Teachings and reflections for entering the month of Tishrei and the Jewish New Year. 

https://soundcloud.com/rabbi-sarah-tasman/welcoming-the-month-of-tishrei

The following blessing is a feminist blessing that parallels traditional masculine language used by the majority of Jews. In using feminine language for God, we acknowledge the role of women in our ancestral tradition and the centrality of their place in our future.

בְּרוּכָה אַתְּ יָהּ אֱלֹהֵינוּ רוּחַ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁתְנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתֶיהָ וְצִוָּתְנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל שַׁבָּת

Barucha at yah, eloheinu ruach ha-olam, asher kidishanu bmitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel shabbat v'yom tov.

Blessed are you, sovereign, our God, breath of the world, who has commanded us to observe the deed of lighting shabbat and holiday candles.

Nearly all Jewish holiday begin with lighting candles, and so this one will, too. After we light the candles we wave our hands in three big horizontal circles to symbolically bring the light closer to us, and then cover our eyes while we say the blessing. When the blessing is over take a moment of silent reflection with your eyes covered, and then open your eyes and enjoy the beauty of candlelight, bringing you into the new year.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם
אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּֽנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁלְיֹוםטֹוב

Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam
asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel yom tov.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe,
who has sanctified us with commandments, and commanded us to light festival candles.

Full Kiddush for Rosh Hashanah Evening

Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam, borei peri ha'gafen.
Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam asher bakhar banu m'kol am, v'romemanu m'kol lashon v'kidishanu b'mitzvotav. Vatiten lanu Adonai Eloheinu b'ahava et Yom HaShabbat ha'zeh v'et)Yom HaZikaron ha'zeh. Yom zichron teruah b'ahava mikra kodesh, zekher le'yitziat mitzrayim. Ki vanu vakharta v'otanu kidashtah m'kol ha'amim, u'devarkha emet v'kayam la'ad.
Barukh atah Adonai melekh al kol ha'aretz, mekadesh haShabbat v'Yisrael v'Yom HaZikaron. 
 

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, who has chosen us from among all peoples and sanctified us with God's commandments. And You gave us, Adonai our God, in love this Sabbath day and this Day of Remembrance. It is a Day of Remembrance a day for recalling with love the sounding of the Shofar, a sacred convocation, a commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt. For You chose us and sanctified us from among all peoples, and Your word is truth and endures forever.
Blessed are You, Ruler over all the earth, who sanctifies the Sabbath and Israel and the Day of Remembrance.

Masculine Blessing
Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha'olam borei p'ri hagafen.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine

Feminine Blessing
B'rucha At yah Eloheinu Ruach ha'olam boreit p'ri hagafen.
You are blessed, Our God, Spirit of the World, who creates the fruit of the vine.

Non-Gendered Blessing
N’vareykh et Eyn Hahayim matzmihat p’ri hagefen.
Let us bless the Source of Life that ripens the fruit on the vine.

In joy and celebration, we come together at this holiday.

Brukhim ha-adama ha-shemesh v’ha-geshem shehborim pre hagafen.
Blessed are the earth, the sun, and the rains that bring forth the fruit of the wine. 

Forgiveness: A Kiddush Reading
What do we want to let go?
What do we want to forgive?
This is what we must put down
in order to raise our glasses,
in order to say l'chaim — to life.

"I forgive you. Not for you, but for me. Because like chains shackling me to the past I will no longer pollute my heart with bitterness, fear, distrust or anger. I forgive you because hate is just another way of holding on, and you don’t belong here anymore." - Beau Taplin, Forgiveness

Download the complete OneTable guide to help you and your guests imbue Shabbat Shuvah with intention and give the Friday night rituals an extra layer of meaning by incorporating the themes that make the High Holidays so sacred.

Each year, the first time we eat a fruit that only grows at a certain time of year, or when we do something for the first time in a while, we say a special blessing, the shehecheyanu, on this new experience. 

בָּרוּך אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶך הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וקְִיְמָּנוּ והְִגִיּעָנוּ לַזְמַן הַזֶה

Barukh ata adonai elohenu melekh ha-olam, she-hechiyanu, v’kiy'manu, v’higi'anu la-z’man ha-zeh

Blessed are You, the One who has kept us alive and sustained us so that we could reach this moment.

