At this awesome season
pregnant
with all possibility we pray today:
pregnant
with all possibility we pray today:
By our choices and deeds,
with Divine Intervention,
Supernal Midwife of IsraelLit. ''the one who struggles with God.'' Israel means many things. It is first used with reference to Jacob, whose name is changed to Israel (Genesis 32:29), the one who struggles with God. Jacob's children, the Jewish people, become B'nai Israel, the children of Israel. The name also refers to the land of Israel and the State of Israel.
and of All Creation,
attend,
assist us
to birth as yet unknown wonders,
miracles of Life.
with Divine Intervention,
Supernal Midwife of IsraelLit. ''the one who struggles with God.'' Israel means many things. It is first used with reference to Jacob, whose name is changed to Israel (Genesis 32:29), the one who struggles with God. Jacob's children, the Jewish people, become B'nai Israel, the children of Israel. The name also refers to the land of Israel and the State of Israel.
and of All Creation,
attend,
assist us
to birth as yet unknown wonders,
miracles of Life.
With an awesome fear of God,
I place this shofarA ram's horn that is blown on the High Holidays to "wake us up" and call Jews to repentance. It is also said that its blast will herald the coming of the messiah. to my lips.
I place this shofarA ram's horn that is blown on the High Holidays to "wake us up" and call Jews to repentance. It is also said that its blast will herald the coming of the messiah. to my lips.
May the breath
You breathe inside me momentarily,
now return to You
to be renewed and return again
to this world for Life, for Peace
You breathe inside me momentarily,
now return to You
to be renewed and return again
to this world for Life, for Peace
May the birthcries of my shofar blasts
be pleasing to You,
as the words and deeds of ShifraShifra is one of the two Hebrew midwives mentioned in Exodus 1 who refuses Pharaoh's orders to kill the boy children, instead enabling them to live. She, along with her partner Puah, is instrumental in beginning the process leading to the Exodus. Shifra is often identified as Jochebed, Moses' mother.
with fear of You, she
lovingly births Your People:
Freedom
to do Your Will.
be pleasing to You,
as the words and deeds of ShifraShifra is one of the two Hebrew midwives mentioned in Exodus 1 who refuses Pharaoh's orders to kill the boy children, instead enabling them to live. She, along with her partner Puah, is instrumental in beginning the process leading to the Exodus. Shifra is often identified as Jochebed, Moses' mother.
with fear of You, she
lovingly births Your People:
Freedom
to do Your Will.
Like PuahPuah, like Shifra, is one of the Hebrew midwives mentioned in Exodus 1 who defies Pharaoh's orders to kill the boy babies. This first act of defiance was instrumental in leading to the Israelite exodus from Egypt. Puah is often identified in the midrash with Miriam, Moses' older sister.,
be hutzpadik1
in Your advocacy
Encourage us toward Life
even when we ourselves may feel discouraged,
distressed in the midst
of life’s hard pangs.
be hutzpadik1
in Your advocacy
Encourage us toward Life
even when we ourselves may feel discouraged,
distressed in the midst
of life’s hard pangs.
Breathe life into us anew!
While others take us for dead.
Lest we face despair of lost hope,
even we,
may abandon ourselves.
While others take us for dead.
Lest we face despair of lost hope,
even we,
may abandon ourselves.
In the name of Shifra, Puah,
SarahThe first matriarch, wife of Abraham, and mother of Isaac, whom she birthed at the age of 90. Sarah, in Rabbinic tradition, is considered holy, beautiful, and hospitable. Many prayers, particularly the Amidah (the central silent prayer), refer to God as Magen Avraham – protector of Abraham. Many Jews now add: pokehd or ezrat Sarah – guardian or helper of Sarah. Imeinu2
HanaHannah is the mother of the prophet Samuel, who, through her prayers, is rewarded a child. She herself is also considered a prophet. Hannah's intense devotional style of prayer becomes the model, in rabbinic Judaism, for prayer in general.,
in the name of RachelLavan's younger daughter and Jacob's beloved wife second wife (after he is initially tricked into marrying her older sister, Leah). Rachel grieves throughout her life that she is barren while Leah is so fertile. Ultimately, Rachel gives birth to Joseph and dies in childbirth with Benjamin. Rachel is remembered as compassionate (she is said to still weep for her children), and infertile women often invoke Rachel as a kind of intercessor and visit her tomb on the road to Bethlehem. Imeinu2,
let her tears for her children,
be of gladness and joy.
SarahThe first matriarch, wife of Abraham, and mother of Isaac, whom she birthed at the age of 90. Sarah, in Rabbinic tradition, is considered holy, beautiful, and hospitable. Many prayers, particularly the Amidah (the central silent prayer), refer to God as Magen Avraham – protector of Abraham. Many Jews now add: pokehd or ezrat Sarah – guardian or helper of Sarah. Imeinu2
HanaHannah is the mother of the prophet Samuel, who, through her prayers, is rewarded a child. She herself is also considered a prophet. Hannah's intense devotional style of prayer becomes the model, in rabbinic Judaism, for prayer in general.,
in the name of RachelLavan's younger daughter and Jacob's beloved wife second wife (after he is initially tricked into marrying her older sister, Leah). Rachel grieves throughout her life that she is barren while Leah is so fertile. Ultimately, Rachel gives birth to Joseph and dies in childbirth with Benjamin. Rachel is remembered as compassionate (she is said to still weep for her children), and infertile women often invoke Rachel as a kind of intercessor and visit her tomb on the road to Bethlehem. Imeinu2,
let her tears for her children,
be of gladness and joy.
In the name of God that is Birth,
let the joy of becoming, of hearing
sounds from this birthing shofar
overcome and become us all.
let the joy of becoming, of hearing
sounds from this birthing shofar
overcome and become us all.
God, cleanse us of our sins
like the midwife
who cleanses the newborn infant.
like the midwife
who cleanses the newborn infant.
Wrap us in the beautiful garments
of the Soul.
Bathe us in Your Light
so our Divine nature may shine
even as we walk joyously in Your Light –
B’or paneha yehalayhun!3
of the Soul.
Bathe us in Your Light
so our Divine nature may shine
even as we walk joyously in Your Light –
B’or paneha yehalayhun!3
May the breath of my being
blown into this shofar
hearken us
back to the shofar
that is Shifra
and the breath
that is Puah.
blown into this shofar
hearken us
back to the shofar
that is Shifra
and the breath
that is Puah.
Deliver us from the narrows
of, God Forbid, an evil decree,
into the breadth of sound.
of, God Forbid, an evil decree,
into the breadth of sound.
Signal in us an expansion.
Together God
may we birth this coming year!
Together God
may we birth this coming year!
God,
Supernal Midwife,
send me no angel, no seraph, not even
Hayot Hakodesh!4
Supernal Midwife,
send me no angel, no seraph, not even
Hayot Hakodesh!4
Be Thou my Midwife!
Be Thou my angel!
Be Thou My Self!
Birth me yet again anew,
renewed for this coming year.
Be Thou my angel!
Be Thou My Self!
Birth me yet again anew,
renewed for this coming year.
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1. Nervy
2. our mother
3. lit., In the light of Your Presence they are exalted. This is from Psalms 89:16, adapted into feminine. It is traditionally recited following the blowing of the shofar.
4. Traditionally, this term refers to celestial beings. Zimmern has reinterpreted it to refer to holy midwives.
