How good it is to sing praises in God’s name
To declare loving kindness in the morning
And faithfulness by night!
These were the words sung
By AdamAdam is the first human being created by God. Symbolizes: Creation, humankind. and EveEve, according to the book of Genesis, is Adam's wife, the first woman to be created. after the first night
When darkness descended
Without warning or explanation
When they felt certainties
Slipping away and fearfulness
Encroaching on their dreams
But in the morning dawn broke
And in gratitude they sang
This song in amazement
As they awoke to find
They were in the garden
On the first Sabbath day
Soon they would learn
The full glories of God’s garden
And the work to be done—
The trimming back of wild
Thoughts that mistake
Another’s silence for abandonment;
The pruning of the myth
That we do not have a choice;
The weeding of overgrown
Traditions that need to be plucked—
All this they would learn;
But for now a day of rest
Let this be my song for ShabbatShabbat is the Sabbath day, the Day of Rest, and is observed from Friday night through Saturday night. Is set aside from the rest of the week both in honor of the fact that God rested on the seventh day after creating the world. On Shabbat, many Jews observe prohibitions from various activities designated as work. Shabbat is traditionally observed with festive meals, wine, challah, prayers, the reading and studying of Torah, conjugal relations, family time, and time with friends.:
May the righteous flourish like a palm tree
Grow like a cedar of Lebanon
In the house of God
We shall flourish
We shall bear fruit
Even in old age
Always vigorous and sturdy
As we sing:
To seek godliness is just
Let it be my rock
Let me do no wrong.
This piece was written for the West End Synagogue on-going Innovative Liturgy Project.  Original pieces and reconstructed  prayers have been written for the High Holy Days, Shabbat, and also for more specific projects such as “psalms”, “peace” and the “middah of the month”.Â
