All who wound God's works, wound God's image. 

~ Zohar, Ra`ya Mehemna 3:123b 

Earthprayers

liturgy for the Earth

NeoHasid has always been a source for eco-Torah and liturgy. Here are links for some of the prayers for the Earth that appear on neohasid.org.


Prayers for all times:

Pope Francis's Prayer for Our Earth, from Laudato Si

~ in side-by-side English and liturgical Hebrew

The prayer begins:

All-powerful God, great and mighty, You are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embrace
with Your tenderness all that exists. Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and its beauty. Fill us with peace, and settle peace upon us that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one...

A Prayer for the Earth and the Heavens – Hebrew and English

Y'kum Purkan Lish'maya: May salvation arise for the Heavens – for use in your synagogue, minyan, or havurah; for Earth Day, Rainbow Day, Shabbat Noach and Behar, and everyday.

The prayer begins:

Elohei Haruchot, God of all spirit, all directions, all winds, You have placed in our hands power unlike any since the world began to overturn the orders of creation. Please God, give us wisdom and skillful hands to heal the Skies and the Earth from our sins; Y'kum purkan lish'maya 'May salvation arise for the heavens'...

Here's one more brief prayer for every day, based on the Sefardi liturgy for Sukkot

God full of compassion, make Your Presence, Shekhinah, rest among us, and spread over us a sukkah of compassion and peace. Encompass us with the radiance of the Shekhinah, heal the heavens from our wounding actions and purify us from our sins. As an eagle awakens its nest, may You awaken the flow of life-energy to flow upon Your world, to give life to all, and water them. Give the hungry their food in its time, and grant us merit to dwell many days on the earth. Blessed be Yah for all time, Amen, Amen.

Download this prayer with Hebrew, four per page, in doc format.


Prayers for special times and holidays:

Blessing from the first published Tu Bish'vat Seder

From the 16/17th century seder manual, P'ri Eitz Hadar, based on the Kabbalah of the four worlds. The original seder calls on us to bring blessing to all creation.

Hoshana Rabbah: new translation

The original Jewish earth prayers

Listen to and download the Shmita Harachaman about the land

Blessing the Sun

Once in 28 years – that's how often this blessing comes around. Here's a liturgy we used that weaves together Kabbalah and deep ecology, along with links to more resources.

An environmental Al Chet for Yom Kippur

For the sin of destroying God's creation...

Seder Ushpizin/Ushpizata for Sukkot

The Sefardi liturgy for the sukkah includes a remarkable prayer that you can read above. Get the whole Ushipizata/Ushpizin liturgy here, which includes this prayer at the end of the liturgy.



 
Design in progress © Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg 2006, 2007