Creator, Teacher, Refuge, Hope - Daily Minyan Reading -February 21, 2024

Facebook Live Daily Minyan Original Reading 

The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah

February 21, 2024

Our Creator,

Our Teacher, 

Our Refuge, 

Our Hope, 

Sharpen our vision to recognize within us

And in the human community

the kindness, respect and generosity

That can shed brightness in the times

When we feel that darkness has overcome us. 

May lessons that we have learned 

And the wisdom we have gained

Lead us to offer assistance and support to those in need

And to take a stand for freedom and justice 

In ways that will reveal the potential for Your love

And our love

To unite us in the present moment

In our current place

And across miles and years. 

May Your Oneness 

that binds us together in the universe

Be a gift that continues to unite us 

Each night

And every morning. 

A cultivation of connection - Daily Minyan Reading - February 15, 2024

Facebook Live Daily Minyan Original Reading 

The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah

February 15, 2024

Eternal God, 

You renew creation every day and every moment

As sunset is followed by sunrise

And one season gives way to yet another. 

You inspire within us 

A process of growth

A gathering of knowledge

An unfolding of skill and ability

A maturation of attitude and wisdom

An evolution of personality 

A cultivation of connection and community

That enlarges our bonds of family and friendship

Throughout the decades of our time on earth. 

Enable us to overcome darkness, hatred 

And tragedy

By offering the brightness of our eyes

By spreading the love that wells up from our souls

And by extending to others the comfort and support

That will lift us up and sustain us in our time of need. 

As You have enfolded us all within Your Oneness,

May we declare and affirm

 that we are one as You are one. 

The Seamless Tapestry - Daily Minyan Reading - February 8, 2024

Facebook Live Daily Minyan Original Reading 

The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah

February 8, 2024

Eternal One, 

Creator and Sustainer of us all, 

As you have fashioned the universe 

And the world

To be an interconnected and vibrant system 

Of life, change and growth, 

Guide us, in the human family,

To forge understanding 

To engender cooperation

To teach timeless values

To reject hatred 

And to promote love and respect

So that the communities we create

Will be infused with a sense of unity

That reflects and illustrates Your enduring Oneness

And emulates the seamless tapestry of all creation. 

We call You our Helper;

May we help and support each other. 

We call You our Hope;

May we restore optimism for each other 

When we find ourselves in despair. 

We call You our Light

May we be restorative light for one another

So that we will begin each new day

With the promise of Your blessing. 

Seasons and cycles - Daily Minyan reading - January 31, 2024

Facebook Live Daily Minyan Original Reading 

The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah

January 31, 2024

God of night and day, 

Creator of the cycles of our world

And the seasons of our lives, 

Help us to make each day a new chapter 

Of our individual story

In which we find ways to incorporate 

The challenges and triumphs of the past

As we further weave our personal tapestry 

Into a garment of promise and hope. 

May its threads come in many colors

That reflect the best of our wisdom

That represent our wide range of experiences and abilities

And that cast the warm light of our developing legacy 

upon our own souls

And upon the people whose lives we touch. 

May You, Eternal One, guide our hands and hearts

To connect our presence with Yours

So that, within the fabric of this wide universe,

We will all be One. 

 

Invocation - Clay County Missouri Commission Meeting - January 25, 2024

Invocation

Clay County Commission Business session

January 25, 2024

Rabbi Larry Karol 

(For the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City) 

Eternal One, 

Creator and Sustainer, 

Inspiration and Guide, 

Be with those here and in this County

who join together 

To lead and to serve

To build and to renew

To preserve and to care

To uphold laws and standards

And to support each other

In a spirit of respect and cooperation. 

Grant wisdom for the creation of new ideas and perspectives.

Provide confidence in moments of decision. 

Offer insight to all who manage policies and people. 

Enable officials at all levels to persevere in their tasks

So that they will see their hard work come to fruition

And benefit citizens in ways expected and, as yet, unimagined. 

God of this world, Source of unity,  

be a constant presence and companion 

so that no one here will feel alone 

in their efforts to enhance the lives 

of all members of this community. 

We thank you for opportunities 

to continue to reach out to one another  

To help and to hope.  

Amen.

Shiva Minyan Readings - Barechu to Shema and Mi Chamocha - for Rabbi Phil Berkowitz z”l - January 24, 2024

Original Readings for a Shivah minyan tonight for our friend and colleague, Rabbi Philip Berkowitz.

May his memory be for blessing. 

Barechu to Shema 

Eternal One, 

Creator and Sustainer of us all,

You have made us in the divine image

So that we can find Your light and Your truth

In each other. 

Bless all those who have brought

And continue to bring

A brilliance and presence of healing and hope

As we walk through dark valleys

So that we may emerge from the shadows 

with a renewed strength of spirit. 

Grant perseverance to those who teach, 

Who offer support and comfort,

And who guide their friends, family and community

With quiet wisdom and timeless insight. 

As we move through the separate paths of our lives, 

We thank You for the people among us 

Who recognize the invisible connections 

That bind humanity together

And enable us to understand

That Your Oneness envelops us 

every day and night

Through friendship, through remembrance, 

And through love. 

Mi Chamocha

As we remember the miracle of redemption at the sea, 

We recall how it was those

 who took the first steps

Into the water 

That made freedom possible. 

May we be among those who set out 

on that path of deliverance

Through honesty, faith, confidence, and trust 

And through the courage to treat one another

As neighbors, and as equal partners, 

Treading together towards the other side

So that we finally stand, side by side, 

And sing a song of rejoicing

Striving for oneness - Daily minyan reading - January 18, 2024

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The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah

January 18, 2024

Eternal Source of wisdom,

Silent companion, 

Wellspring of hope, 

In times when the storms of life overtake us, 

Grant us the strength to endure

whatever may cause our steps to falter. 

In times of darkness that overcomes our hearts, 

Lead us to find light inside ourselves 

And within those who are close to us

So that we can turn gloom into brilliance, 

Night into noon. 

In times when unity escapes us, 

Turn us back towards each other

So that we will listen and learn 

And recreate commonality 

That will uphold truth, understanding, 

And partnership. 

In times when hatred descends like a black cloud, 

Help us to engender love and friendship 

So that we will recognize that the presence of every person

Is essential to the completeness of the universe, 

Of our world, and of our lives. 

May we strive for a oneness that will bind us together

Through any challenge we may encounter.