Music to Listen to During the High Holidays 
By Cantor Rosalie Will

Most of the music we associate with the High Holidays (Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur) is heard in the synagogue. Different than some of our other more home-based celebrations (such as Sukkot in an outdoor sukkah, Hanukkah gathered around our candles in the home, Passover seated at an overflowing holiday table), the High Holidays lead us toward reflection and introspection as individuals, while in the embrace of a community moving through our sacred time together. Because of that, we do not have a lot of High Holidays musical settings designed for the home, as most are sacred liturgical melodies that call to mind perhaps a history or memory of the past, or call us to look to the future and the world we wish to build.

To get us in the spirit of entering the New Year, though, we have some music for you. Whether you listen to these songs along or with others, may they lead you to thoughts of turning our hearts toward the rich opportunities the New Year brings, or perhaps a moment to reflect on the times we’ve “missed the mark” and not been our best selves.  Shanah tovah u’metukah, a sweet and good year to you!

As we wash our hands
We pray,
Blessed is the Soul of the Universe,
Breathing us in and breathing us out.
May our breaths continue
And our health and the health of all
Be preserved
In this time of sickness and fear of sickness.
Holy Wholeness,
We take as much responsibility for this as we can
By observing the obligation to wash our hands
Thoroughly:
For as long as it takes to say this prayer.
Amen

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה הָ׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל נְטִילַת יָדַיִם

Barukh atah adonai eloheinu melekh ha-olam asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al netilat yadayim

Blessed are you, our God, ruler of the universe, who sanctified us with God's commandments and instructed us on washing hands 

בָּרוּךְ‭ ‬אַתָּה‭ ‬יְיָ‭ ‬אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ‭ ‬מֶֽלֶךְ‭ ‬הָעוֹלָם
‬הַמּֽוֹצִיא‭ ‬לֶֽחֶם‭ ‬מִן‭ ‬הָאָֽרֶץ

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam, hamotzi lekhem min ha-aretz.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth.

In tasting bread, we remember the hungry. May there be a day when no human being suffers the pain and desolation of hunger. May the bounty we enjoy help us to bring to fruition the vision of a  besere un a shenere velt, a better and more beautiful world.

Naomi Prawer Kadar,   Shabbes   , (Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring, 1995)

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We rejoice in our heritage that teaches us to love our earth that gives us wheat and to honor the farmers who grow it and the workers who make it into bread.

Ashreinu b'yerushateinu she'morah lanu le'ehuv et ha'adama, matsmikhat dagan,
u'l'khabed et ha'ikar ha'motsi lekhem min ha'aretz v'et hapo'el hao'ofeh khalot.

Mir freyen zich mit undzer yerusheh vos hot undz oysgelernt
az mir zoln lib hobn undzer erd vos git undz veytz,
oon dermant undz opgebn koved di vos akern dos erd oon
kooltivirn dem veytz, oon di arbeter vos bakn undz dos broit

Judith Seid,   We Rejoice in Our Heritage: Home Rituals for Secular Jews

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B'rukhim hakhayim baolam.
Blessed be the life in the world.
B'rukhim hakhayim baadama.
Blessed be the life in the earth.
B'rukhim hamotsim lekhem minhaorets.
Blessed are those who bring forth bread from the earth.

Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine

For Ashkenazi Jews, the primary symbolic food of Rosh Ha-Shanah is apples dipped in honey, a way of wishing for a sweet new year. Before eating apples and honey, say the following blessings:

Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam borei pri ha-eitz.
Blessed are You, God, Ruler of the universe, who creates fruit of the tree.

Yehi ratzon lifanecha, Adonai Eloheinu, v'Elohai avoteinu, she'te'hadesh aleinu shanah tovah u'metukah.
May it be Your will, Adonai our God, to grant us a good and sweet year.   

Design by Midrash Manicures with guest artist New Yorker Cartoonist Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell 
Learn more at https://midrashmanicures.com/

Maximum Pun Time.  Get creative with puns in English to bring to your Rosh Hashanah table. 

Do you wish that you will be the head and not the tail this year? Put a fish head on the table! Want to pare away your sins in the coming year? Eat a pear! Put a raisin with a stalk of celery if you’re hoping for “a raise in salary.” This is your time to be as creative as you’d like. Go craisin-y!

