SAMPLE JEWISH RENEWAL SERVICE

 

 

Typical Shabbat Morning Renewal service

 

This is the plan for our Shabbat morning service on 28th February 2004. The Siddur is the “Shabbat Morning Siddur” complied and edited by Rabbi Marcia Prager. The page numbers are referenced below. The service lasts 2 hours from 10am. To accompany the chants, we regularly use the CD by Rabbi David Cooper and Shoshana Cooper “Songs of Prayer and Silence”. The track numbers are referenced below. Sometimes we use a harmonium to accompany the chants. Of course the times shown below are for guidance only.

 

The theme of this service was the 4 Worlds of Kabbalah. There was emphasis on how the service is divided into its own 4 Worlds – see the notes by Rabbi Prager in the Siddur. You will see that we climb “Jacob’s ladder” to the fourth world of Atzilut, then come back down through Briyah to Assiyah.

 

1.  Four Worlds meditation     5 min.

 

2.  ASSIYAH – explanation 2 min.

3.   Pg 1 Track 2 Mah Tovu – We create the sacred space 5 min

4.  Pg 2 Blessing the body  from Psalm 139 - English      1 min

5.  Pg 3 Trk 5 Elo Hai Neshama - Blessing the soul; followed by 2 min meditation 6 min

6.  Pg 5 Morning blessings- Baruch …Haolam in Hebrew; rest of line in English 5 min

 

7.  YETZIRAH  - explanation 2 min

8.  Pg 7 Psalms for Shabbat: Songs of Praise Psalm 19 - English 1 min

9.  Pg 12 Nishmat : Praising with our Breath - English     5 min

 

10.                    BRIYAH  - Explanation 2 min

11.                    Pg 17 Baruchu – a Fountain of Blessings      3 min

12.                    P20 Kedusha – Holy Holy Holy - 3 min chant with harmonium + 3 min meditation  6 min

13.                    Pg 23 Trk 9 Ahavah Olam (Rabba) You keep such great love flowing 6 min

14.                    Pg24 Trk 11 Shema: Comprehend with Total Comprehension 4 min

15.                    Pg 25 V’ahavta – And you must love Adonai (Hebrew) 4 min

16.                    Pg 29 Mi Chamocha – Who is like You – Hebrew 3 min

 

17.                    ATZILUT – explanation 2 min

18.                    Pg 38 Amidah – using guided imagery 9 min

19.                    Pg 42 Trk 12 Yihiyu L’ratzon  - May the words of my mouth : chant + 2 min meditation       total 8 min

 

20.                    BRIYAH – explanation 2 min

21.                    Pp 43 Torah Service   8 min

22.                    Reading Chumash      9 min

23.                    Misheberachs             6 min

24.                    Pg 48 Eytz Chayim, returning Scroll to the Ark – She is a Tree of Life.    4 min

 

25.                    ASSIYAH – explanation 2 min

26.                    Pg 51 Mourners Kaddish – May God’s essence be revealed 4 min

27.                    Announcements  4 min

28.                    Pg 52 Adon Olam – Mistress of Time and Space  4 min

 

JEWISH RENEWAL WOMEN’S ISSUES SHABBAT SERVICE SATURDAY 23/7/05

 

Martin Buber defines prayer as “that speech of ours to God which, whatever else is asked, ultimately asks for the manifestation of the divine Presence, for this presence’s becoming dialogically perceivable”. The presupposition of prayer is “readiness of the whole person for this Presence, simple turned towardness, unreserved spontaneity”. “ One who is not present perceives no presence”. The problem of prayer is that self consciousness that I am praying takes away this spontaneity. This is part of what Buber calls the hiding of God, when the “I” and all that surrounds it obstructs the road to “Thou”. If you are overwhelmed with weeping during prayer, that is good, but to weep according to a plan is unworthy.

 

Prayer is an attitude of openness to both the wonder and claim of existence. We hide the lights and mysteries of the world from ourselves with one small hand. Prayer is the removal of that hand. Prayer is about discovering, each time and situation anew, what we can bring and what can be brought; the way we bring ourselves to a life crisis, a poem, a dream or a tale. 

