Prayer and Ritual

This text sheet uses excerpts from the Book of Ruth to begin a conversation about U.S. immigration policy. It is designed to segue into “The Sin of Sodom,” a text study that appears in the revised and expanded Mikdash handbook (p. 30-31). The second page of this resource contains a prayer for immigrant children and...

Download and print out this prayer, in both Hebrew and English. It may be used by individuals or in a communal setting during election season or on Election Day itself. If Version 1 prints badly for you, try Version 2, which has a plainer layout. Or simply read the English text below: A Meditation on...

These five prayers for the State of Israel, each written by a different T’ruah chaver, offer a variety of styles and emphases to supplement the more traditional prayers found in our siddurim. Rabbi David Seidenberg uses the format and much of the language of the traditional prayer, adapting it word-by-word to reflect a more progressive...

El Maleh Rachamim is the memorial prayer recited at funerals and during Yizkor, the memorial service included in Yom Kippur and other festival services. This version honors the memory of all those who have been murdered throughout America’s history because of their race–those who died under slavery or the Native American genocide, those lynched or bombed,...

In Israel, it is common for religious Jews to celebrate Yom Yerushalayim with Hallel, the psalms of praise sung on Jewish holidays. In the US and Canada, different communities have different practices. Rabbi Ezra Weinberg has curated a series of tunes for Hallel that are thematic to Jerusalem and set a more mournful mood. This captures...

Rabbi Michael Adam Latz's response to Pastor Martin Niemoller (z"l)'s "First they came" poem: "First they came for the African Americans and I spoke up— Because I am my sisters’ and my brothers’ keeper..."

"May the Holy Blessed One be filled with mercy for them, strengthening them to withstand this act of torture and keeping them from all harm."

Inspired by Yehudah Amichai z”l and Rabbi Rachel Barenblat In memory of Mike Brown z”l, Eric Garner z”l, and many, many others Recited as part of a Pilgrimage of Lament Berkeley, CA 12/14/14           Dearest God, We stand before you because we must. We stand before You because truths that should...

Help us to lie down, Dear Lord our God, in peace, and let us rise again, to life… This summer, I heard that a young black man had been killed by a police officer. The sad thing is that I tuned the story out. I was too caught up in whatever I was doing to...

This ritual, developed by T’ruah and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, places a tomato on the seder plate in recognition of the farmworker who picked the tomato and their struggles for justice.