Based on Hosea 14:5-8
אֶרְפָּא֙ מְשׁ֣וּבָתָ֔ם אֹהֲבֵ֖ם נְדָבָ֑ה
Erpah m’shuvatam haveim nidvah
I will be to you like dew
Healing your distress
Drawing you close in love
I will be to you like dew
Erpah m’shuvatam ohaveim nidvah
אֶרְפָּא֙ מְשׁ֣וּבָתָ֔ם אֹהֲבֵ֖ם נְדָבָ֑ה
You will bloom like a lily,
Grow wide roots like a cedar,
And your presence will bring comfort
to those who sit in your shade.
This prayer-poem/translation was created to use as we leave the liturgical framework of “mashiv ha-ru’akh u’morid hagashem” and move toward “morid hatal” in the Amidah after Pesakh. Hosea’s use of dew as a healing element was the basis for this liturgical move. The prayer-poem imagines a world where the one in need of healing becomes a source of comfort.
