Spirit of Assiyah (Melissa Weintraub)

Spirit of Assiyah, Shekhinah, foundation of the world,
Mah Adir Shimcha b’chol ha’aretz
How glorious is your name throughout the earth [Ps. 8:2]
You who say-
Li tevel u’m’loah [Ps. 50:12]
Mine is the world and all it holds.
Its myrtles, palms, and cedar trees,
Green grass and dust and stone
Blood and flesh and bone.
Shekhinah, Mother of all being,
You are the stream that runs through our veins,
And dances through the soil,
To explode into leaves and flowers. [adapted from Rabindranath Tagore]*
Shekhinah, Earth, Cornerstone of our power,
Strengthen our patience and resolve
To be here now-
To endure the darkness
And unmask the light
On this deepest night of winter.
Show us the seeds that wait in stillness and frozen earth.
Remind us- We will again fill with sap and freshness.
D’shanim v’rananim yihyu [Ps. 92:13 -15].
We will again bloom like date-palms,
Bear fruit, and lean towards the sun.
Come to us, out of the west!
Send forth your strength-
Make this space our nest and altar,
For dying and rebirth.
We invoke you and call you
To help ground our change.
To help us find our place
In the great cycle of life and death and transformation.
Bend over each of us tonight, like blades of grass, and whisper, grow, grow! [Talmud]

Used with permission of the author. Melisasa Weintraub is a rabbinical student and teacher of feminist spirituality. This prayer was originally written as an invocation for a Chanukah/winter solstice ritual.

Melissa Weintraub is a rabbinical student, teacher, and creator of Jewish ritual.

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