(א) מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶֽיךָ מֶֽלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם שֶׁהֶחֱזַֽרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה, רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶֽךָ:
(ב) רֵאשִׁית חָכְמָה יִרְאַת יְהֹוָה, שֵֽׂכֶל טוֹב לְכָל־עֹשֵׂיהֶם, תְּהִלָּתוֹ עוֹמֶֽדֶת לָעַד: בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד:
(1) I give thanks to You living and everlasting King for You have restored my soul with mercy. Great is Your faithfulness.
(2) The beginning of wisdom is fear of Adonoy, good understanding to all who perform [His commandments], His praise endures forever. Blessed [is His] Name, Whose glorious kingdom is forever and ever.
(א) אֱלֹהַי נְשָׁמָה שֶׁנָּתַֽתָּ בִּי טְהוֹרָה הִיא אַתָּה בְרָאתָהּ אַתָּה יְצַרְתָּהּ אַתָּה נְפַחְתָּהּ בִּי וְאַתָּה מְשַׁמְּ֒רָהּ בְּקִרְבִּי וְאַתָּה עָתִיד לִטְּ֒לָהּ מִמֶּֽנִּי וּלְהַחֲזִירָהּ בִּי לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא, כָּל זְמַן שֶׁהַנְּ֒שָׁמָה בְקִרְבִּי מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶֽיךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהַי וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתַי רִבּוֹן כָּל הַמַּעֲשִׂים אֲדוֹן כָּל הַנְּ֒שָׁמוֹת: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה הַמַּחֲזִיר נְשָׁמוֹת לִפְגָרִים מֵתִים:
(1) My God! the soul which You bestowed in me is pure; You created it, You formed it, You breathed it into me and You preserve it within me. You will eventually take it from me, and restore it in me in the time to come. So long as the soul is within me I give thanks to You, Adonoy my God, and God of my fathers, Lord of all creatures, Master of all souls. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Who restores souls to dead bodies.
In Memory of W. B. Yeats
W. H. Auden - 1907-1973
In the deserts of the heart
Let the healing fountain start,
In the prison of his days
Teach the free man how to praise.
אָמַר רַב אַדָּא בַּר מַתְנָא אָמַר רַבָּה: בִּמְקוֹם גִּילָה שָׁם תְּהֵא רְעָדָה.
Rav Ada bar Matna said in the name of Rabba, “In the place of exultation there should be trembling.”
(2) I extol You, O LORD,
for You have lifted me up,
and not let my enemies rejoice over me. (3) O LORD, my God,
I cried out to You,
and You healed me. (4) O LORD, You brought me up from Sheol,
preserved me from going down into the Pit.
(5) O you faithful of the LORD, sing to Him,
and praise His holy name. (6) For He is angry but a moment,
and when He is pleased there is life.
One may lie down weeping at nightfall;-b
but at dawn there are shouts of joy.
(7) When I was untroubled,
I thought, “I shall never be shaken,” (8) for You, O LORD, when You were pleased,
made [me] firm as a mighty mountain.
When You hid Your face,
I was terrified. (9) I called to You, O LORD;
to my Lord I made appeal, (10) “What is to be gained from my death,
from my descent into the Pit?
Can dust praise You?
Can it declare Your faithfulness? (11) Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me;
O LORD, be my help!”
(12) You turned my lament into dancing,
you undid my sackcloth and girded me with joy, (13) that [my] whole being might sing hymns to You endlessly;
O LORD my God, I will praise You forever.
Alternative translation to Psalm 30 by Reb Zalman Shachter Shalomi https://opensiddur.org/prayers/lunisolar/commemorative-days/hanukkah/psalms-030-by-david-translation-by-reb-zalman-schachter-shalomi/
(20) David went home to greet his household. And Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “Didn’t the king of Israel do himself honor today—exposing himself today in the sight of the slavegirls of his subjects, as one of the riffraff might expose himself!” (21) David answered Michal, “It was before the LORD who chose me instead of your father and all his family and appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel! I will dance before the LORD (22) and dishonor myself even more, and be low in my own-k esteem; but among the slavegirls that you speak of I will be honored.”
Hevrutah:
