Your presence greets me
like the wind arriving from a far-off storm
stirring and shimmering over the dark surface of the deep.
I open gratefully to my spirit’s return
and rise up again to a world recreated.
Soul of all that lives, eternal breath of the universe,
you are blessed,
restoring me to life this and every new morning.
Reader:
As in years before, we’ll soon proclaim, “Next year in Jerusalem!” But do we actually mean this? Do we really, truly believe that we will live to reach the Promised Land? Do we honestly expect to see the world we’ve been struggling for and dreaming of for so long? And if not, might these words be something more than merely the obligatory aspiration we recite at the end of every seder?
It’s worth considering that we may have already entered the Promised Land in ways we never stopped to realize: when we show up for our fellow strugglers, when we celebrate our victories along the way, when our efforts are infused with our highest values of justice and equity and sacrifice. And it is in these moments that we find ourselves dwelling in the world we’ve been fighting for all along. We’re experiencing the world we want to see because we’ve been creating it for one another.
Struggle is hard work, but if we view it exclusively as a means to an end, it will be only that. However, if we view struggle as an inherently sacred act, we may yet see the face of God in our comrades and those who have gone before us. We may come to understand that the world-to-come is not just a far-off dream. We may yet find we are living in the Promised Land in ways we have never truly understood before.
As we conclude our seder now, let us vow that these fleeting moments are a but glimpse of the possible beyond what we might ever have dared to imagine. Let us state unabashedly that next year will be the year we make Jerusalem – the city of wholeness and peace – not merely a hope, but a reality for all. From our narrow place to the wide-open spaces, let these words be our promise to one another:
We joyfully proclaim:
L’shanah haba’ah bi’rushalayim!
Next year in Jerusalem!
Blessed are you, Spirit of the Universe,
creator of the fruit of the vine.
Blessed are you, Spirit of the Universe,
whose glory shines forth from every corner of creation.
Blessed are you, Spirit of the Universe,
creator of humanity.
Blessed are you, Spirit of the Universe,
who has created us all in your image,
designing every human being
with limitless potential and worth.
Blessed are you, divine architect of humanity.
May joy be magnified throughout the world
as the exiled return to their homes,
persecution and oppression cease
and justice is extended to all who dwell on earth.
Blessed are you, who makes every land a Zion,
who welcomes the return of the dispossessed
in joy and celebration.
Grant abundant delight to these loving companions.
May they be for each other lovers and friends,
and may their love resonate with faith, passion
and an ever-present spirit of discovery.
Blessed are you, who brings joy and contentment
to homes created by loving companions.
You are blessed, Spirit of the Universe,
who creates delight and gladness, lover and beloved,
pleasure, laughter, love and companionship
May we all witness the day
when the dominant sounds throughout the world
will be the voices of happiness,
the cadence of fullness and contentment,
the sweet melody of feasting and singing.
Blessed are you, who delights in the promise
of a world reunited.
Al yisrael, ve’al rabbanan, ve’al talmideihon…
For our community, for our teachers and students:
those who receive and learn and hand down the teachings
of all who have gone before us;
For those who explain, those who discern,
those who make connections,
those who draw out the truths
patiently waiting to be revealed;
For those who challenge words that cause harm,
those who reinterpret, reframe and redeem meanings
that might otherwise lead us astray;
For those who learn through study and those who learn from experience,
those who learn from all peoples, cultures and traditions,
those who live out the wisdom they have gained,
who know that every conversation, every move, every breath
is a precious opportunity to learn Torah anew;
Y’hei l’hon ul’chon sh’lama raba, china, ve’chisda ve’rachamin…
May the source of all wisdom grant us abundant peace, loyalty
love and compassion,
and let us say,
Amen.
Chaverai nevarech/Friends, let us offer blessings…
...for the food we have shared. We give thanks for the earth and its goodness, created to feed and sustain all that lives. As we rejoice in the ever-giving blessings of creation, let us commit to spreading your abundance to all who dwell upon the earth. May we forever work to create a world in which hunger is no more, as it is written, there shall be no needy among you. Baruch atah adonai, hazan et hakol – Blessed are you, who feeds us all. Amen.
...for the lands upon which we dwell. May the inhabitants of every land live in safety and security. Let us all strive to be caretakers of the land, that it may yield its abundance to future generations, as it is written, the land will give forth its fruits and you will eat to fullness and dwell in security upon it. We acknowledge that too many are sustained by the bounty of lands that have been colonized and stolen from their original inhabitants. May we work to bring the day when all who have been exiled and dispossessed know restoration and reparation. Baruch atah adonai, al ha’aretz ve’al hamazon – Blessed are you, for the land and its sustenance. Amen.
…for the vision of a world complete. May this dream become reality soon in our own day, that every land may be a Zion, every city a Jerusalem, every home a sanctuary offering welcome to all. May your world be rebuilt upon a foundation of compassion, equity and justice, as it is written, compassion and truth will meet; justice and peace will kiss. Baruch atah adonai, boneh ha’olam b’tzedek v’rachamim – Blessed are you, who rebuilds the world in justice and compassion. Amen.