The Rosh Hashanah Seder finds its earliest written source in a peculiar menu whose symbolic significance is not revealed...and your dinner menu can include many of these items that can draw on our earliest history and connect us to our hopes and dreams for our present and our future.

"For a good omen on Rosh HaShanah one should make it a habit to eat squash [like pumpkin], legumes [like string beans], kartei (leeks), spinach and dates.”    Talmud BT Keritot 6a

Tunisian Jews often “publish” a French and Arabic menu called the “Honey Page” for it lists all the special foods to be eaten and to be used to symbolize New Year’s wishes and of course it is headed by the word “Devash – honey.” Then the list often continues with figs, dates, pomegranates, apples, and the head of a ram or a fish. Jews from other lands add carrots and beets, but obviously any food will do as long as you have a creatively corny sense of humor and a willingness to share your greatest fears and hopes.

Many families add a conversation following each of these meditations. Prompts are shared below.

Apples and Honey

Y’hi ratzon milfanech, shetichadesh aleinu shana tova u’metukah.
May it be God’s will we will be renewed for a sweet new year.

With this blessing, we also recite the blessing over apples:

Baruch Ata, Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, borei pri haetz.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has created the fruit of the tree.

What is new about you, for you, with you in this new year? We ask that God will “renew” us. How might you imagine being renewed in this coming year? How might you help this to happen? This is the most commonly known symbol and food for Rosh HaShanah. Why do you think it has become so popular? What might you substitute in its place if you were to reinvent the ritual?

Challah

For dipping challah (into honey) we might use this Hassidic wish:

May God create yeast in your soul, causing you to ferment, and mature, to rise, elevate, to your highest possibilities, to reach your highest self.

How have you matured or “fermented” this year? What is something that you have accomplished that you can celebrate with us? What are your hopes for “fermentation” for this coming year? What is something you hope to accomplish?

A Head

Traditionally the head of a lamb or a carp is the occasion for a blessing (though vegetarians might perhaps substitute a head of cabbage or a head of lettuce):

Y’hi ratzon sheh- ni-hi-yeh l’Rosh v’lo l’zanav
May it be God’s will that we will be a head and not a tail.

What does this mean? How might you interpret the blessing? Would you rather be a head or a tail? Why? How might this food be connected to the Jewish calendar?

Spinach or beets

In Hebrew, spinach or beets are traditionally called  seleck, which can also mean “to remove decisively.” They elicit this New Year’s wish:

Y’hi ratzon sheh- yis-talku soneinu.
May it be God’s will that our enemies be removed from our presence.

When this was written, who do you think it could have referred to? What are different ways we can understand “enemies”? Who might it refer to today? Tell a story from our Jewish past that illustrates how our enemies were “removed decisively.”

Pomegranate

Pomegranates, filled with numerous sweet seeds, traditionally recall the 613 commandments or mitzvot found in the Torah. The blessing is:

Y’hi ratzon sheh-ni-hi-yeh malei mitzvot ka-rimon
May it be God’s will that our lives may be as full of mitzvot as the pomegranate is filled with seeds.

What is a mitzvah that you hope to fulfill this year? Here, seeds symbolize mitzvot. What else might they symbolize? What does the performance of a mitzvah do for you, the one who performs the mitzvah? How does it feel? What inspires us to do mitzvot?

Carrots and Squash

These root vegetables or nightshades, which are called respectively, Gezer (decree) or Kara (tear up or read) are used for:

Yehi ratzon milfanecha she-yikara roa gezar dinneinu, v’yikaru lfaneacha zakiyoteinu
May it be God’s will that the evil decrees aginst us be torn up and our good merits be read out before You.

To yourself: If you could choose one thing that would be wiped from your memory this year, what would it be? To yourself: What is something that you wished you’d done differently this year? If you could do it all over again, would you do it the same, or different? What is a “good merit” about you that perhaps no one knows about?

The Power of the Pun: Inventing Your Own Seder Rosh HaShanah

Let us suggest some contemporary “green grocer” wishes punning in English on the shape, name or color of these fruits and vegetables:

Dates: May it be God’s will that all my single friends have many dates this year.
Tomatoes or Hot Peppers: May it be God’s will that this be a juicy/red-hot New Year.

Rabbi Yitz Greenberg (CLAL 1977) suggested:

Peaches – May we have a “peachy” year! Brussels or other sprouts– May our good fortune “sprout”!

