תַלוֹח יִשְׁפַנ ,הָּל אָנ אָפְר ,אָנ ,לֵא ,אָנּאָ ךָויִז םַעֹֽנ הָּל תוֹאְרַהְבּ ,אֵפַּרְתִתְו קֵזַּחְתִתּ זאָ .םָלוֹע תַחְפִשׁ ךָל הָתְיָהְו

,ךיֶמֲחַר וּמֱהֶי ,קיִתָו ,ךָבֲהוֹא ןֵבּ לַע

of my soul, compassionate Parent,

servant close to Your will.

a deer, Your servant will run, reverent toward Your Presence,

Your love is sweeter than nectar, than any [imaginable] taste.

Glorious, beautiful, radiance of the world, my soul is faint with love for You.

God, heal [my soul], by shining on it Your tender radiance.

she will recover her strength and be healed and will be Your servant for eternity.

Ancient One, may Your compassion continue to resound; please have mercy on Your beloved child.

so long I have yearned to see [and experience] the glory of Your strong Presence.

my God, my heart’s desire, hurry and do not hide.

Reveal Yourself, beloved, and spread over me Your canopy of peace. Illuminate the earth with Your glory!

us sing and rejoice with You.

beloved, the time has come! Be gracious to me for all time.

Kindle Joy – The Magic of Shabbat

THINK

First published in the 16th century, Yedid Nefesh is a haunting poem of love and spiritual longing. While we don’t know its author, its sentiments are so powerful and universal that we sing it at both the beginning and the end of Shabbat.

REFLECT

Everyone yearns for something. Our body might yearn for a warm bed, a cold drink, or a relaxing vacation. Our soul might yearn for recognition, for expression, for love. What do you long for this week? How might the spiritual space of Shabbat help you name and acknowledge that longing?

CONNECT

Yedid Nefesh is beautiful, but it can feel out of reach. Will we ever realize the love the poem describes? That is the work of being Jewish, to seek to be in a relationship with God, to seek to love not only our friends and family, but the Jewish people and the world as well. For some, the realization that there is one God points to us all being interconnected and nurtured by this love. On Shabbat, this vision, this love, is not out of reach. It’s in our hearts around the table, and in our mouths as we sing these words.

PERSONAL PRAYER

Beloved of my soul: My family, my children, my loved ones, my God. Help me come close and enjoy every moment with those I love. And while it might be easier to love the people around me, I also yearn for my love for You and Your love for me.

Give me the gift of Your love and may its light shine deep in my heart and connect us.

Allison Kent, Hollywood, Florida

SHABBAT TO THE WORKWEEK: HAVDALAH

ךְּמַע־לַע ,הָעוּשְׁיַה הוהיַל

בֹקֲעַי יֵהֹלֱא וּנָל בָגְׂשִמ ,וּנָּמִע תוֹאָבְצ הוהי :הָלֶס

:ךָבּ ַחֵטֹּב םָדאָ יֵרְׁשאַ ,תוֹאָבְצ הוהי וּנאְרָק־םוֹיְב וּנֵנֲעַי ךֶלֶּמַה ,הָעיִׁשוֹה הוהי

:רָקיִו ןֹׂשָׂשְו הָחְמִׂשְו הָרוֹא הָתְיָה םיִדוּהְיַל

:וּנָל הֶיְהִּת ןֵּכ

:אָרְקֶא הוהי םֵׁשְבוּ ,אָּׂשֶא תוֹעוּשְׁי־סוֹכּ

Hinei El yishuati evtach velo efchad ki ozi vezimrat Yah, Adonai vayehi li liyeshuah. Ushavtem mayim besasson mima’ayanei hayeshuah. LaAdonai hayeshuah al amcha virchatecha; Selah. Adonai tzeva’ot imanu, misgav lanu, Elohei Ya’akov; Selah. Adonai tzeva’ot ashrei adam bote’ach bach. Adonai hoshiah, haMelech ya’aneinu veyom koreinu. LaYehudim haitah orah vesimchah vesasson vikar. Kein tihyeh lanu. Kos yeshuot esa uvshem Adonai ekra.

Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not fear, for Yah is my strength and my song. Adonai is my salvation. [God promised:] You will joyously draw waters from the wellsprings of salvation. [As we enter a new workweek to bring about a better world, we are partnering with You, knowing that ultimate] salvation comes from God. May God’s blessing rest upon Your people [and all our endeavors], Selah! Adonai, All powerful, is with us; the God of Jacob is our reinforcement; Selah! Adonai, All‑powerful, happy is the one who trusts in You. Adonai, redeem us! Majesty responds to us when we call. [In the days of Esther and Mordechai,] the Jews attained light, joy, gladness, and honor – so may it be with us! I will raise the cup of salvation and call out in the name of Adonai.

the

the

THINK

Havdalah, literally “separation,” marks the transition from the holiness of Shabbat back into the workweek. The ritual is done after nightfall once three medium-sized stars can be seen in the sky. The prayer is said over a glass of wine or grape juice and is accompanied by spices and a candle of multiple wicks.22 In Jewish teachings, escorting guests as they leave is an especially important element of hosting them. With Havdalah, we escort out the Shabbat day, stepping back into the workweek, yearning for and courageously seeking to bring about a time when Shabbat values such as equality, gratitude, and nurturance will be an everyday occurrence for all.

CONNECT

Havdalah recalls the time when Adam and Eve were leaving the Garden of Eden and were about to enter the world of work, with its challenges and dangers. To help them “trust and not fear,” God gave them the gift of teaching them how to make light. Hence, we use a flame for the Havdalah ritual.

REFLECT

What gift has Shabbat given you? What can you take into the coming week to help you be that light in the world, a light that is inclusive of others but still uniquely yours?

PERSONAL PRAYER

The blessing of Shabbat has given me the renewed energy to take on the coming week.

As I transition from rest to work, I will take God’s blessings of strength with me.

I will reflect on a time spent with loved ones and go forth with a grounding and centering of mind and soul.

I will trust and not fear, for my song comes from a promise of partnership with God.

— Lauren Hofing, Sarasota, Florida

22 Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Mourning 14:2.

BLESSINGS OF SEPARATION: HAVDALAH

PART II

On wine or grape juice:

,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב

.ןֶפָגַה יִרְּפ אֵרוֹבּ

Baruch Atah, Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech ha’olam, borei peri hagafen.

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who creates the fruit of the vine.

On fragrant spices:

,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב

.םיִמָׂשְב יֵניִמ אֵרוֹבּ

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who creates many kinds of fragrant spices.Baruch Atah, Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech ha’olam, borei minei vesamim.

While looking at candlelight reflecting off your fingernails:

,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב

.שֵׁאָה יֵרוֹאְמ אֵרוֹבּ

Atah,

ha’olam,

Baruch Atah, Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech ha’olam, hamavdil bein kodesh lechol, bein ohr lechoshech, bein Yisrael la’amim, bein yom hashvi’i lesheshet yemei hama’aseh. Baruch Atah, Adonai, hamavdil bein kodesh lechol.

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who creates the lights from the

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, who makes a distinction between holy and mundane, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations of the world, between the seventh day and the six days of work. Blessed are You, Adonai, who makes a distinction between holy and mundane.

THINK

Every aspect of Havdalah is layered with deep meaning. The spices are there to revive our soul, which is depleted in parting from Shabbat. The candle, which comprises many wicks but manifests one flame, represents Jewish peoplehood; although we are different, we know we are one. As we hold our fingers to the flame and see the shadow and the light, we realize that shadow and light often go together in our world. May we step out of Shabbat refreshed, comforted, and ready to spread and magnify the light in the world of action.

CONNECT

On Friday night, we begin Shabbat with two separate candles. Lighting them is the last act of the week, and their glow illuminates and brings joy to our dinner table. On Saturday night, we end Shabbat with a single candle composed of multiple, intertwined wicks. “We enter Shabbat one way,” says Lori Palatnik, founding director of Momentum, “and we leave another. When it is over, we have learned and grown so that we can now give even more to our daily lives and to others.”

Shabbat has the power to bring us close together and embed in our consciousness how interconnected we are.

REFLECT

What about Shabbat can bring people closer together? What scent, taste, or light of Shabbat do you want to bring into your week?

PERSONAL PRAYER

May I absorb this bounty of senses that draw Shabbat to a close. Help me soak up the beauty of Havdalah, so rich in taste, sight, scent, sound, and warmth. The candlelight, sweet wine, blessings we recite, and fragrant spices gently mark the cycle of time and tradition, a reflection of how our lives are intricately connected with one another.

Marisela Maddox, Austin, Texas

the prophet, Elijah of [the town of] Tishbi, Elijah of [the region of] Gilead. Soon he will return,

with him [the messianic age of goodness and peace for all, ushered by] the Messiah, scion of David.

hanavi, Eliyahu haTishbi, Eliyahu haGiladi. Bimheirah biyameinu yavo eleinu im Mashiach ben David.

protect Your beloved people Israel from all harm. As the holy Shabbat departs, grant that the coming week bring us trust in You, closeness and love with family and friends, and hope in bettering the world. Our Creator, who gives strength to the weary, please grant us, Your beloved people, strength to be grateful and to serve You with health, blessings, prosperity, and loving-kindness.

Adapted from Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev

THINK

We welcome the new week with the traditional greeting of “Shavua tov,” a good week, and with songs that reference Elijah the prophet and his legendary acts of lovingkindness and vision of peace. In biblical times, the prophet Elijah’s strategies for bringing about change were intense, critical, and ultimately unsuccessful. At the end of his life, Elijah dramatically ascends to heaven, and in legends he becomes the most beloved prophet! Deeply compassionate, he is often depicted in Jewish tradition as emerging to care for people in distress just at the right time and place, spreading hope and kindness.

transformed his own character over time to become intensely attentive to the needs of others, committed to showing up and offering help.

REFLECT

How can you be inspired by the character transformation of Elijah? How can you add loving-kindness around you this week?

PERSONAL PRAYER

Thank You for this blessed time of peace: of mind, body, and soul. Thank You for giving me the pleasure of loved ones, of joy, and of connection.

CONNECT

The final prophecy of Malachi, who is considered the last biblical prophet, says that Elijah will return “before the coming of the great and awesome day of God” to announce the coming of the Messiah and a world of peace and health for all. Malachi said Elijah will “turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents.” While biblical Elijah does not seem the most likely harbinger of a grand reconciliation, the Elijah of legends reflects a person who

To be mindfully grateful for what has come to a close, and for the opportunity to start again.

May I merit to do better, be better; and to grow myself, others, and our world with every new beginning.

— Dana Sender-Mulla, Kadima, Israel

Soul Full Together

Whether you are exploring Soul Full with your family or as part of a group, each chapter concludes with Soul Full Together, activities designed to build confidence, connection, and community.

FOR FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

Sensory Delight

Help the experience of Shabbat come alive for your children through sight, sound, scent, taste, and touch. Here are some ideas to get started:

• Sights: flickering candlelight, a beautifully set table

• Sounds: the strike of a match, the melodies of blessings and songs

• Scent: challah in the oven, fresh flowers, Havdalah spices

• Taste: sweet grape juice for Kiddush, warm challah, favorite treats

• Touch: hands clasped in blessing or prayer, the braids of the Havdalah candle

• To explore oneg Shabbat, the joy of Shabbat, with your children is to uncover a wonderland for the senses! For more ideas, turn to Year of Growth, the Momentum companion to charting a yearlong journey of learning. The “Try It At Home” section of the Shabbat chapter (pp. 56–59) is packed with ideas for families with children of all ages.

FOR FAMILIES WITH TWEENS AND TEENS Erev Shabbat Soundtrack

The poet Rainer Maria Rilke described music as “the language where all language ends.” Sometimes the best way to introduce or elevate something in your life is not with words, but with music. Shabbat is no exception.

Consider creating a Friday playlist with your family. Invite your tweens and teens to add songs that speak to them about the transition from workweek into Shabbat. Try to capture the hectic energy of Friday afternoon, the hustle and bustle of returning home from school and work. Then gradually slow down with songs that welcome the joy and restorative rest of Shabbat.

Kindle Joy – The Magic of Shabbat

You now have a family soundtrack to erev Shabbat the Sabbath Eve and a music-centric family ritual to imbue with meaning the time on Friday before sundown.

FOR GROUPS

Each chapter of Soul Full includes personal prayers from women around the world. Create a writing workshop to inspire your participants to create their own.

1. Discuss Themes

Encourage your participants to review the chapter before your gathering. When you meet, move through the content together and discuss the main themes that emerge, for example: awareness, delight, restoration, renewal, peace, unconditional love, longing, separation, gratitude, celebration.

2. Why Did You Choose This Theme?

Invite your participants to choose the theme that most speaks to them and gather in small groups according to their chosen topic to share their thoughts on the subject with each other. A simple question (Why did you choose this theme?) is enough to spark these fifteen- to twenty-minute small group conversations.

3. Creative Writing in Groups of Three Time to write! Allow for at least ten minutes for writing a first draft. Underscore that it’s a first draft and that you’ll be working in groups that will support each other. Consider preparing a playlist of music to run in the background to give your participants a soundtrack for their reflection and creativity.

Have each person in the trio pass her work to her friend on her right. And again allow for ten minutes for each person to craft their own version of a prayer on the topic that is now before them, inspired by what they received.

Do this one more time, passing the prayer sheets to the third person, who will see two prayer drafts and craft their own version. Again allow for ten minutes.

Finally, each person receives back their first draft, together with two other drafts. For the last ten minutes, invite each to create a final draft, drawing upon all three of the versions they are holding, and making the prayer their own.

4. Share and Inspire

Invite those who feel comfortable to share their work, regardless of how far along they are in the process a piece of writing, the progress they’ve made thus far, the inspiration they received from others, the direction they hope to go, or stumbling blocks they’re encountering along the way.

5. Stay Accountable

Keep in touch with each other and suggest that participants share their pieces, either on your group chat or at your next gathering. Encourage them to write their own prayer at the end of their book. You can even collect everyone’s prayers and create a blessing book unique to your group.

Introduction

Jewish holidays1 offer a pageantry of ritual, symbolism, and meaning that enriches our lives. They gather us together to feast on meaning and connection. They bond us to our families, our communities, and the Jewish people across the globe and throughout history. Each holiday is a deep well, a source of joy and meaning both ancient and modern. With food and drink, stories and song, Jewish holidays are annual pauses in time; invitations to connect with our inner core, experiment with new recipes, and dig deeper into the stories and values that have defined the Jewish people for millennia. We turn again to the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: “People of our time are losing the power of celebration. Instead of celebrating we seek to be amused or entertained. Celebration is an active state, an act of expressing reverence or appreciation. To be entertained is a passive state… Celebration is a confrontation, giving attention to the transcendent meaning of one’s actions.”2

Indeed, the confrontation with transcendent meaning is encoded into the Jewish holidays. We hope that the prayers in this chapter will help deepen your connection to the holidays and the timeless riches they hold.

1 Jewish holidays do not perfectly align with Gregorian dates because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar, while the Western calendar is solar. Our months follow the cycle of the moon, and are adjusted with periodic “leap months.” (If you have ever thought, “Rosh HaShanah is late this year!” that’s why.)

2 Abraham Joshua Heschel, Wisdom of Heschel (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1977).

NEW MOON/ROSH HODESH

Recited standing in the synagogue on the Shabbat before Rosh Hodesh (except before Rosh HaShanah)

וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי ,ךיֶנָפְלִּמ ןוֹצָר יִהְי וּניֵתוֹבֲא יֵהֹלאֵו הֶזַּה שֶׁדֹחַה תֶא וּניֵלָע שֵׁדַּחְתֶּשׁ .הָכָרְבִלְו הָבוֹטְל ,םוֹלָשׁ לֶשׁ םיִיַּח ,םיִכוּרֲא םיִיַּח וּנָל ןֶתִּתְו ,הָכָרְבּ לֶשׁ םיִיַּח ,הָבוֹט לֶשׁ םיִיַּח םיִיַּח ,הָסָנְרַפּ לֶשׁ םיִיַּח ,תוֹמָצֲע ץוּלִּח לֶשׁ םִיַמָשׁ תאְַרִי םֶהָבּ שֵׁיֶשׁ םיִיַּח ,אְטֵח תאְַרִיְו ,הָמִּלְכוּ הָשׁוּבּ םֶהָבּ ןיֵאֶשׁ םיִיַּח ,דוֹבָכְו

Your will, Adonai, our

God of our ancestors,

renew for us this coming month

month of good and blessing.

long life, a life of peace,

goodness, a life of blessing,

of sustenance, a life

physical vitality,

spiritual awe, and

wariness of sin,

shame and humiliation,

of abundance and honor,

love of Torah and spiritual awe, a life in which Adonai fulfills our

aspirations for the good.

Selah.

THINK

The nascent Jewish nation is about to leave Egypt. God offers them Rosh Hodesh, the new moon, or the establishing of each new month by the people. We might ask why, of all the mitzvot, is this the very first one given to Jews as a nation? In facing the darkness, we can raise our gaze to find a sliver of light, a renewal of possibilities, amidst the darkness, and to know that with God’s help, we can act to bring this light down. One of the most challenging aspects of slavery is the lack of autonomy to guide one’s life. Now, on the cusp of leaving Egypt, Jews become masters of their own time, setting the new month of their calendar.

CONNECTION

In biblical times, the women of Israel refused to offer their jewelry for the creation of the Golden Calf,3 and were rewarded with a special connection to Rosh Hodesh. The Talmud describes a custom of women abstaining from work on Rosh Hodesh, a time to pause, reflect, and appreciate the cyclical nature of renewal.

PERSONAL PRAYER

REFLECT

How might you take a step toward increased ownership over your time and calendar? How do you find light when things feel dark? How can the waxing new moon inspire you toward growth and renewal?

Master of the universe, You gave us the new moon, a time to entreat You, our God. We pour out our heart before You, making our voices heard. Heal us and purify us from all our transgressions and renew this month for much goodness. Bring to us this month joy and gladness. Master of the universe, You have called us Your beloved, so we call to You, our compassionate God, and pray to You that You give to us and to all who study Your holy Torah, and to all who pray to You, the ability to serve You with wholehearted love.

— Leah (Sara Rivkah Rachel Leah) Horowitz (1715–1795),4 Poland

3 Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 45.

4 Adapted from Leah Horowitz’s personal prayer, called SupplicationoftheMatriarchs, an eight-page prayer for the Shabbat before the new moon. It consisted of an introduction written in Hebrew, a liturgical poem in Aramaic, and a paraphrasing of the poem rendered in Yiddish. The prayer points to a highly learned scholar.

are

Adonai, our

the

has

to kindle (the Shabbat and) the festival light.

Atah, Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech

asher kideshanu bemitzvotav, vetzivanu lehadlik ner shel (Shabbat veshel) yom tov.

are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has given us life, and sustained us, and brought us to this time.

Atah, Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech

shehecheyanu vekiyemanu vehigiyanu lazman hazeh.

THINK

Shabbat is like a period “inserted into an otherwise endless runon sentence.”5 Just as Shabbat punctuates the week, Jewish holidays punctuate the year; and like Shabbat, we create holiday light to honor these moments of meaning, these moments that allow us to pause and open a window of opportunity for a specific kind of spiritual growth. For example, Rosh HaShanah invites us to imagine who we would like to be in this new year. Yom Kippur offers us a moment of reflection for mistakes we have made and the opportunity to apologize and chart a different course.

CONNECT

The root of the word shehecheyanu is chaim, life. The Shehecheyanu blessing is recited when we experience something for the first time this year and we want to acknowledge simply being alive to have reached this moment, this holiday, this milestone. We are elevated and humbled.

REFLECT

What is humbling about the blessing of Shehecheyanu? There is a story told about a barracks of Jews

who, in the midst of the Holocaust, scrounged a bit of margarine and a thread to fashion a crude candle to light for Hanukkah. It burned for a moment before dying out, but gave them enough time to quickly whisper the Shehecheyanu blessing and to weep for those no longer alive to recite it. As Jews, our history goes back thousands of years and passes through us to bring light to the future. We don’t just kindle a light; we are a light. How can you make this holiday light memorable for your family? What will you do to affirm that your children will whisper these blessings to their children?

PERSONAL PRAYER

As I kindle these holiday lights, I graciously accept this mitzvah, and the holiness it brings to my life and the world. I thank You for giving the gift of Your holy Torah and its celebrations to my ancestors before me. Please grant me the wisdom and understanding to teach and pass down Your Torah to my family, and to partake in its celebrations with meaning and beauty.

— Janel Herman, Rockville, Maryland

5 Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi with Joel Segel, JewishwithFeeling:AGuideto MeaningfulJewishPractice.

Kiddush for Festival Evenings

FOR ROSH HASHANAH, SEE PAGE (124).

Just as the fruit of the vine helps us elevate and sanctify Shabbat, so too do we raise glasses of wine or grape juice on holidays. A unique evening and daytime Kiddush accompany these special occasions – Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, and Rosh HaShanah – and while much of the language echoes that of the Shabbat Kiddush, the words for the festival blessing shift to highlight the themes of each holiday and the holiness these sacred times of year evoke.

רֶשֲׁא וֹתְּכאַלְמ לָכִּמ תַבָשׁ וֹב יִכּ ,וֹתֹא .תוֹשֲׂעַל םיִהֹלֱא

In a whisper: It was evening, and it was morning, the sixth day. The heavens and the earth and all they contain were completed. With the seventh day, God had finished the

ceasing on that seventh day from all the creative work that God had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on that day God rested from all the work of Creation.

weekday evenings, start Kiddush here.

words in parentheses.)

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who creates the fruit of the vine. Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has chosen and distinguished us among all people and tongues, making us holy through Your commandants. Lovingly, Adonai, our God, You have given us (Shabbat days for restorative rest and) festivals for rejoicing, holidays, and times for joy, (this Shabbat and) this day of:

Passover: the festival of Matzot, the time of

liberation,

Shavuot: the festival of Shavuot, the time of the giving of our

Sukkot: the festival of Sukkot, the time of our rejoicing, the eighth day,

On Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah:

the festival of Atzeret,

rejoicing,

love), a holy gathering, a reminder of the exodus from Egypt. You have chosen us and sanctified us among all people and given us as our heritage (Your holy Shabbat lovingly and willingly, and) Your holy festivals for joy and gladness.

Blessed are You, Adonai, who makes (the Shabbat and) Israel and the festivals holy.

On Saturday night, add the following blessings with a lit Havdalah candle or (two candles with their flames touching) while looking at the candlelight reflecting off your fingernails:

,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב .שֵׁאָה יֵרוֹאְמ אֵרוֹבּ

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who creates the lights from the fire.

םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא ,הוהי הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ

,ךֶשׁחְל רוֹא ןיֵּב ,לֹחְל שֶׁדֹק ןיֵבּ ליִדְבַּמַה ,םיִמַּעָל לֵאָרְשִׂי ןיֵבּ

.הֶשֲׂעַמַּה יֵמְי תֶשֵׁשְׁל יִעיִבְשַּׁה םוֹי ןיֵבּ

are You, Adonai, our God, who makes a distinction between holy and mundane, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations of the world, between the seventh day and the six days of work. Blessed are You, Adonai, who makes a distinction between holy and mundane.

,ָתְּלַדְּבִה בוֹט םוֹי תַשֻּׁדְקִל

have made a distinction between the holiness of Shabbat and the holiness of the festivals.

imbued the seventh day with a sanctity above the six days of work. You have distinguished and sanctified Your people Israel with Your holiness.

are You, Adonai, who distinguishes between holiness and holiness.

On Sukkot, when Kiddush is recited in the sukkah, add the following blessing: הוהי ,הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ ,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ ,וּניֵהלֱא ,ויָתוְֹצִמְבּ וּנָֽשְׁדִּק רֶשֲׁא .הָכֻּסַּבּ בֵשׁיֵל וּנָֽוִּצְו

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has made us holy with Your commandments, and instructed us to dwell in the sukkah.

On the first night of Sukkot, add the Shehecheyanu blessing, below. On the second night, the Shehecheyanu blessing comes before the blessing to sit in the sukkah (above), and on all other nights of Sukkot it is omitted:

הוהי הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא וּנָמְיִּקְו וּנָיֱחֶהֶשׁ .הֶזַּה ןַמְזַּל וּנָעיִגִּהְו

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has given us life, and sustained us, and brought us to this time.

Drink from the wine or the grape juice, and then share it with any others who’d like some.

KIDDUSH FOR THE EVENING OF ROSH HASHANAH

Usually translated as the Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShanah literally means the “Head of the Year.” However, in biblical days it was referred to as Yom Teruah, the “Day of the Sounding of the Shofar,” or Yom HaZikaron, the “Day of Remembering.” It is a day in which we contemplate the year that has gone by, the improvements we have made in our character and actions, and the challenges that still face us.

Jewish sages teach that it is an anniversary of the Creation of the world and a day of renewing the bond with our Creator. As we sanctify the holiday over wine or grape juice, we name God’s love for us and the invitation to be God-conscious and inspired by love in all our actions in the coming year.

Check out Momentum’s downloadable, printer-friendly Rosh HaShanah cards for family fun and games that spark meaningful conversations with family members and guests of all ages. Dive into big ideas with your teens and tweens and play memorable games with your youngest guests.

