M'kor Habracha

M’kor Habracha,
O source of blessing,
we praise you and seek your blessings 
over Israel-
but who are we
to seek your blessing
when you are needed elsewhere tonight?

M’kor Habracha,
O source of blessing,
we praise you and seek your blessings 
over all the children of Israel -
but who are we
to seek your blessing
when other children need you tonight?

M’kor Habracha,
O source of blessing,
we praise you and seek your blessings 
over all your people Israel -
but who are we
to seek your blessing
when so many other peoples need you tonight?

Yes, even when so many others need you tonight -
M’kor Habracha,
O source of blessing,
we praise you and seek your blessings 
over Israel, Jerusalem, and all the world.

And we pray that your shelter of peace, tranquility, 
justice, healing and light
be with so many who need you tonight.
for you are
M’kor Habracha,
the source of all blessing,
at all times, everywhere, for all in need.

M’kor Habracha,
O source of infinite blessings -
we praise you for your capacity
to be in so many places
at one time.

Tzur Yisrael

Tzur Yisrael, Rock of Israel,
we pray for spirit and endurance for our people

Tzur Yisrael, Rock of Israel,
we pray for fairness and justice for our people

Tzur Yisrael, Rock of Israel,
we pray for compassion and love for our people

and

Tzur Yisrael, Rock of Israel,
we pray that you not be thrown at us,
but used for building...

and 

Tzur Yisrael, Rock of Israel,
we pray that those buildings are safe and sturdy,
even if they are not our own...

and 

Tzur Yisrael, O Rock of Israel
we pray that the stones used to build sturdy buildings
house safely her people
even if they, too, are not our own...

Tzur Yisrael, Rock of Israel...
we pray that with you as the cornerstone...
peace can be built,
humanity respected,
partitions abided,
partnerships embraced

Tzur Yisrael, O Rock of Israel,
though rocks and stones can crumble,
we pray that the mortar which binds them all together,
be one of steadfast and everlasting strength.

Hafsakat Aish

As the fear in our hearts intensified these past weeks…

We petitioned you O God,

that the fear, the fires, the forces of war might cease…

As our anxieties have eased,

With word of Hafsakat Aish – a cease fire - these past few days…

We praised you O God

For the respite and relief…

As our hopes for peace are again restored

May our hearts never cease to be afire with a love for

Our land…

Her people…

Peace with her neighbors…

And we thank you, O God –

For your unceasing love of your People Israel.

Baruch atah Adonai Ohev Amo Yisrael.

Am Chai

What exactly does it mean that “Am Yisrael Chai” - the People of Israel live?

Perhaps it is a song of joy and relief!  The People of Israel Live - because there were times when our living, when our survival was unclear.

Perhaps it is a refrain of power and dominion!  The People of Israel Live - because for only 64 years have we had a modern land to call our own, sustaining our survival.  

What exactly does it mean that “Am Yisrael Chai” - the People of Israel live?

Perhaps it is a chorus of clarity and crisp purpose.  The People of Israel Live - in order to bring healing and justice to the world.

And perhaps it is a prayerful prediction - that the People of Israel should always live...and should always feel enlivened...

But it is not only about our people and our lives, for in this three word utterance, we, Yisrael, are bookended by Am and Chai.  

Our people value life - all life - above all else.  

So what exactly does it mean that “Am Yisrael Chai” - the People of Israel live?  

Perhaps it is a song, a refrain, a chorus, a prayer - that Israel, her inhabitants, her neighbors, and those on all sides who crave peace, should live, not in bomb shelters, but in a sukkah of shalom, a shelter of peace.  

Ufros Aleinu Sukkat Shlomecha...

O source of shelters, O source of peace - we pray for the safety of everyone in this fractured land, and we pray that Am Yisrael Chai - that the People of Israel Live and that All People Live together in enduring peace.

M'kor Kesher

Usually the phone calls go the other way -

We saw on the news!  Are you okay?

This week, Jerusalem was calling us.

We saw on the news!  Are you okay?

O source of phone lines,
We ask for your blessing on Jerusalem,
We ask for your blessing on all her people,
and we pray
that those of us over here
always be connected to those of us over there...
with the comfort and safety to travel from here to there often
under a shelter of enduring peace.

Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim…

Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim… 
We pray for the peace of Jerusalem…that all should know peace within her borders.

Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim… 
We pray for the peace of Jerusalem…that all should be sheltered and sustained on the land, the most grand house of God.

Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim… 
We pray for the peace of Jerusalem…that her holy sites be open, hospitable, and safe for all who enter.

Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim… 
We pray for the peace of Jerusalem…that all Jews – Orthodox, Liberal, Secular – have equal voice, equal rights and responsibilities, equal justice.

Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim… 
We pray for the peace of Jerusalem…that all prayers, from all genders, all peoples, all religions – be seen as holy, valuable and true.

Amen.

Shuva L'Shalom

As we stand on the first Shabbat of this new year…
We pray for return.
Such that for eternity…
The cycles of the year will always return to their beginnings…
And the cycles of the sun, moon, and stars
always return to their original place in the sky…
And the land, that encompasses all our hopes;
The land that encompasses all our dreams…
may return to her beginning as well…
Not the same, perhaps…
But stronger, safer, and more peaceful than ever before…
May the cycles of the year continue to illuminate our beloved land
with bright memories of generations past;
May the cycles of our year continue to illuminate our beloved land
With echoes of an even brighter future…
A new year has arrived…
And in this year, we pray, may she know peace, prosperity, and wholeness.

Hayinu K'cholmim

Every day, when the sun rises…
A new light shines upon Jerusalem…
And every night, when the moon glows…
A new light shines up Zion…
We pray that for eternity…
The sun will continue rise…
And the moon will continue glow…
On the land that is our hopes,
The land that is our dreams…
For hayinu k’cholmim, we were once like dreamers…
That there might someday be a land on which
The sun would shine, the moon could glow…
May the cycles of light continue to illuminate our beloved land;
May their rays cast warmth over all her inhabitants…
And may our prayers for peace cause even the dimmest stars to dazzle hopefully in the night sky…

A new year is upon us…
And may the light of our future shine endlessly upon Zion, and our holy city of Jerusalem…