A Prayer for Peace
This prayer was written upon reflection of the one-year anniversary of January 15, 2022, when Rabbi Charlie and three congregants were held hostage by a gunman in the sanctuary of Congregation Beth Elohim in Colleyville, TX.
Al Chet for Climate Healing
In a traditional translation of the Al Chet prayer we would read: "For the sin we committed…." But the word "chet" in Hebrew is an archery term that means "to miss the mark." As we face the effects of global warming, let's step away from the concept of "sin" and come back to the mark, to the ways that we've all missed it.
A Blessing for Entering the New Year (And for Journeying Onward Any Time, Anywhere))
On the next part of your journey, Into a new year Or a new career As you make a new friend Or to your heart you do tend We wish you... B'hatzlacha (good luck)! May your eyes open to glorious sights that will make your heart beat faster And may...
Rosh HaShanah Candle Lighting
The candles are lit before the blessing is recited.
Kaddish for Black Lives
In remembrance of the countless Black Americans we have lost to racist violence, we are again asking our friends and allies in the Jewish community—Jews of Color and White Jews, Sephardic and Mizrachi and Ashkenasi, religious and secular, at home, in shul, or on Zoom—to recite a Kaddish for Black Lives during this Shabbat.
For the Return of Peace
As an Israeli-American, I hold sorrow and fear for both my nations, and all the earth. This is a prayer for G-d to restore peace and justice to our world. The photo, which I took from Israel last fall, is a peaceful sunset over Gaza.
Shavuot Evening Blessings: Kiddush - Blessing over the Wine, Weekday Version
Blessing over the wine for the festival of Shavuot, Sunday through Thursday.
For George Floyd’s Family
After a moment of joy and relief at the guilty verdicts in the murder of George Floyd, my overwhelming emotion is sorrow in my heart for a daughter without her father and a brother without his brother. This is a prayer for justice and healing. My anger and indignation were already expressed in “Strangled by Police: Psalm of Protest 17” which is added here to create a two-prayer liturgy. Both pieces refer to Amos 5:24, envisioning a time when justice will flow as water.
A Prayer for Shabbat Tzedek
A prayer for Shabbat Tzedek – a Shabbat of Justice – in connection with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend.
Against Domestic Insurrection
This is a prayer in response to the rioting and attacks on the U.S. Capitol, an attack on the great history of the peaceful transition power in the United States of America.