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includes some excerpts from Noam Zion,  The Rosh HaShanah Seder

Rosh Hashanah invites us to turn and return—to ourselves, to our inner truth, and to Divine presence. This ritual is designed to support this process through physical, embodied turning. As we move our bodies, we shift our energy. As we turn, we also return. 

Begin by choosing three objects that are small enough to hold in your hands—candlesticks, for instance, or a child’s toy. Each will stand in as the answer to one of the following questions:

1. What are you grateful for in this past year? 

2. What are you turning away from, that is, what would you like to leave behind? 

3. What are you turning toward in the year to come? This can be specific, such as “my art practice” or more broad, like “kindness to strangers.” 

If you’re having trouble choosing, feel free to just go with the first three beautiful or meaningful objects you find, either in your home or outdoors, and assign them these qualities in your mind. 

Once you have your objects, it’s time to set up the mini-altars that will become your ritual space. Choose a room where you can either make a little bit of space for each object along each wall, or bring in small tables or stools where you can place each object near a wall. 

When you’ve done this, you should be able to see each object upon entering the room and they should be surrounding you in the shape of a triangle when you walk into the room’s center. Feel free to spruce up your mini-altars with leaves, stones, fabric, or anything else you might have at hand. 

When you’re ready to begin the ritual, enter the room and stand at the center. You may wish to ground yourself with a deep breath in and out. Then, turn first to the object that represents what you’ve been grateful for in this past year. Walk up to the object. As you look at it, give thanks to whatever it is you’re grateful for. Then, turn in a clockwise circle, in place, and walk back to the center of the room. 

While standing at the center, turn toward the next object in front of the adjacent wall. Walk up to it, and state aloud what it is you’d like to turn away from this year. Then, turn in a counterclockwise circle, in place, and walk back to the center of the room. 

Turn towards the third object and the third wall in the space. Walk up to it, and speak aloud what it is you’re turning towards. Turn in a clockwise circle, in place, and return to the center of the room. 

Remain in the center of the room for a few moments. What did it feel like: the gratitude, the turning away, and the turning toward? What are you taking with you? 

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is about the chance to look forward to an exciting new year of growth, sweetness and abundance. This is why we often say “ Shana tova oumitukah ” to wish others a good and sweet new year. 

Celebrating Rosh Hashanah may look different for some of us this year. We may not be able to attend services or celebrate the way we traditionally do with family. However, we can find ways to engage with the Jewish middah (value) of Simcha, or joy! This value pairs with the idea of self-care, or how we can increase our mental well-being by taking care of our bodies, minds, hearts and spirits. 

We’ve put together a Rosh Hashanah self-care celebration you can do. We hope you will join us in strengthening our mental-wellness by celebrating the New Year with our community. 

Pomegranate Kavanah

The pomegranate serves as a  symbol of righteousness and fruitfulness on Rosh Hashanah. Its abundant seeds represent both our hope for being blessed in the New Year and our desire to perform countless mitzvot (commandments) in the coming year. 

Take a moment to close your eyes and take a deep breath—three seconds in, three second hold, three second exhale. Choose an intention for this upcoming year. How would you like to treat others as well as yourself? What might you like to achieve? How do you want to bring blessings into the lives of others? 

If you’d like, you can recite this traditional Rosh Hashanah blessing: 
May it be Your will, Lord our God and God of our ancestors,
that You renew for us a good and sweet year.

On a piece of paper write down your kavanah (intention). Writing down our kavanah helps us commit to turning intention into action. 

Challah Hobby Challenge

During Rosh Hashanah, we bake challah, a traditional Jewish egg bread, in the shape of a spiral or circle to symbolize the continuity of life from year to year. The roundness—as opposed to the traditional braided Shabbat challah—signifies that an ending is also a beginning and represents sweetness and fluidity and hope for the coming year.

The creative process can help us manage stress, especially when paired with activities that have you using your hands. This can be baking, gardening, drawing, etc. Take time to make something or do something with your hands. You may choose to bake a challah or simply engage with a hobby you love. 

Shofar Blasts
On Rosh Hashanah, we blow  a shofar, a ram’s horn, as part of a traditional service to announce the new year. The shofar has many symbolic meanings: It calls for one to self-reflect and critically consider our own action this past year. It is a reminder of the sacrifice in the story of the binding of Isaac. It reminds us to be humble. It is reminiscent of the revelation and receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai. And its blasts bring to mind joy for the newness of the year.

