Tikkun Olam Chavurah

Rosh Hashanah 2015

e"ryz ix¥W§ z¦ A§ '`

Contents Morning Blessings Mah Tovu / 1 “I am a Jew” by Lisa Helfer / 1 “i thank you god for most this amazing day” by E.E. Cummings / 2 Modah Ani (I give thanks before You) / 2 Morning Blessings (Birkot Hashahar) / 3 Openings and Vessels / 4 “Every morning the world is created” by Mary Oliver / 5 Beneath the sun this first morning / 6 Hodu L’Adonai / 6 from “The Art of Blessing the Day” by Marge Piercy / 6 Mah Gadlu / 7 “crossing a creek requires 3 things” by Martha Courtot / 8 Avinu Malkaynu “Avinu Malkeynu” English lyrics by Rabbi Burt Jacobsen and David Cooper / 9 “Avinu Malkaynu” English version by Rabbi Burt Jacobsen and Elliott batTzedek / 10

Zichronot

“Remember” by Joy Harjo / 11

Shofarot

We Cannot Pray to You, Oh God 12 L’chay Olamim / 13

Mourners’ Kaddish “The Blue Address Book” by Jane Shore / 15 Mourner’s Kaddish / 16 Mourner’s Kaddish by Elliott batTzedek / 17

SING

EaŸH dn©

/ Mah Tovu

,aŸwr £ ©i Li«¤ldŸ ¨ ` EaŸH« dn© .l`¥ x¨U¦ § i LizŸ «¤ pM§ W§ n¦ ,dx¨U ¨ K¦il© dŸ ¨ ` EaŸH« dn© .dw¨ a§ x¦ K¦izŸ © pM§ W§ n¦

Mah tovu ohalecha ya’akov mishkenotecha yisra’el. Mah tovu ohalayich sarah mishkenotayich rivkah.

How goodly are your tents O Jacob, Your dwelling places O Israel How goodly are your tents O Sarah, Your dwelling places O Rebecca.

LISTEN I am a Jew Lisa Helfer I am a Jew—my ancestors are in my heart Shekhina and Adonai are in my heart The sun, the sky, and the trees are in my heart. Everything is in my heart including nothingness and blessed Almighty, I’m buzzing with the light of love.

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LISTEN / ALL i thank you God for most this amazing E. E. Cummings i thank You God for most this amazing day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes (i who have died am alive again today, and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth day of life and love and wings: and of the gay great happening illimitably earth) how should tasting touching hearing seeing breathing any-lifted from the no of all nothing-human merely being doubt unimaginable You? (now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

ALL: (now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

SING

ip¦ `© dcFn/d ¤ cFn ¨ / Modah Ani m¨iw© e§ ig© gEx © K¦ip© t§ ¨ l / Li¤pt§ ¨ l ip¦ ` £ dcFn/d ¤ cFn ¨ Modah/modeh ani lefanecha / lefanayich ruach hay vekayam I give thanks before you, spirit/breath who lives and who endures, because you have renewed my breath of life.

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Morning Blessings /

xg© X © d© zFkx§A¦

min¨ ¦ lFrd¨ ig¥ EpidŸl ¥ ` ¡ dedi dY¨ `© KExA¨ iR¨ r © t§ r © n¥ dnEp ¨ zE § i©pir ¥ n¥ d¨pW ¥ xia£ ¦ rO© d© Baruh atah adonay eloheynu hey ha’olamim hama’avir shenah me’eyney utnumah me’afapay Blessed are you, Awakener, our God, life of all the worlds, who removes sleep from my eyes and slumber from my eyelids.

min¨ ¦ lFrd¨ ig¥ EpidŸl ¥ ` ¡ dedi dY¨ `© KExA¨ gŸ© M sr¨ ¥ Il© ozFP ¥ d© Baruh atah adonay eloheynu hey ha’olamim hanoten laya’ef ko’ah. Blessed are you, Renewing One, our God, life of all the worlds, who gives strength to the weary.

