Simchat Torah?

אֵיךְ לָשׂוּשׂ וְלִשְׂמֹחַ בְּשִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה

וְאַחֵינוּ עָלוּ בִּמְדוּרָה

לָשִׁיר וּלְרִקּוּד עַל הָאַדֶּרֶת וְעַל הָאֱמוּנָה

וַאֲחוֹתֵנוּ הָיְתָה לְאַלְמָנָה 


נֶהְפַּךְ לָנוּ מִיּוֹם טוֹב לְאֵבֶל וּמִשִּׂמְחָה לְיָגוֹן 

אָנָּא קוּם רַחֵם צִיּוֹן

כִּי עֵת לְחֶנְנָהּ כִּי בָא מוֹעֵד

כָּל הָעָם נְכֵה-רוּחַ וְחָרֵד


אֲזַי פָּתַחְנוּ כָּל הַקָּפָה

בִּקְרִיאַת אָנָּא ה' הוֹשִׁיעָה נָא

חַי עוֹלָמִים אַל תִּטְּשֵׁנוּ בְּיַד אוֹיְבֵנוּ

רַחֵם נָא עַל רֵאשִׁית צְמִיחַת גְּאֻלָּתֵנוּ

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Politics and Religion

Our country is more divided than ever. A former president narrowly escaped assassination—a horrific event that, in any other time, would have united the country. Instead, it spurred conspiracy theories and mutual accusations on both sides, deepening our divide. Sadly, the same thing is true in Israel. The unity of the country after October 7 was beautiful and inspiring and short-lived; the country is now deeply divided over the war, over the Haredi draft, and many other issues. How did we arrive at this point, where even tragedy fails to bring us together? In Pirkei Avot, the Mishna contrasts Avraham and Bilam as polar opposites: כָּל מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּיָדוֹ שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הַלָּלוּ, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ. וּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים אֲחֵרִים, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל בִּלְעָם הָרָשָׁע. עַיִן טוֹבָה, וְרוּחַ נְמוּכָה, וְנֶפֶשׁ שְׁפָלָה, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ. עַיִן רָעָה, וְרוּחַ גְּבוֹהָה, וְנֶפֶשׁ רְחָבָה, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל בִּלְעָם הָרָשָׁע Whoever possesses t...
Read more

Should we still recite the Prayer for the State of Israel if we disagree with its government?

  A Letter to the Editor published in The Forward's Opinion section (see original here ) Re: “ Why this Zionist rabbi has stopped saying the Prayer for the State of Israel ”  by Jodi Rudoren Should we pray for the State of Israel? I certainly think so, but some of my rabbinic colleagues have proclaimed that, in light of their disagreement with Israel’s new governing coalition, their congregations will stop reciting the usual prayer for the State of Israel. That prayer was written in 1948 by some combination of Chief Rabbis Isaac Herzog and Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel and edited by Noble laureate Shai (S.Y.) Agnon. For decades, its prominent recitation on Shabbat and holiday mornings has been de rigueur at Zionist congregations. “How can we pray for the success of a government with which we disagree so vehemently? How can we claim that the State of Israel represents the ‘first flowering of our redemption’ (r eishit tz’michat ge’ulateinu )? This is not the redemption we have been pr...
Read more