“Sing with Liberty,” a Prayer of Immigration and Welcoming
This prayer/song is based on “New Colossus,” the sonnet by Emma Lazarus appearing on a plaque inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Those familiar with the sonnet will recognize the images and phrases reflected here; it was written as an antidote to attempted hijackings of the message of the Lazarus poem.
Gratitude for Work
This is a simple prayer of gratitude for having a job. It can be easy to take for granted at times, especially with a challenging job or a difficult boss.
This prayer appears in the Labor Day section of This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day, along with a social justice prayer "Against Worker Exploitation," also very appropriate for this day.” Optional language appears in [brackets].
A Prayer for the Anniversary of September 11th
Eternal God, Source and Creator of Life; From the depths we have called to You and we call to You again for courage, strength and wisdom on this anniversary of our nation's tragedy.
A Prayer for Israel
In this sacred moment, give us hope for Israel and her future.
Renew our wonder at the miracle of the Jewish State.
The Preacher Said: A Prayer for MLK Day
Reform liturgist Alden Solovy shares an original prayer he penned for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
The External War and the Internal War
This week's Torah portion is called Ki Teitzei — meaning literally, "When you go out." It is a reference to violence and war. "When you take the field [literally, "When you go out"] against your enemies, and the Eternal your God delivers them into your power and you take some of them captive ... " (Deuteronomy 21:10).
This sentence is but a tiny portion of more than a thousand verses in the Tanach that deal with war. Our Holy Scriptures came into history in a world in which fighting was a normal and often necessary activity. The ancient communities of the Middle East were governed according to tribal custom and law, and each ethnic community was in a combative relationship with its neighbor. There was no United Nations in those days, no European Union designed to administer diverse people according to collective rules and laws. Some tribal federations such as the twelve tribes of Israel pooled their resources, but that was for protection rather than for advancing peaceful relations with the rest of the world. The harsh social-economic and political reality of the ancient world often triggered violent and deadly conflicts between communities and peoples, and it is rare that we read a comment such as is found in Judges 3:11: " ... and the land had peace for forty years."
The Commandment to Love and Help the Stranger
This week, the Israelites are instructed that after they enter the Promised Land and begin to farm it, each head of household is to fill a basket with the very first fruits produced there and bring it to Jerusalem. They are to bring the basket before the priest and recite a story that we read every year in our Pesach seders:
My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. We cried out to the Eternal, the God of our ancestors, and the Eternal heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. The Eternal freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents, bringing us to this place and giving us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You, Eternal One, have given me (Deuteronomy 26:5-10).
Collective Responsibility, One for All and All for One
Nitzavim comes in the cycle of Torah readings just before Rosh HaShanah and is particularly appropriate for the High Holidays because it stresses the importance of repentance. The tone of the passage is at once both lofty and terrifying.
It begins with Moses' inspiring address to the entire people of Israel shortly before he is to die, "You stand this day (Atem nitzavim hayom), all of you, before the Eternal your God — you tribal heads, you elders, and you officials, all the men of Israel, you children, you women, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to water drawer" (Deuteronomy 29:9-10).