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ALL

mi¦lElg© mia¦ w¨ p§ / Openings and Vessels Fa `x¨aE ¨ dn¨ k§ g¨ A§ mc¨ `¨ d¨ z`¤ xv¨ © i xW ¤` £ mi¦ig© d© or ¥ z`¤ jx¥a¨ p§ LcFa ¤ k§ `Q¥ k¦ i¥pt¦ § l rEc¨ © ie§ iElb¨ .mi¦lElg© mi¦lElg© mia¦ w¨ p§ mia¦ w¨ p§ m¥iw© z§ d§ ¦ l xW ¨ t§ `¤ i`¦ md¤ n¥ cg¨ `¤ mz¥ Q¦ ¨ i F` md¤ n¥ cg¨ `¤ g© z¥ R¦ ¨ i m`¦ W ¤ `i¦lt§ nE © xU ¨ A¨ lk¨ `tFx ¥ dedi dY¨ `© KExA¨ .Li¤pt§ ¨ l cFnr© © le§ .zFU£rl© N’varech et ein hachayim asher yatzar et ha’adam bechochmah uvara vo nekavim nekavim chalumim chalulim. Galuwi veyadu’a lifney chisey chevodecha she’im yipate’ach echad mehem o yisatem echad mehem i efshar lehitkayem vela’amod lefanecha. Baruch ata Yah rofey chol basar umafli la’asot. Let us bless the source of life, who shaped the human being with wisdom, making for us all the openings and vessels of the body. It is revealed and known before your Throne of Glory that if one of these passage-ways be open when it should be closed, or blocked up when it should be free, one could not stay alive or stand before you. Blessed are You, Miraculous, the wondrous healer of all flesh.

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ALL / FRINGES Every morning the world is created Mary Oliver Every morning the world is created. Under the orange

there is still somewhere deep within you a beast shouting that the earth is exactly what it wanted-

sticks of the sun the heaped ashes of the night turn into leaves again

each pond with its blazing lilies is a prayer heard and answered lavishly, every morning,

and fasten themselves to the high branchesand the ponds appear like black cloth on which are painted islands

whether or not you have ever dared to be happy, whether or not you have ever dared to pray.

of summer lilies. If it is your nature to be happy you will swim away along the soft trails for hours, your imagination alighting everywhere. And if your spirit carries with it the thorn that is heavier than leadif it’s all you can do to keep on trudging-

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LISTEN Beneath the sun this first morning of the year, we have come to search for the brightness of truth -- about ourselves, about our people, about the land in which we live, about the work that we must do to burn off the haze which hides truths from daily view. We are good people, although our failings often hide our goodness; yet we are not so good as we would have ourselves believe, and we must seek the road between both exaggerations of our worth. It is not easy to judge ourselves, to judge our peoples, to judge our world. We may be too harsh, we may be too lenient. But the New Year, in all its morning brightness, reminds us it is time to begin. SING

ANYONE / ALL from The art of blessing the day Marge Piercy

Hodu L’Adonai

All:

This is the blessing for rain after drought:

Anyone:

Let the parched leaves suckle and swell. In the morning the world is peeled to shining.

All:

This is the blessing for sun after long rain:

Anyone:

Now everything shakes itself free and rises. The trees are bright as pushcart ices and the cardinal at the top of the pine sings at full throttle.

All:

This is the blessing for a ripe peach:

Anyone:

Frost can nip the blossom, kill the bee. Brown fungus, the burrowing worm that coils in rot can blemish it and wind crush it on the ground. Yet this peach fills my mouth with juicy sun.

All:

This is the blessing for the first garden tomato:

Anyone:

How fat and sweet you are weighing down my palm, warm as the flank of a cow in the sun. You are the savor of summer in a thin red skin.

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All:

This is the blessing for a political victory:

Anyone:

Let’s not relinquish dancing while the music fits into our hips and bounces our heels. We must never forget, pleasure is real as pain.

All:

The blessing for the return of a favorite cat, the blessing for love returned, for friends’ return, for money received unexpected, the blessing for the rising of the bread, the sun, the oppressed.

Anyone:

The discipline of blessings is to taste each moment, the bitter, the sour, the sweet and the salty, and be glad for what does not hurt. The art is in compressing attention to each little and big blossom of the tree of life, to let the tongue sing each fruit, its savor, its aroma and its use.

All:

Attention is love, what we must give children, mothers, fathers, pets, our friends, the news, the woes of others. What we want to change we curse and then pick up a tool. Bless whatever you can with eyes and hands and tongue. If you can’t bless it, get ready to make it new.

