Between the Fires: Lag B'Omer, Flood Day and Rainbow Day
Extensive Rainbow Day resources here!
The 17th of Iyyar, which is the 32nd day of the Omer (May 20 in 2011), is the day of the Flood, when the rains began according to the Noah story. It is followed by Lag B'omer, the 33d day, when we traditionally light bonfires, and it leads us forward to Rainbow Day, the 42nd day of the Omer (May 30 in 2011), which is the day according to the Noah story when they left the ark and received the rainbow covenant.
As we move from Flood Day through fire we look forward to a different kind of illumination, the rainbow, which balances water and fire to create such a powerful expression of beauty and diversity. You can read more about Rainbow Day here. Below are three versions of prayers for the earth which could be recited for Lag B'omer or Flood Day. You can also use neohasid's Ykum purkan lishmaya (or modify the longer "Sun Blessing" liturgy for these special days.
Another place any of these prayers could fit would be after the Torah service during the shabbatot before and after Rainbow Day, (Emor and Behar/Bechukotai, or Behar and Bechukotai, depending on the year), alongside the prayers for peace, Israel and country. The Ykum purkan lishmaya prayer and the first prayer below are based on P'ri Eitz Hadar, the first published Tu Bish'vat seder from the 17th century (which also ifocuses on the first fruits of Shavuot, towards which we are counting). The original P'ri Eitz Hadar prayer can be found here.
Please use or rewrite these prayers as you see fit.
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May it be Your will, our God and God of our ancestors, that just as you turned your bow towards the heavens, promising to never again destroy the earth for humanity's sake, that we too turn our arrows away from the earth.
May you sustain the word which you promised us by the hands of Malachi your seer: "And the fruit of the earth will not be destroyed because of you, said YHVH of hosts."
May we turn over our hearts and strengthen our will, so that we care for the earth and all life, for all life now depends on our goodness and rests in our hands. Help us learn to use our fires to bring blessing to all life, that we add might and majesty to the Tree of Life. Let us use our light to see more clearly that the earth and all who live as part of it are not for burning. Let us use our light to see more clearly the rainbow in the many-hued faces of all life. May you bring upon all living creatures blessings of goodness, as it says, "Let them drink blessings forever, let them celebrate in joy Your presence."
May the Tree of Life be returned now to its original strength, and may the strength of the Righteous One's bow return, that we may see the rainbow, joyful and beautified with its colors; and from there may the flow of compassion and mercy flow over us, for forgiveness and for fixing our sins and errors. And may all the sparks and species scattered by our hands, or by the hands of our ancestors, be returned and included in the majestic might of the Tree of Life.
Make the flow of desire and blessing and shefa flow over the earth to make all life grow and bloom, from the beginning of the year until the end of the year, for good and for blessing, for good life and for peace. "Then the Sun of Righteousness will shine forth and heal with her wings" and "the trees of the forest will sing out" and "the tree of the field will make fruit, day by day" that we may celebrate the bikurim, the first of all the fruits, on Shavuot, with praise and thanks.
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The following prayer was written by Arthur Waskow for Tisha B'av, but can apply well to the days of the Flood and Lag B'omer. It seemed especially right for me to share with you Arthur's prayer, given his invocation of the verses from Malakhi about fathers and children. I've tweaked the text a fair amount and added in new introduction, but it is essentially Arthur's. [Click here to download one-page RTF.]
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Between the Fires
On this day, the day when (or: after) the Flood began,
this day when we prepare to kindle fires for Lag B'Omer,
we share a unique burden.
We are the first generation to understand
what the Floods could mean:
The Flood of Noah, when the Water of Life undid Life,
and the Flood of Malachi, the Flood of Fire.
We are the generation standing
between the fires:
Behind us the flame and smoke
that rose from Auschwitz, from Hiroshima.
Before us the nightmare of a Flood of Fire and Water,
from the burning of the Amazon and the melting of the Antarctic,
"the day that comes burning like an oven,"
a day when our flames could consume so much of the earth.
