A prayer before Yom Kippur
September 24, 2004
I'm off to Elat Chayyim shortly for their Yom Kippur retreat. To all of my readers who observe Yom Kippur, I wish a meaningful holiday; and to those who observe the tradition of abstaining from food and drink, I wish an easy and illuminating fast. I'll leave you with a prayer from the Elat Chayyim machzor (HHD prayerbook); see you on the other side!
***
I now prepare
to unify my whole self --
heart
mind
consciousness
body
passions
with this holy community
with the Jewish people everywhere
with all people everywhere
with all life and being
to commune with the Source of all being.
May I find the words,
the music, the movements
that will put me in touch
with the great light of God.
May the rungs of insight and joy
that I reach in my devotion
flow from me to others
and fill all my actions in the world.
May the beauty of God rest upon us.
May God establish the works of our hands.
And may the works of our hands establish God.
-- from the Elat Chayyim machzor