miI¦g© ur¥ xECq¦ The Etz Chayim Siddur dg¨ p§ n¦ E zix¦g£ W© aFh mFil§ E zA¨ W© l§ dl¨ C¨a§ d© ll¥ FM Shacharit and Minchah (Morning and Afternoon) Services for Shabbat and Festivals including Havdalah miI¦g© ur¥ z©lid¦ w§ Congregation Etz Chayim Palo Alto, California Revised 5774/2013 Congregation Etz Chayim is an independent, liberal congregation that emphasizes spirituality and actively involves its members in a communal experience of worship, learning, and service. This Siddur is a reflection of our belief that Judaism is an evolving religion, a "living tree" that encourages the creation of new traditions as it respects the old. We hope that in using it you will find opportunities to enhance your own spirituality, learning, and practice. Congregation Etz Chayim 4161 Alma Street Palo Alto, California 94306 (650) 813-9094 www.EtzChayim.org Printed at The Copy Factory, Palo Alto, California 5774/2013 d¨lit¦ Y§©l xr©W«© Sha'ar laT'filah Prayer Portal Please feel free to participate fully along with the congregation to the extent that you are comfortable; to say or sing the Hebrew or the English when the congregation is doing otherwise; or to use this time to browse the words and commentary in this prayer book. Words Of Welcome To Those Worshipping With Us Congregation Etz Chayim is a participatory congregation. Our services are led with the expectation that the leaders choose their way through the text and set the pace and the key, but that what is really important is what each individual worshipper does. Accordingly, this Siddur (prayerbook) has been compiled with the intent of encouraging participation by making the service accessible and understandable. Oftentimes there are options to be read. In our congregation we always feel free to read those parts of the service (including the commentary) that are interesting to us at any time, whether or not it is what is being suggested by the leader from the bimah (stage). Those of us who arrive late also are free to begin the service at the beginning and to catch up at our own pace. We are free to stand or sit as is appropriate to our private devotion, no matter what is being led. On many weeks we will have the honor of welcoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah into adult Jewish ritual opportunities and responsibilities. On those weeks one of the greatest gifts we can bestow upon the Bar/t Mitzvah is to participate enthusiastically with our voices as well as with our hearts. May This Door May the door of this synagogue be wide enough to receive all who hunger for love, all who are lonely for fellowship. May it welcome all who have cares to unburden, thanks to express, hopes to nurture. May the door of this synagogue be narrow enough to shut out pettiness and pride, envy and enmity. May its threshold be no stumbling block to young or straying feet. May it be too high to admit complacency, selfishness, and harshness. May this synagogue be, for all who enter, the doorway to a richer and more meaningful life. Rabbi Sidney Greenberg Likrat Shabbat, p. 17 1 On Being Distracted by AvRam Aryeh Sometimes we are in the mood to read the service's words and follow along in song. Sometimes we are not. At those times, the act of studying the text of the Siddur (prayerbook) is the equivalent of piously saying it. Wrestling with the words with which we agree or disagree is the equivalent of worshipping G0d. Who knows? The distractions that keep us from following the congregation might be meant especially for us to hear today. Distraction can be a form of revelation, for it can indicate those things about which we are most concerned. And what better place to wrestle with them than here in the assembly of our people engaged in seeking elevated thoughts? Centering Oneself To Focus On Prayer Outside of the Land of Israel, those who pray should direct their hearts toward the Land of Israel, as it is said, "...and they pray toward their Land..." Æmv¨x§`© Kx¤³C¤ ElÀ l§ R«©z§ d¦ e§ II Chronicles 6:38 In the Land of Israel those who pray should direct their hearts toward Jerusalem, as it is said, "...and they pray to Y0u in the direction of the city Y0u have chosen..." DA¨½ Y¨ x§´g©A¨ x´W¤ `£ Æz`ŸGd© xir³¦d¨ Kx¤´C¤ Li¤lÀ `¥ E´ll§ R«©z§ d¦ e§ II Chronicles 6:34 In Jerusalem, those who pray should direct their hearts toward the Holy Temple, as it is