1. Why is David dancing before the Ark?
2. Why does Michal hate him for it?
3. What does she say to him?
4. How does he respond?
5. What does this passage teach us about the opportunities and dangers of prayer?
(א) בָּרוּךְ שֶׁאָמַר וְהָיָה הָעולָם. בָּרוּךְ הוּא. בָּרוּךְ עושה בְרֵאשִׁית. בָּרוּךְ אומֵר וְעושה. בָּרוּךְ גּוזֵר וּמְקַיֵּם. בָּרוּךְ מְרַחֵם עַל הָאָרֶץ. בָּרוּךְ מְרַחֵם עַל הַבְּרִיּות. בָּרוּךְ מְשַׁלֵּם שכָר טוב לִירֵאָיו. בָּרוּךְ חַי לָעַד וְקַיָּם לָנֶצַח. בָּרוּךְ פּודֶה וּמַצִּיל. בָּרוּךְ שְׁמו: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם. הָאֵל הָאָב הָרַחֲמָן הַמְהֻלָּל בְּפִי עַמּו. מְשֻׁבָּח וּמְפאָר בִּלְשׁון חֲסִידָיו וַעֲבָדָיו. וּבְשִׁירֵי דָוִד עַבְדֶּךָ. נְהַלֶּלְךָ ה' אֱלהֵינוּ בִּשְׁבָחות וּבִזְמִירות. נְגַדֶּלְךָ וּנְשַׁבֵּחֲךָ וּנְפָאֶרְךָ וְנַזְכִּיר שִׁמְךָ וְנַמְלִיכְךָ מַלְכֵּנוּ אֱלהֵינוּ. יָחִיד חֵי הָעולָמִים. מֶלֶךְ מְשֻׁבָּח וּמְפאָר עֲדֵי עַד שְׁמו הַגָּדול: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' מֶלֶךְ מְהֻלָּל בַּתִּשְׁבָּחות:
(1) Blessed be God who spoke, and the world came into being; blessed be God. Blessed be God who created the universe. Blessed be God who says and performs. Blessed be God who decrees and fulfills. Blessed be God who has mercy on the world. Blessed be God who has mercy on all creatures. Blessed be God who grants a fair reward to those who revere God. Blessed be God who lives forever and exists eternally. Blessed be God who redeems and saves; blessed be God's name. Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, O God, merciful Father, who are praised by the mouth of Your people, lauded and glorified by the tongue of Your faithful servants. With the songs of Your servant David will we praise You, Lord our God; with his hymns and psalms we exalt, extol, and glorify You. We will call upon Your name and proclaim You Ruler, our Ruler, our God. You who are One, the life of the universe, O King, praised and glorified be Your great name for all time. Blessed are You, Lord, Ruler extolled with hymns of praise.
|
בָּרוּךְ |
Blessed One, |
|
בָּרוּךְ הוּא, |
What a Blessing, You! |
|
בָּרוּךְ |
Blessed One, |
|
What a blessing, Your Name. |
|
|
בָּרוּךְ |
Blessed One, |
|
בָּרוּךְ |
Blessed One, |
|
בָּרוּךְ |
Blessed One, |
|
בָּרוּךְ |
Blessed One, |
|
בָּרוּךְ |
Blessed One, |
|
בָּרוּךְ |
Blessed One, |
|
בָּרוּךְ |
Blessed One, |
|
בָּרוּךְ שְׁמוֹ. |
When we hear Your Name Zalman Shachter, Interpretive Translation |
https://opensiddur.org/prayers/solilunar/everyday/daytime/psukei-dzimrah/barukh-sheamar-interpretive-translation-by-zalman-schachter-shalomi/
Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in the sky, His stronghold. (2) Praise Him for His mighty acts;
praise Him for His exceeding greatness. (3) Praise Him with blasts of the horn;
praise Him with harp and lyre. (4) Praise Him with timbrel and dance;
praise Him with lute and pipe. (5) Praise Him with resounding cymbals;
praise Him with loud-clashing cymbals. (6) Let all that breathes praise the LORD.
Hallelujah.
Listen
with the night falling we are saying thank you
we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings
we are running out of the glass rooms
with our mouths full of food to look at the sky
and say thank you
we are standing by the water thanking it
standing by the windows looking out
in our directions
back from a series of hospitals back from a mugging
after funerals we are saying thank you
after the news of the dead
whether or not we knew them we are saying thank you
over telephones we are saying thank you
in doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators
remembering wars and the police at the door
and the beatings on stairs we are saying thank you
in the banks we are saying thank you
in the faces of the officials and the rich
and of all who will never change
we go on saying thank you thank you
with the animals dying around us
taking our feelings we are saying thank you
with the forests falling faster than the minutes
of our lives we are saying thank you
with the words going out like cells of a brain
with the cities growing over us
we are saying thank you faster and faster
with nobody listening we are saying thank you
thank you we are saying and waving
dark though it is
Wikpedia: William Stanley Merwin (September 30, 1927 – March 15, 2019) was an American poet who wrote more than fifty books of poetry and prose, and produced many works in translation.[1] During the 1960s anti-war movement, Merwin's unique craft was thematically characterized by indirect, unpunctuated narration. In the 1980s and 1990s, his writing influence derived from an interest in Buddhist philosophy and deep ecology. Residing in a rural part of Maui, Hawaii, he wrote prolifically and was dedicated to the restoration of the island's rainforests.
Merwin received many honors, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1971 and 2009;[2] the National Book Award for Poetry in 2005,[3] and the Tanning Prize—one of the highest honors bestowed by the Academy of American Poets—as well as the Golden Wreath of the Struga Poetry Evenings. In 2010, the Library of Congress named him the 17th United States Poet Laureate.[4][5]
A Blessing
BY JAMES WRIGHT
Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have come gladly out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.
There is no loneliness like theirs.
At home once more,
They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand.
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wild on her forehead,
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.
James Wright, “A Blessing” from Above the River: The Complete Poems and Selected Prose. Copyright 1990 by James Wright. Reprinted by permission of Wesleyan University Press.
Source: Above the River: The Complete Poems and Selected Prose (1990)
James Arlington Wright (December 13, 1927 – March 25, 1980) was an American poet.