Even if you don’t have your own shofar, you can make music and evoke joy. Play an instrument, use your voice, or even drum on the table.

Consider offering a Blue Dove Foundation Mental Health Shofar blast.

New Fruit

On the second night of Rosh Hashanah, we enjoy a new fruit or something we haven’t eaten since the start of the season. When we eat the new fruit, we recite the Shehecheyanu,  which expresses our gratefulness for being alive and allowing us to reach this time.



Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, shehecheyanu, v'kiy'manu, v'higiyanu, laz'man hazeh.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season. 

Write your own Shehecheyanu-type prayer by filling in the blank:

This year I am grateful to have experienced: 


 

If you offer your own version of a Shehecheyanu and are open to sharing it as a communal resource, please email a copy to [email protected] or post it on social media and tag @BlueDoveFoundation. 
 

Listen Up, Y'all by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat

"Listen up, y'all," says Shekhinah
who looks today like a teacher
in corduroy dress and sedate boots.

"Let the smartphone rest a bit,
or learn how to hear My voice
coming through its speaker.

Let your love for Me well up
like unexpected tears. Everyone serves
something: give your life to Me.

Let the channel of your heart open
and My abundance will pour through.
But if you prefer profit, if you pretend --

if you're not real with Me
your life will feel hollow
and your heart be embittered.

I won't punish you; I won't need to.
Your hollowness will be punishment enough,
and the world will suffer for it.

So let My words twine around your arm,
and shine like a headlamp
between your eyes to light your way.

Teach them to everyone you meet.
Write them at the end of your emails
and on your business cards.

Then you'll remember how to live
with the flow of all that is holy --
you'll have heaven right here on earth."

Find more High Holiday liturgy from Bayit at: https://yourbayit.org/holy-at-home/

What is something you wished you did differently this past year? 
#Elevating Elul

Coming Home by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman

 

1. Tekia! (One long blast)
My toddler cuddles in my lap, shy in the backyard of new friends.
“Look Abraham!” I say. “Look, who is this tree?”
He peeks out and his face breaks into a smile.“Ah-buh-VI-tay!” 
“And who is this, with the sharp needles?”
“Spooce!” he says.
Shyness forgotten under the branches of old friends, 
Abraham squirms off my lap and explores the sandbox.

2. T’ru’ah! (Three wailing blasts)
When I commit myself fully to the personhood all around me -
the agency and the uniqueness of trees, especially -
a pervasive loneliness lifts, and I am folded back into Her
with a welcome as warm as sunlight in July.
So I encourage my son’s love of trees and we learn their names
like kids learn the names of trucks or dinosaurs
because I believe it will save his soul - and mine.
To crawl out of the loneliness of humans-are-the-only-people 
takes intention. 
It takes tolerating the heartbreak
of what is happening to other kinds of people.
It takes bearing the ecstatic joy of belonging again.

3. Sh’evarim! (nine staccato blasts)
I leave behind the pronoun it and never give the burden to my son,
instead massaging English into a new grammar that I hope will be his native tongue.
She has grown new buds. He is giving us shade. Who smells so good in the garden?
We leave it behind in the wreckage of the industrial age
And pick up she, he, they, someone, and who like smooth stones 
To hold in our pockets on the long hike towards a new paradigm.

4. Tekia G’dola! (One very long blast)
In Hebrew the word for God is used as a noun
But is really a verb that means is, was and will be all at once.
In Potawatomi there is a unique verb that means to be a tree
And another verb like it for every natural thing
Because we are not things but beings,
conjugations of a living God.

5. A Still, Small Voice
“Mama, what dis tree called?”
Abraham reaches for the beech’s branch on our walk.
“Mama, I wanna hold his hand.”


 

Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman is a mother, wife, daughter, sister and aunt. She serves as the Director of Professional Development at Hebrew College in Newton, MA. Find her blog, music and more at rabbishoshana.com.  Photo printed with permission of author.

A shiviti is a visual tool designed to aid Jewish meditation, either as a prelude to liturgical prayer or as a contemplative practice all its own. (Learn more at this shiviti page at OpenSiddur.) The name shiviti comes from Psalm 16:8, שִׁוִּיתִי יְהוָ”ה לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִי / shiviti YHVH l’negdi tamid, “I place God before me always.”

