The Shalom Center - Prayer

Praying with Lior: A Prayer For Christmas

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 08:29:53 -0500

By Timothy Shriver

Washington Post, December 25, 2007; Page A25

This Christmas, one might be forgiven for praying for the second coming of Jesus rather than for the joy to celebrate his initial appearance 20 centuries ago. Taking the long view of history, you could argue that we have collectively proved how inadequate we are in fulfilling the Bethlehem announcement of peace and justice. While we celebrate the mystery of God's coming in human form, can't we also pray for an expedited return?

That type of prayer would give many Christians common ground with our Jewish brothers and sisters during a season when we otherwise seem to part ways. We both want the Messiah to come; is it such a big deal whether we want Him for the first or the second time?

Are Jewish Meditation & Social Action at Odds?

Wed, 08 Jun 2005 01:00:00 -0400

Rabbi Arthur Waskow *, 6/8/2005

American Jewish efforts to renew Judaism have been exploring new forms of tikkun olam (healing the world toward peace and social justice) and tikkun halev (healing the heart toward calm and equanimity).

In the social

Exploring "Shalom" with Teachers from The Shalom Center

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 01:00:00 -0400

Rabbis Berman & Waskow; National Organizer Lenchner, 8/25/2004

Rabbi Phyllis Berman and Rabbi Arthur Waskow have been leading prayer services and teaching in both mulltireligious gatherings (e.g. conferences called by Jobs with Justice, the Religiou

Sh'ma: An Interpretation for the 21st Century

Thu, 02 Oct 2003 01:00:00 -0400

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, 10/2/2003

Sh'sh'sh'ma Yisra'el —
Listen, You Godwrestlers!
Pause from your wrestling and hush'sh'sh
To hear —
YHWH/ Yahh

Hear in the stillness the still silent voice,
The silent breathing that intertwines life;

YHW

Eco-Torah: the Wind & Rain, The Sun and Soil, are ONE

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:03:55 -0400

Rabbi Arthur Waskow

When Torah Says the Breath of Life is ONE:
2d Paragraph of Sh'ma

This week, the Jewish reading of the Torah moves deeper into the Book of Deuteronomy. One of the powerful passages in this week's portion is Deuteronomy 11: 13-21 -- so powerful that in traditional prayer-books, it was treated as the second paragraph that comes just after the Sh'ma – the affirmation/ reminder of God's unity.

In quite direct translation, it says:

"If you hear, yes hear (shamoa tishma'u) the commandments/ connections (mitzvot) that today I command you/ connect you to, to love YHWH/ the Breath of Life your God and to serve Him [sic] with all your heart and every breath, then I will rain upon the earth in its right-time, autumn rain that falls like an arrow and the soaking rains of winter, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your olive oil. I will give grass in your fields for your cattle. And you will eat and be satisfied.

Ahava Rabah - an English translation

Sat, 08 Sep 2001 21:46:40 -0400

Rabbi Arthur Waskow

Ahava -- English

You whose Unity is acted out
In the wheeling of the galaxies
And the pulsing of each atom,
In the double spiral that spins in every living cell
And in the loop of memory and imagination --

We praise You

Sh'ma: At Every Boundary, The World Is One

Sat, 08 Sep 2001 21:46:40 -0400

Rabbi Arthur Waskow

AT EVERY BOUNDARY, THE WORLD IS ONE

Is there a way to reawaken a deep and intense understanding of the three paragraphs that follow the Sh'ma, to get beyond the habituated chant-'em-through (or drop-'em-out) tha

Aliyot a la P'nai Or

Sat, 08 Sep 2001 21:46:40 -0400

Rabbi Arthur Waskow

Aliyot in Jewish Renewal

A new practice for aliyot that emerged in P'nai Or/Aleph/ Jewish renewal circles and has begun to spread more broadly. It works
especially easily in communities that do not have 7 separate aliyot

The Embodiment of God in Prayer

Sat, 08 Sep 2001 21:46:40 -0400

Rabbi Arthur Waskow

The Embodiment of God in Prayer
By Rabbi Arthur Waskow*

Why do the communities of Jewish renewal seek forms of prayer different from those our forebears used? For the same reason Rabbinic contact w

Time, Space, Shabbat, Galut and Israel

Sat, 08 Sep 2001 21:46:40 -0400

Rabbi Shefa Gold

Time, Space, Shabbat, Galut and Israel
Shefa Gold

When I asked a group of 8-year-old Hebrew school students, "What is the most important question that you have about Judaism?", one boy responded, "Why does everyone want

Becoming the Body of God

Sat, 08 Sep 2001 21:46:40 -0400

Rabbi Arthur Waskow

Becoming the Body of God
By Rabbi Arthur Waskow*

Copyright (c) 2000 by Arthur Waskow. Downloading for your own use permitted. Please do not distribute to others withoiut specifi

Variations on the Aleinu

Sat, 08 Sep 2001 21:46:40 -0400

Rabbi Arthur Waskow

Variations on Aleinu.

1. Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, for the Pnai Or/ALEPH siddur-anthology Or Chadash, used "sheh-lo asanu im goyai ha'aratzot, v'lo samanu im mishpachot ha'adamah" [etc etc in the following p

Breath of Life/ Prayer

Sat, 08 Sep 2001 21:46:40 -0400

Rabbi Arthur Waskow

THE BREATH OF LIFE AND PRAYER

For me, the YHWH as 'Breath of Life' is not just a neat understanding of the 4-letter Name, but a profound metaphor/ theology of/for God. God as the Breath of Life, in- and out- breath, that

Circles of Prayer

Sat, 08 Sep 2001 21:46:40 -0400

Rabbi Arthur Waskow

Circles of Prayer
Dear Chevra,

As I mentioned, in addition to "im kol ha'amim" there are several innovations in prayer-forms in the Jewish-renewal community that seem to me very important bearers of spiritual and ethica

Four Worlds

Sat, 08 Sep 2001 21:46:40 -0400

Rabbi Arthur Waskow

FOUR WORLDS

About the Four Worlds of Kabbalah: In the movement for Jewish renewal, we often "immanentize" the Worlds (as well as other aspects of God): that is, we see these attributes and emanations of God as p