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Tefillat Ha’Derekh from Montgomery Alabama  Written by Rabbi Nina H. Mandel during the T’ruah delegation to the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, January 26-28, 2020 Bo Bo el Par’oh Come after the oppressor Join the trouble Muster your strength Gird your loins Mobilize your anger Disrupt, disrupt, disrupt Watch for bias Cry out for truth Soften your hardened heart Embrace your neighbor Persist, persist, persist Ad matai? Until when? Until there is no longer...

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High Holidays in Five Senses  What do the High Holidays smell like?  They smell of freshly-baked sweet challah, the vanilla-y pages of an old book, your grandfather’s aftershave, the tang of the etrog and the perfume of lulav branches. What do the High Holidays feel like?   They feel like fists beating on chests, shifting your tush on a wooden pew in an unairconditioned sanctuary, running your fingers through the fringes of a tallit, dropping crumbs into the water as you cast...

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No matter what temper tantrum or adolescent rebellion marked the week that is past, we take a moment to place our hands on our children’s heads and to offer them words of pure love. The blessing for boys derives from Jacob’s blessing to his grandsons, Ephraim and Menashe, who are the first pair of siblings in the Bible who love each other rather than fight each other. The blessing for girls invokes the memory of our four matriarchs — Sarah, Rebekah,...

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Unending Love by Rabbi Rami Shapiro We are loved by unending love. We are embraced by arms that find us  even when we are hidden from ourselves.  We are touched by fingers that soothe us  even when we are too proud for soothing.  We are counseled by voices that guide us  even when we are too embittered to hear. We are loved by unending love. We are supported by hands that uplift us  even in the midst of a fall.  We...

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Take a moment to turn to one another and offer words of love and appreciation. These blessings need not be restricted just to people who are married, they can be offered by and for any loving partner.  For a woman: אֵֽשֶׁת‭ ‬חַֽיִל‭ ‬מִי‭ ‬יִמְצָא‭ ‬וְרָחֹק‭ ‬מִפְּנִינִים‭ ‬מִכְרָהּ‭. ‬בָּֽטַח‭ ‬בָּהּ‭ ‬לֵב‭ ‬בַּעְלָהּ‭ ‬וְשָׁלָל‭ ‬לֹא‭ ‬יֶחְסָר פִּֽיהָ‭ ‬פָּתְחָה‭ ‬בְחָכְמָה‭ ‬וְתֽוֹרַת‭ ‬חֶֽסֶד‭ ‬עַל‭ ‬לְשׁוֹנָהּ‭. ‬קָֽמוּ‭ ‬בָנֶֽיהָ‭ ‬וַיְאַשְּׁרֽוּהָ‭ ‬בַּעְלָהּ‭ ‬וַיְהַלְלָהּ‭. ‬רַבּוֹת‭ ‬בָּנוֹת‭ ‬עָֽשׂוּ‭ ‬חָֽיִל‭ ‬וְאַתְּ‭ ‬עָלִית‭ ‬עַל‭ ‬כֻּלָּֽנָה‭ ‬ Eishet Chayil mi yimtza, v’rakhok mi’pninim...

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On Friday nights we invite the angels to briefly come and join us at our Shabbat table, to offer us their blessings, and then to continue on in their Shabbat rounds. We sing Shalom Aleikhem at the beginning of the Shabbat meal.  -  שָׁלוֹם‭ ‬עֲלֵיכֶם‭ ‬מַלְאֲכֵי‭ ‬הַשָּׁרֵת‭ ‬מַלְאֲכֵי‭ ‬עֶלְיוֹן ‭ ‬מִמֶּֽלֶךְ‭ ‬מַלְכֵי‭ ‬הַמְּלָכִים‭ ‬הַקָּדוֹשׁ‭ ‬בָּרוּךְ‭ ‬הוּא בּוֹאֲכֶם‭ ‬לְשָׁלוֹם‭ ‬מַלְאֲכֵי‭ ‬הַשָּׁלוֹם‭ ‬מַלְאֲכֵי‭ ‬עֶלְיוֹן ‭ ‬מִמֶּֽלֶךְ‭ ‬מַלְכֵי‭ ‬הַמְּלָכִים‭ ‬הַקָּדוֹשׁ‭ ‬בָּרוּךְ‭ ‬הוּא בָּרְכֽוּנִי‭ ‬לְשָׁלוֹם‭ ‬מַלְאֲכֵי‭ ‬הַשָּׁלוֹם‭ ‬מַלְאֲכֵי‭ ‬עֶלְיוֹן ‭ ‬מִמֶּֽלֶךְ‭ ‬מַלְכֵי‭ ‬הַמְּלָכִים‭ ‬הַקָּדוֹשׁ‭ ‬בָּרוּךְ‭...