Many have the tradition to stand for the evening Kiddush.

the festival

with the following paragraph, then continue with the rest of the blessings, below:

a whisper: It was evening, and it was morning, the sixth day. The heavens and the earth and all they contain were completed. With the seventh day, God had finished the work, ceasing on that seventh day from all the creative work that God had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on that day, God rested from all the work of Creation.

On weekday evenings, start Kiddush here. (On Friday night, include the words in parentheses):

םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ .ןֶפָגַּה יִרְפּ אֵרוֹבּ

‚הוהי הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ ‚םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהלֱא

‚םָע לָכִּמ וּנָֽבּ רַחָבּ רֶשֲׁא ‚ןוֹשָׁל לָכִּמ וּנָֽמְמוֹרְו

.ויָתֺוְצִמְבּ וּנָֽשׁדִּקְו תֶא הָבֲהאְַבּ ‚וּניֵהלֱא הוהי ‚וּנָֽל ןֶתּתַּו (םוֹי תֶאְו הֶזַּה תָ בּשַּׁה ) םוֹי ‚הֶזַּה ןוֹרָ כִּזַּה ‚(הָבֲהאְַבּ) הָעוּרְתּ (ןוֹרְכִז) םוֹי

‚שֶׁדֹֽק אָרְקִמ .םִיָֽרְצִמ תאַיִציִל רֶכֵז

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who creates the fruit of the vine. Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has chosen and distinguished us among all people and tongues, making us holy through Your commandants. Lovingly, Adonai, our God, You have given us (this Shabbat and) this Day of Remembrance, this holy day of gathering, a day of (recalling) the shofar blast (with love), a reminder of the exodus from Egypt. For out of all the nations You chose us and made us holy. Your faithful word endures forever. Blessed are You, Adonai, Majesty of all the land, who sanctifies (Shabbat and) Israel and the Day of Remembrance.

When Rosh HaShanah occurs on Saturday night, add the following blessings with a lit Havdalah candle or (two candles with their flames touching) while looking at the candlelight reflecting off your fingernails: הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב ,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא

.שֵׁאָה יֵרוֹאְמ אֵרוֹבּ

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who creates the lights from the fire.

,הוהי הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ

,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא

,לֹחְל שֶׁדֹק ןיֵבּ ליִדְבַּמַה ,ךֶשׁחְל רוֹא ןיֵּב

,םיִמַּעָל לֵאָרְשִׂי ןיֵבּ

.הֶשֲׂעַמַּה יֵמְי תֶשֵׁשְׁל יִעיִבְשַּׁה םוֹי ןיֵבּ ,ָתְּלַדְּבִה בוֹט םוֹי תַשֻּׁדְקִל תָבַּשׁ תַשֻּׁדְק ןיֵבּ

הֶשֲׂעַמַּה יֵמְי תֶשֵׁשִּׁמ יִעיִבְשַּׁה םוֹי תֶאְו לֵאָרְשִׂי ךְמַּע תֶא ָתְּשַׁדִּקְו ָתְּלַדְּבִה ,ָתְּשַׁדִּק

,הוהי הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ

שֶׁדֹק ןיֵבּ ליִדְבַמַּה

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, who makes a distinction between holy and mundane, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations of the world, between the seventh day and the six days of work. Blessed are You, Adonai, who makes a distinction between holy and mundane. You have made a distinction between the holiness of Shabbat and the holiness of the festivals. You imbued the seventh day with a sanctity above the six days of work. You have distinguished and sanctified Your people Israel with Your holiness. Blessed are You, Adonai, who distinguishes between holiness and holiness.

to this time.

ROSH HASHANAH SYMBOLIC FOODS

FISH

A fish head might seem unusual, but for many families its presence on the table is a longstanding tradition. A reference to the verse in Deuteronomy that teaches “God will make you the head and not the tail,” it reminds you to be a leader in the year ahead, to seek the courage to take on challenges, and stay focused on achieving your goals.

CARROTS

In Hebrew, the word for carrot (gezer) shares a root with the word for decree (gezerah).

Over these Days of Awe, we hope for positive decrees for our family, community, and the world.

BEETS

Beets (selek) sound in Hebrew like the word remove (silek). On Rosh HaShanah, we pray for the removal of the obstacles and stumbling blocks ahead of us.

APPLES & HONEY

The most famous of the simanim for Rosh HaShanah, the sweetness of apples and honey help you welcome a good, sweet year.

BLACK EYED PEAS

The word for black eyed peas in Hebrew, lubiyah, shares a root with the word lev, heart. May you enter the new year with an open heart, and may your merits in the year to come bring you heartfelt joy and delight.

AND ROSH

םִיַמָּׁשַה תֶא

.שַׁפָּנִיַו תַבָׁש יִעיִבְּׁשַה םוֹיַּבוּ

The people of Israel will keep Shabbat, observing Shabbat in every generation as an everlasting covenant. It is a sign forever between Me and the people of Israel, for in six days God made the heaven and the earth, and on the seventh day God ceased work and was [as if we could say such a thing] rejuvenated.

.וֹשְּׁדַקְל תָּבַּׁשַה םוֹי תֶא רוֹכָז ,ךֶּתְכאַלְמ לָּכ ָתיִׂשָעְו דֹבֲעַּת םיִמָי תֶׁשֵׁש

,ךיֶהֹלֱא הוהיַל תָּבַׁש יִעיִבְּׁשַה םוֹיְו ,ךֶּתִבוּ ךְנִבוּ הָּתאַ ,הָכאָלְמ לָכ הֶׂשֲעַת אֹל רֶׁשֲא ךְרֵגְו ,ךֶּתְמֶהְבוּ

Remember Shabbat to keep it holy. You should labor for six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is Shabbat for Adonai, your God; on that day, don’t do any creative work: neither you, your son, your daughter, your male or female [worker, even an] indentured servant, your animal, nor the stranger who lives within your environs. Because in six days Adonai made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, God blessed Shabbat and declared it holy.

are the appointed times

הֶסֶכַּּב ,רָפוֹשׁ שֶׁדֹחַב וּעְקִּת

יֵהֹלאֵל טָּפְׁשִמ ,אוּה לֵאָרְׂשִיְל קֹח יִּכ

in their due season.6

the festivals of Adonai

the people of Israel.7

Sound the shofar on our festival day, on the new moon, [as it is revealed from being] hidden. For it is a law [gifted] to Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.8

On Sukkot, when Kiddush is recited in the sukkah, add the following blessing: ,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ ,וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי ,הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ

בֵשׁיֵל וּנָֽוִּצְו ויָתוְֹצִמְבּ וּנָֽשְׁדִּק רֶשֲׁא

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has made us holy with Your commandments, and instructed us to dwell in the sukkah.

,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב

יִרְּפ אֵרוֹבּ

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who creates the fruit of the vine.

“The primary role of repentance is for one to return to oneself, to the root of one’s soul. Then one will at once return to God, the soul of all souls.”9

On the afternoon of the first day of Rosh HaShanah (or the second day if the first is Shabbat), many practice the custom of tashlich, which means “casting off.” Families head to beaches, lakes, rivers, or any moving body of water and empty their pockets, symbolically casting into the depths the transgressions of the past year.

An essential part of the ritual is taking time to reflect on what you’d like to cast off and why. Consider the following examples:10

Cast off deception, so that we will mislead no one in word or deed nor pretend to be what we are not.

Cast off vain ambition, which prompts us to strive for goals which bring neither true fulfillment nor genuine contentment.

Cast off stubbornness, so we will neither be consumed by desire for what we lack nor grow unmindful of the blessings which are already ours.

Cast off selfishness, which keeps us from enriching our lives through wider concerns, and greater sharing, and from reaching out in love to other human beings.

Cast away indifference, so that we may be sensitive to the suffering of others and responsive in ways that are helpful.

Cast away pride and arrogance, so that we may worship God and serve His purpose in humility and truth.

After reflecting, cast into the water something that represents your transgressions. In past generations bread crumbs were traditionally used, but we have since learned that throwing bread crumbs into the water can be hurtful to the environment. As Jewish tradition guides us to care for nature, many people now cast a bit of lint from a pocket.

9 Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, TheLightofRepentance.

10 Adapted from Mahzor Hadash: The New Mahzor. The Prayer Book Press of Media Judaica, Inc. (2009).

SPIRITUAL CLEANSING RITUAL: TASHLICH

THE ETHIOPIAN HOLIDAY SIGD

Sigd is an Ethiopian Jewish holiday celebrated fifty days after Yom Kippur, on the twenty-ninth of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan. Sigd means “bowing in worship” in Amharic, and the holiday symbolizes a renewal of the covenant between God and the Jewish people, and the yearning to return to Jerusalem. According to Ethiopian tradition, this is the day God revealed himself to Moses.

In Ethiopia, Sigd has been observed as a fast day during which the community would dress in white and ascend a mountain peak in remembrance of Mount Sinai. The Kessim community elders would hold the Ethiopian Torah, written in Geez and called Orit, related to the Hebrew word for light, or, and the Aramaic word for Torah, Oraita. Prayers would end with the wish to celebrate next year’s Sigd in Jerusalem. The congregation would then descend from the mountain to the village and break the fast. People would travel great distances to take part in Sigd celebrations. The Ethiopian Jewish community lived in isolation from other Jewish communities for centuries, until the late 20th century when Israel airlifted tens of thousands of Ethiopians out of the danger of a decades-long civil war. Over many generations, the Ethiopian Jewish community developed holidays and celebrations, which were not familiar to other Jewish communities. The earliest mention of Sigd in writing is from the 15th century. At this time, there were efforts in Ethiopia to convert Jews away from Judaism, and the holiday celebrates the strengthening of their Jewish identity. Now that a majority of Ethiopian Jews live in Israel, the community marks Sigd by gathering at the Western Wall and at the Armon Hanatziv Promenade, which overlooks most of Jerusalem, celebrating the return to their ancestral homeland, and educating Israelis about Ethiopian Jewish history and culture. It is a time to appreciate and thank God for all that has come true from generations of praying for their return to Jerusalem. The State of Israel recognized Sigd as a national holiday in 2008. The month leading up to the twenty-ninth of Cheshvan marks a time to explore the rich Jewish heritage of Ethiopian Jews.

SUKKOT

“You shall rejoice before your God seven days. You shall dwell in sukkot seven days… in order that future generations may know that I had the Israelite people dwell in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.”11

Sukkot is the Feast of Booths; a seven-day holiday where we abandon sturdy shelters and opt instead for flimsy shacks. On Sukkot we don’t sleep in 5-star hotels, we sleep in 5-billion-star hotels made of palm fronds and tapestries.

It is the grand exit from all of life’s fixed sureties. We are busy studying how to release our clutches on physical wealth and take firm hold of the riches of Spirit instead.

The main theme of Sukkot is simchah, Hebrew for true joy. Interestingly, it occurs almost immediately following the solemn and introspective High Holidays of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. The holiday helps us learn that true joy is not dependent on physical factors. Rather, it comes from savoring all that we have: the spiritual growth we experienced during the High Holidays, the blessings that permeate our lives, the relationships we have built, the beauty of our tradition, and the rarified pleasure of connecting with the Divine.

Holiday traditions include:

• Family and friends gather to build a sukkah, a temporary structure with at least three sides, whose roof is made of thatch or branches. It’s an unforgettable and fun way to prepare for the holiday.

• Family members decorate a sukkah together using art supplies, tapestries, foam chains, strings of popcorn, lights, fruits, and above all, creativity! Remember, the sukkah is exposed to the weather, so using outdoor-rated materials works best.

• Family and friends visit a local sukkah (possibly a public one) and weather permitting, meals are eaten in the sukkah.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Majesty of the world who has made us holy with Your commandments and instructed us to dwell in the sukkah.

At each meal there is a welcoming ceremony where ancestors are symbolically invited to join. We share stories about these ancestral guests, called ushpizin, and glean lessons from their character that we can apply to our own lives. Some have a tradition of also inviting family ancestors or role models and speaking of what we can learn from their traits.

During Sukkot, to celebrate the bounty of the harvest, each day family members hold and shake four species of plants (arba minim) while reciting a blessing. The four species are palm (lulav), myrtle (hadas), willow (aravah), and citron (etrog). Standing with the etrog in your left hand, stem down, and the lulav in your right, place your hands together, and say:

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Majesty of the world who has made us holy with Your commandments and instructed us about taking (elevating) the lulav.

are You, Adonai, our God,

the

who has

us life, and sustained us,

brought us to this time.

Here is an

lulav, etrog, myrtle and willow leaves bear witness to the power of rain to give life to the earth and its produce. We offer them to You, God, in the hope that You will continue to send rain in the coming year.12

the etrog so that its stem is facing up. Face Jerusalem, stretch out your arms and shake three times in each of the six directions, waving the lulav and etrog set first ahead, then right, back, left, up, and down.

these four species? They represent the blessings of nature. For our ancestors they symbolized basic needs, the sweet dates of the palm and its leaves for weaving baskets, the perfume of the citron, the berries of the myrtle, and shade of the willow. Rejoicing with the four species expresses gratitude for all that sustains us. Our sages taught that symbolically the four species also represent diversity. We hold them together seeking blessing to remember the value of bringing together different types of people, with different gifts.

THE MIRACLES OF HANUKKAH AND PURIM

“Just as the world cannot exist without livelihood, it cannot exist without miracles.”13

What do Hanukkah and Purim have in common? Miracles. Both celebrate the relationship between God and the Jewish people, a bond that empowers our miraculous ability to overcome obstacles and make the impossible possible. In recognition, our sages added a special reflection on miracles to our daily prayers recited only on these two occasions.

תוֹרוּבְגַה לַעְו ןָקְרֻּפַה לַעְו םיִּסִּנַה לַע לַעְו תוֹאָלְפִּנַה לַעְו תוֹעוּשְּׁתַה לַעְו (תוֹמַחְלִמַה :םיזנכשא חסונ) (תוֹמָחֶּנה :חרזמה תודע חסונ)

ןַמְּזַּב םֵהָה םיִמָיַּב וּניֵתוֹבֲאַל ָתיִׂשָעֶׁש .הֶּזַה

We thank You for the miracles, for the redemption, for the mighty deeds and saving acts, wrought by You, as well as for the wars (Ashkenazic liturgical tradition)/consoling (Sephardic liturgical tradition) which You carried on for our ancestors in days of old, at this season.

Midrash Tehillim.

HANUKKAH

Infuse each night of Hanukkah with an inspiring Jewish values story and with fun activities to engage with each value as a family.

If possible, display the Hanukkah lights so that they are visible from the street. On Friday, light the Hanukkah lights before the beginning of Shabbat. Recite each night upon kindling the Hanukkah lights:

םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ

רֵנ קיִלְדַהְל וּנָוִּצְו ויָתוְֹצִמְבּ וּנָשְׁדִּק רֶשֲׁא

.הָכֻּנֲח לֶשׁ

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has made us holy with Your commandments, and instructed us to light a Hanukkah candle.

םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ ןַמְזַּבּ םֵהָה םיִמָיַּבּ וּניֵתוֹבֲאַל םיִסִּנ הָשָׂעֶשׁ

.הֶזַּה

Blessed are You, Adonai, our

Majesty of the world, who performed miracles for our ancestors in those

and at this time.

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has given us life, and sustained us, and brought us to this time.

PURIM

Purim celebrates events described in the Book of Esther, the Jewish queen of Persia, who saved her people from doom. It’s a celebration of the wisdom of women, and the power in each of us to turn things around, making a tremendous difference – even catalyzing the miraculous. It’s a celebration of gratitude for the power of community and for God’s help.

You can welcome the magic of this holiday into your home with delicious hamantaschen and festive costumes, and hear the story come alive at a megillah reading in your community. Hearing the megillah is one of four mitzvot of Purim. The three others are about sharing the joy with friends and with the needy:

Giving gifts of food to friends and neighbors, in Purim gift baskets called mishloach manot.

Eating a special Purim meal or feast, in the joyful spirit of “eat, drink, and be merry.”

The feast can be a costume party and an opportunity to step into possibilities that cross beyond your usual comfort zone, or that reflect layers of your potential yet to be revealed.

Providing means to support those who need help in order to celebrate Purim. This mitzvah, called matanot la’evyonim (“gifts to the poor”), honors the legacy of Esther and Mordechai, who took action to help their community.

PASSOVER AND THE SEARCH FOR CHAMETZ / LEAVENED BREAD

Passover is the ultimate Jewish family story time, when we gather and tell the story of the exodus experientially. With its striking narrative of redemption from oppression, Passover remains at the forefront of the universal Jewish experience, its themes echoing throughout time. We prepare our souls and our homes by removing and abstaining from chametz – bread and other leavened goods. This is in order to remind us that the exodus from Egypt is not only something our ancestors experienced, but something each of us must grapple with as we seek freedom from the narrow places in our own lives. What inner chametz of yours is keeping you stuck, enslaved, arrogant, or overextended?

Jewish wisdom teaches us that Passover is not only a time to recall and retell the freedom from Egypt, which occurred years ago, it’s alwo a time to envision new and future freedom. Check out two resources that will make your seder a spiritual opportunity for, your family and guests.

The QR code will lead you to A Passover Preparation Companion and Seder Conversation Starters.

time

metaphor for seeking to remove the parts of ourselves that enslave

remain

throughout the year. It is customary to hide ten small pieces of bread around the house to give the search purpose, which has the added benefit of being a fun way to welcome the holiday for children of all ages.

are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has made us holy with Your commandments, and instructed us concerning the removal of chametz.

After the search, nullify the chametz that you inadvertently overlooked [aware that perfect is beyond us] by saying:

leaven

anything leavened

removed,

am unaware,

considered nullified and ownerless as the dust of the earth.

On the morning before Passover, there’s a custom to burn all the chametz that was found the previous evening.

The word chametz shares a root with chamtzan, the Hebrew word for oxygen. As the bits of bread are burning, we can reflect on the nature of the flames burning the chametz. Just as the fire is fueled by oxygen, it is likewise getting rid of leavened products through oxygen. Moreover, a slow breath can puff up our chests with oxygen in a posture of arrogance, or it can instead reconnect us to our inner core and to our Creator to rid us of and free us from arrogance.

the chametz has been burned in the fire,

again nullify any chametz that was inadvertently overlooked by saying:

not,

observed it

not,

removed it or not,

from a teaching from Rabbi Ben Perlstein, https://soundcloud.com/user832114774/biur-hametz-meditation (accessed March 2022).

ISRAEL MEMORIAL AND INDEPENDENCE DAYS

“Let Israel say, God’s loving-kindness is forever... I will thank You, for You answered me... Please grant us success.”15

Yom HaAtzma’ut, Israel Independence Day, celebrates the establishment of the State of Israel. In celebrating the day, we affirm our connection to the places that link us and the global Jewish family to our historical heritage, we rejoice in all the Israel has accomplished, and we consider the dreams we have for Israel.

Yom HaAtzma’ut falls on the fifth day of the Hebrew month of Iyar, which corresponds to May 14, 1948, the date the provisional government read and signed the Declaration of Independence in Tel Aviv. This day of joy is directly preceded by a day of reflection, Yom HaZikaron, or Memorial Day, commemorating fallen soldiers and casualties of terrorism. The connection is clear: without those who have sacrificed their lives, the State of Israel would not exist.

Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzma’ut are invitations to welcome Israel into your home. With a memorial candle and a commitment to share the story of one fallen soldier each year, Yom HaZikaron can become a day of connection for your family, a day that transitions into celebration with Israeli food and music, art, and poetry. Many communities organize parades and events for Yom HaAtzma’ut – we encourage you to seek out or start one of your own!

15 Excerpt from Psalm 118.

SHAVUOT

Falling exactly seven weeks after Passover, Shavuot celebrates the experience of receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai. It is an invitation to study together with others, asking the questions we can’t answer alone, and touching the unity we experienced at Sinai.

We read the story of Ruth, a woman who exemplified loving-kindness, a central Torah value, and who chose to be Jewish. We elevate the occasion in our homes with fresh flowers symbolizing the agricultural element of the holiday, and we eat cheesecake and other dairy foods, symbolizing the spiritual nourishment of Torah: as a nursing newborn is sustained by milk, so too are our souls nourished by Torah wisdom. For the night owls among us, Shavuot is also an opportunity to stay up late (or all night!) learning Torah, a custom handed down from the kabbalists to honor the extraordinary gift of revelation.

When the Holy One of Blessing spoke, each person in Israel could say, “The Divine Word is addressing me.”

Rabbi Yosi, the son of Hanina, said: “Do not be surprised by this idea, for when manna came down to feed Israel, each person tasted it according to their capacity. For infants it was like mother’s milk, for the young it was like bread with oil and honey, and for the elderly like honey cake. What is true for tasting manna is also true for hearing the Divine Word.” The Holy One of Blessing said to them, “Do not be misled if you hear many voices. Know that I am the One God.”16

16 Pesikta d’Rav Kahana is a volume of midrash from the fifth or sixth century.

— Pesikta d’Rav Kahana

Soul Full Together

Whether you are exploring Soul Full with your family or as part of a group, each chapter concludes with Soul Full Together, activities designed to build confidence, connection, and community.

FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN OF ALL AGES

Check out these QR codes for Momentum resources on the High Holidays, Passover, and Hanukkah.

For more ideas, turn to YearofGrowth, the Momentum companion to charting a yearlong journey of learning. The “Try It At Home” sections are packed with ideas for families with children of all ages.

• Rosh HaShanah: 118–121

• Sukkot: 148–149

• Hanukkah: 200–203

• Purim: 286–287

• Passover: 314–315

• Yom HaAtzma’ut: 336–337

• Shavuot: 368–369

FOR GROUPS

It is common for participants to feel challenged making space in their busy lives to commemorate and celebrate Jewish holidays, and all the more so for Israeli holidays that for many are even less familiar. If the experience that bonded your group is the Momentum Israel journey, carving out time to elevate and honor Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzma’ut can be an opportunity for your participants to return to Israel together spiritually and emotionally. Invite each participant to go through her photos from the Israel journey and choose one that feels like “Independence Day” to her. When you gather, go around the room and give each woman an opportunity to share her photo and the memory captured by it. Encourage everyone to post these photos in your group chat to commemorate and celebrate Israel together.

Introduction

Like fish in water, we swim in blessings. We are so fully immersed in the wonderous workings of reality that we hardly notice them. And yet, they are there, from the skies’ revolving carousel of stars to the intricate footwork of ants through the grass, to the unassuming heartbeat in our chest. From the sublime to the mundane and back again, we are both inundated by life’s wonders as well as all too often entirely oblivious to them.

The power of Judaism is that it helps us become conscious of life’s myriad blessings. Jewish practice offers us a steady stream of touchpoints, portals into that state of awareness that Abraham Joshua Heschel calls “radical amazement.” As Albert Einstein reportedly said, “There are two ways to live. You can live as if nothing is a miracle. Or you can live as if everything is a miracle.” To see the miraculous in reality is to live a life attuned to wonder. This is why our sages created a structure to nurture our awareness of the blessings we swim in. The sages guide us to offer 100 blessings every day.1 Not five or even ten but 100. It amounts to a daily avalanche of blessings, an inundation of amazement.

Why? What positive effect comes from saying blessings? In the world of neuropsychology, gratitude is understood to be a natural antidepressant: When practiced daily, gratitude may be almost as effective as medication. At the neurochemical level, gratitude acts as a catalyst for neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Together, these chemicals form a cocktail that boosts our moods. When we consciously and consistently practice gratitude, we strengthen those positive neural pathways and the benefits are significant: improved physical health, immunity against disease, fewer bouts with toxic emotions, better sleep, enhanced self-respect, more

1 Babylonian Talmud, tractate Menachot 43b.

satisfying relationships, to name but a few. Science shows that it’s not that being happy makes us grateful, it’s that being grateful makes us happy.2 Radical amazement is radically beneficial. Next time you feel like you are in a rut, remind yourself of the ABCs of Appreciation, Blessing, and Curiosity. This practice can shift our mindset and invite in the innate delight of our radically amazed inner child. As Abraham Joshua Heschel explains: “This is one of the goals of the Jewish way of living: to experience commonplace deeds as spiritual adventures, to feel the hidden love and wisdom in all things.”3 As you explore this chapter, we invite you to seek out blessings and practices that can help you follow Heschel’s golden advice, “Live life in radical amazement… Get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually.”

2

and https://www.verywellmind.com/

BLESSING THE HOME AND AFFIXING A MEZUZAH

Upon affixing mezuzah to your front door, your children’s bedroom doors, and your bedroom, recite:

ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ רֶשאַ םָלוֹעָה

.הָזוּזְמ ַעוֹבְּקִל וּנָוִּצְו ויָתוְֹצִמְבּ וּנָשְׁדִּק

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has made us holy with Your commandments and instructed us to affix a mezuzah.

BIRKAT HABAYIT – BLESSING THE HOME

.רַעַצ אוֹבָי אֹל רַעַּׁשַה הֶזְּב

.הָרָצ אוֹבָת אֹל הָריִּדַה תאֹזְּב

.הָלָהֶּב אוֹבָת אֺל תֶלֶּדַה תאֹזְּב

.תֶקוֹלְחַמ אוֹבָת אֺל הָקָלְחַּמַה תאֹזְּב

הָכָרְב יִהְּת םוֹקָּמַה הֶזְּב

no sorrow come

this gate.

trouble come in this dwelling.

fright come through this door.

blessing

to

space.