 

READ TOGETHER:

 

I now prepare

to unify my whole self -

heart,

mind,

consciousness,

body,

passions,

with this holy community,

with the Jewish people everywhere

with all people everywhere

will all life and being.

 

To commune with the Source of All Being.

May I find the words,

the music, the movements,

that will put me in touch

with the great light of God.

 

May the beauty of God rest upon us.

May God establish the works of our hands,

and may the works of our hands establish God.

Go around the room, counter-clockwise, as the moon travels, naming each person. This may be done in English, Hebrew, Judesmo, Ladino, Yiddish, or any other language. The matrilineal line may extend as far as each person is able.

 

I am ____________daughter/son of ______________daughter/son of

 

_____________ daughter/son of _____________and on and on.

 

We welcome our ancestors, the matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel.

 

From the East, we call to our sister Sarah, daughter of Mesopotamia, princess and honored one. Sarah, the first matriarch, joins us from the place where the sun rises, the place to which we Jews turn. Mother of beginnings, join us now as we come together to celebrate the cycles of time and change.

 

From the West, we call to our sister Rebecca, daughter of the well. Rebecca, woman of tenacity and courage, joins us from the land where the sun sets. Mother of contractions and contradictions, join us now, as we come together, to celebrate the cycles of time and change.

 

From the North, we call to our sister Leah, tender-eyed and inward-looking. Leah, who learned to live with less, joins us from the fertile north, the land of green and deep running streams. Mother of patience and fortitude, join us now as we come together to celebrate the cycles of time and change.

 

From the South, we call to our sister Rachel, whose love was stronger than death. Rachel joins us from the place where heat is intense, the light blinding, the truth searing. Mother of pleasure and pain, join us now as we come together to celebrate the cycles of time and change.

Sing:

 

Hiney Mah Tov U'mah nayim

 

Shevat Kulam Gam Yachad

 

How good and pleasant it is for us to all sit together

B'rukhah at Yah, Sh'khinah, Eloteinu malkat ha-olam, al kiddush ha-chayyim.

 

Blessed are you, God, indwelling presence, queen of the universe, for sanctifying life.

Sing with Shefa Gold tape “My Rock” Side B, Track 2:

 

Modah ani l’fanecha, Ruach chai v’kayam.

 

I am thankful before the Shekhinah, the indwelling Presence, who created women and created in them the power of wisdom

 

Silent meditation for 5 minutes

B'rukhah at Yah, Sh'khinah, Eloteinu malkat ha-olam, asher kidshatnu b'mitzvotekha v'tzivatnu al ha-t'vilah.

 

Blessed are you, God, indwelling presence, queen of the universe, who has inspired us to cleanse and purify our innermost being.

 

B'rukhah at Yah, Sh'khinah, Eloteinu malkat ha-olam, shehechiyatnu v'kiy'matnu, v'higiatnu, la-z'man ha-zeh.

 

Blessed are you, God, indwelling presence, queen of the universe, who has sustained us and allowed us to reach this moment.

 

B'rukhah at Yah, Sh'khinah, Eloteinu malkat ha-olam, she'ha-kol nihiyeh bidvarah.

 

Blessed are you, God, indwelling presence, queen of the universe, who creates everything according to her will.

As the moon courses through its cycles each month, women move through the personal cycles of their bodies and lives. Our days, weeks and months, indeed our lives, are of a cyclical nature. And as we observe the crescent moon, we again acknowledge our own renewal.

 

In the Babylonian Talmud (Megillah 22b), women were given a day of rest each month from the labors used in building and adorning the mishkan (desert sanctuary). The midrash reveals that women were honored with this holiday for refusing to participate in the construction of the Golden Calf. When asked to give up their jewels, they showed perseverance and faith by refusing to participate in an act of idolatry.

 

The women heard about the construction of the Golden Calf and refused to submit their jewelry to their husbands. Instead they said to them: "You want to construct an idol and mask which is an abomination, and has no power of redemption? We won't listen to you." And the Holy One, rewarded them in this world in that they would observe the New Moons more than men, and in the next world in that they would be renewed like the New Moons.

Mistress of the universe

Grant me the ability to be alone;

May it be my custom to go outdoors each day

Among the trees and grass, among all living things.

And there may I be alone, and enter into prayer,

To talk with the one to whom I belong.