SING

Elc¨§ B dn© / Mah Gadlu .Li«¤zŸaW§ g§ n© Ewn§ r¨ cŸ`n§ ,¨ii§ Li«¤Ur£ n© Elc¨§ B dn© Mah gadlu, ma’asecha YAH, m’od amku mach’sh’votecha How great are your works, Yah, how deep are your thoughts

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crossing a creek requires 3 things: Martha Courtot

crossing a creek requires 3 things: a certain serenity of mind bare feet, and a sure trust that the snake we know slides silently underwater just beyond our vision will choose to ignore the flesh that cuts through its territory and we will pass through some people think crossing a creek is easy, but i say this-all crossings are hard, whether creeks, mountains, or into other lives and we must always believe in the snakes at our feet just out of our vision and we must practice believing we will come through.

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Avinu Malkeynu

/epkln epia`

English translation by Rabbi Burt Jacobson and David Cooper

miU£ ¦ rn© EpA¨ oi`¥ iM¦ Ep¥pr £ e© Ep¥pg¨ EpM§ ¥ ln© Epia¦ `¨ Epri ¥ WFd ¦ e§ cq¤ g¤ e¨ dw¨ c¨ v§ Epn¨ r¦ dU£ ¥r Avinu malkeynu, honeynu va’aneynu, ki eyn banu ma’asim Aseh imanu tzedakah vahesed v’hoshi’eynu Oh Mother and Father of life Please hear us and give us your grace Our Guide deep within us, O hear us and give us Compassion and mercy and peace O guide us through Your grace, justice and mercy to all O guide us and teach us grant justice and mercy We shall be free once again

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epkln epia` / Avinu Malkaynu - Our Parent, Our Sovereign Teach us how to make this year a new beginning Teach us how to grow from the harshness of life Teach us to change what we cannot accept Teach us to accept that we must change Teach us to face disease and death Teach us how to honor creation Teach us how to make peace through justice Teach us how we can best love our own tribe and not fear others

Our Father, our King Our Mother, our Queen Our Source and our Destiny Our Guide and our Truth Our Past and our Future

Teach us how to pay attention Teach us how to ask for forgiveness when we have wronged Teach us how to grant forgiveness when ready Let us find compassion and mercy for ourselves and each other Let us write our names in the Book of Life Help us to find meaningful work Teach us to help those who are ill and suffering Help us give our love without giving away ourselves

Receive our prayers and deal compassionately with our shortcomings Teach us how to be good lovers and partners Teach us how to be good parents and role models Teach us how to be good children Teach us how to be good friends Teach us how to be good teachers and good students Teach us how to be good people Teach us how to find joy even when it seems impossible Help us to bring full tikkun olam, full healing Help us to be good Jews Teach us how to be one with Your universe Teach us how to be free

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LISTEN Remember Joy Harjo Remember the sky that you were born under, know each of the star’s stories. Remember the moon, know who she is. I met her in a bar once in Iowa City. Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the strongest point of time. Remember sundown and the giving away to night. Remember your birth, how your mother struggled to give you form and breath. You are evidence of her life, and her mother’s, and hers. Remember your father. He is your life, also. Remember the earth whose skin you are: red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth, brown earth, we are earth. Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them, listen to them. They are alive poems. Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the origin of this universe. I heard her singing Kiowa war dance songs at the corner of Fourth and Central once. Remember that you are all people and that all people are you. Remember that you are this universe and that this universe is you. Remember that all is in motion, is growing, is you. Remember that language comes from this. Remember the dance that language is, that life is. Remember.

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FRINGES We Cannot We cannot pray to You, Oh God, to banish war, for You have filled the world with paths to peace, if only we would take them We cannot pray to You to end starvation for there is food enough for all if only we would share it We cannot merely pray for prejudice to cease, for we could see the good in everything that lies before our eyes if only we would use them We cannot merely pray, “Root out despair,” for the spark of hope already waits within our hearts for us to fan the flames We must not ask You, Oh God, to take away the task that You have given us. We cannot flee away, avoiding obligation forever Therefore we pray for wisdom and will, for courage to do and to become, not only to look on with helpless yearning as though we had no strength For Your sake ours, speedily and soon let it be: that all lands may be safe, that all lives may be blessed