Let this place be an oasis, A dwelling for peace. Here equanimity will find a seat, Here friendship will stride. Here satisfaction and joy will meet.

In the shade of this ceiling Torah song will be appealing. In this corner, in this home,

THINK

Jews have been affixing mezuzahs (or in Hebrew mezuzot) to their doorways for millennia. While mezuzah literally means “doorpost,” it refers to a parchment inscribed with two sacred texts that is placed in a case (called a bayit) and attached to a doorpost. A mezuzah is a touch point that unites Jews across place and time, proclaiming a home as a sacred space. It represents the Jewish values of faithfulness and trust, peace and love, commitment and human dignity, and reminds us as we move through the rooms of our lives to uphold these values.

REFLECT

Inside the bayit, or “house,” of the mezuzah is a scroll with the words of the Shema, words that emphasize the Oneness of the Almighty and invite us to both recognize and emulate that Oneness. Are we ourselves One? Are we the same person at home as we are outside its doors? Where are we our best selves? Many of us reserve our best for others, behaving in ways at home that we wouldn’t in public. The Oneness of God invites a more holistic approach to treat our family with respect, and to see in others our potential family.

CONNECT

Do you have a mezuzah? If not, start with one door in your home, most likely your front door, and affix one. If you already have a mezuzah, do you remember to acknowledge it when you come and go? Start by remembering to look. Then reach out to touch it. We often refer to rituals as “practices” but forget that they take practice! From visual acknowledgment to tangible recognition to a pause that inspires you to be your best self at home and on your way, the mezuzah reminds us to stay connected and grow as we move between the rooms and spaces of our lives.

PERSONAL PRAYER Welcome.

Help me provide a welcoming space for my family, for my friends, and for the stranger as well.

May anyone who comes here find open arms and learn something new, discover a safe space and a warm embrace.

May we know that even when someone leaves here, a part of them remains, having forever changed this place.

Thank You, God, for this home, and for all the movement inside and out!

Lani Preis, Atlanta, Georgia

I forgive anyone who has angered or provoked me or sinned against me, whether physically, financially, or by disrespecting me, or in any other matter relating to me; whether it was done involuntarily or willingly, inadvertently or deliberately, in word or in deed, let no one incur punishment on my behalf.

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who makes my eyes heavy with sleep, and brings drowsiness to my eyelids. May it be Your will, Adonai, my God and God of my ancestors, that I lie down in peace and arise in peace.

Let not my imagination, dreams, or troubling thoughts confuse me.

Let all aspects of my bed be wholly peaceful before You. May I awaken to the light of a new day, lest I die. Blessed are You, Adonai, whose glory illuminates the entire world.

THINK

Studies suggest that reintroducing a bedtime routine as an adult can increase sleep duration and quality by helping us wind down from our day.4 A bedtime routine such as the recitation of the Shema can provide the spiritual process that allows us to bring closure to daytime activities and thoughts, reflect before we set the day to rest, and shift into relaxation for sleep. Each element of the bedtime Shema has a purpose in this bedtime routine.

CONNECT

The bedtime Shema begins with forgiving anyone who has wronged or hurt us in any way, whether intentionally or unintentionally. We continue with the end in mind, envisioning peaceful sleep followed by peaceful awakening. We speak the Shema, reflecting on the Oneness of God and a sense of belonging to Jewish peoplehood. Before asking God to shield us from anything that can harm us, it’s a good practice to briefly consider our actions over the course of the day. Forgiving others and reflecting on Oneness provide the context for this soul-reckoning reflection. Our sages guide us to recognize where we missed the mark, to seek

to learn from it, and to ask God for help. However, for this bedtime reckoning they teach to focus more on the good and what we seek to increase and build upon.5 We then shift attention to words of Torah, to God’s blessing, to hope and a vision of being surrounded by protection and healing.

REFLECT

What helps you create a boundary between daytime activity and relaxing into sleep? What draws you to include in a bedtime routine?

PERSONAL PRAYER

When I lay down to rest, my soul is not afraid,

Because when the source of my happiness cannot be felt, I will remember when I last felt Your Presence.

And when the sun shines bright, I will store Your warmth for a colder day.

I am thankful for this chance for my soul to grow outward and embrace others. I am grateful to give my best to this life.

— Jenna Neulander, Northport, New York

4 Lawrence Epstein, MD, and Steven Mardon, The Harvard Medical School Guide to a GoodNight’sSleep (McGraw Hill Books, 2007).

5 Rabbi Kook, OlotRa’ayah a, p. 421, regarding a quote from Rabbi Levi Bar Chama in tractate Brachot 5a.

BEDTIME SHEMA

ךֶלֶמ לֵא Almighty, faithful Majesty.

רמאלו ןימי דיב םיינע תוסכל

ָחֶא הוהי ,וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי ,לֵאָרְׂשִי עַמְׁש

דוֹבְּכ םֵׁש ךוּרָּב :שחלב

םָלוֹעְל

ךיֶהֹלֱא הוהי תֵא ָתְּבַהאְָו

וּיָהְו ,ךֶדֹאְמ־לָכְבוּ ךְשְׁפַנ־לָכְבוּ :ךֶבָבְל לַע ,םוֹיַּה ךְּוַצְמ יִכֹנאָ רֶשֲׁא ,הֶלֵאָה

ךְּתְבִשְּׁב ,םָּב

Hear, Israel: Adonai, our God, Adonai is One. Quietly: Blessed is the name of His glorious majesty for ever and ever. And you shall love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words which I command you today shall be on your heart. Teach them repeatedly to your children speaking of them when you sit at home and when you are on the road and when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be an emblem between your eyes. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

THINK

In 1945, Jews set out to reclaim Jewish children who had been hidden during the Holocaust with non-Jewish families or in orphanages. Often families or guardians would deny housing Jewish children. In such cases, the person searching would walk toward the children and say the Shema. When children would join in saying the words or would tear up with memories, they knew they had found a Jewish child.

PERSONAL PRAYER

How noble and good everyone could be if, at the end of each day, they were to review their own behavior and weigh up the rights and wrongs. They would automatically try to do better at the start of each new day and, after a while, would certainly accomplish a great deal…“a quiet conscience gives you strength!”

— Anne Frank, (1929–1945), Amsterdam, Netherlands The Diary of a Young Girl

CONNECT

The Bedtime Shema is a poetic lullaby, a reminder that we are not alone, that we are held, loved, and protected by God. If the Bedtime Shema seems daunting, welcome it into your life piece by piece, as a much-deserved nightly lullaby to yourself, by choosing a different word or phrase to meditate on sleep, dream, God, peace, deliverance each week at bedtime.

בָעָרְו בֶרֶחְו לֵא יִּכ ,וּנֵריִּתְסַּת ךיֶפָנְּכ לֵצְבוּ ,וּניֵרֲחאֵַמוּ ןוּנַּח ךֶלֶמ לֵא יִּכ ,הָּתאָ וּנֵליִצַמוּ וּנֵרְמוֹשׁ .הָּתאָ םוּחַרְו

םוֹלָׁשְלוּ םיִיַחְל וּנֵאוֹבוּ וּנֵתאֵצ רֹמְׁשוּ .םָלוֹע דַעְו הָּתַעֵמ

Help us, Adonai, our God, lie down in peace; and rise up to good life and peace, our Majesty. Spread Your canopy of peace over us. Guide us with Your good counsel and save us speedily for the sake of Your name! Shield us from all that can harm us and remove from us enemy, plague, sword, famine, and sorrow. Remove the adversary from before and behind us. Shelter us in the shadow of Your wings, for You, God, are our Guardian and Rescuer. You are a gracious and compassionate Majesty. Guard our coming and our going, for life and peace, now and always.

REFLECT

A nightly practice of introspection can be a powerful tool for nourishing your inner life, shaping your tomorrow, and over time your destiny.

• Begin by thinking back over your day and the personal interactions large and small that punctuated it.

• Invite your soul to reflect:

• Is there anyone whose actions I need to forgive? Give yourself permission to let go of resentment and hard feelings.

• When did I bring peace and light into the day? Dwell on moments of gratitude, interactions when your behavior aligned with your values.

• When was I triggered? When did I stumble? Consider something you can learn from today and how you might bring that learning into your day tomorrow.

• How might I feel invited to make an adjustment in my behavior? Encourage yourself to welcome small changes that

will inspire you to love looking back on how you have lived your life.

• Where were there hints of Godly Oneness in my day? Reflect on opportunities to marvel in the Oneness that interconnects your world, and times when you could have drawn closer to God and to other people.

• Take a deep breath. Allow your thoughts to move on from your day and draw your attention inward. Settle yourself and your body, becoming attuned to an inner peace. Feel the Divine Presence in your being. See yourself as God sees you, in a way that is just and loving.

• Repeat three times one or more verses of the closing of the Bedtime Shema (see following pages). Let your soul steep in these words, in the warmth of this lullaby of hope and trust. Visualize any remaining tension from the day departing your body, replaced by a loving Presence that surrounds you and lulls you into relaxation.

הוהי ךְכֶרָבְי

ךיֶלֵא

ןָׁשיִי

הֵּנִה

SHEMA

of

nor sleeps.

הוהי יִתיִּוִק

םֵׁשְּב

Adonai.

for Your deliverance.

for Your deliverance I hope.

the name of Adonai, the God of Israel:

Michael [angel of loving

at my right hand,

[angel of strength] guard my left, In front of me, Uriel [angel of light],

me, Raphael [angel of healing],

hover above my head the Shechinah, Presence of God.

THINK

Forgiveness is a concept even very young children understand. Studies have found that forgiveness evolves over childhood and that parents play an important role in the way their children understand forgiveness. Additional research has shown that children who are more forgiving are happier.

Forgiveness is learned. We can get better at forgiving over time.

A nightly forgiveness practice reminds children that forgiveness is always an option, freeing them from the burden of resentment and anger. While we cannot control what others do, we can control how we respond. The opening of the Bedtime Shema helps us model this for our children and instill a lifelong foundation for living with unencumbered joy.

CONNECT

Saying “I love you” to your child before they go to sleep might seem like an obvious part of your nightly routine. The second part of the Bedtime Shema can help you take this one step further. After you say the Shema, recite the words of the Ve’ahavta: Love Adonai with all your heart. Embedded in these words is an important message about what it means to love God, and be loved in return.

If you ask your child who loves them, they will probably say you. If pressed, they will name other

relatives and close family friends, maybe a pet. But what about God?

If we don’t talk to our children about the love God has for us, how can we expect them to benefit from the power of that love, and a relationship with a Power greater than themselves?

The Bedtime Shema is an opportunity to remind your children that not only do you love them, God loves them as well – more than they can possibly imagine.

PERSONAL PRAYER

Translated from Ladino, a Judeo-Spanish vernacular

I lie in my bed, [the bed] of Miriam the Prophetess, I cover myself with a blanket of King Solomon.

I place my soul in the hands of the Creator, who guards me from fear of death and threat.

I secure my doors and windows with the seal of King Solomon. May Michael [angel of lovingkindness] be at my right, Gavriel [angel of strength] be at my left, and may the Shechinah, Presence of God, hover above my head. Protect me from evil and from severe illness.

Save me from harsh pronouncements and from danger. From the community of Crete

תוֹיֻּנָעְרֻּפ יֵניִמ לָּכִמוּ ,םָלוֹעָל אוֹבָל הָחָלְצַהְו הָכָרְּב חַלְׁשִתְו

,וּניֵדָי הֵׂשֲעַמ לָכְּב ךיֶניֵעְּב םיִמֲחַרְלוּ דֶסֶחְלוּ ןֵחְל וּנֵנְּתִתְו ,וּניֵאוֹר לָכ יֵניֵעְבוּ .וּניֵנוּנֲחַּת לוֹק עַמְׁשִתְו

.הָּתאָ ןוּנֲחַתְו הָלִפְּת ַעֵמוֹשׁ לֵא יִּכ .הָלִפְּת ַעֵמוֹשׁ ,הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב

May it be Your will, Adonai, our God, and God of our ancestors, that You lead us in peace, direct our steps in peace, guide us to peace, and make us reach our desired destination alive, joyful and in peace. Rescue us from any foe and obstacle on our way, and from all afflictions that trouble the world. Send blessing and success to the works of our hands, and grant us graciousness, kindness, and compassion in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see us. Hear our appeals, for You are a God who hears prayers and appeals. Blessed are You, Adonai, who listens to prayers.

THINK

The question of when to say the Traveler’s Prayer, Tefillat HaDerech, is a surprisingly deep one: What counts as a journey? The Talmud teaches that a person setting out on a trip of one parsah (five kilometers/three miles) or more outside the city limits should pray to complete it safely.

REFLECT

Traveling five kilometers/three miles was far less common for our ancestors than it is for us. Today it’s not unusual to surpass that distance daily for work, car pool, and errands. We tend not to think of these trips as journeys…but what if we did? How might the way you move through your life change if a trip to the store became an opportunity for a moment of blessing and spiritual connection?

CONNECT

Conder the journeys in your life, whether they are part of your daily routine or annual vacations. Commit to beginning one of these, small or large, with peacefulness and security. Set an intention to be a blessing, to succeed, to act in ways that others find gracious, kind, and compassionate. Ask God to take notice, to recognize the shift in your behavior and hear your prayer.

PERSONAL PRAYER

Protect me from harm and illness on my journey and enable me to arrive alive, joyful, and in peace. Give me the opportunity to be kind and patient. May I enjoy the beauty that has been created in the world and not lose sight of my priorities. Help me return safely to my home so I can make each day matter. May my behaviors show the world that I always care.

— Richard Goldstein, Orlando, Florida

,ָהיֶצֲעוֹיְו ָהיֶרָשׂ ,ָהיֶשׁאָרְל יֵדְי תֶא קֵזַּח .ךיֶנָפְלִּמ הָבוֹט הָצֵעְבּ וּניֵהֹלֱא םֵליִחְנַהְו ,וּנֵשְׁדָק ץֶרֶא יֵנִּגְמ ,םֵרְטַּעְתּ ןוֹחָצִּנ תֶרֶטֲעַו הָעוּשְׁי תַחְמִשְׂו ץֶראָָבּ םוֹלָשׁ ָתַּתָנְו .ָהיֶבְשׁוֹיְל םָלוֹע דָקְפּ ,לֵאָרְשִׂי תיֵבּ לָכּ וּניֵחאַ תֶאְו וּנֵכיִלוֹתְו ,וּניֵרוּזְפּ תוֹצְראַ לָכְבּ אָנ (םֵכיִלוֹתְו ,םֶהיֵרוּזְפּ :לארשי ץראב) ךֶריִע ןוֹיִּצְל תוּיִּמְמוֹק הָרֵהְמ …ךֶמְשׁ ןַכְּשִׁמ םִיַלָשׁוּריִלְו

Our heavenly Parent, Rock and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, the beginning of the rise of our redemption. Shield it with Your loving kindness; envelop it with Your peace. Guide its leaders, ministers, and advisors with Your light and truth and direct them with Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our holy land. Impart them with deliverance and crown them with triumph, granting peace in the land and an everlasting joy for its inhabitants. Remember our brothers, the whole house of Israel, in the lands of our (in Israel say: their) dispersion, and swiftly lead us (in Israel say: them) upright to Zion, Your city, and Jerusalem, the dwelling place of Your name… Unite our heart to love and revere Your name and observe all the words of Your Torah, and swiftly send us Your righteous anointed one of the house of David to redeem all who long for Your salvation. Appear in Your glorious splendor to all the inhabitants of Your world, and let all who breathe declare: Adonai, God of Israel is Majesty, whose Majesty reigns among all. Amen, Selah!

THINK

Throughout history, Jewish sources and sages point to the privilege and responsibility of creating in Israel a value-driven society rooted in light, truth, justice, and peace. After thousands of years, we are living in a generation that can merit contributing to the vision of our prophets for a culture and community of righteousness, joy, and harmony.

CONNECT

Israel is home to a wellspring of creative, entrepreneurial solutions that have improved the lives of millions around the world.6 Design thinking is a methodology for developing creative new products and solutions. It begins with listening to different voices to understand unmet needs. From those insights emerges a process for innovation that includes prototyping: learning by doing through “empathy, optimism, iteration, creative confidence, experimentation, and an embrace of ambiguity and failure.”7 How might our relationship with Israel evolve if we think of Israel not only as a source of creative solutions, but also as a prototype a society committed to learning

and iterating toward becoming a source of light and inspiration to the entire world? May we be blessed to listen to different voices, celebrate and build on success and learn from mistakes.

REFLECT

What is your prayer for the State of Israel? What light do you see? What unmet needs do you see? What is a way you can contribute to Jewish peoplehood and to the State of Israel?

PERSONAL PRAYER

May I always marvel at Israel’s modern existence as a miracle in history.

May I bound myself to it as a source of inspiration and aspiration.

May I forever rejoice with it as our homeland, no matter the land which is my home; and may I forever see myself part of its enchanting, unfolding and evolving story.

— Zohar Raviv, Ramat Ilan, Israel

6 Israel was called “Start-up Nation” in the book by Dan Senor and Saul Singer, Start-up Nation:TheStoryofIsrael’sEconomicMiracle (2009).

7 IDEO, https://designthinking.ideo.com/history.

אוֹבְל .םָיַבוּ ריִוֲאָּב ,הָׁשָּב ַיַּב וּניֵלָע םיִמָקַה וּניֵבְיוֹא תֶא הוהי ןֵּתִי אוּה ךוּרָּב שׁוֹדָקַה .םֶהיֵנְפִל םיִפ ָגִנ הָרָצ לָּכִמ וּניֵלָיַח תֶא ליִצַיְו רֹמְׁשִי חַלְׁשִיְו ,הָלֲחַמוּ עַגֶנ לָּכִמוּ ,הָקוּצְו .םֶהיֵדְי יֵׂשֲעַמ לָכְּב הָחָלְצַהְו הָכָרְּב

May the One who blessed our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, bless the members of Israel’s Defense Forces and its security services, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of Lebanon to the Egyptian desert, and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Aravah, and wherever else they are, on land, in the air, and at sea. May Adonai cause the enemies who rise against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One of Blessing protect and rescue our soldiers from every trouble and distress, affliction and illness, and send blessing and success in their every endeavor.

THINK

“The purpose of the IDF is to protect the existence of the State of Israel, its independence, and the security of its citizens and residents.”8

REFLECT

CONNECT

The Israel Defense Force’s code of ethics, called “Ruach Tzahal –The Spirit of the IDF” includes the following: “The IDF and its soldiers are obligated to preserve human dignity. All human beings are of inherent value regardless of race, faith, nationality, gender or status.”9

Soldiers need to brave many challenges and can face trying conditions, so in praying for God to “send blessing and success in their every endeavor,” we are asking that IDF soldiers succeed in protecting citizens and residents and that they do so with the ethical code of “the Spirit of the IDF.”

What is your prayer for the soldiers of the IDF? Where else when you pray for success can you include an ethical code? Lihi Lapid writes, “To be an Israeli mom is to know that all you want to give your children is security, and to realize that this is the one thing you cannot actually promise them.”10 Have you ever spoken with an Israeli parent about what it’s like to have children in the IDF?

PERSONAL PRAYER

Dear God, Thank you for giving our generation the privilege to return to Israel after two thousand years. Holding this gift requires us to create a protective shield – our holy Israeli army. Please protect each soldier – physically, mentally, spiritually, and psychologically. Infuse them with understanding of their unique role and grant them success in protecting and building our beloved Israel to shine the light of Oneness into the world.

Pamela Claman, Jerusalem, Israel

8 https://www.idf.il/en/minisites/israel-defense-forces/.

9 https://www.idf.il/en/minisites/israel-defense-forces/.

10 Excerpted from “To Be an Israeli Mom.” To read the full piece, see https://israelforever. org/interact/blog/to_be_an_israeli_mom/.

ךיֶּפַּכ יֵרוּצְי תֶאְׂשִנָהְו הָמָרָה ךְניִמיִּב קָרְׁש האָיֵלְמָה האָָרְבָה לָע ,תֶוָמ לָעְו םיִיָח לָע תוֹטָלְחָהָה יִתָחָלְצָה לָע ,יִלוֹח לָעְו .יִתָדוֹבָעְּב יִנוֹלְׁשִּכ לָעְו הֶלוֹחָה יוּפִּרְּב לֹאְׁשִל אָּבַה ,לֵבוֹס לֹּכ לַע טיִּבַהְל יִנֵּכַזְת

Dear God, Before I begin my sacred work of healing the beings whom You created, I ask You for strength of spirit and vitality to carry out my art faithfully. With Your guidance and assistance, I now begin the healing work on those whom You created, with humility and understanding that life and death, healing and illness, and the success or failure of my healing art are not in my hand, but in Your great, supernal power. Give me the merit to see the humanity of any sufferer who seeks my counsel, without any bias between rich or poor, friend or foe, good or evil. In the moment of a person’s suffering, let me see only their humanity. Let my love of healing strengthen my spirit. Let truth guide me – because in my work, any laxity on my part can bring illness and death to those whom You created. Please, compassionate God, give me courage, and physical and emotional strength, and endow me with wholeness of spirit.

Blessed are You, Master of all endeavors and Creator of all healing.

THINK

While this prayer is attributed to Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, known as Maimonides, or by the acronym Rambam, it’s likely that it was written after his lifetime. Maimonides was a prolific and influential medieval Sephardic Jewish Torah scholar and philosopher. He was also a preeminent physician and astronomer.

REFLECT

At special moments, what makes the presence of another nurturing? How might prayer affect a healthcare worker? How might prayer affect other professionals? What prayer could you say before beginning to provide service, in whatever form that may take?

CONNECT Health-care workers interact with patients during some of the most important moments of their lives – at births, crises, and at their deathbeds. These special moments can be burdened by uncertainty and fear but can also be fertile with spiritual significance.

PERSONAL PRAYER

Dear God,

As I am entrusted with the sacred art of healing, prepare my hands to do Your awesome work.

Prepare my heart to see all those who are suffering as made in Your image.

Prepare my mind to learn from those who came before me and teach those who will follow me.

Prepare my spirit to comfort those entrusted to my care.

Prepare my soul to be nourished by the holy work You have gifted me.

— Kelly Hamann, Registered Nurse, West Hartford, Connecticut

THINK

A rainbow is the result of light refracting through droplets of water in the air. But it is also a sign, a symbol of the covenant that God established with Noah after the flood. The potential for a rainbow is always there, but not always seen. So too is God’s love for us always there, but not always felt. When we find opportunities to express our gratitude through blessing we refract the light of God in the world, bringing a fuller spectrum of color into our lives and the lives of those around us.

REFLECT

The crash of thunder or a barrage of intense storms can be scary, but the power and immensity of nature can also have a positive impact. By reminding us that we are not fully in control, weather can heighten our awareness of the ultimate Source of Creation, allowing us to take a moment to feel our own vulnerability. What are some of the other thunderous moments in your life that this blessing can help you honor?

CONNECT

As Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, a 19th-century leader of the Germany Jewish community, neared the end of his life, he asked his students to take him to Switzerland. Perplexed, his

students asked him why such a journey was so important to him. He explained, “When I stand before the Almighty, what will I say when God asks, ‘Shimshon, did you see My Alps?’”10 This blessing reminds us to prioritize taking pleasure in the beauty of nature, and to be grateful for the glorious world we live in.

PERSONAL PRAYER

Blessed are You, our God, who helps us to see the wonders of nature and to look at those wonders with gratitude, who allows me to entrust my soul to You and who returns it to my body in the morning, who allows me to make both myself and the world that belongs to You better.

The world is filled with Your creations, and I ask You to let me be involved in this.

Благословен ты, Бог наш, который помогает встречать чудеса природы и помогает видеть эти чудеса с благодарностью, который позволяет мне доверять свою душу и возвращать по утрам в тело, исправлять этим себя и мир, который тебе принадлежит. Мир наполнен твоими творениями и я прошу быть к этому причастной.

—Galina Zlotnik, Samara, Russia

10 Telushkin, Joseph, Jewish Wisdom, HarperCollins, 2010, p. 96.

ENCOUNTER THE BEAUTY OF NATURE WITH AWE

UPON SEEING THE OCEAN OR THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

For the first time, or the first time in a long time (30+ days)

הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב ,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא .לוֹדָגַה ם ָיַה תֶא הָׂשָעֶׁש

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Majesty of the world, who has made the great sea.

UPON SEEING TREES IN BLOOM FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT SEASON הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב ,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא וֹב אָרָבוּ םוּלְּכ וֹמָלוֹעְּב רַּסִח אֹלֶׁש םיבוֹט

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Majesty of the world, who has withheld nothing from the world, creating in it beautiful beings and good trees for humankind to enjoy.

UPON

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who has (created) such (things) in His world.

THINK

The Torah likens people to a tree multiple times, for example: “A person is like the tree of a field”11 and “One will be like a tree planted near water.”12 A person benefits from deep roots sunk into fertile ground. These roots not only help a person withstand the elements, but also nourish growth and bearing fruit of creativity, good citizenship, and proliferation.

REFLECT

Trees live according to seasons: times of dormancy and times of blooming. Like trees, we experience seasonal changes. We go through times of joy and times of sadness, times we feel on top of everything at work and times we feel adrift, times of feeling solid in our relationships and times of feeling brittle. What have been some seasons in your life? What season are you in now?