May I express there everything in my heart,

And may all the foliage of the field

(All grasses, trees and plants)

May they all awake at my coming,

To send the powers of their life into the words of my prayer

So that my prayer and speech are made whole

Through the life and the spirit of all growing things,

Which are made as one by their transcendent source.

Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds and whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me. I come before you, one of your many children. I am weak and small. I need your strength and wisdom. Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset; my ears sharp so I may hear your voice. Make me wise, so I may learn the things you have taught my people, the lessons you have hidden under every rock and leaf. I seek strength, not to be superior to my sisters, but to be able to fight my greatest enemy--myself. Make me ever ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes, so whenever life fades, like the fading sunset, my spirit will come to you without shame.

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.

Non-being penetrates that in which there is no space.

Through this I know the advantage of taking no action.

One may know the world without going out of doors.

One may see the way of Heaven without looking through the windows.

The further one goes, the less one knows.

Therefore the sage knows without going about,

Understands without seeing,

And accomplishes without any action.

 

SHALOM CHANT. Then read:

 

Let us know peace.

For as long as the moon shall rise,

For as long as the rivers shall flow,

For as long as the sun shall shine,

For as long as the grass shall grow,

Let us know peace.

I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.

I believe in love even when feeling it not.

I believe in God even when She is silent.

SHEMA Renewal Siddur pg. 24, then V’ahavta first verse pg. 25

 

Love Me

with all your heart,

all your soul,

all your energy.

 

Open your heart

to the teachings

I am speaking to you

today

 

Transmit the teachings

to your children,

communicate them

in your home,

in hour work,

all day, all night.

 

Let them guide your actions

and direct your consciousness.

 

Let them be

the foundation of your home

and your community.

 

Remember, and respond

to My teachings.

 

Be sacred to Me.

 

I free you

from your burdens.

I am present for you.

I am present.

Meet me.

 

Bless me and care for me.

Send Your energy to me and befriend me.

Direct Your energy towards me and give me peace.

= = =

May you walk in Peace,

Live with Love,

work with Joy,

and May Your God go with you.

Women's roles in Judaism during the last twenty years have been largely viewed in negative terms: why cant a woman do such-and-such? Rarely has the focus been on what the spiritual life of Jewish women traditionally has consisted of, as if Jewish women for the last three thousand years have done nothing except diaper babies while their husbands rose to spiritual heights through prayer and Torah study.

 

It is of great significance that the laws of prayer were developed by the Sages of the Talmud by using a woman, Hannah, as the role model. Her prayers, as narrated in the first chapters of the book of Samuel, contain within them the very core of Jewish prayer structure. Specifically, the following practices stem from her methods:

 

1. She prayed silently. The central prayer of every Jewish prayer service, the standing prayer known as the Amidah, is thus recited under ones breath.

 

2. The text explicitly makes note of Hannah's prayer as being an outpouring of her heart. It is all too easy for prayer to be said by rote, with the focus on completing the service rather than its genuine essence.

 

The historical reality is that Jewish women throughout the ages have additionally undertaken the recital of the book of Psalms as their specific avenue of prayer.  To this day, women can be seen fervently reciting psalms at the Western Wall in Jerusalem at every hour of the day and night.

 

In recent years, there has been a growing trend — especially beyond the mainstream denominations — to add to the storehouse of Jewish prayers and rituals. The impetus is to find spiritual meaning in everyday events that were either overlooked or did not exist during the previous 2,000 years of rabbinic Judaism: marking the menstrual cycle, burying a pet, celebrating a promotion, to name just a few.

 

The Internet is itself a blessing for the creators of new rituals. Ideas can be posted as soon as they are developed. The Web's interactivity allows users to share their innovations and add to and debate the contributions of others. Finally, rabbis, publishers and other gatekeepers have little control over what does or doesn't become part of the communal conversation. A do-it-yourself ethos thrives.

 

A major catalyst for the new lifecycle rituals has been the Jewish feminist movement.  It envisions a world fully inclusive of women, men and children, their voices, and the range of their experiences — biological, communal, and personal. It includes rituals  for bat mitzvah and menopause. But even a fatherhood ritual is described as "feminist" because it "also sanctifies a passage ignored by tradition and because feminist Judaism sanctifies the experiences of both men and women."

