An interactive prayer for Rosh HashanahThe Jewish New Year, also considered the Day of Judgment. The period of the High Holidays is a time of introspection and atonement. The holiday is celebrated with the sounding of the shofar, lengthy prayers in synagogue, the eating of apples and honey, and round challah for a sweet and whole year. Tashlikh, casting bread on the water to symbolize the washing away of sins, also takes place on Rosh Hashana. and Yom KippurThe holiest day of the Jewish year and the culmination of a season of self-reflection. Jews fast, abstain from other worldly pleasures, and gather in prayers that last throughout the day. Following Ne'ilah, the final prayers, during which Jews envision the Gates of Repentance closing, the shofar is sounded in one long blast to conclude the holy day. It is customary to begin building one's sukkah as soon as the day ends. Mussaf
Here I am
Stirred up
Planted in front of You
And in front of my
Fellow conspirators in prayer
To pray for myself
And on behalf of my community
I know that all days are holy
When I make them holy
Some of the people here I know
I love them
Some of the people here I don’t know
I love them too
Remind me to empty myself
Of all that separates me from You
And everything I love the most
Play me like a vessel
A flute a harp an oud
Hanging on the edge of the bed
A northern wind blowing through me
Empty me
Open me
To forgive and be forgiven
Empty me
What gets in my way
[substitute here your own obstacles
and when you do
take a moment to name them:
what separates you from God
and everything you love the most?]
As for me
Let me love as purely and as wholly
As I know I can
To my community
If I have done or said anything
In the past year that has hurt you
In any way intentionally or unintentionally
I am sorry
And I ask your forgiveness
As I forgive you
If you have done or said anything to hurt me
What you think of me
None of my business
May our prayers
Our actions
Our lives
Be rescued from the externals
That our prayers might rise
Uninterrupted like doves
Straight to heaven
Or guided
To the sacred heart of the world
We will never lose our yearning
For peace, depth, and beauty
We honor our holy ancestors
Who rest at the foot of the
Throne of Glory
With our prayers
Our actions
Our songs
Today and all days
Nothing in God’s creation is ever lost
Bless us
O God
One God
Unclaimed God
Only God
Lonely God
Bless us
Amen.