CONNECT

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature, and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be, and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be.”13

Anne Frank (1929–1945), Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 1944

PERSONAL PRAYER

God, take my words as eternal gratitude for the unconditional beauty around me. For a world of wonder and diversity.

You’ve placed me in a flourishing Eden, even when my eyes cannot see. You choose not to hide from me, especially when I need to see You most.

I thank You for creating the ocean and trees, the world’s abundance, and creatures big and small.

— Priya Weiman, Sarasota, Florida

11 Deuteronomy 20:19.

12 Jeremiah 17:8.

13 Anne Frank, TheDiaryofAnneFrank;TheRevisedCriticalEdition (New York: Doubleday, 2003), p. 712.

THE BLESSING OF SCENT

UPON SMELLING FRAGRANT TREES AND PLANTS

הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב ,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלא .םיִמָׂשְב יֵצֲע אֵרוֹבּ

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Majesty of the world, who creates fragrant trees.

UPON SMELLING FRAGRANT HERBS, GRASSES, AND FLOWERS

הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב ,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלא .םיִמָׂשְב יֵבְּׂשִע אֵרוֹבּ

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Majesty of the world, who creates fragrant vegetation.

THINK

The Torah teaches in the book of Genesis that God breathes life into the first human being through its nostrils, reinforcing the idea that our olfactory sense is tied to our nature as spiritual beings. Our sense of smell connects us to our past in ways other senses don’t, even allowing us to access memories long forgotten.

REFLECT

What scents trigger memories for you? What are some of your favorite scents? Consider the ritual of Havdalah that marks the end of Shabbat by inviting us to smell something pleasant. How might you make some of your favorite scents a part of this ritual?

CONNECT

“It is my experience that smell kindles the flame of memory. For there is in odors a power to excite emotions of pain or of pleasure. A breath of lilac or trailing arbutus or a whiff of new-mown hay awakens happy memories of long ago. I never smell daisies without living over again the joyous morning when my teacher and I wandered in the fields, and I learned new words and the names of things. All of us know how often the fragrance of a flower suggests

not so much its own beauty as a loved one. Oh, the blessedness of smell that thus delicately draws us into the Gardens of the Spirit!”

Helen Keller, “A Neglected Treasure,” Home Magazine, June 1934

PERSONAL PRAYER

Blessed are You who created scent, which evokes memory as well as joy and sorrow. Blessed are You who enables me to experience scent and enjoy it. Blessed are You, the Almighty, who created this moment, who gave me the opportunity to live it and to learn something new from it.

Благословен Ты Всевышний, сотворивший запах, вызвавший силу памяти, силу радости и печали.

Благословен Ты Всевышний, давший мне почувствовать этот запах, насладится им. Благословен Ты, Всевышний, создавший этот момент, давший мне возможность прожить его и научиться чему-то новому.

— Dina Gritz, Jerusalem, Israel

ENCOUNTER THE UNKNOWN WITH STRENGTH

UPON HEARING GOOD NEWS

הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב .ביִטֵּמַהְו בוֹטַּה ,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Majesty of the world, who is good and does good.

UPON HEARING BAD NEWS

הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב םָלוֹעָה ,ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא .תֶמֱאָה ןַיַד

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Majesty of the world, the true Judge.

THINK

When we hear about the loss of life, the Jewish response is Baruch Dayan HaEmet, Blessed is God, the true Judge. Rabbi David Aaron writes: When I first heard this phrase, many years ago, I was bothered by it. After much thought, I began to understand the true meaning of the statement. It is a reminder that we are not the true judge, so we must never judge what anyone else is going through. We must simply offer our compassion.”14

REFLECT

Have you experienced judgment at a time that was challenging to you? Have you ever caught yourself judging another without truly understanding their suffering? What can help you hold back judgment and offer authentic compassion?

CONNECT

The Talmud teaches that Rabbi Akiva used to travel with a candle, a rooster, and a donkey. The candle provided light for Torah study, the rooster helped him rise early, and the donkey was his transportation. Once Rabbi Akiva stopped at a

town. It turned out there was no place he could sleep there that night. What did he do? He thanked God and went out of the town to camp. There, the wind blew out his candle, a cat ate the rooster, and a lion ate the donkey. What did Rabbi Akiva do? He said, “All that God does is for the good!” The next day, he learned that the town had been ambushed the previous night and he was saved by camping outside the city and by having neither candle nor rooster nor donkey that could have attracted attention to him.

PERSONAL PRAYER

You are the source of everything. May I always appreciate the blessings in my life. May I perceive goodness Even in times of hopelessness. Help me remain trustful. The source of all good, the One true Judge, is behind everything.

Raissa Ellis, Warsaw, Poland

14 Ronit Ziv-Kreger, TheArtandPracticeofLiving

Wondrously, A Momentum Publication, forthcoming.

Blessed are You, Adonai,

of the

in this

for

are You, Adonai,

God, Majesty of the world,

performed miracles for

in this

THINK

The word for “miracle” in Hebrew is nes. In Biblical Hebrew, the word can also be used as a symbol of victory, such as a flag or banner. While all life’s moments are miraculous in so many ways, this word is often used when something seems extraordinary that needs to be marked and celebrated.

PERSONAL PRAYER

Almighty Creator, I recognize the blessings, kindnesses, and caring You provide me and my family. While I might not be able to offer adequate thanks for all Your goodness, in my heart I appreciate the miracles You bestow on us.

Barry Cohen, Rockville, Maryland

REFLECT

Could you name three places in which a miracle has happened to you? How about places where miracles happened to your family?

CONNECT

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first human beings to walk on the moon. When they planted a flag on the surface of the moon, it was seen as a miraculous moment in human history and a sign of what is possible. The nes was both flag and miracle, a time when both meanings of the word were made abundantly clear. We too plant metaphoric flags to mark our miraculous moments of victory. What are some of yours?

Soul Full Together

Whether you are exploring Soul Full with your family or as part of a group, each chapter concludes with Soul Full Together, activities designed to build confidence, connection, and community.

FOR FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

Wow Power

When children observe something awesome an image of Earth from space, a baby chick emerging from its egg, the feats of a talented athlete they want to learn how it’s possible. Curiosity is critical to children’s growth and success. While their constant questions might try your patience, awe-inspired curiosity drives them to learn.

Awe also inspires creativity, because it encourages young children to understand the world more broadly, consider new perspectives, and see beyond their present situation. In a 2012 study from Tel Aviv University, children were asked to look at a series of photos. One group started with basic everyday objects, then shifted to vast or faraway things like the Milky Way. The other group saw the same photos, but in the opposite order. The children who saw the images from small to expansive performed significantly better on creativity assessments.

Blessings can help us shift the attention of young children from small to expansive. It’s not just a doorframe; it’s an opportunity for you to feel blessed every time you walk into your room let’s affix a mezuzah. It’s not just bedtime, it’s a time for you to feel loved and connected to God let’s read the Bedtime Shema. It’s not just a road trip, it’s an opportunity to feel safe and secure along the way let’s say the Traveler’s Prayer. It’s not just a rainbow; it’s a covenant let’s share a blessing.

Blessings help you find the Wow Power in everyday life and share that wonder with your kids.

FOR FAMILIES WITH TWEENS AND TEENS

Welcoming Wonder

Studies show that experiencing awe can shift your perception of self and help you see yourself as “right sized” as a character, not the character, which allows you to feel more connected to the world around you, to acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses in a more balanced way, and to better recognize how outside forces contribute to your success.

In a fascinating 2017 study, researchers asked visitors at Yosemite National Park and Fisherman’s Wharf (a San Francisco tourist area) about their experience of awe and their sense of self. Respondents at Yosemite reported experiencing significantly more awe, chose smaller circles to represent themselves when given a choice of sizes, and drew self-portraits that were nearly 33 percent smaller than those of tourists at the wharf.

Opportunities for wonder and awe are often in short supply in the lives of tweens and teens, one among many reasons middle and high schoolers struggle to have an accurate sense of self. While you likely can’t climb a mountain with your kids every week, you can create opportunities for awe by introducing to your tweens and teens blessings for the beauty of nature, scents, and good news. Create a family practice by intentionally sharing beauty, wonder, and what delights you, and by modeling the blessings for them by saying them aloud with them when you’re together.

You will soon find that you experience more awe not because you are suddenly taking more trips to Yosemite, but because you are more attuned to the awesomeness all around you, the wonder that punctuates your every day, if only we stop to see it, smell it, hear it, and bless it.

FOR GROUPS

Blessings: Our Spiritual Editor

1. Frame

One way to approach blessing is as a tool that can help you to understand the story of your life your home, your day, your travels, your environment from a different perspective. It is very easy to pass through life unaware of the awesome story unfolding around you. Blessings can heighten your awareness and amazement, and help you connect to a Power greater than yourself.

The filmmaker Stanley Kubrick once said that editing is unique because it allows us to see something from different points of view almost simultaneously, thus creating a new experience. In this way, blessings can be a “spiritual editor,” a lens through which to interpret your narrative and make the most of its meaning.

2. Small-Group Learning

Divide your participants into small groups. While you do not have to cover the entire chapter, assign each group a section of content to explore:

• Mezuzah and Blessing the Home, p. 148

• Bedtime Shema, pp. 150–157

• Traveler’s Prayer and Prayers for Israel and the IDF, pp. 158–163

• Wonders and Beauty of Nature and Scent, pp. 166–169

• The Unknown and Miracles, pp. 172–175

Using the following prompts, invite each group to spend twenty to thirty minutes immersing themselves in their blessings, drawing from their conversation takeaways to share with and questions to pose to the larger group.

• Share experiences, if any, that you have already had with this blessing or you are having when the blessing is said now.

• Why do you think that this particular moment or idea stood out to our sages as something worthy of blessing?

• As you read over the blessing, how does it make you feel?

• Share a time when this blessing would have been (or will be!) applicable to you. How do you imagine using it as a “spiritual edit” to shift your mindset?

• Consider the direction taken by the personal prayer(s) associated with your blessing(s). What would you include in your own personal prayer or blessing on the topic? If you have time and feel inspired, begin to outline your own.

4. Share Back

Return together and give each small group five minutes to present. Invite everyone to take notes directly in their book, enriching each blessing with new perspectives on awe.

Introduction

Personal prayer is born at the crossroads, that place where our joys and our pains intersect. Our lives are unavoidably both joyous and triumphant as well as painful, fragile, and even tragic. At that place of paradox, we are inherently vulnerable.

To be vulnerable is to be open to the unpredictability of life, the challenges that seem insurmountable, and the joys that feel inexpressible. It is often the vulnerability itself which confers upon those occasions such enormous depth, meaning, authenticity, and strength. Vulnerable moments punctuate life with surprising regularity, yet we rarely stop to put words to these experiences and the deeply human emotions that accompany them.

Prayer has the power to do just that.

Whether you are seeking love or ending a relationship, bringing new life into the world or mourning a loss, prayer gives you words to speak when you are speechless, a direction to turn when you feel directionless, and a channel for the current of your soul.

As you move through this chapter, we invite you to consider the power of prayer to hold these vulnerable moments of celebration (and may there be many!) and transition, anguish, and aspiration.

MIND

םיִחֵמְׂש הֶיְהִנְו ,בֵאְּכ .ךֶתאְָרִיְלוּ ךֶתָדוֹבֲעַל

it be Your will to be full of compassion for us. May we be of

mind. Grant us strength,

and sufficient physical vigor and courage in every

of our body to care for and guard

is meaningful]. May

be free of illness and pain.

us to serve You in joy,

wonder, and health.

בוֹטַּּב וּניֵמָי ךיִרֲאַתְו .עַר לָּכִמ וּנֵליִצַתְו ךֶרֹא ,וּניֵתוֹנְׁש אֵלַמוּ ,םיִמיִעְּנַּב וּניֵתוֹנְׁשוּ .ךֶתָדוֹבֲעַל וּנָל ףיִסוֹתּ םיִיַח תוֹנְׁשוּ םיִמָי לָכְלוּ וּנָל וּנֵליִצַתְו .וּנֵריִּתְסַּת ךיֶפָנְּכ לֵצְבוּ

.תוֹעָרְו תוֹשָׁק תוֹרֵזְג לָּכִמ וּנֵתיֵּב יֵנְּב ,םיִנָנֲעַרְו םיִנֵׁשְּד ,םיִנָנֲאַׁשְו םיִטֵקְׁש הֶיְהִנְו .ךֶתאְָרִיְלוּ ךְתָדוֹבֲעַל

,דָחְפֶא אֹלְו חַטְבֶא

us from all evil. Prolong

days with goodness and pleasantness. Fill our years with vitality to serve You. Shield us in the shade of Your wings and spare us, and all our family, from any harsh verdicts. May we be at rest and calm, vigorous, and rejuvenated to serve You with wonder and awe.

is my salvation, I can trust God and not fear, for Yah is my strength and my song. Adonai is my salvation.

Chaim Yosef David Azoulai, the Chida (1724–1806), Livorno, Italy

BEFORE SURGERY

God, I know that You have all the power. You are the only Healer. Please guide the hands and mind of my surgeon and medical team for a successful surgery and recovery. Please save me from any complications or mishap and bring me to good health so that I can serve You joyfully with all my strength.

Chana Heller, Los Angeles, California

AFTER BEING IN DANGER –

– PRAYER SAID WITH A MINYAN QUORUM To be said in the presence of a minyan quorum.

The person who made it through danger recites: םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניהֹלֱא הוהי הָּתאַ ךוּרָּב תוֹבוֹט םיִבָיַחְל לֵמוֹגַּה .בוֹט לָּכ יִנַלָמְגֶׁש

Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who grants goodness beyond expectation –who granted me goodness.

The assembled, who hear the blessing, answer, together: .ןֵמאָ בוֹט לָּכ ךְלָמְגֶׁש יִמ :הָלֶס בוֹט לָּכ ךְלָמְגִי אוּה

Amen! May the One who granted you good also continue to grant you every goodness. Selah!

UPON RECOVERY FROM ILLNESS

With gratitude I come to thank You. “The living, only the living praise You, as I do this day.”2 Blessed are You, Source of healing, for all Your messengers: nurses, doctors, healers, family, and friends who supported my recovery. Please send them all extra blessings!

Blessed are You, Source of wisdom, for helping me, in retrospect, recognize gifts born in my suffering and for helping me reach out for assistance from those who lightened my pain.

Blessed are You, Source of life, for Your love during my walk through the valley of darkness. “From my distress I called to You, God; You answered me and set me free.”3 Thank You!

Blessed are You, Source of Oneness, may I take this humbling experience for good. May I better see the light in each person, know how to be helpful, listen, and build community so each person in my orbit is loved and supported, at good times and through challenging times. Blessed are You, Source of creativity, for giving me new strength and passion. May I use it to serve You.

Blessed are You, our Creator, for the gift of Shabbat. May I continue to practice self‑care, nurturing body and soul, with healthful eating and lifestyle, with meditation and prayer, and with good boundaries.

2 Isaiah 38:19.

3 Psalms 118:5.

FOR FORGIVENESS

Dear God, please broaden my shoulders and open my heart to the grace of forgiveness, the gift I give myself for my mistakes, for their mistakes, for all our sakes for the sake of peace. Dear God, please lengthen my fuse for it is short, and lengthen the space between my responses for what provokes me, for what provoked them, for all our sakes for the sake of peace. Dear God, shorten my memory and still my desire to ruminate upon the pain both caused and received for what I did, for what they did, for all our sakes for the sake of peace.

Adrienne Gold Davis, Toronto, Canada

INNER CALM

Master of my universe, bless me with inner calm and shleimut wholeness and peace. Allow me to accept all parts of myself those that serve, and those that challenge.

Bless me to know that You love me, that I am worthy and that I have everything I need. To know that You believe in me and my ability to daily rise daily to handle the vicissitudes of life. And, bless me to trust that all that happens doesn’t happen to me; it happens for me.

I long to hear the whisper of Your voice the voice of goodness and clarity within me. Help me to discern its authenticity and courageously choose its path. Let me exercise compassion toward myself and others as I go through this evolution of becoming becoming the shalem person who You created me to be.

Laura Goldman, Silver Spring, Maryland

FOR WISDOM, UNDERSTANDING AND AWARENESS, STUDYING AND TEACHING TORAH

הוהי ךיֶנָפְלִּמ ןוֹצָר יִהְי ,יַתוֹבֲא יֵהֹלאֵו יַהֹלֱא ,ךְתָרוֹתְבּ יִבִּל חַתְּפִתֶּשׁ

it be Your will, Adonai,

God and the God of my ancestors,

You open my heart to Your Torah.

הָנוּבְתוּ הָמְכָח יִל ןֶתִּתְו

,םָיַּה תַפְשׂ לַע רֶשֲׁא לוֹחַכּ בֵל בַחֹרְו

You give me wisdom

understanding,

an open heart that is expensive like the sand of the sea.

עֹמְשִׁלְו לֵבַּקְל יַתוֹבְשְׁחַמ ביִחְרַתְו

You broaden my thinking to receive and to hear all that I seek to hear.

,עַמְשֶׁאֶּשׁ הַמ לָכְו הֶצְרֶאֶּשׁ הַמ לָכּ יִבִּלְבוּ יִשְׁפַנְבּ רָבָדּ לָכּ סיִנְכַהְל

הָנוּבְתִבּ הָמְכָחְבּ

תֶא הָעֵדּ יִבִּל אֵלָמִּיְו

םָיַּל

all that I hear enter into my soul and my heart with wisdom, understanding, and awareness.

my heart be full of awareness of Adonai, like water covers the sea, with a clear spirit and a willing soul, with an expanded awareness, and discerning, settled, honest wisdom.

I be aware of all that my eyes see, and it be etched in my heart.

,יִתְּעַמָשֶּׁשׁ הַמ לָכּ רֹכְּזֶאְו ,לֵכְּשַׂהְבוּ הָניִבְבּ ,הָעֵדְבּ

I not forget what

learned.

support, help,

answer me.

.םָלוֹעְל רָבָדּ םֶהֵמ חַכְּשֶׁא אֹלְו

I remember all that I have heard,

awareness, understanding,

intelligence.

I not forget any of it, ever.

,יִבִּלְבוּ יִפְבּ םיִרוּדְס הָמְכָח יֵרְבִדּ וּיְהִיְו דֵמַּלְלוּ דֹמְלִלְו ןֵנַּשְׁלוּ סֹרְגִל םיִעְמוֹשַּׁה לָכּ לַע רֵבַּדְלוּ ,םָבִּלְבוּ םָשְׁפַנְבוּ םָתְּעַדְבּ ,ךֶתָרְמִא ַעֹמְשִׁל יִנְזאְָו םָנְזאָ טַהְו ,ךֶתאְָרִיְל יִבִּל דֵחַיְו

words of wisdom be in my mouth and heart,

,הָבוֹטְל יִבִּל תוֹלֲאְשִׁמ לָכּ אֵלַּמוּ :בוּתָכֶּשׁ

examine, review, study and teach, and to speak with all who can listen, with mind, soul, and heart. Incline their ears and mine to hear Your words. Devote my heart to divine awe. Please fulfill the requests of my heart toward positive outcomes, and manifest in me the verse “I eagerly pursue Your mitzvot, for

broaden

understanding.”4

Moses ben Nachman, (Nachmanides, Ramban) (1194 1270), Gerona, Spain

SELF- ESTEEM

Please God, bless me with the insight to value myself as You value me: as Your beautiful, precious child. Allow me to recognize my worth. You placed me in this life, You entrusted me in it, and You gifted me with the wisdom I need to make my contribution to this universe. Please save me from despair, from hopelessness, from insecurity and doubt. Grant me esteem in my eyes and in the eyes of others, that I might share of my light, of my soul, of my uniqueness to make this world a better place. Allow me to imprint the world with my stamp and, along the way, to improve as a human being, but without self‑loathing or disdain. Amen, may it be so.

— Ruchi Koval, Cleveland, Ohio

PATIENCE

God, let me understand that I don’t understand everything and give me the clarity to let go when I need to.

Give me patience and the ability to be at peace with where I am and what’s going on around me. Surround me with Your kindness at every moment and let me feel You holding me so that even when it is scary I know that I’m not alone.

Give me the capacity and ability to not only be patient with life but also with others and mostly with myself. Let me feel Your love as we go on this journey and hold my hand so that I feel Your guidance.

Give me patience, strength, and courage so that when I fall, I fall with dignity. Let me receive comfort from Your loving hands and give me the strength to get up again.

— Raquel Kirszenbaum, Jerusalem, Israel

NEW BEGINNINGS: IMMERSING IN A MIKVEH: MAY I HAVE THE COURAGE

To LET GO of anything that may be blocking my true light from shining,

To RECONNECT to my body, to my soul, to my truest authentic self,

To OPEN myself to a new day, A new heart, A new mind.

To IMMERSE myself in God’s infinite blessings for my renewal TODAY.

— Elisheva Mirvis, Tzfat, Israel

MENOPAUSE

Hashem please help me to accept the challenges of getting older. The changes in my body are evident, and sometimes I find myself frustrated or sad. I miss the ease of movement that was readily available just a few years ago. My senses are no longer as keen, and areas have become a little achy. Please give me the will to take care of myself with proper exercise and diet. In addition, help me to remain grateful for everything that is working and the gift of each new day that allows me to continue to actualize my potential. Finally, please strengthen my trust in You and the way You created me. The process of aging and all that comes with it is part of the grand plan of Your wondrous Creation.

Amy Lefcoe, Norfolk, Virginia

WITH DIGNITY

לאַ ,הֶיְהֶא רֶשֲׁא הֶיְהֶא ,םיִמָלוֹעָה ןוֹבִּר הָרוֹתַּבּ קֹסֲעַלִּמ יִתָנֵקְז תֵעְל יִדָי תֶא הֶפְּרִתּ בָשֻּׁיְמ הֶיְהֶא דיִמָתְו תוֹוְצִמַּה םֵיַּקְלִּמוּ .תֶמֱאֶבּ ךְדְּבַעְל יִלְכִשְׂו יִתְּעַדְבּ [יַדָכְנוּ יַדָלְיִּמ] דָחֶא םוּשׁ וּתוּמָי אֹלֶּשׁ לָכּ ףוֹס דַע יִעְרַזְבּ לוּסָפּ הֶיְהִי אֹלְו ,יֵיַּחְבּ .תוֹרוֹדַּה יַרָבֵא לָכְבּ קֶזֹחְו ץֶמֹאְו תוּאיִרְבוּ ַחֹכּ יֵבּ ןֵתְו לָכִּמ יִנֵליִצַּתְו יִבָכְּשִׁמ לַע יִתָנְשׁ בַרֱעֶיְו .יַדִּגְו אֹלֶּשׁ ,הָבוֹט הָביֵשׂ יִל הֶיְהִיְו תוֹעָר

Master of all worlds, Eheye Asher Eheye, I Will Become as I Will Become, The Creative Force of Always Becoming, as I’m aging, don’t weaken my ability to engage with Torah and maintain my practice of doing mitzvot. May my mind always be settled so that I will be able to serve You fully.

May none of my children or grandchildren die in my lifetime, and may my offspring, for all generations, be a source of pride. Please sustain my strength, health, courage, and the vitality in all the parts of my body. May my sleep be pleasant and nourishing; save me from all foul moods. May I age with dignity, without loss of sight, balance, and weakness of limbs. Heal me and enliven me with vitality. May my financial resources be sustained; may the juiciness and vibrancy of my life be maintained for many days and years, and may I come to the grave in ripe old age, without suffering.

me, Adonai, and I will be healed. Save me, and I will be saved, for You are my praise. For You hear the prayer of all. Blessed are You who hears prayers. Amen.

Chaim Palagi, (1788–1858), Izmir, Turkey

HOPE SEEKING A SOUL MATE

בֵהוֹא לאַ םֵה םיִבַּר הֹכּ

.תֶמֱאָה תַבֲהאַ יֵרְסַח

הֹכּ

.םָגוּוִּז תֶא םיִאְצוֹמ םָניֵא

םֵחַר הָבֲהאַ רוֹקְמ

הָדוּמְלַגְו הָדְדוֹבּ הָמָשְׁנ לָכְל ןֵתּ תוּמֵלְשַּׁה תֶא תוֹוֲחַל

.גוּוִּז תאַיִצְמִּמ תַעַבוֹנַּה

Loving God, So many people live without true love. So many are seeking to find their soul mate. Have compassion on them. Source of love, Let every lonely soul experience the wholeness of being that comes when one finds one’s true love.

Based on Rabbe Nachman of Breslov’s Likkutei Moharan 2:87, adapted by Moshe Mykoff7

7 Translated from HaNeshek HaAdin, Breslov Research Institute, 1999, p. 60. Rebbe Nachman (1772–1810) is the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement. His religious philosophy revolved around closeness to God and conversing with God as you would with a best friend.

לַע ךיֶמֲחַרְו ךיֶעֵמ אָנ וּמֱהֶי םֶהָל ןֵּתִתְו םָתָלִפְּת עַמְׁשִתְו ,םֶהָל רֵתָעֵתְו עַרֶז דיִלוֹהְל וּכְּזִיְו ,הָרֵהְמ לַק שׁיִח ןוֹיָרֵה

םָּמִאְו םֶהיִבֲא וּחְמְׂשִיְו

Your abundant compassion, teach us how to pray for barren women seeking a child, so they will become pregnant. Hear our prayer and listen to our cry that all who are struggling with infertility become happily pregnant quickly and easily.