As my daughter bleeds, so do I.

Arhythmically, through an elliptical lunar phase.

Her womb is learning its beat, while mine is

missing measures or coming in on the

wrong count.

 

With Ariel's first bicycle, I held the seat

until she learned to ride.

How quickly her body found its own balance

and moved away from me, independently.

I stood in the street holding onto her return.

 

On her first period, I held her close

and drew her a hot bath, suspending time.

Her womb was on its own now, in free flowing richness.

This was not a privilege I could take away from her.

I gave her pads for her bleeding seat.

 

Lately, I ride behind my daughter, pulled

by the secret song of her steady cycle, up

hills, past swings, past babies, past youth.

Our rhythm eases my unshed longings.

I pass the water bottle over to her, like a baton.

 

One day, anticipating red, only my daughter will bleed instead.

My womb will rest in full stop. Hers will accelerate on, and

perhaps she, too, will sleep with babies in her bed.

And then, only my heart will move blood

in syncopated red rushes of love.

Each month, at the time I see I have gotten my period, I cover my head and say,"Barukh attah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha-olam, she-asani ishah." "Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the world, who has made me a woman."

 

B'rukhah at ha-sh'khinah she-astani ishah.

Praised are you Shekhinah, who has made me a woman.

Guardian of the Sacred Cycles, as my body passes through stages of change, let me appreciate its uniqueness. Although I am prone to complaints for the discomfort, help me transcend my here and now and acknowledge this wonderful system You have designed. Grant me relief as You spared my female ancestors in the desert. Let me be as one of the righteous who were rewarded because of their willingness to accept the Torah.

 

Although my body has the power to create and nurture life, during this time of Femstruation, I am not incubating a child. I need Your assistance in recognizing that this is a time of power in its own right. Help me use its wisdom wisely. Grant me dreams and powerful connections with my moon sisters. Strengthen my resolve to develop my individuality during this time apart from my husband. Teach me to treasure this time as women's time, drawing upon ancestral teachings of prophetesses and ancient mothers. Support me to use this time to create and free my soul from the mundane tasks that ties it down.

 

We know that blood is vital in matters of life and death, as it is said in Ezekiel."In your blood live". Let me live fully through these hormonal stages - cherishing the opportunity for spiritual growth and the occasion to treasure my place in Your universe.

Miriam's Song

By Debbie Friedman CD And You shall be a blessing  no. 5.

 

 

 

Top of Form

 

Bottom of Form

And the women dancing with their timbrels
Followed Miriam as she sang her song
Sing a song to the One whom we've exalted.
Miriam and the women danced and danced
the whole night long.

And Miriam was a weaver of unique variety.
The tapestry she wove was one which sang our history.
With every thread and every strand
she crafted her delight.
A woman touched with spirit, she dances
toward the light.

And the women dancing with their timbrels
Followed Miriam as she sang her song
Sing a song to the One whom we've exalted.
Miriam and the women danced and danced
the whole night long.

As Miriam stood upon the shores and gazed across the sea,
The wonder of this miracle she soon came to believe.
Whoever thought the sea would part with an outstretched hand,
And we would pass to freedom, and march to the promised land.

And the women dancing with their timbrels
Followed Miriam as she sang her song
Sing a song to the One whom we've exalted.
Miriam and the women danced and danced
the whole night long.

And Miriam the Prophet took her timbrel in her hand,
And all the women followed her just as she had planned.
And Miriam raised her voice with song.
She sang with praise and might,
We've just lived through a miracle, we're going to dance tonight.

And the women dancing with their timbrels
Followed Miriam as she sang her song
Sing a song to the One whom we've exalted.
Miriam and the women danced and danced
the whole night long.

AMIDAH

Reflect on the tension between personal prayer and communal prayer before praying the amidah. The Talmud presents two conflicting ways of looking at the amidah. On the one hand, the amidah is regarded as the replacement for Temple sacrifice, intended to strengthen our communal connection with our source; on the proverbial other hand, it's also regarded as the time to stand before God and speak the personal words of our hearts.