It is our task to make from fire not an all-consuming blaze
but a light in which we can see each other fully.
All of us different, All of us bearing
One Spark.
Let us light the fires of Lag B'Omer to see more clearly
that the earth and all who live as part of it
are not for burning.
Let us light our fires to see more clearly
the rainbow in the many-hued faces
Of all life.
Blessed is the One within the many.
Blessed are the many who embody the One.
"Here! I am sending you
Elijah the Prophet
Before the coming
of the great and terrible day
of YAH, the Breath of Life.
And he shall turn the heart
Of fathers for children
And the heart of children
for their fathers.
Lest I come and
strike the earth
utterly."
Here we stand
before the great and terrible day --
Let us turn the hearts
of parents to their children
and the hearts of children to their parents
so that this day of smiting
does not fall upon us or our children.
"And then the Sun of Righteousness will shine forth
and heal with her wings."
Ken Y'hi Ratzon, So May It Be.
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This prayer could be read as one begins to set up or light a Lag B'omer bonfire (perhaps as day shifts into night and Flood Day becomes Lag B'omer). It would be a good idea to act as one prays and make sure you've set up a carbon offset for the fire.
Here is the longer version of the prayer for Rainbow Day. I think it's too long for most purposes but may give people other good ideas for what to do:
Today we stand between the 17th of Iyyar, the day when the rains of the flood began, and the 27th of Iyyar, the day when Noah left the ark, the day the first covenant was made between God and all life upon the earth. Today we stand between the bonfires of Lag B'Omer and the many lights of the rainbow, the sign of the first covenant. Today we stand between the fires: the fires that rose from Auschwitz, from Hiroshima, and the spector of a flood of fire and water from the burning of the Amazon and the melting of the Antarctic, "the day that comes burning like an oven," a day when our flames could consume so much of the earth.
Malakhi the seer prophesied: "Here! I am sending you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of YHVH, the Breath of Life. And he shall turn the heart of parents unto children and the heart of children unto their parents, lest I come and strike the earth utterly." Teach us to turn our hearts away from chasing wrong desires zonim, and to turn our hearts toward our children and toward our parents, "in order that you will increase your days and the days of your children on the earth which God granted you."
It is our task to make from fire not an all-consuming blaze but a light in which we can see each other fully. All of us different, all of us bearing the spark of the One. Let us use our light to see clearly that the earth and all who live as part of it are not for burning. Let us use our light to see clearly the rainbow in the many-hued faces of all life.
May this therefore be the will that comes from you, our God and God of our ancestors: That just as you turned your bow towards the heavens, promising to never again destroy the earth for humanity's sake, that we too turn our arrows away from the earth. May we turn over our hearts and strengthen our will, so that we care for the earth and all life, for all life now depends on our goodness and rests in our hands.
May you sustain the word which you promised us by the hands of Malakhi your seer: "And the fruit of the earth will not be destroyed because of you, said YHVH of hosts."
Help us learn to use our fires to bring blessing to all life, that we add might and majesty to the Tree of Life.
May you bring upon all life a blessing of goodness, as it says, "Let them drink blessings forever, let them celebrate in joy your presence."
May the Tree of Life return now to its original strength, and may the strength of the Righteous One's bow return, that we may see the rainbow, joyful and beautified with its colors; and from there may the flow of compassion and mercy flow over us, for pardoning and fixing our sins and errors;
Make the flow of desire and blessing and shefa flow over the earth to make all life grow and bloom, from the beginning of the year until the end of the year, for good and for blessing, for good life and for peace. "And then the Sun of Righteousness will shine forth and heal with her wings" and "the trees of the forest will sing out" and "the tree of the field will make fruit, day by day" and we will bring the bikurim, first of all the fruits of the ground on Shavuot to bring the first-fruit offering (bikurim) before the altar of YHVH" with praise and thanks.
And may all the sparks of lives and species scattered by our hands, or by the hands of our ancestors, be returned and included in the majestic might of the Tree of Life.
B'shalom uv'yir'ah,
Reb Duvid
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