…for your abundant goodness. Teach how to walk in your ways: the ways of kindness and decency, graciousness and understanding, now and always. Just as you nourish us unconditionally, so may we learn how to take care of one another with openness and love. For it is written, you open your hand and nourish the desire of all life. Baruch atah adonai, ha’tov ve’hameitiv – Blessed are you, who is good and who bestows goodness upon us all. Amen.
Commentary:
In composing this new Birkat Hamazon/Blessing After the Meal, I maintained the essential structure of the traditional prayer, which consists of four basic spiritual themes or categories. As with the other new liturgies that I’ve written, I seek here to compose Jewish prayers that express a Diasporist ethic; that is to say, liturgy that views the entire world as our “homeland” and resists the influence of modern political Zionism, which has become so thoroughly enmeshed in contemporary Jewish liturgy.
I’ll unpack each section here in turn. For purposes of comparison, a Hebrew/English version of the Birkat Hamazon can be found here.
.Friends, let us offer blessings… This is a simple, shortened version of the zimun – an invitation to prayer – when 10 or more people have just shared a meal.
...for the food: The first blessing offers gratitude to God for providing the food that sustains all creation. In this section, I chose to make explicit the fact that although the earth contains enough abundance to feed all of humanity, we nonetheless live in a world of rampant hunger. Thus, the moral imperative: “Let us …work to create a world in which hunger is no more.” For this reason, I chose to substitute the traditional Biblical verse, Deuteronomy 8:10 (“When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Lord your God for the good land which God has given you”), with Deuteronomy 15:4: (“There shall be no needy among you.”)
...for the lands: The second blessing traditionally gives thanks for Eretz Yisrael – the land of Israel. In keeping with a centering of the Jewish diaspora over one particular piece of land, I chose to render this wording “for the lands” rather than “for the land (al ha’aretz.) In other words, we give thanks for the many lands upon which the Jewish people have made – and continue to make – their homes.
Although the traditional version was written well before the era of Zionism, many contemporary versions of the Birkat Hamazon use this section to offer thanksgiving for the establishment of the state of Israel. (The Reconstructionist version of this prayer for instance, includes the words, “for the culture, faith and hope of our people alive once more in Eretz Yisrael.”) Some versions also include a prayer for Yom Ha’atzmaut – Israeli Independence Day as well.
The traditional version of this section also invokes the Exodus from Egypt (“you redeemed us from the House of Bondage.”) Here, I chose to universalize this message and render it as a prayerful land acknowledgment. This recognizes the undeniable fact that many who say this prayer for the land will be invoking it on land that was literally colonized and stolen from others. Finally, to recognize the threat of global climate change to the lands upon which we live, I’ve also highlighted the importance of safeguarding God’s abundance for future generations. For a Biblical verse, I chose Leviticus 25:19, which references living upon the land “in security.”
…for the vision of a world complete: The traditional version of the section thanks God for the city of Jerusalem, expressing the messianic yearning for God to re-establish the city and to rebuild the Temple. In composing this section, I transvalued the messianic ideal into a vision of the world “as it should be” – embodied by an era of universal ” compassion, equity and justice.” As the Hebrew word for Jerusalem, Yerushalayim – contains the root Sh”LM, which means “wholeness,” I chose the image of a “world complete.”
I also chose to idealize Jerusalem to represent the mythic “city of peace” in which which we all yearn to live. In this regard, I was particularly inspired by the classic rabbinic notion of “Yerushalayim Shel Mala” or “Jerusalem of the Heavens.” (I personally find this much more powerful than a quasi-idolatrous attachment to an earthly piece of land which, tragically, has rarely known a moment of peace.) For the Biblical verse, I chose Psalm 85:10, which evokes a vision of this universal future with incredible poetic beauty.
…for your abundant goodness: This final section was added to the Birkat Hamazon in the aftermath of the disastrous Bar Kochba revolt in the second century CE, reflecting a sense of healing and optimism – and faith in God’s goodness – even in the wake of a cataclysmic collective tragedy. In my rendering, I chose to highlight not only God’s goodness, but the moral imperative to mirror that goodness in our own relationships with one another. For the Biblical verse, I retained the traditional line from Psalm 145:16: “You open your hand…”
I ended this section – and the Birkat Hamazon as a whole – with the traditional blessing, “Baruch atah adonai, ha’tov ve’hameitiv” (“Blessed are you who is good and who bestows good upon us all”). This blessing is traditionally recited at times “which bring pleasure to an entire community” – an eminently appropriate way to end a blessing following a communal meal.
I recited this memorial prayer yesterday at a vigil sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine – Chicago. The gathering was organized “to grieve with us the lives lost in this most recent Israeli onslaught upon Gaza, and to honor the countless Palestinians who have fallen victim to the ongoing Nakba since 1948.” It is based on the traditional Jewish prayer “El Male Rachamim” (“God Filled with Compassion”). .