In Your compassion, grant that they give birth to viable, healthy children, and may the Jewish family continue to grow ״innumerably like sand on the seashore.”8

Please have compassion on all who seek to be become pregnant. Hear their prayers, and quickly help them to easily become pregnant. May they merit to give birth to a healthy child, and may the parents rejoice in their child. May their parents merit to raise them with Torah wisdom, toward holy partnership, and acts of kindness for many good years.

May (name one or more women) be among these women.

Rabbi Natan Sternhartz, Rebbe Noson (1780–1844), Likkutei Tefillot 1:539

SEEKING LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP WITH A FOE

םיִמָלוֹעָה ןוֹבִּר ךיֶנָפְלִּמ ןוֹצָר יִהיִו וּניֵניֵבּ הָוֲחאְַו הָבֲהאְַו םוֹלָשׁ םיִשָׂתֶּשׁ .(תיִנוֹלְפּ ןֶבּ יִנוֹלְפּ ןיֵבְל יֵניֵבוּ)

May it be Your will, Adonai, Master of all worlds, that you grant peace, love, and friendship among us and specifically between me and (name of person), child of (name of person’s mother).

תֶא ךֵרָבְלוּ וּנֵכְרָבְל ךיֶניֵעְבּ הֶיְהִי בוֹטְו הָעָשׁ לָכְבוּ תֵע לָכְבּ לֵאָרְשִׂי ךְמַּע לָכּ יִהְי ןֵכּ ,ןֵמאָ .םוֹלָשְׁו זֹע בוֹרְבּ ךֶמוֹלְשִׁבּ .ןוֹצָר

May it please You to bless Your people Israel at every season, and in every hour, with Your peace, with vast strength and wholeness. Amen, may it be Your will.

— Rabbi Hayyim Yeshayahu HaKohen Halbersberg10 (1844–1910)

10 A rabbi and prolific author who served as the head of the Jewish court in Rakhiv, Ukraine, before immigrating to Israel. Excerpted from his book Keter Torah.

A WOMAN’S PRAYER FOR THE SHABBAT BEFORE THE NEW MOON

Master of all worlds, You gave us the new moon/Rosh Hodesh, a time of favor to pray to You, Adonai our God, so we pour out our hearts in prayer and raise our voices before You.

In the merit of our foremother Sarah, for whom You prevented the foreign king Avimelech from harming her, may no one bring harm to any of her descendants.

In the merit of our foremother Rebecca, through whose actions Jacob received blessings from his father Isaac, may we merit to see these blessings manifest speedily among her descendants, the Jewish people.

In the merit of our foremother Rachel, as You promised that in the merit of her prayers her descendant would [eventually] be redeemed from all harm, please uphold this promise speedily in our days.

In the merit of our foremother Leah, who cried so much her eyes became delicate, bring light and joy to our eyes. Renew this month for us for good, bring enduring joy and happiness, turn all our troubles to goodness.

Excerpted from Supplication of the Matriarchs, an eight-page, trilingual prayer in Aramaic, Yiddish, and Hebrew for the Shabbat before the new moon. In the introduction, Horowitz argued the legitimacy of women’s involvement in talmudic and halachic discourse and explored the significance of women’s prayer, and its ability to bring redemption. Leah Horowitz, as she was called, was renowned for her knowledge of Talmud. The author Ber of Bolechow reports that Ms. Leah, “the famous scholar,” helped him prepare for his Talmud teaching; the anonymous work Sefer Ozar Sichot Chachamim describes her as “a great scholar, well versed in the Talmud” and recounts her chavruta/partner learning of Talmud with another woman scholar, Dinah, the wife of Saul Halevi, the chief rabbi of The Hague between 1748 and 1785.

—Sarah Rebecca Rachel Leah Horowitz (18th century), Bolechow, Polish Galicia

אָנּאָ לֶדֹגְלוּ .הָיוּאְר הָנָכֲה תֶשֶׁרְדִנ הָּשֻׁדְק םיִשְׁקַּבְמ .הָנָכֲהַה תוּביִשֲׁח ךָכּ הָּשֻׁדְקַּה וּנֵמְצַע תֶא ןיִכָהְל וּנֵכַּזְתֶּשׁ ךְמִּמ וּנאָ רוּבִּדְבּ הָבָשֲׁחַמְבּ

thank You, Adonai our God,

the

of meeting our

it be Your will that we

and build a

A true union comes

You

You bring the

presence of the Shechinah

the homes of our people for enduring blessing and success.

God, You have taught us through Your Torah that every holy act requires appropriate preparation. And the greater the potential holiness the more important is the preparation. We ask You that we merit to prepare ourselves for marriage and upright life together [in all ways] in thought, speech, and action. May we merit to prepare ourselves to be a vessel for all the good that You want to send flowing into Your world.

we merit to purify our bodies to enter a covenant of holiness. May we merit to be betrothed and wed with beaming faces.

we merit to cleanse ourselves so that we can connect without barriers in body, heart, spirit, and soul.

םָלוֹעָבּ

לֶשׁ תִיַבּ ,םוֹלָשׁ לֶשׁ תִיַבּ תוֹנְבִל וּנֵכַּז הָבֲהאַ לֶשׁ תִיַבּ ,הָכָרְבּ לֶשׁ תִיַבּ ,תוּאיִרְבּ הָחְמִשׂ לֶשׁ תִיַבּ ,הָניִתְנ לֶשׁ תִיַבּ ,הָלוֹדְגּ .הָלוֹדְגּ

םוֹקָמ הֶיְהִיֶּשׁ וּנֵתיֵבּ תֶא ןיִכָהְל וּנֵכַּז .הָניִכְשׁ תאַָרְשַׁהְל וּנֵתיֵבּ לֶא אָבַּה לָכּ תֶא לֵבַּקְל וּנֵכַּז

.םיִנָפּ תַראֶָהְבּ הָתּאֶַשׁ בוֹטַּהֵמ םיִרֵחֲאַל ַעיִפְּשַׁהְל

May we merit to purify our thoughts so that we can love with all our hearts, until we unite as “one” like “Your name” that is called upon us. May we merit to discover the deep lights deep within ourselves, the world, and in Jerusalem, the holy city. May we merit to build a home of peace, a home of health, a home of blessing, a home of great love, a home of generosity, a home of great joy. May we merit to prepare our home to be a dwelling place for the Shechinah divine presence. May we merit to warmly welcome all who come to our home with beaming faces. May we merit to positively influence and radiate to others of the good that You give to us. May we merit to bring You joy to fulfill what is written, “Israel in whom I delight.”11 Amen, may it be Your will.

— Kol Heyeshuot, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Tzfat, Israel

FOR A BRIDEGROOM

I call on the One above, the One within, to bless this bridegroom in all ways. May he be strong and soft, Generous and prudent, Wise and innocent.

May he open his soul to unite with his mate in the oneness of love. Strengthen his every good inclination, So the life‑spirit that courses within uplifts him closer to the Divine, And to experience in his beloved the Divine Presence, in holiness.

Blessed are You, the One above, the One within, who created everything for Your glory, Grant great joy to this bridegroom, You, who gladdens the hearts of groom and bride.

— Alan Morinis, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

My God, a great and vital moment is approaching, the moment of entering a holy covenant of marriage with the one that You, who sees my innermost self and heart, designated to be my spouse, the person who will accompany me along the paths of life. My soul delights in this great moment. I am seeking Your closeness, compassionate God, so that You, Support of all worlds, will give me counsel and blessing. Grace me with loving‑kindness that will accompany me in my new life, the gates of which I am entering today. Guide me with Your wisdom, stand by me to offer counsel and caution. Accord me rejuvenation, patience, and calm.

Bless our union with enduring strength, longevity, and peace. Let us progress with a shared vision on an upright path toward our elevated destiny, which life has designated for us.

הָקְבִר ,הָרָשׂ לֶשׁ ןָתיֵבְכּ וּנֵתיֵבּ הֶיְהִיֶּשׁ ןֵתּ ,הָנוּמֱאֶבוּ הָבֲהאְַבּ אֵלָמ ,האֵָלְו לֵחָר .אָבוּ אֵצוֹי לָכּ יֵדְי לַע ךָרֹבְמ

Let our home be like the homes of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, filled with love and faithfulness, and blessed by all who pass through it.

יִרְשׁאָ לַע הָנִּחְתִבּ האָָבּ יִנֲא רֶשֲׁאַבוּ יִמִּא לַע םַגּ לֵלַּפְּתֶא אֹל ךאַיֵה דיִתָעֶל ךיֵא .יַרוּעְנִבּ יִתוֹא וּחְנִהְו וּליִבוֹהֶשׁ יִבאְָו יִהְי .הֶלֵּא לָכּ לַע םֶהָל תוֹדוֹהְל לַכוּא ךְתָבֲהאַ בֹרְבּ םֶהָל לֹמְגִתֶּשׁ ךיֶנָפְלִּמ ןוֹצָר

.תוֹכָרְבּ אָשׂ םָשׁאֹר לַעְו ,םָתוּנָמֱאֶנ לַע הָגוּתַּהְו בֶצֶעָה וּיְהִי םָבִּלִּמ הָגאְָדּ קֵחְרַה בוֹטְו ַחֵמָשׂ םָבִּל הֶיְהִיֶּשׁ ןֵתּ םֶהָל םיִרָז .דַעָל םֶהיֵלֲע

As I pray for my future joy, [how can] I [not] also pray for my parents, who have guided and nurtured me throughout my childhood. How can I ever thank them enough? May it be Your will that You bestow upon them Your great love for their faithful guidance and shower blessings upon them. Keep worry and sadness at a distance from them, and let their hearts be joyful and good forever.

— Fanny Neuda (1819–1894), Moravia, Czechoslovakia12

12 Born into a family of rabbis, she published a hugely popular prayer book, the first prayer book written by a woman for women. Excerpt.

A FATHER’S PRAYER FOR HIS DAUGHTER/SON AND NEW SON/DAUGHTER (IN-LAW) UPON THEIR WEDDING

So many childhood memories of you, playing tackle daddy, piggyback rides, swinging. Too many to process. May those good times and the preciousness of our love accompany you in building your new home. My prayer and blessing for you is that you build a life together of Torah values, resilience, perseverance, respect, growth, adventure, forgiveness, joy, love and respect. May you learn to be comfortable with and cherish each other’s strengths and weaknesses, endearing habits and irritating foibles. And may Hashem bless you to build a Bayit Ne’eman b’Yisrael, a faithful Jewish home. To my new son (daughter) in law, we’re entrusting you with one of our most precious gems. She/he is a light, a strength, a force, a perfect soul. Treat her/him well, keep her/his trust, apologize, and forgive easily. She/he will ask a lot of you, but it will be worth it. Words cannot express my love and respect for you. May Hashem shower you with happiness, health, growth, and success.

—Andy Boltax, Rockville, Maryland

.םָלֱעֶנ ןיֵא ךיֶנָפְלִּמ ,םָלוֹעָה אֵרוֹבּ ’ה

.יִבְּרִקְבּ הָבוֹט ַחוּר םיִשׂ ,יִבִּלְו יַתוֹיְלִכּ ןַחְבּ

,יַתוֹנְבוּ יִנָתֲח יֵניֵעְבּ יִניִח ןֵתּ

.יַתוֹלַּכְו יַנָבּ יֵנְפִל דֶסֶחְו

עַמְשֶׁא אֹלֶּשׁ ,םיִעָגְנ לָכּ םָבּ הֶאְרֶא אֹלֶּשׁ

.םיִעָר םיִרָבְדּ יִדָי אֵהְתּ אֹלֶּשׁ ,הָרָצ םָבּ יִניֵע אֵהְתּ אֹלֶּשׁ

.הָרָצְק אֹלֶּשׁ ,האְָנִק ץֶמֶשׁ יִבּ רֵרוֹעְתִי אֹלֶּשׁ

.הָעְשִׁר לָכּ יִבּ אֵצָמִּתּ

ַעיִפְּשׁאֶַשׁ ,הָבוֹט הָעָשְׁבּ דיִמָתּ םֵאְצְמֶאֶשׁ .הָבֲהאְַו םֹח םֶהיֵלֲע

אֵהְתֶּשׁ ,הָחְמִשְׂבּ

God, Creator of the world, nothing is hidden from You. Search my heart and gut to fill me with a good spirit. Grant me favor in the eyes of my son(s) in law and daughter(s), and grace in the eyes of my daughter(s) in law and son(s).

Let me see no flaw in them, nor hear any faults.

Let me not hold any resentment, nor hold back my support.

Let no hint of jealousy stir in me, nor any callousness be found in me.

Let me always encounter them in a fitting time and nourish them with warmth and love. May they joyfully raise their children; and may they earn a comfortable living. May they be blessed from the Ultimate Source of blessing from Your blessed and generous hand.

Let me be worthy of the great kindness to be grateful and able to contribute goodness.

Eisenbach, Jerusalem,

FOR INTIMACY OF A MARRIED COUPLE

דוּחִי םֵשְׁל

אוּה ךיִרְבּ אָשְׁדֻק הֵּתְּניִכְשׁוּ

וּמיִחְרוּ וּליִחְדִבּ

.וּליִחְדוּ וּמיִחְרוּ וּנֵרָה

[I pray to have our intimacy be nothing short of a contribution to connecting heaven and earth!]

םיִנָמֻּזְמוּ םיִנָכוּמ יִתְּשִׁא/יִשׁיִא םִע גוּוִּזַּה תַוְצִמ םֵיַּקְל ,אָפוּגְבּ אָפוּגּ אָקְבָדְל בוּתָכַּכּ “.דָחֶא רָשָׂבְל וּיָהְו”

For the unification of the Holy One of Blessing [in heaven] and the Shechinah [Divine Presence on earth]14, with trepidation and love, and love and trepidation.15 I am prepared to fulfill the mitzvah of sexual union with my husband/wife, to join body to body, as is written, “And [the couple] shall be as one flesh.”

הוהי ךיֶנָפְלִּמ ןוֹצָר יִהְי ,יַתוֹבֲא יֵהֹלאֵו יֵהֹלֱא יִתְּשִׁא/יִשׁיִאְלוּ יִל ןֵתִּתֶּשׁ

May it be Your will, Adonai, My God and God of my ancestors, that You give me and my husband/wife

14 According to the Jewish mystical tradition of kabbalah, our actions [in this case intimacy] have far-reaching effects, including influencing the Divine. God’s immanent presence in the world is referred to as the Shechinah, expressed in feminine terms. God as the transcendent, beyond our understanding, is referred to as Holy One of Blessing or Blessed by He, in masculine terms.

15 This paragraph is a kabbalistic invocation which is added before doing different mitzvot to clarify our intentions and attune us to the meaning and implications of our actions.

ַעוּיִּסְו רֶזֵעְו תֶלֹכיִו ַחֹכּ ,הֶז גוּוִּזְבּ הָנָכֲהַו הָכָרְבוּ בַר עַפֶשׁ ךיִשְׁמַהְל ןוֹיְלֶעָה רוֹקָמִּמ ,םיִשׁוֹדְקַּה תוֹמָלוֹעָה לָכְל .וּנֵתָמְשִׁנְו וּנֵחוּר וּנֵשְׁפַנְלוּ םיִקיִדַּצ םיִדָליִל הֶכְּזִנְו ,םיִקָזֲחַו םיִאיִרְבּ םיִנוֹבְנוּ םיִמָכֲח הָבוֹט הָביֵשְׂו הָנְקִזְל וּכְּזִיְו םֶהָבּ יֵתְשּׁאְַו יִנֲא חַמְשִׂנְו

,םֶהיֵנְבּ יֵנְבִבוּ םֶהיֵנְבִבוּ הָנוֹיְלֶע הָשׁוֹדְק הָמָשְׁנִל וּכְּזִיְו ,ןוֹיְלֶע םוֹקָמִּמ הָבוּצֲח בוֹטְבּ םֶהיֵמְי וּכיִריִאָיְו

strength, capacity, support, and preparation for this joining, to draw great abundance and blessing from the Highest Source into all the Holy worlds, and into our personalities, spirits, and souls.

this paragraph if relevant]

we merit to have children,

are righteous, wise, understanding, healthy, and strong.

they merit to reach old age. May my husband/wife and I have joy in them and in their children and their children’s children. May they merit an elevated, holy soul, from the highest place. May they have a good, pleasant, long life.

provide my husband/wife with peace, good blessing, generous wealth and success, grace, kindness, and compassion.

:בוּתָכֶּשׁ אָרְקִמ הָוהְי תֵאֵמ הָכָרְב אָשִּׂי” ״.וֹעְשִׁי יֵהֹלֱאֵמ הָקָדְצוּ

,םִיָמ יֵגְלַפּ לַע לוּתָשׁ ץֵעְכּ הָיָהְו״ וֹתִּעְבּ ןֵתִּי וֹיְרִפּ רֶשֲׁא ,לוֹבִּי אֹל וּהֵלָעְו ״.ַחיִלְצַי הֶשֲׂעַי רֶשֲׁא לֹכְו

Please manifest for my husband/wife the fulfillment of the verses “Receive blessing from Adonai, and just generosity from the God who redeems.” “May [s/he] be like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding fruit in its season, its leaves not withering, and whatever he/she pursues succeeds.”16

,ןוֹצָר תֵע הוהי ךְל יִתָלִּפְת יִנֲאַו״ ״.ךֶעְשִׁי תֶמֱאֶבּ יִנֵנֲע ךֶדְּסַח בָרְבּ םיִהֹלֱא ,ךיֶנָפְל יִבִּל ןוֹיְגֶהְו יִפ יֵרְמִא ןוֹצָרְל וּיְהִי .יִלֲאֹגְו יִרֹצ הָוהְי

“May my prayer come to You, Adonai, at a time of favor. God, in Your abundant loving‑kindness, answer me with Your faithful salvation.”17 May the words of my mouth and the contemplations of my heart be favorable before You, Adonai, my Rock and Redeemer.

Adapted from Rabbi Yosef Chaim, Ben Ish Chai, Bagdad, Iraq (1835 1909)18

16 Psalms 1:3.

17 Psalm 19:15

18 Leader of the Baghdadi Jewish community, highly-revered Torah scholar, and master of kabbalah. His masterwork, The Ben Ish Chai, became the standard reference book for Torah law among Sephardic Jews. Excerpted from two prayers, one for a husband and one for a wife.

13

FOSTERING LOVE IN ONE’S FAMILY

May my heart be an open flask, ready to hold the reality that each day brings.

May I find the way to Love Through; love through the struggles and the challenges, love through the unknown and the known, love through the misunderstandings and the understanding, the acceptance and rejection, love through it all…

May I be blessed to collect moments of joy in my heart and mind, to fuel my gratitude and resilience.

May I hold onto determination, especially in the face of despair, and may I find ways to transform my struggles into song.

May we strive to be uplifted by our community, raising each other up and holding each other in laughter and in tears.

May I find and listen to the still small voice within, centering me and guiding me to connect to Truth, Passion, Peace, Meaning, and Purpose. Amen.

Dasee Berkowitz,13 Jerusalem, Israel

with Dasee’s circle of close friends.

BIRTH

FOR CONCEPTION (with a paragraph to add before infertility treatment)

יתובא יהלאו יהלא ׳ה ךינפלמ ןוצר יהי ירפב ילעב/יתשא תאו יתוא הכזתש :השודקה ךתרותב ונתיוצ התא .ןטב ונא הבו .״ץראה תא ואלמו וברו ורפ״ ךינפל הלעש ןוצרה תא םימילשמ והת אל״ :םלועה תא תארבש תעב .״הרצי תבשל הארב

ונעיסל הנחתב ךילא םיאב ונא ןכ לעו םיאירב םידליב ונכזלו הזה רבדה לע בבלב ךנוצר תושעל לכונש םימלשו .םלש

May it be Your will, my God and God of my ancestors, that You enable me and my spouse to conceive a child. You commanded us in Your holy Torah: “Conceive and multiply and fill the land.” In doing so, we fulfill Your will from the time of Creation, as it says: “God didn’t create the world for being void but for being inhabited.”19 So we come before You to help us with this situation and to grant us healthy children so that we can wholeheartedly do Your will.

Isaiah 45:18.

[תוירופ ילופיט ינפל ףיסוהל]

infertility treatment add]

םיאפורה ידי תא עיס ׳ה אנא תושעל םירחאבו ונב םילפטמהו היה ,הלילח ועטי אלש הנמאנ םתדובע תושעלו לפטל ,תולגל םכמסל ךנימי לע וחילציש דע םינוכנה םירבדה תא .םתמישמב

ונלשמ םידלי ךנחלו לדגל ונכז ,׳ה אנא שדקתיו לדגתיו ,החמשבו תואירבב לכונש םידליב ונכז .םלועב ךמש הלודג הבהאב םילדגלו ,םהל קינעהל לוקל בשקה ׳ה אנא ,הנתיא תואירבבו .ונתלפתל םימש ירעש חתפ ,ונינונחת םשכ ונעיס .ךמש דובכ רבד לע ונרזע תוהמאלו םישודקה תובאל תעיסש .האלו לחר הקבר הרש ,תושודקה .ןמא .״היוללה״

God, guide the hands of the doctors and providers who are treating us and others, so that they may do their work skillfully and faithfully and without any errors. Direct them in their diagnosis and treatment, and in doing all the things necessary for successfully accomplishing their mission. Please God, may we merit to raise and educate our own children in good health and with joy, and may Your name be magnified and made holy in our world. May we merit to have children to whom we can give, and whom we can raise with great love and in robust health. Please God, hear our pleas; open the gates of heaven to our prayers. Please help us for the honor of Your name. Help us as you did for our holy forefathers and holy foremothers, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah; and we will sing before You Halleluyah! Amen.

Kol HaYeshuot, Rabbi Moshe Amiel

FOR FERTILITY

וּניֵהֹלֱא ָיְי ךיֶנָפְלִּמ ןוֹצָר יִהְי ,וּנֵתוּמִּאְו וּניֵתוֹבֲא יֵהֹלאֵו הֶזַּה ןַמְזַּה יַלָע אֵהְיֶּשׁ .ןוֹצָרְו ,דֶסֶח ,הָנוּמֱא ,תוּניִתְמ לֶשׁ ןַמְז ,םִיַמָשׁ תוֹרְצוֹא חַתְּפִי יַח לֵא״ ,םִיָמ וּלְזִּי וֹחוּר בֵשַּׁי ״.הָדֵע ךֵרָבְתּ ןוֹצָר יֵמְשִׁגְבּ

הָמָדֲאָה תֶא הֶוַּרְמ םֶשֶׁגַּהֶשׁ םֵשְׁכּ ,יִרְפּ הָנֶּמִּמ ַחיִמְצַמוּ יִנֲא םַגּ הֶכַּזֲא ךָכּ הָמָדֲא אָמִּאְכּ תוֹיְהִל .ןֶטֶבּ יִרְפִבּ ךֵרָבְּתִהְלוּ הֶנָבִּי דֶסֶח םָלוֹע יִתְּרַמאָ יִכּ״

דַע״

May it be Your will, Adonai, our God And the God of our ancestors, That this time be a time of patience, trust, kindness, and favor. “May the living God open the treasures of heaven. May Adonai’s spirit bring rain. May the community be blessed With favorable rain.”20 Just as the rain saturates the earth, And brings forth fruit, May I be like mother earth, Blessed with fruit of the womb. “I declare, ’Your enduring loving‑ kindness sustains the world; In the heavens, You establish Your faithfulness.’”21 “You said, ’I will establish your offspring forever,

20 From a selection of traditional Sephardi prayers and poetry, called Tikkun HaGeshem, said after Sukkot (Musaf of Shemini Atzeret) upon adding prayers for rain into the prayer service.

21 Psalms 89:3.

in the

to generation,

days,

be called “mother.”

are You, Adonai,

hears prayers.

Yael Shafir Garibi, Zichron Yaakov,

תחכוה ,הנומאב קדצ טפש התא ׳ה ונאש םדאו םלוע תאירבמ ונתוא בותכש ומכ .רעצב ונינב תא דלנ םישנ

.לכה ךדיבו .״םינב ידלת בצעב״ ךתרותב

God, You are the trustworthy and righteous Judge. You have decreed, since the beginning of the creation of the world and of humanity, that we women will birth children, and that the process will include pain, as it is written in Your Torah: “In anguish you will bear children.”

ןעמל .ילע םחר םיברה ךימחר ןעמל ׳ה םישנה לכ תוכזבו םיקידצה לכ תוכז תמשו ןהילע םחרמ התאש תוינקדצה ךילא ןעוש תעב ןתקעצ לקל תנזאהו דסחב ןתוא תחתפו ןמחר תא חתפתש ןנטב יתלד יריצו דסחב ודליו םימחרבו דיב ןוירה לש חתפמה תא חק ,וחתפנ .רעצו בצע ילב ינוירה חתפו ךנימי

God, in Your abundant compassion, have compassion on me! In the merit of all the righteous men and women upon whom You have had compassion, to whom You have listened and responded when they cried and prayed to You to open their wombs and in Your kindness and compassion they gave birth as the gates of their wombs were opened, please take the key of childbirth in Your right hand and open my womb, without anguish and pain.

