A Hanukkah Candle Lighting Prayer for Difficult Times

A new Hanukkah blessing for 2023/5784.
To Love All

“Reaching just beyond we find even more loves…”
In the Light of the Candles

In the light of the Hanukkah candles, I see myself at age seven holding the shamash with a shaky hand, my turn to ignite the little flames in our brass […]
Morning

This poem includes the Modeh Ani prayer for greeting the day
Though the Faucet is Yet to Turn Again

This new poem uses the imagery of water through a faucet to capture the feeling of waiting for the captives to be released.
How To Survive the Day When It Feels Like the Whole World Is Against You

“Try not to think / of the children
who are not getting their baths, / who are not getting their parents.”
Ivri

“There is a line / drawn by darkness,
emboldened by Evil, itself…”
A Mother in the Dark

“We are looking for you. / We will not let you go.”
Tipat Torah: Singing Sad Songs Again and Again
In re-encountering Torah every year, we get the joy of meeting up with beloved places and dear old friends.
The Miracle of Oil

“I’m drilling / into darkness / to where the rabbis’ promise / flickers still.”