said, "...and they come to pray toward this House." :d«G¤d© zi¦¬A©d©Îl`¤ El­ l§ R©z§ d¦ e§ E`¬a¨E II Chronicles 6:32 In the Holy Temple, those who pray should direct their hearts toward the Holy of Holies, as it is said, "I hear the supplications which Y0ur servant and Y0ur people offer toward this place..." d®G¤d© mFw´ O¨d©Îl`¤ El­ l§ R«©z§ i¦ x¬W¤ `£ l`¥½ x¨U§ i¦ L´ O§ r©e§ ÆLC§a§ r© z³P©g¦ Y§ Îl`¤ Y¨¹r§ n©W¸¨ e§ I Kings 8:30 Those in the north, face south; those in the south, face north; those in the east face west; and those in the west face east; so that all Israel prays toward 0ne place." Tosefta B'rachot 3:16 R’tzeih, Ad0nay El0heynu, ,Epid«¥Ÿl`¡ d¦ e¦d¦ i¦ ,dv¥ x§ Ad0nay our G0d, be pleased, b'amm'cha Yisra'El, ,l`¥ x¨U§ i¦ LO§ r© A§ with Y0ur people, Israel, utfilatam. .mz¨ N¨ t¦ z§ E and their prayer. Ut'hee l'ratzon tamid, ,cin¦ Y¨ oFvx¨l§ id¦ z§ E May the service of Y0ur people, avodat Yisra'El amecha. .LO«¤ r© l`¥ x¨U§ i¦ zc©Fa£r Israel, always please Y0u. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 5 `Fan¨ Blessing for donning a Tallit (Tzitzit) 16 ziv¦ iv¦ /zil¦ h© Readings for Contemplation 17 Morning Services begin here: Birchot haShachar (Morning Blessings) 22 xg© X© d© zFkx§A¦ P'sukey d'Zimrah (Verses of Song) 32 dx¨n§ f¦c§ iw¥ EqR§ Hatzi Kaddish(Reader’s Kaddish) 54 WiC¦w© iv¦ g£ Shacharit (Morning Service) 55 zix¦g£ W© Shabbat Amidah 81 zA¨ W© l§ dc¨in¦ £r Festival Amidah 97 mil¦ b¨x§l¦ dc¨in¦ £r Private Meditations 108 Hallel 114 lN¥ d© Kaddish Shaleim (Full Kaddish) 118 ml¥ W¨ WiC¦w© Torah Service 120 dx¨FYd© z`© ix¦w§ Blessing the New Month 142 Wc¤Ÿgd© zM© x§A¦ Aleynu 145 Epil«¥ r¨ Kaddish Yatom (Mourner's Kaddish) 152 mFzi¨ WiC¦w© Shehecheyanu 154 Ep«i¨g¡d¤ W¤ Kiddusha Rabba (Morning Kiddush) 161 `A¨ x¨ `y¨ Eciw¦ Havdalah 169 dl¨ C¨a§ d© Notes and Commentary 172 Attributions 180 Index of Readings 182 To use this siddur for Minchah (Afternoon) Services, start with Ashrey, page 33, and continue with the Hatzi Kaddish, page 54, and the Amidah. Continue through the Torah Service, without a Haftarah. Conclude with Aleynu, page 145, Kaddish, and a concluding song. 3 Prayer can be difficult. If so, don’t come here to pray. Instead, come here to read this book and think. 4 INTRODUCTION TO USING OUR SIDDUR, OUR PRAYERBOOK THE SEDER (ORDER) OF THE SIDDUR (PRAYERBOOK) Here is the pattern of the service you will experience in our Siddur, our "Ordering" of Prayers. Each part adds meaning to the others before and after it. BIRCHOT HASHACHAR/P’SUKEY D'ZIMRA: This is the warm-up to the main service. It is also the most creative part of the traditional morning service, with a variety of affirmations and questions: What is my body and what is my s0ul? Who am I? What is my purpose in life? How can I, so finite, a speck in the Y0universe, matter at all? SHACHARIT: The 4-part Morning Service containing the Sh'ma, Amidah, Torah Service, Conclusion. SH'MA SERVICE: The Service is organized in the form of a ring. The most important prayer, in this case, the Sh'ma and v'Ahavta, are in the middle, and the other blessings surround them. Each prayer begins with a kavannah ("intention"), followed by the traditional form of the prayer and alternative songs and readings. Each prayer ends with the traditional chatimah, the "Signature Ending," as well as a note guiding you on to the next traditional part of the service. Bar'chu: the call to study Torah (the Sh'ma and v'Ahavta are from the Torah's Book of Deuteronomy). 1. Yotzeir Ohr/Creation of Light, in this case, of the twilight that augurs the new day. 2. Ahavah/Revelation of the Torah, of our Y0universe personally teaching us out of its L0ve for us. Sh'ma, v'Ahavta and L'ma'an Tizk'ru: Unity, Love, and Commanding Presence of G0d. 3. G'ulah/Redemption: Creation's light dawning, a new day, and tikkun 0lam (repairing the W0rld) come true. 4. Hatzi (Half, or Short) Kaddish: A disclaimer, acknowledging our finite awareness of G0d's wholly and utter incomprehensibility, despite what we said in the Sh'ma Service prayers we just completed. AMIDAH: "Standing" prayer – a three-part chain of 7 prayers which replaces the Avodah/Sacrificial Service Praise on entering G0d's Presence 1. Avot v'Imahot: Reminding ourselves of our monotheistic ancestors' relationships with G0d. 2. G'vurot: G0d's Powers that make us come alive and be angels of tikkun 0lam.