יעמב רשא הדליה וא דליהמ שלחו

.בוטה רציה תא קזחו ערה רציה

תאו יתוא

the child in my womb, please soften any challenging inclinations [the child is coming in with], and strengthen the child’s good inclinations. Please protect me and my unborn child.

תא תלבקש

ינלבקת

תירשהש ,הנח לש העמדהו

.ודי לע התוא תרשבו ןהכה ילע לע תליפת לבקל ןכומ ךמחר ןעמל התא .םבבל לכב ךילא םיארוקה

me and my prayers, as You had accepted [long ago] the prayers and tears of Hannah [mother of the prophet Samuel], when You gave a prophecy to the priest Eli who [heard Hannah’s prayer and] gave her the good tidings that she will bear a child. For You, God, in Your compassion, are prepared to receive the prayers of all who sincerely call to You.

ויהי״

ירוצ הוהי

the words of my mouth

contemplations of my heart

favorable before You, God, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

Kutcher Coen, Italy 1786, from The Prayer Book of the Married Woman

PREPARING FOR BIRTH

God, Almighty, Please release my mind and allow my body to reconnect with ancient wisdom. Teach me how to scream, allow me to cry and laugh, covered by my own blood, milk, and honey.

Please God, You taught us how to separate darkness from light, good from evil; please show me how to overcome pain and fear, how to embrace joy and happiness as I am approaching this coming birth. God, please open my lips, and I will glorify You. Please show me Your presence through Your devoted messengers.

Shlomit Naim Naor, Jerusalem, Israel

BECOMING A MOTHER

Now I’m a mom. As we head into this lifelong journey, May I remember not to miss the way.

There’s no one single way to make this journey. There’s no one single way to be a mom.

I hope that I will listen to myself, even if I’ll make mistakes, even if I won’t be the perfect mom.

It’s OK. We will both learn together to be a mom and a child.

Help me remember that this time will not return.

Let me not miss the journey.

Let me not rush.

Let me enjoy the now without anticipating next steps. Let me enjoy not‑knowing. Let me enjoy the mystery and the wonder of a path unfolding.

May I let go of fear and worry.

I have what it takes to be a wonderful mother.

I know how to love.

May I remember that my little one will ultimately make personal choices, about whom to be and how to be in the world, as I had, when I suddenly became an adult, and am now a mother.

So may I savor the moments and not hurry through them.

— Lihi Lapid, Tel Aviv, Israel

BECOMING A FATHER

Dear God,

I tremble as I approach to thank You for allowing me and my spouse to join You as partners in Creation, by granting us a child. Enable us to imitate Your mercy as we care for this child from its helpless beginning through self‑sufficiency, teaching it to pay that kindness forward to its own next generation. Grant us the strength of conviction to teach this child its role as a link in the unbroken chain of Jewish faith and sacrifice, stretching back to Abraham, and the responsibility to share and spread Your light and lessons throughout the world. Provide us with the resources to raise this child in a home guided by Your principles, powered by prayer, study, service, and acts of kindness.

Harry Rothenberg, Passaic, New Jersey

THE GIFT OF A DAUGHTER – UPON GIVING A GIRL HER NAME Sephardic communities have celebrated the birth and the naming of girls in a ceremony called zeved habat the gift of a daughter. More recently, some communities have used the term simchat bat to celebrate the birth of a daughter and the joy of welcoming her to the community.

!יִלֵא ,ךְמִשׁ תֶא לֵלַּהְלוּ ַחֵבַּשְׁל יִתאָבּ

I have come to praise and exalt Your name, my God!

תַבּ ,םֹחְבּ יִבִּל תֶא אֵלַּמְל תַבּ יִל ָתַּתָנ ,יִקְלֶח תָנְמ וּיְהִי הָּכוּנִּחְלוּ הָּל הָגאְָדַּהֶשׁ הָחְמִשְׂבּ בוּשׁאָ הָכַּרָה הָּתוּמְדִבֶּשׁ יֵמְי יַניֵע דֶגֶנְל םיִחְרוֹפּ ךיֵא תוֹאְרִל .יַרוּעְנוּ יִתוּדְלַי

You’ve given me a daughter and it fills my heart with warmth. A daughter I’ll be privileged to guide and educate. In her tender presence, I will reflect on my own childhood and youth.

לֶשׁ ןָלֳהאְָבּ הָּתוֹא םיִאיִבְמ וּנאָ םוֹיַּה ,ןוֹצָר יִהְי .האֵָלְו לֵחָר ,הָקְבִר ,הָרָשׂ םֶלֶצְבּ .ךְתָכְרִבּ ָהיֶלָע הֶרְשַׁתֶּשׁ ,יַהֹלֱא

תֶא םוֹיַּה לֵבַּקְתּ ךְתוּמְדּ

Today we bring her to the tents of our foremothers, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. May it be Your will, my God, that You spread over her Your blessing. May she receive her name in Your image today.

םיִיַּחַה לֶשׁ תוֹבוֹטַּה

May it be that by her refined actions and behavior she will make it a name worthy of honor and respect.

May it be Your will, Supporter of goodness, that this name be written before You in the book of life and joy. May she be like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, adorned, blessed, and uplifted with all good traits of life and faithfulness.

הָכַּר תוֹיְהִל לַדְּגִתֶּשׁ ןֵתִּי יִמ תַבּ ,הָעוּנְצוּ הָרָשְׁי ,הָּתָנוּמֱאֶבּ הָקיִדַּצ הֶרְשִׁתֶּשׁ ,ךיֶתוֹוְצִמְל הָרוּסְמוּ הָנָמֱאֶנ ןוֹצָרְל יִהְתוּ םִיַמָשׁ תַכְּרִבּ ָהיֶלָע 25.ןֵמאָ ,םָדאָ‑יֵנְבִל

May she grow to be gentle, generous, righteous in her faithfulness, upright, humble, and a steadfast, devoted daughter of Your mitzvot. May she be surrounded by Your holy, heavenly blessing and be beloved by people. Amen.

— Fanny Neuda (1819–1894), Moravia, Czechoslovakia

Maitre du monde, Je me tourne vers Toi, avec émotion, en ce jour si particulier de la circoncision de mon fils . Merci H’ de m’avoir accordé une grossesse Merci H’ de m’avoir portée durant cet accouchement Merci H’ pour ce merveilleux petit garçon dans mes bras ! Merci de nous avoir choisis pour être ses parents. Je prie aujourd’hui de tout mon cœur pour être digne de cette mission

Le cœur ému, je m’apprête à confier mon bébé adoré au mohel afin qu’il puisse lui faire la mitsva de brit mila. Comme Tu l’as ordonné à notre ancêtre Avraham, il y a des milliers d’années, mon fils entrera dans quelques instants dans l’alliance d’Avraham.

Maitre du monde, L’humain n’est pas un être parfait mais un être à parfaire et pour cette raison,

Majesty of the world, I turn to You filled with emotion, on this special day of my son’s circumcision. Thank You for letting me conceive. Thank You for supporting me through this labor. Thank You for this wonderful little baby boy in my arms! Thank You for choosing us to be his parents.

I pray today with all my heart to be worthy of this parenting mission. My heart is full as I prepare to entrust my cherished baby to the mohel so that he may perform the mitzvah of brit milah.

As You commanded our ancestor Abraham thousands of years ago, my son is about to enter the covenant of Abraham.

WELCOMING A SON – A MOTHER’S PRAYER BEFORE HER SON’S CIRCUMCISION

Tu nous as ordonné de retirer cette peau afin de nous souvenir que nous sommes sur terre dès notre naissance afin de progresser et de nous transformer. L’œuvre est à parfaire tout au long de notre vie. Avinou Malkeinou ! Que je puisse, avec mon époux, aider mon fils à se parfaire, à progresser, à découvrir ses forces et ses talents afin qu’il puisse accomplir au mieux sa mission. Qu’il puisse impacter le monde et le remplir de lumière ! Que par ses actions, le monde devienne plus beau et plus authentique ! Qu’il remplisse le monde de Torah et de bonnes actions. Maitre du monde ! Que nous puissions avoir le mérite de l’accompagner à chaque étape de sa vie avec sérénité ! Que cette prière ainsi que les prières de toutes les personnes ici présentes puissent monter vers le trône céleste au moment de la circoncision et soient agréées . Amen !

A human is not a perfect being, but a being who strives for perfection. For this reason, You have ordered us to remove this skin so we remember that from birth we are here on earth to move forward and change. Bless my husband and me to bring ourselves and each member of our family toward perfection throughout our lives. May our son discover his strengths and his talents so that he can fulfill his mission in the best way. Let him make a difference in the world and fill it with light! May the world become more beautiful and more authentic through his actions. Let him fill the world with Torah and good deeds. May we be worthy to accompany him through all the stages of his life with serenity. May this prayer and all the prayers of everyone present here at the moment of the circumcision be fulfilled. Amen!

Mariacha Drai, Paris, France

לָכּ םִע וֹז הָוְצִמ יִתְּמַיִּק וּלִּאְכּ

I am giving my son to the mohel as I appoint him as my complete emissary to circumcise my son according to the law of how it is done. May it be Your will, Adonai our God and God of our ancestors, that You consider it as if I fulfilled this mitzvah with all the proper intentions.

יִל יִנֵכַּזְתוּ .דֶלֶיַּל הָשֻּׁדְק הָמָשְׁנ ַעיִפְּשַׁתּ הֶיְהִיְו ,תוֹוְצִמַּלְו הָרוֹתַּל וֹלְדַּגְל וֹמִּאְלוּ איִרָבוּ תוֹבוֹט תוֹדִּמ לַעַבוּ דיִסָחְו םָכָח וּהֵעיִגַּנְו ,וֹתָרוֹתְבּ וֹבּ חַמְשִׂנְו ,הֵּלָזַּמ .הָפֻּחַל

May You give [and continually draw forth] a holy soul for this child. May I and his mother merit to raise him to Torah wisdom and to mitzvot. May he be wise and kind, healthy, with good and balanced character and good fortune.

,וּניֵלָע וּניֵהֹלֱא יָנֹדֲא םַעֹנ יִהְי״

וּניֵדָי הֵשֲׂעַמוּ וּניֵלָע הָנְנוֹכּ וּניֵדָי

May he and his Torah bring us joy, and may we merit to see him to his chuppah. With awe, love, and great joy I come today to do Your will. With Your compassion, bless us from Your blessings, and bring us joy in being of service, and save us always from missing the mark. May we merit to fulfill the mitzvot of the Torah.

“May the pleasantness of Adonai our God be upon us. Establish for us the work of our hands; yes, establish the work of our hands!”26

Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azoulai, (1724–1806), Livorno, Italy27

Psalms 90:17.

Excerpted from Sansan LeYa’ir – a book of prayers for various occasions by Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azoulai (known as the Chida).

ADOPTION

Hashem, When the waiting was tough, You taught me patience and strength. And when the door finally opened, You were the one to guide me through. Thank You for choosing me to love, nourish, and raise these amazing children. Please bless their birth parents, whose sacrifices we will continue to honor every day. Thank You for teaching me that family is built from love and that our differences help connect us and make us whole. Please continue leading other families down this path until all children are blessed with the love they each deserve.

— Simone Knego, Sarasota, Florida

תֵעְבוּ הָנֵשַּׁה תֵעְבּ ויָלָע יִדָי לֹפִּתּ אֹלֶּשׁ יִנֵליִצַּהְו

סַח תוּמָיְו

ךיֶנָפְל יִבִּל ןוֹיְגֶהְו יִפ יֵרְמִא ןוֹצָרְל וּיְהִי .יִלֲאֹגְו יִרוּצ

May it be Your will, Adonai, my God, and God of my ancestors, that You provide me with nourishment for this infant, who is Your servant, through an abundance of milk that satisfies the baby’s needs. Guide my heart with clarity regarding timing for nursing the baby. Ease for me any issues of sleep. When the baby cries, open my ears to hear quickly [and accurately determine the need]. Save me from [any possible danger approaching my baby, including from my own body or] my arm rolling over the baby while we sleep, causing harm, Heaven forbid. May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be accepted before You, Adonai, my Rock and Redeemer.

— Yehudit Kutcher Coen, Italy 1786, from The Prayer Book of the Married Woman28

RAISING CHILDREN

Thank You, God, for everything You have given me. Please bless me with patience, knowledge, and tools to best address each situation with each child, enabling them to grow, flourish, and reach their potential as capable, kind, and productive human beings that know how to make good choices for themselves and their communities.

Please give me the strength to react in a calm, loving, reassuring, positive manner, yet with the ability to convey the values that I need to convey as a parent. Please help me know when to let go of trivial things and when and how to bring our children closer to You.

Please God, keep them safe and healthy of mind, body, and soul.

Evelyn Katz, Bal Harbour, Florida

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

God, thank You for bringing us to this day and preparing us for my child’s next step into the world. Please protect my child when we are apart as I strive to offer protection when we are together. Please, in Your wisdom, strengthen my child’s heart, building kindness toward others, the courage to be uncomfortable, the curiosity to ask, and the comprehension to understand. Please, in Your discernment, strengthen my heart, encouraging empathy for their struggles, understanding of their needs, and the ability to let them learn. Please, in Your connection, remind them always who they are, and whose they are.

— Deborah Gilboa, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

וּניֵיַּח לַעְו רֶשֲׁא תֶא וּנָל ָתַּתָנֶשׁ לַעְו תֵע לָכְבֶּשׁ .ךְמִעְמ וּנְלאַָשׁ

יֵהֹלאֵל הָליִפְתּ םיִאְשׁוֹנ ,וֹמִאְו ויִבאָ ,וּנֲא ויָתוֹחְראָ רוֹצְנִי ,ויָכָרְדּ רוֹמְשִׁיֶּשׁ םָלוֹעָה .תוּעֵרָהְו הָוֲחאַָה ,הָבֲהאַָה ךֶרֶדְבּ וּהֵחְנַיְו

Thankful am I in Your Presence, sustaining Master of all life, for making me Your partner in raising (child’s name). This is the child I have been praying for. Therefore, I give thanks to You, for the life of this child, and for our own lives that are in Your hands; for the good You give us at all times; and for granting us what we asked of You. As the parents of this child, we offer a prayer to the God of the world to guard the paths of this child and protect (child’s name) journeying, guiding our child in the path of love, camaraderie, and friendship.

,האֵָלְו לֵחָר ,הָקְבִר

God of our mothers Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, and Leah, good and benevolent God, I thank You for hearing my prayers during my pregnancy and pains of labor. Thank you for blessing our family with this child, and with the merit of guiding our child toward taking responsibility for the mitzvot at a good and proper time.

הֶּכְזִיֶּשׁ ,םוֹלָשַּׁה ןוֹדאָ ,ךִיֶנָפְלִּמ ןוֹצָר יִהְי ךיֶתוֹוְצִמ לֹעָבּ םוֹיַּה אָבַּה ,הֶזַּה רַעַנַּה ,םָלוֹע תַבֲהאְַלוּ תֶמֱא םוֹלְשִׁל ,ךיֶכָרְדוּ .רוֹרְדִלְו תוּרֵחְל

תוּלוּאְגּ תוֹצָרֲאָה לָכּ הָניֶיְהִתֶּשׁ ןוֹצָר יִהיִו

.לָלְכּ םָדאָ דוּבְּעִשׁ אֹלְל ןיִרוֹח תוֹנְבוּ םָלוֹעָבוּ לֵאָרְׂשִי לָהְקִבּ רַעַנַּה ךַרוֹביִו םָלוֹע ןוּקִּתְל הֶּכְזִיֶּשׁ .ותמְשִנ ךַרֹבְתוּ וֹלֻּכּ .בַר יִכּ ךְבוּטְבּ ךֶתוּכְלַמְבּ

May it be Your will, Master of Peace, that this child, who today is entering into responsibility to fulfill Your commandments and walk in Your ways, will merit to have true peace and unending love, freedom, and liberty. And may it be Your will that all lands be redeemed, free, an un oppressed. May this child be blessed among the members of the community of Israel, and within the entire world. May (child’s name)’s soul be blessed to see the world perfected under Your sovereignty, and within Your abundant goodness.

God who draws forth gratitude, receive this child’s prayer with a blessing of peace and foster (child’s name)’s integrity. Surround my child with holiness. May all of us this child’s parents, grandfathers, grandmothers, brothers and sisters, relatives, and this entire precious congregation who are with us today merit complete joy, which cultivates good heartedness and abundant blessing.

May my child see the fulfillment of my parents’ and grandparents’ prayers, as well as the fulfillment of the longings of all generations.

May it be Your will that my sins and transgressions not interfere with my child having all the goodness in the world, inheriting a tradition of knowledge and clear awareness from the legacy of my people, and from disperse traditions of the four corners of the earth, which have gathered into our family. And may my child receive, more than anything, a legacy of the value of loving humankind.

Blessed is God who, in holiness, gave Torah and freedom to the people of Israel blessed is God! Blessed are You, Master of all worlds, grace us with the light of life, the hidden light about which it is written, “And God said, ’Let there be light’ and there was light!” Amen, forever and ever.

“םָדאְָו

.“םוּצָע יוֹגְל ריִעָצַּהְו ףֶלֶאְל הֶיְהִי ןוֹטָקַּה” אוּה הֶיְהִיְו .הָנֶשיִחְּת הָּּתִעְבּ ’ה הָתּאַ רֶשֲׁא םִיָמ יֵגְלַפּ לַע לוּתָשׁ ץֵעְכּ” ךיֶנָפְל רֶשֲׁא לֹכְו לוֹבִּי אֹל וּהֵלָעְו וֹתִּעְבּ ןֵתִּי וֹיְרִפּ .“ַחיִלְצַי הֶשֲׂעַי

the merit of my ancestors, turn toward the prayers of my

this child for me, here, in this land. Please, my God, bring the blessings of heaven upon this child. Make this child’s days good,

may this child find favor, kindness, and wisdom in the eyes of God and other people.”29 “May even the small one become an entire clan, and the young one become a mighty nation.”30 May You, God, bring [redemption] about quickly in its time. And may this child be before You “like a tree planted by streams water, yielding fruit in its season, its leaves not withering, and whatever he/she pursues succeeds.”31

דיִמָתּ ויָתוֹלִּפְתּ ךיֶנָפְל וּלְבַּקְתִיְו

may this child’s prayers, and the requests of all Your nation Israel always be acceptable to You, at every moment and hour.

Aliza Lavie, Jerusalem, Israel

on the occasion of her son’s bar mitzvah in 2008.

by a prayer by Fanny Neuda, which was written in Czechoslovakia in 1855.

GROWN CHILDREN

Dear Lord, Father of all, Please watch over my children, grown beyond my watchful eye But forever in my heart and always on my mind. As Your pillars of cloud and fire led our ancestors through the wilderness, guide my children through complicated times. Grant them wisdom to make good choices in a world filled with bad examples. Grant them hearts that soar with love and break at the pain of others. Grant them health and strength to grow and serve the world through work and kindness. Shelter them from life’s worst storms, Protect them from dangers seen and unseen.

May their faith in You never waiver and give them strength to face every day with hope. Bless them with simchat hachaim, joy at being alive, and to revel in their many blessings even when they, or their lives, feel less than perfect.

Our Father, who finds each person their bashert, bless my children with life partners who will make them their best selves and join to build homes and families filled with love, joy, and the light of Your Torah. God of Israel, may my children always feel their connection to a remarkable people, and to a homeland that continues to bring forth miracles. Dear God, my Partner in parenting, even as my family grows, across time and space, keep us close. Fill our hearts and homes with love and gladness. May our songs of praise, which once came from our shared table but now echo from across the world, reach You.

And may we be blessed to feel connected to each other And to You Always.

Rona Novick, Manhattan, New York

MOTHER UPON HER DAUGHTER’S FIRST PERIOD

Señor del Universo, Escucha mi plegaria hacia Ti Por Tu gran compasión, me has otorgado el mérito de criar a mi niña hasta hoy Empieza para ella una nueva etapa en la vida como mujer judía Que los ciclos de su periodo le enseñan a soltar todo aquello que le frena Que su crecimiento sea saludable Que encuentre su propósito en la vida Que crezca en salud con Tu guía Estoy ante ti como su madre Llena de agradecimiento, orgullo y alegría.

Master of the Universe, Thank you for the gift of parenting my daughter so far. After reaching the age for taking on commandments, she is ready to start a new phase in life. May the cycles of her period teach her to let go, May she only know healthy growth with Your guidance as a powerful woman of Israel, may she find her purpose in her path, I stand before You as her mother, full of joy, gratefulness and pride.

— Judith Benchabo Cohen, Madrid, Spain

FOSTERING CHILDREN’S HEALTHY INDEPENDENCE

Please God, Teach me when to hold back from doing for my children, to help foster their skills and their trust in themselves and in You. Show me how to continue to adjust my parenting as my children grow, and to do so at each stage with playfulness, humility, and humor. Teach me to respond to their questions with curiosity and shared inquiry more often than with answers. Remind us that words sculpt reality. Help us to foster meaningful dialogue in our home. Guide my communication with my spouse, children, and the people in our lives to draw my children to know their soul and heed its guidance. Direct me to meet weakness with tiferet a balance of loving‑kindness and boundaries, so that with patience we may foster the strength that is possible. Support us to face what is hard and painful and to compassionately put in the effort to draw out what we can learn and gain from the pain. Help me to refine the role You intend for me in our world, that I may add light, and through this to support my children in growing into their role in bringing about the world that can be. Guide me to embody the values I want my children to learn and live by.

HOME AND HOMELAND

SEEKING A SAFE HOME

Господи, всемогущий и милосердный, молю тебя, дай мне и детям моим дом под мирным небом, в котором можно спокойно спать ночью в своей кровати, не боясь авиаударов, а по утрам пить кофе из своей любимой чашки. Пусть у всех будет дом, где растут дети, звенит их смех. Дом, куда можно возвращаться после работы и чувствовать себя защищенно и комфортно. Дом, в котором царит любовь и нет места скорби.

Hashem Almighty and merciful, I am praying and asking You: give me and my children a safe home under peaceful skies. A home where I can sleep quietly in my own bed without fear of air bombing and drink my coffee from my favorite cup in the morning. Let all people have their own home, where kids grow with laughter ringing. A home where we can come back from work and feel safe and comfortable. A home where love is reigning.

— Oksana Rut Shulga, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine

PRAYER FOR OUR HOMES

Help us dethrone the Pharaohs who too often rule our homes. For cowering beneath these pyramids of needs are the real fiends the menacing insecurities of adolescents, the lethal bickering of their parents, the whines of needy toddlers, and the all too common household hollers that oppress that most precious commodities of family. Give us a Moses moment! Redemption in a sink full of grimy resentments emotional freedom from the Pharaonic foe so that we may bring up our children in more peaceable homes.

For when our houses enshrine tranquility then outer world will follow inner lead, rock‑hard hearts will soften grips and all that’s enslaved will lithely slip into the soft of freedom found. May we take off our shoes to walk around until we will see our houses as the hallowed ground from which God speaks.

Chaya Lester, Jerusalem, Israel

VISITING ISRAEL

Dear God,

May this journey be unlike any other journey as I am not visiting someplace new, but rather I am coming home, even if this is my first visit.

May this journey be filled with meaning, connection, and the building of strong relationships with the land and people of Israel. May I explore Israel with all five of my senses. May I touch the soil and begin to develop deep roots. May I see things I have only imagined from afar. May I taste the bitter and the sweet. May I smell the hopes and dreams of the Jewish people that saturate the air. May I hear my name being called by friends, old and new alike, in a place I call home.

Michael Soberman, Thornhill, Ontario

PRAYER AT THE KOTEL

Hi God, it’s me.

I stand here in awe before the remnant of Your house, at this place where heaven and earth meet, where the portal to the heavens is found.

In this moment, I ask You to hear the unformed words of my heart and the yearnings of my soul.

May my prayers align with Your will for me.

May I have the strength to stand vulnerable before You and ask for Your blessings and Your mercy.

May I live my life to my fullest potential, knowing that my greatness is found not in what happens to me, but in who I am and how

I behave in the face of what happens to me.

May I have an open and loving heart.

May I give love and receive it. May my strength be as enduring as these ancient stones, and may my actions reflect my values and aspirations. May all those I love and care for be sheltered in Your loving embrace.

May I find peace and may I create peace. God, You made me purposefully with love and with wisdom of what my soul needs to perfect itself in this lifetime. While I may not always understand Your ways, may I have a heart of faithfulness and a mind to believe that “this too is for the good.”

Grant me the serenity to face my trials with poise and grace. May I never turn my heart away from the trials of my fellow man. May I love my fellow as myself and pray for their health and joy as I do for my own. May You heal this fractured world and grant freedom and peace to all who are oppressed. Help me to remember that my faithfulness is a muscle that requires constant strengthening and conditioning. If tears are the sweat of the soul, may my tears serve to strengthen me. May those who have caused me pain have clarity and offer reconciliation and restitution. May those I have hurt give me the opportunity to make amends so that they might forgive me.

As a parent, may I always remember my “Parent in heaven,” and just as I yearn for closeness with my children, so might I yearn for closeness to You.