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SING

min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ © l/ Lechay Olamim min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l Ha’aderet v’ha’emunah Habinah v’hab’racha Haga’avah v’hag’dulah Hada’at v’hadibur

L’chay olamim L’chay olamim L’chay olamim L’chay olamim

Awesomeness, truth absolute. Boundless knowledge, blessing all Great in eminence, greatness itself Divine in knowledge, speech divine

min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l Hahod v’hehadar Hava’ad v’havatikut Hazoch v’hazohar Hachayil v’hachosen

L’chay olamim L’chay olamim L’chay olamim L’chay olamim

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xc¨ d¨ d¤ e§ cFdd© zEwiz¦ E¨d© e§ cr © E©d© xdŸ© Gd© e§ KŸGd© oqŸ ¤ gd© e§ l¦ig© d© Heaven’s splendor, beauty’s height Wisdom’s summit, world’s first being Zeal of purity, zealous in light Hand of power, holding might

min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l Hateches v’hatohar Hayichud v’hayir’ah Haketer v’hakavod Halekach v’halibuv

d¨pEn` ¡ d¨ e§ zx¤C¤ `© d¨ dk¨ x¨A§ d© e§ d¨piA¦ d© d¨NcªB§ d© e§ de¨` £ B© d© xEAC¦ d© e§ dr ¨ C¥ d©

L’chay olamim L’chay olamim L’chay olamim L’chay olamim

xdŸ © Hde © qk¤ H¤ d© d`¨ x¦§Id© e§ cEg¦Id© cFaM¨ d© e§ xz¤ M¤ d© aEA¦Nd© e§ gw¤ © Nd© Truth’s array, absence of taint Unity and awesome yoke Crown of glory, light to come Lesson and enlivening

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min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l Ham’luchah v’hamemshalah. L’chay olamim Hano’i v’hanetzach L’chay olamim Hasigui v’hasegev L’chay olamim Ha’oz v’ha’anavah L’chay olamim

min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l Hap’dut v’hap’er Hatzvi v’hatzedek Hak’ri’ah v’hak’dushah Haron v’haromemut

L’chay olamim L’chay olamim L’chay olamim L’chay olamim

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Majesty of rule and might New in beauty, never-ending Sublime, exalted, seated high Overwhelming, one most humble

x`¥ R§ d© e§ zEcR§ d© wc¤ S¤ d© e§ ia¦ S§ d© dW ¨ cªT§ d© e§ d`i ¨ x¦T§ d© zFnnFx ¥ d¨ e§ oŸxd¨ Power to save, in power proud Splendor bright and steady justice Quest and call, holy quintessence Rejoicing song, subject revered

min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l min¨ ¦ lFr ig§ ©l Hashir v’hashevach Hat’hilah v’hatiferet

d¨lW ¨ n§ O¤ d© e§ dkEl ¨ O§ d© gv¤ © pd© e§ iFPd© ab¤ U ¤ d© e§ iEBQ¦ d© de¨¨pr £ d¨ e§ fŸrd¨

L’chay olamim L’chay olamim

ga© W ¤ d© e§ xiW¦ d© zx¤`¤ t§ Y¦ d© e§ d¨Nd¦ Y§ d© Song of the world, subject of praise Theme of all talk, the one sublime the life of all the worlds

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LISTEN The Blue Address Book Jane Shore Like the other useless things I can't bear to get rid of—her nylon nightgowns,

Fogel (Rose and Murray), 474 13th St., Brooklyn, moved to a condo in Boca Raton; Stein

his gold-plated cufflinks, his wooden shoetrees, in a size no one I know can use—

(Minnie, sister of Rose), left her Jerome Ave. walk-up for the Yonkers Jewish Nursing Home.