El male rachamim shochen bam’romim
ha’metzei menucha nechonah
tachat kanfei ha’shechinah.
Oh, God filled with compassion,
whose loving presence ever surrounds us
bring perfect rest to those
who have been killed without pity in Gaza,
in refugee camps, in apartments,
in homes that provided no sanctuary,
as they worked, as they slept,
as they sat down to share meals together,
as they fled from the overpowering might
of rockets and bombs from above.
Receive their souls with the fulness of your mercy.
bind them to the souls of their ancestors
whose lives were unjustly taken
during the dispossession of the Nakba –
an injustice that continues
even as we call out to you now.
Source of all mercy, protect these precious souls
with the shelter they were denied in their lifetimes.
Gather them under the softness of your wings,
show them love, bring them home.
Remind us that no one is forgotten in your sight,
that all are welcome at your side,
that each and every one of their lives
is a story of sacred worth and meaning
that can never be lost.
As we rededicate ourselves to their lives.
Turn our grief and anger into resolve.
Filll us with strength and will and purpose –
inspire us to stand as one in solidarity,
that together we may end this injustice
once and for all.
Ba’al ha’rachamim tastireihem
b’seter kanfecha le’olamim.
Source of all compassion,
extend your shelter across the land
that the refugees may return home soon in our day –
that all who live between the river and the sea
may enjoy the blessings of equity,
of justice and of peace.
V’nomar,
and let us say,
Amen.
Gaza weeps alone.
Bombs falling without end
her cheeks wet with tears.
A widow abandoned
imprisoned on all sides
with none willing to save her.
We who once knew oppression
have become the oppressors.
Those who have been pursued
are now the pursuers.
We have uprooted families
from their homes, we have
driven them deep into
this desolate place,
this narrow strip of exile.
All along the roads there is mourning.
The teeming marketplaces
have been bombed into emptiness.
The only sounds we hear
are cries of pain
sirens blaring
drones buzzing
bitterness echoing
into the black vacuum
of homes destroyed
and dreams denied.
We have become Gaza’s master
leveling neighborhoods
with the mere touch of a button
for her transgression of resistance.
Her children are born into captivity
they know us only as occupiers
enemies to be feared
and hated.
We have lost all
that once was precious to us.
This fatal attachment to our own might
has become our downfall.
This idolatrous veneration of the land
has sent us wandering into
a wilderness of our own making.
We have robbed Gaza of
her deepest dignity
plunged her into sorrow and darkness.
Her people crowd into refugee camps
held captive by fences and buffer zones
gunboats, mortar rounds
and Apache missles.
We sing of Jerusalem,
to “a free people in their own land”
but our song has become a mockery.
How can we sing a song of freedom
imprisoned inside behind walls we have built
with our own fear and dread?
Here we sit clinging to our illusions
of comfort and security
while we unleash hell on earth
on the other side of the border.
We sit on hillsides and cheer
as our explosions light up the sky
while far below, whole neighborhoods
are reduced to rubble.
For these things I weep:
for the toxic fear we have unleashed
from the dark place of our hearts
for the endless grief
we are inflicting
on the people of Gaza.
As every living thing
bends toward the light,
we turn to you,
sending forth our praise
as you open the gates of heaven,
renewing your work of creation
with faithfulness and love.
Nothing is untouched by your presence:
from the luminaries on high
to the sand beneath our feet –
no boundary can contain your radiance,
no border can hold back your light;
it shines upon us all,
every ray an angel singing out
from the heavens:
the whole earth is filled
with your glory!
So let a new light shine upon us –
may it illuminate every corner of creation,
that every land may be a Zion,
that all may be worthy to bask
in the warmth of its glow.
Blessed are you, forever recreating our world
with such exquisite radiance.
You love us with a wild and boundless love
and care for us with unending, unconditional compassion.
You show us your ways so tenderly, guiding us
just as you guided countless generations before us.
Teach us with a passion that will resonate
deep in our hearts, inspire us to see
and hear and learn and teach and
act with love now and always.
Open our hearts as one to your light
and keep us far from confusion and shame.
May it lead us toward your justice,
toward liberation for all who dwell on earth;
that all who are exiled and dispossessed
may safely find their way home
that all may rejoice in you
and celebrate your holy name as one.
Blessed are you, who loves us all
with a fierce love that knows no bounds.
Celebrating the joy at the heart
of every triumph,
and the fortitude that follows every defeat
we offer our praise:
for those who danced in the streets,
for those who didn’t live to see the victory
but never gave in;
for those who toppled the tyrants,
for those who resisted the oppressor
knowing full well the cost;
for those who rededicated the Temple,
for those who learned how to live
in the wake of its destruction;
for those who made it home,
for those sustained
by the sweet dream of return;
for those who kindle the lights,
for those who meet your gaze
in the deep darkness;
for all these miracles and more,
we dedicate our lives
to those who fought before us;
sustaining us even when all strength is gone,
urging us on and on
until liberation is finally won.
Yedid Nefesh 