— Adrienne Gold Davis, Toronto, Canada

LETTING GO

UPON THE LOSS OF A PET

I thank you God for entrusting me to take care of and love my beloved (name of pet). She/he has nurtured my heart for so long. You entrusted me with the responsibility of her care and now I release (name of pet) to You, God. Thank You from the bottom, the middle, and the top of my heart. Your loving daughter, — Susan Hennick, Toronto, Canada

יַמָי וּיְהִיְו

רַחאְַל שָׁדָחֶה יִמוֹקְמ תאַיִצְמוּ

it be Your will, Adonai, our God

God of our ancestors,

me with

and peace

of grief and longing.

show me signs of consolation and acceptance.

my spirit within me so that the memory of will be good and growthful. That I find an appropriate way to commemorate him/her within my own self.

each day lead to a loosening of my grief. May I find my new place after the loss.

and truth meet; righteousness and peace embrace. Truth sprouts up from the earth; righteousness looks down from heaven.”33

are You, who hears prayers.

Shafir Garibi, Zichron Yaakov, Israel

LOSING A PREGNANCY

Dear God,

Please ease my pain, my heartache and grief. Right now I feel so utterly alone.

I carried life and potential within me; it felt so special, I tingled with excitement at every moment, and that potential, that life, is no more.

I dreamed and I planned, I hoped for and waited; in my mind it was so real I could almost hold it in my arms.

I don’t understand why I had to go through this challenge, the highs and lows in such a short time.

I wanted this baby with all of my heart and soul.

I had so much love and hope to wrap it in completely forevermore.

And now all I feel is a tremendous void within. Please let me heal, let me get back to my strength. Please turn my pain into prayers for life to enter me once more in the right time.

I want to build up my Jewish family, my motives are pure, and I can’t do it without Your blessing and help.

I need You now more than ever. Your daughter, A hopeful future mother of Israel. Eve Levy, Chicago, Illinois

FOR DIVORCE OR A BREAKUP

As I withdraw, may I give myself time. May I stay present as memories and feelings arise. Draw me closer to You, to my soul, and to good friends.

Please unburden me from unfulfilled yearnings, pain, frustrations, and bitterness. Help these ferment into goodness. Remind me that emptiness is fertile ground for the new.

May I take time to till the soil of my awareness, sorting past hopes and dreams, aerating them with generosity, releasing what’s needed to keep my heart tender and unencumbered.

I don’t want to stay frozen in the past. Let my prayer help me become aware of the potential in the present. I want to see the good in the past and in what is ahead. Free me from judgment and anger. There are more potent ways for creating forward motion in my life.

I trust in You that the time will come where clouds will part for me, and the sun will shine on new pathways for wholehearted joy, friendship, and love.

[When one or more children are involved]

Help me disentangle from this relationship, and still know that for my child(ren), this remains their family. Help me face with clarity that the space between parents is the emotional landscape in which our child(ren) will be raised, even without us being married.

Please give me hope and help me find my power to manifest health in this space.

Guide me to show my child(ren) how hurt can strengthen the soul, and nourish compassion, kindness, and connection with You. Help me raise children who have a joyful, loving heart, able to see the good in themselves and in others.

Help me do everything in my power so that my children will be able to love wholeheartedly.

Guide my words and actions so I can look back on them with a sense of dignity.

GRIEVING FOR A CHILD

God, I’m thinking about (name of child) and wishing he/she were here. What would he/she be like today? healthy whole happy older

I miss him/her so much. I am comforted to know that he/she is safe and happy in Your loving embrace. Still, as a mother, let me ask: please hold him/her gently, but a little tighter, as I would if only I could. And please help me remember his/her smile and his/ her voice and help me take pleasure in the happy memories and help me let the hard ones fade. Please take my acts of loving kindness, my tzedakah, and my prayers, and let them be a gift for him/her. Please help his/her soul go even higher as I pray for him/her today. Please help me feel comforted as I think about my love for him/her, his/her love for me, and Your love for both of us. Please help me feel Your warm embrace. And help me remember that in that space, loved by You, held by You, my child is too.

— Aliza Bulow, Denver, Colorado

A PRAYER FOR PEACEFUL DEATH

When the day comes, when my muscles refused to abide, when my heart misses beats, when my lips no longer speak what my spirit and mind seek to express and I become a burden upon those who I’ve always sought to help with the bearing of life’s travails, please reach out Your hand, Your spirit, and separate between the clay of my body and the essence which is of Your Essence.

— Bertha Pappenheim, 1859-1936, Frankfurt, Germany

Activist Bertha Pappenheim was the founder or initiator of many institutions, including community homes and educational institutions. She authored novellas, plays, a book of prayers, and poems. As a young adult she was Josef Breuer’s patient, and her case was included in Sigmund Freud’s writings. In 1902, Pappenheim established a modern social work organization and, based on its success, she founded the League of Jewish Women. Pappenheim advocated for a woman’s movement that was equal to and independent of men’s organizations. She was dedicated to the issue of women’s trafficking and prostitution and was a spokesperson at major international conferences on the subject.

In 1954, a German postage stamp with a portrait of Pappenheim was issued in the series “Benefactors of Mankind” in recognition of her services. On the fiftieth anniversary of her death, a conference was held on her life’s work on the former site of a home she managed for endangered girls and unwed mothers in Frankfurt.

CONFESSION BEFORE DEATH

The Shulchan Aruch code of law instructs: “If you feel death approaching, recite the Vidui confession. Be reassured by those around you: ‘Do not fear. Many have said the Vidui confession and then recovered. With the merit of your confession, may you live.’ If you are unable to recite it aloud, say it in your heart. And if you are unable to recite it, others may recite it with you or for you.”34

יֵהֹלאֵו יַהֹלֱא הוהי ,ךיֶנָפְל יִנֲא הֶדוֹמ

.ךְדָיְּב יִתָתיִמוּ יִתאָוּפְרֶׁש ,יַתוֹבֲא

יֵהֹלאֵו יַהֹלֱא הוהי ,ךיֶנָפְל יִנֲא הֶדוֹמ

.ךְדָיְּב יִתָתיִמוּ יִתאָוּפְרֶׁש ,יַתוֹבֲא האָוּפְר יִנֵאְּפַרְּתֶׁש ךיֶנָפְלִמ ןוֹצָר יִהְי .הָמֵלְׁש לַע הָרָּפַּכ יִתָתיִמ אֵהְּת ,תוּמאָ םִאְו יִתאָטָחֶׁש ,םיִעָׁשְפוּ תוֹנוֲֹעַו םיִאָטֲח לָּכ .ךיֶנָפְל יִּתְעַׁשָּפֶׁשְו יִתיִוָעֶׁשְו

I acknowledge before You, Adonai my God and God of my ancestors, that my healing and my death are in Your hands. May it be Your will to send me a refuah sheleimah/ complete healing.

.םיִקיִּדַצַל ןוּפ ָצַה אָּבַה םָלוֹעָל יִנֵּכַזְו .יִל אָנ אָפְר אָנ לֵא

Yet, if [and when] I am to die, may my death be an atonement for the ways I have missed the mark, sinned, and transgressed, before You. Grant me the joyful equanimity that is stored for the righteous. Please God, heal me, please.

34 Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 339.

When the end is approaching, say the following. It can be repeated. Seek to say the Shema when the soul leaves the body.

Repeat once

דֶעָו םָלֹעְל ךֹלְמִי ָיְי ךַלָמ ָיְי ךֶלֶמ ָיְי Adonai is majesty, Adonai was majesty, Adonai will be majesty, for ever and ever.

Repeat three times

דֶעָו םָלוֹעְל וֹתוּכְלַמ דוֹבְּכ םֵׁש ךוּרָּב Blessed is the name of His glorious majesty for ever and ever.

Repeat seven times םיִהֹלֱאָה אוּה ָיְי Adonai is God

Once דָחֶא ָיְי וּניֵהֹלֱא ָיְי לֵאָרְשִׂי עַמְשׁ Hear, Israel: Adonai our God, Adonai is One.

BEFORE MEMORIAL ANNIVERSARY: YAHRTZEIT

Dear God,

Please help me honor my beloved (name of loved one) on their yahrtzeit.

Please help me balance my deep sense of loss with cherished memories of our times together.

Please guide my thoughts toward joyful moments. Please guide my thoughts to (loved one’s) inspiration. Thank You for the blessing of having (loved one) as my (parent/partner/child…).

Thank You for the blessing of remembering (loved one) with love and gratitude today and always.

Thank You for giving me the strength to live (loved one’s) legacy of values.

— Andrea Mail, Jacksonville, Florida

AND CHALLENGES

ON TAKING A NEW ROLE

May I enter this new role with humility.

It has been said “There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart.” May this work capture my eye, my mind, and my heart, again and again.

Please bless me, my colleagues, and all who help this endeavor to achieve our goals, to continue to build upon all the good work that brought the initiative thus far, and to further the work with curiosity, insight, creativity, and respect.

Please grant me the strength and wisdom to bring my best self to advance our work, and to draw forth the gifts of others, so that together we achieve all our ambitious and important goals ahead!

— Deborah Hochberg, Westchester, New York

RETIREMENT

Thank You for the blessing of the work I’ve done thus far. Thank you for the gifts of contributing and growing and for the gifts of my colleagues. As I retire, I’m spreading wings toward new horizons. For years I’ve found meaning in the contribution I’ve been able to make through the gifts of effort, experience, and skills. Now may I find the wisdom to continue to learn and grow, and may I give more attention to nurturing myself and my family. May I sort through the skills and values that have been an anchor of my work thus far and see what I will carry forward with me in my new chapter.

May I find new paths of giving and contributing. May new relationships deepen into a rich community in this new chapter.

May I step forward with trust that You are guiding me.

Tzahit Levy, Givatayim, Israel

BEFORE A TALK ON A HARD-TO-SHARE OR HARD-TO-HEAR TOPIC

Dear God,

Guide me to bring my best self to this conversation before, during, and after.

Help me know that You are with me. Help me to speak my truth in a way that it is most likely to be heard.

Help me to process what is said through the lens of Your loving wisdom.

Help me be compassionate and loving. Help me hold space for the range of feelings. Help me to discern love even if it is concealed by other emotions.

Help me to recognize appreciation even if it is obscured by other responses.

I pray for this conversation to lead to goodness and closeness.

I pray that it be a holy conversation.

I know that matters of holiness require preparation. Please guide me to do the needed preparation. Following this conversation, please guide all involved to process what was and wasn’t said with compassion, patience, hope, and faithfulness.

I will be listening for Your guidance again and again. Please be with me.

תוּשְׁרִּב (ינולפ םוקמל) ךֵליֵל הֶצוֹר יִניֵרֲה .וֹמְׁש ןַעַמְלוּ ךֵרָּבְתִי ’ה

בוּתָּכ ךְׁשְדָק יֵרְבִדְּב :םָלוֹע לֶׁש וֹנוֹבִּר ’ה .וּנֶבְבוֹסְי דֶסֶח ’הַּּב ַחֵטוֹבַּה :רֹמאֵל

הָחָלְצַהְו הָכָרְּב יִל ןֵּת ,תֶמֱא םיִקֹלֱא יִל חַלְׁשִּתֶׁש ךְּב יִּתְחַטָּב יִּכ ,יַדָי הֶׂשֲעַמ ,הָכָרְּב

I wish to go to (name of destination) with divine assent and for the sake of God’s Name. Master of the world, it is written in Your holy texts, “Loving‑kindness surrounds one who trusts in God.”

’ה לַע ךֵלְׁשַה” בוּתָּכֶׁש אָרְקִמ יִּב םַיוּקְיִו .ןֵמאָ “.ךֶלְּכְלַכְי אוּהְו ךְבָהְי

Almighty, God of truth, please bless me with success in all my endeavors, for I have trusted in You to send me blessings. May I merit that the following verse be fulfilled in me: “Release your burdens toward Adonai, and God will sustain you.” Amen.

— Rabbi Isaiah ben Abraham HaLevi Horowitz, known as the Shelah HaKadosh (1555–1630)35

35 Born in Prague, later moved to Israel where he was appointed the head of the Ashkenazic community.

ךְרָצוֹאֵמוּ

יַתוֹביִתְנוּ יַלְגַר רֹמְשׁוּ ,יַתוֹחְרוֹאְו יַכָרְדּ

לָכּ םיִרוּסְמ ךְדָיְבּ

ךְדָיִּמ יַתוֹנוֹזְמ יִל ןוֹחָתּ םיִבַּרָה ךיֶמֲחַרְבּ

.םיִמֵלְשׁ וּיְהִיְו ,האֵָלְמַּהְו הָבוֹטַּה

ןֵחְל יִנֵנְתוּ ךיֶנָפְל הָרָשְׁי ךֶרֶדְבּ יִנֵכיִרְדַתְו יֵניֵעְבוּ ךיֶניֵעֶבּ ןוֹצָרְלוּ םיִמֲחַרְלוּ דֶסֶחְל

.הָתּאַ םוּחַרְו ןוּנַּח לֵא יִכּ ,יאַוֹר לָכּ

May it be Your will, Adonai, our God, and God of our ancestors, that You bountifully bless all my actions, and nourish me from Your plentiful hand. Fill my home from Your good treasures, guide me on pathways to success, and protect me wherever I go, for all life is directed by You. With Your great compassion, allocate for me ample sustenance from Your abundant goodness. Guide me in acting ethically before You. May I find favor, kindness, compassion, and affirmation in Your eyes and in the eyes of anyone with whom I come in contact, for You are a compassionate and gracious God.

Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, (Nachmanides, Ramban) (1194–1270), Gerona, Spain36

PRIORITIZING

Please God, Gently remind me what’s really important. Give me the strength to clear a path through the messy thicket of my life. Grant me the clarity to be honest with myself about what truly needs my attention. Allow me to recognize distractions and fight the temptation to focus on “almost right” priorities… especially those that belong to someone else. Help me harness the intellectual and emotional stamina to handle whatever comes my way so that I can do not what’s easy, but what’s right. Boldly remind me that You love me and I’m never alone in my search for what matters.

Ianna Raim, Bay Harbor Islands, Florida

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

Dear God, please open my eyes to the needs of Your world. Grant me the clarity to see, the courage to act, and the resources to get the job done.

And because I know I can be weak with fear, please suppress any desire I may have to look away.

May I live to be Your humble servant, and may You bless me with success beyond my wildest dreams.

Lori Palatnik, Jerusalem, Israel

PREPARING FOR PRAYERFUL LEADERSHIP

This prayer is a liturgical poem, a piyut. It is recited in many congregations on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur before the repetition of the Musaf prayer. It can also be adapted for seeking God’s help with public speaking or other service leadership.

לֵאָל הָליִחוֹא ויָנָפ הֶלַּחֲא

ןוֹשָׁל הֵנֲעַמ וּנֶּמִּמ הָלֲאְשֶׁא

I’ll yearn for God. I’ll hope in His Presence. I’ll ask Him to grant my voice expression.

וֹזֻּע ריִשׁאָ םָע לַהְקִבּ רֶשֲׁא תוֹנָנְר הָעיִבּאַ ויָלָעְפִמ דַעְבּ

To echo His strengths amidst the congregated nation, I’ll sing joyous melodies appreciating His works.

בֵל יֵכְרַעַמ םָדאְָל ןוֹשָׁל הֵנֲעַמ הוהיֵמו

“A person has patterns of thoughts and feelings and yet God responds granting words from beyond them.”37

חָתְּפִתּ יַתָפְשׂ יָנֹדֲא ךֶתָלִּהְתּ דיִגַּי יִפוּ

“God, open my lips, so that my mouth may declare Your praise.”38

37 Proverbs 16:1.

38 Psalms 55:17.

FACING A CHALLENGE OR A TROUBLING SITUATION

For those moments when nothing in life seems to go as planned, oh Adonai, be my compass, guiding me toward my intended path.

For those moments when our children are struggling and it seems there’s little we can do to help, oh Adonai, show them Your love and support.

For when we find ourselves grieving for the loss of a loved one, oh Adonai, help me find meaning in the darkness.

For when the love we knew for so long is there no more, oh Adonai, remind me that love will be felt again, and again, and again.

For the times we want to give up and are unsure where to turn, oh Adonai, fill me with strength and hope so that I may go on.

For the times when despair appears as though it will win out, oh Adonai, show me how surrounded I am with Your miracles and kindness.

For all the challenges we’ve faced and for those we’ve yet to encounter, oh Adonai, inspire me to believe in myself, in this world, and in You.

— Amanda Abrams, Atlanta, Georgia

LOVING AN ADDICT

Dear God, I love an addict. Loving an addict, as You know, God, is an intensely painful thing. Watching someone you love struggle to manage an illness is one of the most difficult challenges of our era. Give me the strength, God, to love them despite the illness, and to remember who they are independent of it. Help me to be the master of my own joy regardless of what my addict is doing, and to remember that their illness is neither my fault nor my responsibility. And just as You, God, love me with my imperfections and weaknesses, allow me to love them freely, compassionately, with abandon, without losing myself in the process. Amen.

Ruchi Koval, Cleveland, Ohio

STRUGGLING WITH ADDICTION

Dear God,

I cannot go on like this. Barely breathing, weighed down by what I have become.

I am ashamed to ask You for anything. I don’t know if You can hear me, but I need Your help.

I make no promises because we both know my words are ashes. I no longer see light or purpose.

I want to change, but I don’t know how. I come to You on my knees, tear stained cheeks, brokenhearted.

I will do anything You ask. Please hold me with forgiveness and guide me out of this darkness.

I cannot go on like this.

I cannot see what is ahead but want so badly to find You again.

Carly Israel, Cleveland, Ohio 23 years sober (since 1/27/99) Holocaust survivor’s granddaughter

SEEKING GUIDANCE

Hashem, send me Your pillar of fire when I am freezing with fear, and send me Your pillar of clouds to defend me from the heat of hectic days. Don’t leave me without Your guidance; kindly keep talking to me. If I don’t hear Your voice, send me the right people in the right moment, open the right books on the right pages! Show me Your way on the confusing paths of this troubled world.

Shulamit Kopeliovich, Ma’ale Adumim, Israel

Rabbi Moshe Leib of Sassov Eastern Galicia, Ukraine (1745–1807)

שׁיִא לַע ,רֶקֶשׁ יֵרְבִדּ רֵבַּדְלִּמ ריִהָז הֶיְהֶאְו .לֵאָרְשִׂי .הָפֻּנֲח יֵרְבִדּוּ

תַנָבְּלַהֵמ ,םיִרָבְדּ תאַָנוֹאֵמ ריִהָז הֶיְהֶאְו רֵבַּדְלִּמְו הָחָכוֹתּ תַעְשִׁבּ וּליִפֲא ,םיִנָפּ

,תֶקֹלֲחַמ יֵרְבִד רֵבַּדְלִּמ ןֵכְו ,הָוֲאַגּ יֵרְבִדּ .סַעַכּ יֵרְבִדּ רֵבַּדְלִּמ ןֵכְו

םֵשְׁל יַרוּבִּדְו יַשֲׂעַמ לָכּ וּיְהִיֶּשׁ יִנֵכַּזְו .םִיַמָשׁ

Master of the world, may it be Your will, compassionate and gracious God, that today and every day I merit with Your help to guard my tongue from the transgressions of gossip and spreading rumors. May I be careful not to speak [badly] of even a single person, and all the more so of speaking [badly] of klal Yisrael, the Jewish people. May I be careful not to speak lies or words of flattery. May I be careful not to mislead or shame anyone, even when giving rebuke, and not to speak arrogantly or to say words of divisiveness or words spoken in anger. May I merit that all my actions and words be for Heaven’s sake.

Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaKohen Kagan, the Chafetz Chaim, (1838–1933), Radun, Poland40

SEEKING TO FIND A LOST OBJECT

There is a custom that when something is lost, a person gives charity in the memory of the soul of Rebbe Meir Baal HaNess (whose name means “miracle transmitter”) in the merit of finding what was lost. Then, the following prayer is said three times:

דַע ,ןיִמוּס תַקְזֶחְבּ לֹכַּה ,ןיִמָיְנִבּ יִבַּר רַמאָ ,אָכָה ןִמ םֶהיֵניֵע תֶא ריִאֵמ ה“בקהש רֵאְבּ אֵרֵתְּו ָהיֶניֵע תֶא םיִקֹלֱא חַקְפִיְו״ ״.תַמֵחַה תֶא אֵלַּמְתוּ ךֵלֵתְו ,םִיַמ

,יִנָנָע ריִאֵמְדּ אָהָלֱא ,יֵנְנַע ריִאֵמְדּ אָהָלֱא יִנֲאֶשׁ הָקָדְּצַה תוּכְזִבּ .יֵנְנַע ריִאֵמְדּ אָהָלֱא ,סֵנַּה לַעַבּ ריִאֵמ יִבַּר תַמְשִׁנ יוּלִּעְל בֶדוֹנ תֶא אֹצְמִל יִל רֹזֲעַתּ ,וּניֵלָע ןֵגָי וֹתוּכְז .יִתְּדַבִּאֶשׁ הָדֵבֲאָה

Rabbi Binyamin said: All are presumed blind until the Holy One of Blessing enlightens their eyes. We know this from the verse “God opened her eyes, and she saw a well, and went and filled up the waterskin.” God of Meir, answer me. God of Meir, answer me. God of Meir, answer me. In the merit of the tzedakah which I am giving for the sake of the ascent of the soul of Rabbi Meir, Baal HaNess, may I find the object which I have lost.

WRESTLING WITH GOD

Mediante todos mis errores y todo mi dolor, Mediante el aprecio de mis bendiciones y mis búsquedas de oportunidades, He conseguido encontrarte, Dios. Gracias por ayudarme a elegir creer en ti, incluso si comencé fingiendo y aferrándome a la esperanza de que tu existencia era real.

También me he dado cuenta de que no depende de mí, ni de nadie, para moldearte, Dios, en algo más fácil de comprender. Pero aprender que Dios simplemente “es”, No tiene principio, ni medio, ni fin. Comprender que Dios siempre fue y siempre será. Comprender que, sin Ti, nuestro Creador, no puede haber creación, y que eso, es verdaderamente lo único que necesitamos.

Through all my burdens and all my pain, Through appreciating my blessings and seeking opportunities, I have come to find You, God. Thank You for helping me choose to believe, even if it started with pretending and holding on to the hope that Your existence was true.

I’ve also come to find it is not up to me, or up to us, to mold You, God, into something easier to comprehend. But to learn that God simply “is,” has no beginning, no middle, and no end. I’ve come to comprehend that God always was and always will be, to comprehend that without You, our Creator, there can be no creation, and that’s truly all we need.

— Yavne Luna Hatchwell Ordenes, Madrid, Spain

FOR CLARITY OF PURPOSE IN CONNECTION WITH GOD

Please God, Enable me to use my unique package of strengths and talents and weaknesses and challenges to develop my best self. Bless my efforts to affect the world with positive energy toward change that tips the scales of good over evil and ultimately allows Godly light to replace the darkness and confusion. Grant me daily clarity of purpose to create an increasingly strong and productive connection with my Godly soul and open new channels of possibilities to grow and fulfill my purpose here in this world.

Manette Mayberg, Silver Spring, Maryland

יֵהֹלאֵו וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי ךיֶנָפְלִּמ ןוֹצָר יִהְי ,וּניֵתוֹבֲא ןִמ םיִמָד תוּכיִפְשׁוּ תוֹמָחְלִמ לֵטַּבְתֶּשׁ .םָלוֹעָה ,םָלוֹעָבּ אָלְפִנְו לוֹדָגּ םוֹלָשׁ ךיִשְׁמַתְּו

דוֹע וּדְמְלִי אֹלְו בֶרֶח יוֹג לֶא יוֹג אָשִּׂי אֹלְו ,הָמָחְלִמ

תֶמֱאָה לֵבֵת יֵבְשׁוֹי לָכּ וּעְדֵיְו וּריִכַּי קַר ,הָּּתיִמֲאַל

ביִר ליִבְשִׁבּ םָלוֹעָה הֶזְל וּנאָבּ אֹל רֶשֲׁא ,םוֹלָשְׁו סַח תֶקוֹלֲחַמוּ רוּטְנִקְו האְָנִקְו האְָנִשׂ ליִבְשִׁבּ אֹלְו ,םוֹלָשְׁו סַח םיִמָדּ תוּכיִפְשׁוּ תַעַדָלְו ריִכַּהְל יֵדְכּ

it be Your will, Adonai, our

and God of our ancestors, that You annul war and bloodshed from the world, and that You extend a vast and wonderful peace to the world. Nation shall no longer ״take up sword against nation; they shall never again know war.”41

may all the earth’s inhabitants recognize and know the essential truth: That we’ve not come into this world for strife and divisiveness, nor for hatred, provocation, or bloodshed; We’ve come to this world only to encounter You, Holy Blessed One, forever, That through us be manifested what is written:

shall grant peace in the land, and you shall rest without fear,

Natan Sternhartz (1780–1844),

II,

Rabbi Natan Sternhartz (known as Reb Noson) and his small community of friends faced public criticism, boycotts, arrest, and even physical violence at the hands of their opponents. Nonetheless, Reb Noson followed his teacher, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, in emphasizing joy, humility, and the yearning for peace in the face of attacks. Over the course of his life, he composed many prayers based on the Torah teachings of Rebbe Nachman, translating the ideas of his master into what the rabbinic sages of the Talmud

“the service of the heart.” This prayer, based on a teaching of Rebbe Nachman responding to the Napoleonic wars of the early 1800s, articulates the painful absurdity of war, and its impact on human beings, the economy, and even the earth. By expressing his deepest longing for peace in the form of prayer, Reb Noson models how we too might express our heartbreak and vision of a world without violence and war.