I'm stuck with their blue pleather address book, its twenty-six chapters printed in ballpoint pen,

The baby-blue cover has a patina of grease, the pages steeped in the cigarette smoke

X'd out, penciled in, and after she passed away, amended in his hand, recording, as in a family

of years spent in my parents' junk drawer. Though scattered in different graveyards,

Bible, those generations born, married, and since relocated to their graves: Abramowitz to Zimmerman.

here they're all accounted for. Their souls disperse, dust motes in the air

Great-uncles, aunts, cousins once removed, whose cheeks I kissed, whose food I ate,

that I inhale.

are in this book still alive, immortal, each name accompanied by a face:

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ALL

mFz¨i WiC¦ w© Ki¦ln© § ie§ DzEr ¥ x§k¦ `x¨a§ ic¦ `n§ ¨ lr ¨ A§ `A¨ x© Dn¥ W§ WC© w© z¦ § ie§ lC© b© z¦ §i l`¥ x¨U¦ § i ziA¥ lk¨ c§ i¥Ig© aE § oFkinFi ¥ aE § oFki¥Ig© A§ DzEk§ ¥ ln© .on¥ `¨ Exn§ `¦ e§ aix¦w¨ on© f§ aE ¦ `¨lb£ ¨ rA© .`¨In§ © lr ¨ in§ ¥ lr§ ¨ lE m©lr§ ¨ l Kx©a¨ n§ `A¨ x© Dn¥ W§ `d§ ¥i d¤Nr © z¦ § ie§ xC© d© z¦ § ie§ `U© ¥ pz¦ § ie§ mnFx © z¦ § ie§ x`© R¨ z¦ § ie§ gA© Y© W¦ § ie§ Kx©A¨ z¦ §i `z¨ k¨ x§A¦ lM¨ on¦ `¨Nr§ ¥ l `¨Nr§ ¥ l `Ed Kix¦A§ `W ¨ c§ wª C§ Dn¥ W§ l©Nd© z¦ § ie§ .on¥ `¨ Exn§ `¦ e§ `n§ ¨ lr ¨ A§ oxi¨ n¦ ` £ C© `z¨ n¨ g¤ ¡ pe§ `z¨ g¨ A§ W§ Yª `z¨ xi¨ W¦ e§ l`¥ x¨U¦ § i lM¨ lr © e§ Epi¥lr ¨ mi¦Ig© e§ `¨In© W§ on¦ `A¨ x© `n¨ ¨ lW§ `d§ ¥i Epi¥lr ¨ mFlW ¨ dU£ ¤ r©i `Ed einFx ¨ n§ A¦ mFlW ¨ dUFr.o ¤ n¥ `¨ Exn§ `¦ e§ Exn§ `¦ e§ la¥ z¥ ia¥ WFi § lM¨ lr © e§ l`r ¥ n© W¦ § i lM¨ lr © e§ l`¥ x¨U¦ § i lM¨ lr © e§ .on¥ `¨ Yitgadal veyitkadash shemey raba be’alma divra hiruty veyamlih malhutey behayeyhon uvyomeyhon uvhayey dehol beyt yisra’el ba’agala uvizman kariv ve’imru amen. Yehey shemey raba mevarah le’alam ulalmey almaya. Yitbarah veyistabah veyitpa’ar veyitromam veyitnasey veyit-hadar veyitaleh veyit-halal shemey dekudsha berih hu le’ela le’ela min kol birhata veshirata tushbehata venehemata da’amiran be’alma ve’imru amen. Yehey shelama raba min shemaya vehayim Aleynu ve’al kol yisra’el ve’imru amen. Oseh shalom bimromav hu ya’aseh shalom Aleynu ve’al kol yisra’el ve’al kol yishma’el ve’al kol yoshvey tevel ve’imru amen. Tikkum Olam Chavurah

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ALL Mourner’s Kaddish Elliott batTzedek So often am I lost, yet through the pall, yet through the tarnish, show me the way back, through my betrayals, my dismay, my heart’s leak, my mind’s sway, eyes’ broken glow, groan of the soul—which convey all that isn’t real, for every soul to These Hands careen. And let us say, amen. Say you will show me the way back, my Rock, my Alarm. Lead the way, Oh my Yah And yet in shock and yet in shame and yet in awe and yet to roam and yet to stay and yet right here and yet away and yet —“Halleluyah!” my heartbeat speaks, for You live, for You live, in all this murk and too in the clear and too in our wreckage. You are the mirror of our souls, let us say: amen Life may harm me, rob me, ream me raw, try me, even slay me Over all You will prevail. And let us say: Amen Say You shall loan me a tomorrow, Say You shall loan another day to all who are called Yisrael and all called Yishmael and all called We and They, and let us say, Amen

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