“This life’s journey is like crossing a very narrow bridge; the main thing is not to give in to fear.” Rabbi Nachman of Breslov The bridge in that well-known hasidic song is not a wooden stucture mounted on a trestle a few inches above the ground, a plank from which any fall would be gentle and uneventful. It is more like a catwalk suspended precariously high over a windy abyss, whose distant depths are occasionally visible but more often shrouded…
There are those who choose to linger in prayer, to break free from the pacing of public liturgy with its many chants and hymns. They will remain with a single blessing, phrase, word, or even a solitary syllable, embracing it, caressing it with tongue, clinging with soul to its inner lights, merging with it in joyous, silent song. These may prolong the ba- of barukh till the end of the last Amen. Concerning these the Pious one said: “People do…
וּמֵחָכְמָתְךָ, אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, תַּאֲצִיל עָלַי, וּמִבִּינָתְךָ תְּבִינֵֽנִי, וּבְחַסְדְּךָ תַּגְדִּיל עָלַי, וּבִגְבוּרָתְךָ תַּצְמִית אוֹיְבַי וְקָמַי “Shine your Mind into my mind, H’ Most High, imbue me with your Wisdom, invest me with your Virtue, provision me with your Power.” (free translation of an intention on donning phylacteries) Before mind is filled with self, may we be empty vessels for your Light. Before tongue begins to explain, may we be empty vessels for your Truth. Before right arm flexes in zeal,…
אשרי יושבי ביתך “Happy are those who dwell in your House” (from the morning and afternoon prayers) I have seen your Glory reflected, H’, often in silence but also in song, in moments of prayer and in hours of study, in tender love and in tearful loneliness, in the good times of peace and in those long years of war. I have heard your Voice echoed, H’, as it speaks through children’s laughter and the veils of pain and suffering….
Dragged in by the moon the sea rises; salt spray moistens the dry rock, collects in rivulets and trickles down into the lower fissures. The tide moves in, and swirling streams pour into the once empty pool. More crashing waves, and barrier, brim and rim are gone, Pool and ocean are one. Breathe in, hold, bless the One. אֵין עוֹד The moon moves on, the waters ebb, the currents recede, the barrier returns, Glistening starfish and fronds of silvery kelp…
וְהוּא רַחוּם יְכַפֵּר עָוֹן וְלֹא יַשְׁחִית, וְהִרְבָּה לְהָשִׁיב אַפּוֹ, וְלֹא יָעִיר כָּל חֲמָתוֹ. “The Merciful One That Covers Over Iniquity“ (from the evening prayers) It is evening, and notwithstanding all our diligent efforts and worthy intentions, the books are still unbalanced. Debts remain unpaid, some of which may weigh upon us, but we lack the means, or the will, to discharge them, whereas of others we remain either oblivious or only vaguely cognizant. It is not our way simply to…
One who recites every day “The Song of all Creatures” in this world will surely sing it in the Palaces of Eternity. An ancient and mysterious text called “The Song of All Creatures” (Pereq Shirah) tells us that every created being, from the Heavens above to each scorpion, snail and ant below, has its own song, a unique hymn with which it praises H’. This piece, composed of a beautiful selection of relevant biblical verses, once occupied a place in…
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, מְחַיֵּה הַמֵּתִים Blessed be H’, Rekindler of the Extinguished There are times when the fires of spirit seem to grow cold, when fervor abates, prayers become wooden and devotions routine. All this is natural, and is as much part of the inner life as the cycles of day and night, new moons and old, summer and winter are features of the celestial planes. But there is a difference. Our minds can comprehend the rhythms of the external…
פִּתְחוּ לִי שַׁעֲרֵי צֶדֶק אָבֹא בָם Open for me, gates of triumph, open that I may enter and praise H’. This is the gate to H’, through which the company of the Righteous pass. “Open for me the gates.” The prayer is earnest, the intention pure, but the answer may still be ‘no’; you may not come in, you will have to remain outside. Was not the Great Teacher, Moses himself, denied permission to go into the Land (though he…
אֲדֹנָי שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח וּפִי יַגִּיד תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ Formal prayer is not always easy. The words may not flow naturally, or are blocked by distractions, either inner or outer, or by plain reluctance to repeat familiar phrases of antique devotions. We need help in fine-tuning our voices, in eliminating extraneous thoughts and automatic pieties; and so, immediately before reciting the Amidah, the essential core of the liturgy, we pause to remember a verse from Psalms: H’, open my lips that my mouth…