You may relate to the amidah differently at different times. Sometimes you may  want to close your eyes and wrap your tallit tighter around you and talk silently to God, and don't want to use any set words at all. Sometimes you may  use the set sequence of blessings as a springboard for your own prayers on those same themes. Sometimes you may  want to read familiar words along with everybody else, and let the words wash over you without thinking too hard about their relevance or resonance. Fortunately, Judaism assumes that one's experience of a prayer will change over time, and that different interpretations of a prayer can coexist.

Saying words without meaning them frustrates many people, which is why they tend to self-censor in most houses of worship. You may respect the words too much to say them without meaning.

It's worth noting that in Jewish tradition, every text has at least four layers or levels. So while the request for the restoration of sacrifices in the Temple troubles us on the p'shat/surface level, on the remez/allegorical level we can read it as a yearning for solid, unquestioned connection with our Source as (we believe) we had in the old days before our lives, and our worship, became so complicated.

In the following, we will give the themes of each of the prayers in he Amidah and will pause for a minute or so after each for you to contemplate that theme. These are only suggestions. Please feel free to wander wherever your mind and your heart may take you. If you wish to follow the traditional Amidah please do so silently, from page 30 of the Renewal Siddur.

The opening words are:

Adonai sefatai tiftach u-fi yagid t'hilatecha

Open up my lips, O God, so that my mouth may declare Your praise.

Take a moment to think about speech; the words that you use when you are trying most sincerely to express what is in your heart. How can you best say what you mean and mean what you say?  PAUSE

AVOT: Recalling our ancestors

In our Jewish tradition, we always look back into history and deeply value the concept of dor l'dor -- "from generation to generation." This is the place in our prayer service when we recall our history -- the great chain of human tradition that makes up the Jewish people. We begin with our most ancient mothers and fathers -- the first three generations of our people.

Take a few moments to think about your parents, your grandparents, distant relatives about whom you may have heard stories. Do you feel a connection with them? What parts of you do you think come from them?  PAUSE

GEVUROT: Divine Power

This prayer addresses God's part in the creation and unfolding of the natural universe. As we pray, we appreciate the wonder of the universe and the cycle of the seasons -- dew in the Summer and wind and rain in the Winter. We also recall the cycles of Life and Death. We sustain life and embrace death as a part of life.

Think about the cycles of your life -- the age that you are at now, the state of your physical being, your body. What "season" are you in at this moment in your life? Can you connect to the natural world of God's creation with greater or lesser ease now? How might you get more "in touch" with Nature and thereby, with God?  PAUSE

KEDUSHAT HA-SHEM: Naming the Holy

This prayer addresses Holiness that is in the universe, and acknowledges that naming that which is holy to us gives us power to be in relationship with holiness.

There are as many names and images for the Divine as there are people with imaginations. What is holy to you? How do you name holiness? Is holiness God or Nature or people? What is holy within you?  PAUSE

KEDUSHAT HA-YOM: The Day's Holiness

The theme of this prayer is to acknowledge, appreciate and celebrate the gift of Shabbat -- a day of rest and tranquility -- a day which cosmically symbolizes the culmination of Creation. This is a day on which we should let our own creative powers rest, a day on which we should allow quiet and joy, peace and serenity to fill our hearts and replensih our souls. This is not a day "to do;" this is a day "to be."

Consider your own creative power. Think about the work you have done in the week that has passed, and feel your own pride in that work. Then, try to set it aside. Try not to think about the creative work ahead next week. Rather, take a few long, deep breaths, slow down, and enjoy the chance for rest that Shabbat brings.  PAUSE

AVODAH: Service and prayer

In ancient times, "service" and "prayer" were all connected to the Temple in Jerusalem and the practice of animal sacrifice as the cultic expression of our people's connection to God. Today, we no longer sacrifice animals -- and the paths we take to communicating with or connecting with God are many. This prayer expresses the wish that we will find our way to God (and God will find His/Her/Its way to us) and that the many pathways we take will be "acceptable."

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel once said that when he marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, Alabama his "feet were praying." How do you pray? What are your best pathways to a closer connection to God? Through traditional prayer, through a walk in the woods, through meditation and reflection? Through song? Through social action work? What does "service" mean to you?  PAUSE

MODIM: Giving thanks

This prayer offers gratitude for being alive, for our ability to experience joy and pain, awe and wonder.