Steve Silbert has created a contemporary shiviti inviting the person who is praying to look inward.

Find more High Holiday liturgy from Bayit at: https://yourbayit.org/holy-at-home/

It’s big. It’s impossible to ignore. It’s Tishrei, the holiest month in the Hebrew year. It’s here. At The Well is here too, to help you move through this holy time, a time that sets the tone for the whole year.

Themes of Tishrei
- 21 out of 29 days of Tishrei are holidays —connectivity is at its peak this month.
- Tishrei contains a paradox: it has the, New Year, but is also 7th of the 12 months of the Hebrew calendar.
- Grow grow grow! Now is the time to move on to new things.
- Rejoice! God is good. Darkness and missing the mark are normal. It’s all opportunity to be better.

This month of Tishrei reminds us we can change. Be honest, live authentically, let go.

Dig deeper into the journey of Tishrei and find recommendations to find holiness this month, prompts for journaling, a tashlich ritual and more in At the Well's Tishrei Moon Manual.

שכינה מקור חיינו
חָנֵּנוּ וַעֲנֵנוּ כִּי אֵין בָּנוּ מַעֲשִׂים
עֲשֵׂה עִמָּנוּ צְדָקָה וָחֶסֶד וְהוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ.

Shekhinah, M’kor Chayeinu
chaneinu va'aneinu ki ein banu ma'asim
Asai imanu tzedakah va'chesed Ve'hoshi'einu.

Na’arah, Maiden, teach us to embrace the beauty of youth
Eimah, Mother, show us how to nourish another
Gevirah, Queen, help us to use our strength for the benefit of others
Meyaledet, Midwife, guide us as we are birthed into another year

Shekhinah, Source of Lives, hear our prayer (all)

Chachamah, Wise Woman, teach us how to use wisdom with mercy
Mekonenet, Mourning Woman, show us how to raise our voices for change
Neviah, Prophetess, help us to hear to the voice of the Holy One
Tzovah, Temple Keeper, guide us through the gateways to a new year

Shekhinah, Source of Lives, hear our prayer (all)

Ba’a lot Ov, Shamaness, teach us the forgotten ways
Doreshet, Seeker, show us how to follow the path
Ohevet, Lover, help us to love deeply, fully, and truly
Leitzanit, Sacred Fool, guide us to laugh as we speak truth to power

Shekhinah, Source of Lives, hear our prayer (all)

Oreget, Weaver, Teach us to respect of Houses of Holiness
Show us the connectedness of all things
Help us to weave lives full of meaning
Guide us as we wrap ourselves in the fabric of a new year

Shekhinah, Source of Lives, hear our prayer (all)

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By Kohenet Ketzirah haMa'agelet
Based on the 13 Sacred Pathways of Shekhinah, based on Kohenet teachings

Shekhinah, M’kor Chayeinu was created as an alternative phrase to Avinu Malkeinu by R’Yehoram Mazor

sleep
child
and
you
will
be
awakened!

behind
our
eyes
the
Eye
of
Eternity
shifts her gaze

unfixed
and knowing

blowing our
hearts
thought closed
now
wise

open
Shut

with the promise
of the new year’s
first day!

Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-noi E-loi-hei-nu
Me-lech ha-o-lam
she-he-chee-ya-nu v'ki-yi-ma-nu
vi-hi-gi-ya-nu liz-man ha-zeh. 

The meal is coming to a close. But we’re not quite done yet. One of the most important parts of Rosh Hashanah is sounding the shofar. A ram’s horn makes a primal cry, and it speaks to something deep in our soul, waking up something inside us that was dormant, or asleep.

If you have a shofar, blow it now! If not, make some noise some other way. Belt out a song or try a primal scream. Do what you need to do to feel jarred, and awoken.

Tekiah: One blow that lasts 2-3 seconds

Shevarim: A "broken" tekiah, made by sounding three quick blasts

Teruah: The alarm is made up of nine very quick pulses

Tekiah Gedolah: Meaning "Big Tekiah", the Tokea (person who sounds the shofar) blows the shofar for as long as possible, but at least 9 seconds. If more than one Tokea are sounding, they often compete to see who can last longer.

During Rosh Hashanah, a sequence of blows is done. At Yom Kippur, only Tekiah Gedolah is blown.