PRAYER FOR REALIZING GOD’S ONENESS

Let us know and experience that You are sustaining our world, that you are with us daily. Let this knowledge transform our thinking, feeling, and actions. Let it uplift how we relate to each other.

Let us know that even when we disagree profoundly with another, they too are made in God’s image; our disagreements are real and can reflect our purpose and how we serve; still, there is a deep perspective of God’s Oneness in which the light of the Creator unifies.

Guide us to realize what’s written in Your Torah: “Ein od milvado,”44 there’s nothing but Godliness. Help us trust and see that despite what seems like contrary evidence, there is nothing else but God – everyone and everything is part of the One.

Help us raise our eyes from the mundane and see our lives from an expansive perspective, one that is infused with hope and purpose.

Let me and a fast‑growing number of people live with God consciousness, each in their way, to bring about a time when “the world will be filled with awareness of Your Presence, like the water covers the sea.”45

May the wondrous day in which Your Oneness is revealed come speedily in our day.

ADD YOUR OWN PERSONAL PRAYERS

You are invited to craft prayers which address vulnerable moments in your own life and prayers which express your dreams and aspirations.

Soul Full Together

Whether you are exploring Soul Full with your family or as part of a group, each chapter concludes with Soul Full Together, activities designed to build confidence, connection, and community.

FOR FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

In a 1971 lecture, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik shared the moment that most impacted his relationship to prayer when he was a child: the expression on his grandfather’s face when he prayed on Yom Kippur. Rabbi Soloveitchik studied rigorously with his grandfather, the famous Reb Chaim of Brisk. But none of the intellectual or philosophical training he received had the same impact as witnessing his grandfather’s genuine connection to prayer.

By far the most important thing you can do to shape your child’s relationship to prayer is pray with them, whether one of the fixed prayers from the canon of Jewish liturgy featured throughout this book, or the prayers of your heart that respond to the ups and downs of life like so many of those shared in this chapter.

Prayer isn’t easy. Nothing worthwhile is. But when you take a moment at night to pray with your children before bed, when you are open with your children about your own relationship to prayer, and use prayer to create a shared response to the highs and lows you face as a family, your honesty and authenticity will inspire your children. Just as Rabbi Soloveitchik remembered his grandfather’s genuine connection to prayer, so too may your children remember yours.

FOR FAMILIES WITH TWEENS AND TEENS Trips, Tables, and Trails

If your child(ren) are old enough to have a deeper conversation with you, three times when you’ll have a captive and happily captivated audience are drives, meals, and walks. Whether it’s a drive to school or a road trip, a family dinner or Sunday brunch, a walk through the neighborhood or a weekend hike, carving out time to have meaningful discussions with your kid(s) can be a game changer on your own Jewish journey and theirs.

Share with your child(ren) that you’re learning more about Judaism and Jewish prayer. Be open about the process. It’s not easy. The struggle is part of the joy. Reflect on the chapter and consider the prayers that feel “sticky” to you those that have moved you, given you pause, made you wonder. These are the places you should dig in with your kid(s).

You can also use the prompts below to share some of this chapter’s themes with them. Ask them to share their thoughts, ideas, and feelings. You just might be surprised by the conversations that unfold.

What do you think of when you hear the word prayer?

• In Hebrew, “to pray” (lehitpallel) is a reflexive verb something you do to yourself. The Hebrew verb implies that it’s a time of self-reflection and selfassessment. How do you imagine prayer can be a time for self-assessment? How can prayer change you?

• It’s been said that the soul is always praying. If that were true, what might your soul be praying for?

• If you knew prayer would have an impact, what would you pray for?

Consider sharing prayers from the “Mind and Body” (pp. 182–195) and “Successes and Challenges” (pp. 255–274.) with your kids to inspire them to begin to foster their own personal relationship to prayer.

FOR GROUPS

Your Sister’s Prayer

We learn in the introduction to SoulFullthat our sages describe the practice of prayer as the service and work of the heart. The self-reflection necessary for prayer can inspire empathy; sensitizing oneself as an individual often leads to the communal work of becoming more caring and committed. As such, we have a practice in Judaism of praying not only for ourselves but for others. For this activity, invite each participant to pen a brief prayer that is in her heart and speaks to her current circumstances, hopes, and fears. The prayers should be personal but not overly specific. For example: “Please God, help me connect with my mother. Forgive her and love her as she is for as long as we have left together.” “Please God, help my child overcome their self-doubt and thrive as they grow into adulthood.” “Please God, help me take the next step necessary to reach my financial goals.”

Then collect the prayers, shuffle them up, and hand them out with directions to go home and add the prayer they received to their own. Send reminders

periodically in your group chat. When you gather again as a group, invite your participants to share how it felt to pray someone else’s prayer, and how it felt to know someone else was praying for you.

Glossary

Adonai: See God’s Ineffable Name, pp. 287–289.

Ashkenazi: A Jew of Central or Eastern European descent.

Brachah (pl. brachot): Blessing(s). Brachah shares a root with the word for wellspring (breichah). Reciting even one blessing opens a wellspring of possibility and invites a fresh flow of goodness into our lives. Brachah also shares a root with the word for knee (berech), which is a joint, whose function is to connect body parts. When we recite a blessing, we connect with ourselves, with God, and with new possibilities. We also invite humility, as if bending a knee before the Almighty.

Chag (pl. chagim): Holiday. The Hebrew chag same’ach is a common holiday greeting. Celebrations and elevated observances accompany many holidays. Another name for “holiday” is yom tov, which literally means “a good day.” When you wish someone a gut yontif in Yiddish, you are wishing them a good yom tov you can even hear the similarity between the words.

Chametz: Leavened grains of the following types wheat, barley,

rye, oats, spelt and foods made when these grains are exposed to water, such as bread, cake, cookies, and pasta, all of which are prohibited during Passover.

Hashem: Literally “the Name.” Used to refer to God without using one of the names for God reserved for sacred texts and prayer. See “God’s Ineffable Name,” pp. 287–289.

Lechaim: Literally “to life.” A toast the Hebrew equivalent of “cheers.”

Kabbalah/Kabbalist: From the Hebrew root “to receive,” kabbalah is a form of Jewish mysticism that began to flourish in 13th-century Spain, reaching a zenith with the teachings and community building of Rabbi Isaac Luria in 16th-century Tzfat in northern Israel, and remains a potent force in Jewish life today. The primary text of kabbalah is the Zohar, a mystical commentary on the Torah attributed to the 2nd-century sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. A kabbalist is a practitioner or teacher of kabbalah.

Kaddish: From the root kadosh, literally “sanctified” or “holy.” An Aramaic call-and-response prayer, said in community, that magnifies

and sanctifies God’s Name. While there are variants of Kaddish said at different times, the most well known is Kaddish Yatom, the Mourner’s Kaddish notable because Kaddish does not mention death, but rather praises God.

Kiddush: From the root kadosh, literally “sanctified” or “holy.” We recite or chant Kiddush on Shabbat, holidays, and special occasions such as weddings. Kiddush blesses wine (or grape juice the fruit of the vine). Using slightly different versions of the text depending on the celebration, we use wine as a conduit to bless and sanctify specific times.

Klal Yisrael: A term used to refer to the entire Jewish people, the global Jewish family.

Midrash (pl. midrashim): From the Hebrew “to seek”; the Midrash refers to century-spanning compendia of narrative and legal elucidation of Torah.

Mikveh (pl. mikvaot): A reservoir of fresh water used for spiritual transformation in liminal moments through ritual immersion. Freshwater seas, rivers, and natural lakes are the earliest mikvaot, offering a primal connection with

God-given waters. For hundreds of generations Jews have been building mikvaot, which offer easier immersion in fresh water.

Minyan: To count. While many prayers in fact, the majority can be said individually on one’s own, Judaism elevates the importance of collective gathering and worship by identifying certain prayers as communal. These prayers are said only among a quorum of ten who are obligated in worship, called a minyan.

Mishnah (pl. mishnayot): The Mishnah is a compendium of rabbinic teachings from the period following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE until around 200 CE. Over subsequent centuries (approximately 200–400 CE in the land of Israel and 200–500 CE in Babylonia) expansive commentaries on the Mishnah were collected we call these commentaries the Gemara, from the Aramaic word for “finished” or “complete.” Taken together, the Mishnah and Gemara are known as the Talmud. Talmud study remains a centerpiece of Jewish life; its laws and stories, customs and folktales inspire creativity and debate to this day.

Mitzvah (pl. mitzvot): Literally “commandment.” Our sages teach that there are 613 mitzvot in the Torah and that mitzvah is often related to tzavta, which means “together” or “connected.” Mitzvot can be individual, relational, or spiritual. Some, such as caring for your mental and physical health, support connecting with our best selves; others, such as generous giving to those in need and refraining from waste or caring for the environment, help strengthen your community and sustain the living world. Still others, such as acknowledging the Oneness of God and celebrating Shabbat, outline ways to be in relationship with a Power greater than yourself.

Mizrachi: A Jew of North African or Middle Eastern descent

Selah: A common closing word in many psalms. Likely used for emphatic effect or musical direction.

Sephardi: A Jew of Spanish or Portuguese descent.

Shabbat Shalom: Traditional Shabbat greeting used to wish someone a peaceful Shabbat. Used interchangeably with its Yiddishinflected version, “Good Shabbos.”

Shalem/Shleimah/Shleimut: Whole; complete. For example,

to wish a sick person “refuah shleimah” is to hope for a complete recovery. From the same Hebrew root as the word shalom, peace.

Shalom Aleichem: Literally “Peace be upon you.” A traditional greeting, as well as the name of a poem commonly sung on Friday night to welcome Shabbat (see p. 80).

Shavua tov: Literally “Good week.” A warm greeting shared after Havdalah (see p. 106) to welcome the new week.

Shehecheyanu: A blessing of gratitude to God for sustaining us and allowing us to reach the present moment. Recited to celebrate the beginning of a holiday, special occasions, or upon doing something for the first time in a long time or acquiring a special possession.

Shema: Listen, hear. The first word of the Jewish mission statement about oneness: Everything – what we see as good and what we see as not good is one and emanates from the One.

Siddur (pl. siddurim): From the Hebrew root for “order,” a siddur is an organized prayer book. The order of prayers is largely consistent across communities,

with slight variations according to Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Mizrachi customs. Some siddurim focus on different prayer services at different times of day (weekday, Shabbat, and holidays; morning, afternoon, and evening) while others are more expansive, including all of this material as well as psalms and excerpts from weekly and holiday Torah readings. Note: The prayer book used on the High Holy Days of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur is called a machzor (from the Hebrew root “to return”).

Tallit (pl. tallitot): A prayer shawl adorned with knotted fringes called tzitzit at its four corners. These strings and knots remind its wearer of the 613 mitzvot.

Talmud: See Mishnah.

Tashlich: Casting off. A ritual on Rosh HaShanah afternoon that invites us to throw lint from our pockets into a flowing body of water to symbolically cast off our transgressions of the past year.

Tefillah (pl. tefillot): Translated as prayer. The root of the word pillel is concerned with selfexamination, so tefillah implies a kind of attunement. When used in its singular form, tefillah can refer specifically to the Amidah

prayer, the centerpiece of Jewish worship. Tefillah can also refer to the entire body of Jewish prayer, including the morning, afternoon, and evening prayer services.

Tefillin: Small leather boxes containing verses of Torah written on parchment. A set of tefillin includes one for the head and one for the hand. Leather straps descend from the boxes to allow the wearer to affix the tefillin to the forehead and nondominant arm. We derive the practice from a verse in Deuteronomy (6:8): “Bind them [the commandments] as a sign upon your hand; let them be a symbol before your eyes.”

Tiferet: Literally “glory” or “splendor.” Refers to the beauty and balance that comes when kindness and clear boundaries are in harmony. Tiferet is one of the ten Godly qualities (Sefirot) of kabbalah, representing a balance of God’s infinite benevolent flow of chesed (loving-kindness) when it is given restrictive boundaries (gevurah), channeled so that each living being receives a fitting portion of compassion, divine light, and vitality.

Torah: In its most literal form, Torah refers to the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Torah

can also be applied more broadly to refer to the entire Hebrew Bible, which includes Prophets and Writings. Most expansively, Torah refers to the entire corpus of Jewish thought written and oral Torah including legal codices, mysticism, philosophy, liturgy, and more.

Tzedakah: From the root for “righteousness,” tzedakah is a core tenet of Judaism, most often used in modern settings to refer to righteous giving, including donations and volunteering to support those in need. Derived from the commandments concerning tithing in the Torah, Jewish practice invites us to consider setting aside one-tenth of our annual income for tzedakah.

Tzitzit: Fringes. One of the Torah commandments is to affix fringes as a reminder of God’s presence and commandments to one’s four-cornered garments, which was what people wore at the time. When clothing changed, Jews fulfilled the commandment with a prayer shawl, called a tallit, and with a little four-cornered undershirt or poncho worn during the day.

Yah: See Adonai.

Yahrtzeit: A Yiddish term for the anniversary of a person’s death, from yahr (year) and tzeit (time). Practices to mark a yahrtzeit include lighting a twenty-four-hour memorial candle and reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish in community.

Yom Tov: See Chag.

Seven Prisms Illuminating God’s Most Intimate Name

ה‑ו‑ה‑י

Our sages teach that language cannot capture what is Beyond words. In describing the Divine, the term “God” is really only a place holder for that which cannot be expressed in mere human terms. Names of God use human structures, including gender. Some of God’s names use male pronouns and other use female pronouns. God is not gendered.

We are each referred to by different names: parent, sibling, neighbor, or our given name. All our names point to us but no name fully captures the entirety of who we are. Consider this in noting that while there is an abundance of names for God, our sages taught that none fully capture the most intimate Divine Name. They say that this name is not to be pronounced because this presence of God is so beyond our consciousness. So, it is called God’s Ineffable Name, or just “the Name,” or in Hebrew Hashem. Many Jewish prayers invoke this Name of God. The following seven prisms illuminate our sages’ teachings regarding this Ineffable Name. As you use this book, we encourage you to examine which of these prisms help deepen your own connection with God.

Consider not reading them all at once, but one at a time, so you can explore how each resonates with you.

1. COMPASSIONATE LOVE

Our sages teach1that God instructed Moses what each of God’s different names meant. The Ineffable Name of God was explained as God’s compassionately loving the world. This is expressed in Moses’ famous prayer (said, for example, on the High Holidays) that begins with, “Adonai, Adonai, a God compassionately loving and gracious.”

2. PRESENCE

Multiple sources speak of God’s Name as Presence Makom a holy and wholly Presence that we are enveloped within and can always tune in to. Our

1 Shemot Rabbah 3:6.

sages put it this way, “This Godly Presence is not within our world; rather, our world is within this Wholly Presence! As King David wrote,2 God’s Ineffable Name is ‘the Presence in which we dwell.’”3

3. JOY

“Joy is nourished by God’s Name. When we realize and tune in to the Presence that fills the entire world, expansive beyond all divisions, then there is no melancholy.”4 King David said, “I will rejoice in God’s Ineffable Name.”5

4. BEYOND TIME

God’s most intimate name has four letters. Our sages note that these four letters make up the Hebrew words for past, present, and future, teaching that God is utterly beyond time.6

5. ONENESS, THE SOURCE UNITING EVERYTHING

“God is the all-encompassing Source of all forces. It is Oneness, as in the Shema prayer, implying that all forces emanate from the One.”7“This Oneness connects all opposites.”8“When we recognize the One Source, all is vital, whole, fresh, illuminated, and connected.”9

6. ADONAI – SUPPORTING AND UPLIFTING

Our sages teach that God’s Ineffable Name is not to be pronounced as written but is rather read as “Adonai.” The literal translation is Master, but the word carries other relevant meanings which shed light on this Name of God. For example, a word with the same root as Adonai that appears often in the Torah is adanei hamishkan. It refers to the supports that stabilized and

2 Psalms 90:1.

3 Midrash Bereshit Rabbah 68:9.

4 Hasidic master, Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin (1823–1900), Kometz HaMinchah 2:79.

5 Psalms 104: 34.

6 Influential medieval authority, Rabbi Jacob ben Asher (1269–1343), Tur, Orach Chaim 5.

7 Founder of the Volozhin Yeshivah, Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin (1749–1821), Nefesh HaChaim 3:9.

8 Physician, poet, and philosopher, Judah Halevi (1075–1141), The Kuzari 4:25.

9 The chief rabbi of pre-state Israel, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, (1865–1935), Orot HaKodesh, vol. II, ChezyonHaChaimVeha’atid, 33.

uplifted the pillars and boards of the tent of worship – the holy center of the Jewish people’s camp, when they traveled in the desert, after leaving Egypt. This notion of support is also reflected in contemporary Hebrew. For example, the term for windowsills is adanei chalonot. Likewise, the term for the beams that uphold a train track is adanei pasei rakevet. What starts to emerge is a web of associations spun by this word. It conveys ideas of support and uplift, as well as letting in light (via the windowsill), as well as connection and the allowing for movement (via the train track beams).

Adonaiis the Master who supports and uplifts. “As a surface can bear and hold an item placed on it, so Adonai bears and sustains all worlds and beings… The Zohar’s mystical writings call Adonai the Soul of all Souls. As the soul animates and sustains the body…God animates all souls.”10 “God’s Ineffable Name vitalizes everything.”11

Indeed, in the prayer book, one of the first morning prayers speaks of God as “Adon of all souls” (Adon kol haneshamot), the Master who supports, uplifts, and connects all souls.

7. BEYOND COMPREHENSION

“It is possible in a limited, relatable, God-consciousness to include an understanding of God as Oneness, Creator of all, and the Source of all creativity. But these are all limited understandings. The transcendent, expansive expression of God is far greater! It encompasses everything in an awesome, elevated unity, far beyond human comprehension.”12

10 Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, Nefesh HaChaim 3:1.

11 The dean of the Volozhin Yeshivah, Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (1816–1893), Ha’amek Davar, Exodus 6:3.

12 Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, ArpileiTohar, 80.

Acknowledgments

Writing this book on the “service and work of the heart” was a labor of love that benefited tremendously from the gifts of many people. Its flaws, however, have been furnished exclusively by me. This global initiative was the dream of Helen and David Zalik, who, together with Amanda Abrams, provided support and guidance over several years. This book drew inspiration from Helen and David’s love of learning and their leadership in making the treasures of Jewish wisdom accessible for us, our children, and our grandchildren.

Rabbi Yitzhak Berkovits guided the project from its inception, reading and commenting on every chapter.

Ben Pery had the vision of including voices from around the world. Ruth Baars provided encouragement and support in making key decisions. Lori Palatnik provided helpful feedback on each chapter. Adrienne Gold Davis helped with reaching out to the Momentum global network and matching people with prayers.

Ruchi Koval’s beautiful book ConversationswithGod:PrayersforJewishWomen was a formative inspiration for this book. Ruchi was a partner in crafting the content for the “Rise Up” chapter. Nili Couzens was a partner in crafting the content for the “Kindle Joy” chapter. Adrienne Gold Davis was a partner in crafting the content for the “Give Thanks” chapter. Lori Palatnik and Ianna Raim were partners in crafting some of the chapters in the full book. The book was skillfully edited by Jessica Berkowitz, who offered a wellspring of creativity, elevating each section with grace and thoughtfulness. Jessica gave the title to the book and wrote the “Soul Full Together” sections. Erin Ring oversaw all the logistics of a dozen writing workshops in which the personal prayers were crafted. Debbie Waissbluth led a writing workshop in Spanish with support from Ivonne Bengio and Galia Rubinstein. Shulamit Kopeliovich led a writing workshop in Russian with support from Anna Vainer. Thank you to all who opened their hearts and shared their personal prayers! You are the co-authors of this book, contributing contemporary voices to the choral symphony of traditional prayers. The copy editing was done with care first by Deena Nataf and then by Debbie Ismailoff. Your devotion and care are reflected on each page. Chaya Lester’s

editing enriched the introductions with flow, vibrancy, and order. The beauty and design of this book is thanks to Ira Ginzburg, and her team, Anna Hacco and Anna Hayat. Hillel Hurwitz, Lani Preis, and Allison Kent provided the interface that guided the design work.

Rabbi David Aaron offered helpful consultation, especially during the extended conversations on translating God’s name. Rav Daniel Kohn offered helpful insights to the “Rise Up” chapter and to the book’s introductions. Faryn Bierman, Kara Kastan, and Debbie Eisenberg helped with project management in the final year. Avi Eisenberg copy edited the Hebrew. Leah Hartman translated from Hebrew personal prayer in the “Rise Up” chapter and contributed to copy editing. Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder helped with translating several of the prayers in the “Hear the Soul Speak” chapter. Aliza Lavie shared of her decades of experience with women’s prayers, which can be found in her books, Minhag Nashim and Tefilat Nashim. She provided inspiration and help with contacts.

Thank you for feedback on chapters of the book received from Community Leaders, lay leaders, and participants around the world: Sue Morris, Daphna Kamenitsky, Lindy Diamond, Pamela Claman, Andy Toker, Jill Pearlman, Mindy Glickman, Tara Zweben, Dena Judah, Shulamit Kopeliovich, Elyse Berkovitch, Jennifer Shapiro, Hilton Rubin, Amy Lefcoe, Raissa Ellis, Priya Weinman, Richard Goldstein, Gisele Pintchuck, Andrea Mail, Pip Spandorfer. Debra Magerman’s thoughtful insights helped us plan for making the most of the “Soul Full Together” sections at the end of each chapter. A central direction for this book is a collective effort, years in the making, the Momentum methodology and pedagogy. The Momentum Board of Directors, the Momentum Education and Leadership Advisory Panel, and the Momentum directors, Trip Leaders, and community have all played central roles in shaping this methodology. Thank you to the amazing Momentum team, who with heart and soul implement this methodology through interlinking initiatives, Soul Full being one of them. Thank you! This work could not have happened without you.

Our appreciation goes out to Manette and Louis Mayberg, Todd Sukol, David Magerman, the Israel Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, as well as to Ruth Baars, Hillel Hurwitz, Chava Kott, Faryn Bierman, Jessica Berkowitz, Rachel Sales, Oliva Marcus, Lani Preis, Judy Victor and the entire Yomm app team for extending the impact of these chapters by bringing to life the Soul Full Prayer experience on the app, so that users around the world will be able to personalize their own prayer practice. Thank you Manette for your remarkable vision and partnership on this.

I’m grateful to my teachers and learning partners. I thank my grandmother and mother, Tzivia Levi z”l and Dr. Yael Zif z”l, who first introduced me to prayer; my father, Dr. Jehiel Zif, whose name is an exulting cheer to God and who continues to provide the love and encouragement that offers me a glimpse to what it means to refer to God as our Father our Majesty; my parents in law, Sara z”l and Jerry Kreger z”l, whose love and kindness made music daily, literally. I thank our children, Shir, Maor Eden Oman, and Ma’ayan Hodaya, our sons-in-law, Dor and Yonatan Gad, and my husband, Dr. David Ziv-Kreger, for immeasurable joy and meaning; your lives of integrity and service are an inspiration. My deepest appreciation goes to you, David, for your support in all aspects of life and partnership in prayerful living. I dedicate my work on this book to our grandchildren, those already born, Alma and Atai, and those not yet born, both to our nuclear family and our shared extended global Jewish family. May you seek and find what is soulful in your world and build on it.

Thank you! I pray that this book draws you closer to your own soul and inspires you to see the Godly nature in others. May this book enhance your journey of offering your song to the world.

God, words can’t describe my love and gratitude. The dance of prayer is often silent, and yet this book is a song to You, with a prayer that our children and grandchildren find Your beloved sweetness, sing to You in their way, and in so doing know that they are part of a family that across time and space is singing to connect heaven and earth.

About the Author and Editor

Ronit Ziv-Kreger serves as Momentum’s Director of Education. With a PhD from MIT, she has more than twenty-five years of experience in designing and leading large-scale educational initiatives.

Since coming to Momentum in 2016, her responsibilities include collaboratively advancing bold ideas and overseeing data-driven success in fostering positive impact for communities, institutions, families, and individuals. Author and editor of Year of Growth, and the forthcoming Soul Full: Gateways to Jewish Prayer, she enjoys collaborating with the global Jewish community in creating learning resources and publications that foster unity without uniformity.

Ronit lived her formative years in both Israel and Boston. She is the mother of three adult children, and she lives with her husband in the Boston area. She loves to hike, dance, and study Torah.

About Momentum

Momentum empowers women to change the world through Jewish values that transform them, their families, and their communities. Since launching in 2008, and in strong partnership with the government of Israel and over three hundred community organizations in thirty-five countries around the world, Momentum has welcomed more than twenty thousand mothers on a yearlong journey that includes an eight-day immersive Israel experience followed by a year of learning in their home community. Momentum expanded to include men’s programming in 2013 as a result of many requests to offer firsthand experiences for fathers as well. The Momentum library of programming also includes regional retreats, ongoing community and small group learning opportunities and leadership development; and a robust digital content library of accessible webinars and podcasts that have reached upwards of five million people across the globe.