Think back on some moments when you felt most alive, when you were filled with awe and wonder, when you felt deep joy or profound pain, when you felt most energetic or excited or nervous, or even fearful. How did these moments feel to you? How can you best give thanks for the great gift of Life?  PAUSE

BIRKAT HA-SHALOM: A Blessing for Peace

Throughout our history, the Jewish people has experienced the tragedy of war and violence, displacement and exile. And in our own times, though we have our own homeland, the State of Israel, it is a land that has never experienced a moment of true peace since its birth as a nation. This prayer addresses the Jewish people's millenia-old longing for true peace -- for us and for all peoples of the earth. As Israeli, Arab and Palestinian leaders sit down to "talk peace," we pray that their deliberations are successful. The road to peace is a long and arduous one. We pray that we all will reach our hoped-for "destination" -- speedily and in our time.  PAUSE

(end with YIHIYU L'RATZON -- May the words. . . )  - Renewal Siddur, pg. 42, 11th line.

In Jacob the Baker, Noah benShea provides the following story:

An old man was bitter and challenged Jacob with a complaint.

“All my life I have searched for meaning,” he said.

“The meaning is in the search,” said Jacob, waving off the man’s distress.

“Then I will never find the meaning?”

“No, said Jacob. “You will never stop looking.”

Jacob held his voice for a moment, unsure if he had been too harsh.

“My friend,” Jacob began again, “know that you are a man with a lantern who goes in search of a light.”

If anyone would like to mention the names of those (including themselves) who are in need of healing, please do so.

Sing: MI SHEBEIRACH

Debbie Friedman CD And you shall be a Blessing.  Track 9.

Mi she-bei-rach a-vo-tei-nu

M’kor ha-b’ra-cha l’l-mo-tei-nu.

May the source of strength

Who blessed the ones before us

Help us find the courage

To make our lives a blessing

And let us say Amen.

 

Mi she-bei-rach a-vo-tei-nu

M’kor ha-b’ra-cha l’l-mo-tei-nu.

Bless those in need of healing

With r’fu-a sh-lei-ma.

The renewal of body

The renewal of spirit

And let us say, Amen.

TORAH SERVICE Renewal Siddur pg. 43

Pinchas: Plaut pg. 1203 Numbers 27, 1-23.

Blessings before the reading – read the English then the Hebrew

Blessed are You, Yah, Source of Life, who with abundant compassion draws words of Torah from living waters.

Brukhah at Yah, ein ha-chayim, asher moshah divrei Torah mi-mayim chayim b'rachamim rabim.

Blessings after the Reading  - read the English, then the Hebrew

Blessed are You, Yah our God, Heart of the Universe, who attends to us and hears the voice of our hearts; have compassion on us and make audible the still, small voice.

Brukhah at Yah, eloheinu lev ha-olam, asher samah lev eileinu v'shoma'at kol libeinu; rachami aleinu v'yishama kol d'mamah dakah.

 

 

The Angels’ Blessing

Debbie Friedman  Renewal of the Spirit Tape, Side B, track 11

 

Mi-y’mi-ni Mi-cha-eil, u-mi-smo-li Gav-ri-eil,

U-mi-l’fa-nai U-ri-eil, u-mei-a-cho-rai R’fa-eil,

V‘al ro-shi Sh’chi-na. (4x)

 

May our right hand bring us closer to our Godliness.

May  our left hand give us strength to face each day.

and before us may our visions light  our paths ahead.

And behind us may well-being heal our way.

 

All around us is Shechinah (4x).

 

May Michael be at my right hand, Gabriel at my left,

Before me Uriel, behind me Raphael.

And above my head the Divine Presence.

 

A Kaddish of rememberance

 

Yit-gadal

Kishinev

v’yit- kadash

Warsaw

sh’mey raba

Auschwitz

b’alma di v’ra hirutey

Dachau

v’yam-lih mai-hutey

Buchanwald

b’ha-yey-hon uv-yomey-hon

Babi Yar

uv-ha-yey d’hol beyt ysirael

Beghdad

ba-agala u-vizman kariv

Hebron

v’imru amen.

Y’hey sh’mey raba m’varah l’alam ul’almey alma’ya.