Directing My Heart in Prayer
(To be read responsively):
Standing [in prayer] in Exile:
I focus my heart [יכוין את לבו] on the Land of Israel…
Standing in the Land:
I focus my heart on Jerusalem…
Standing in Jerusalem:
I focus my heart on the Temple…
Standing in the Temple:
I focus my heart on the Holy of Holies…
Standing in the Holy of Holies:
I focus my heart on the ark-cover [kapporet/כפורת] atop the ark…
Standing behind the ark-cover:
I visualize myself [יראה עצמו] in front of the ark-cover.
Standing in the East:
I turn to face West.
Standing in the West:
I turn to face East.
Standing in the South:
I turn to face North.
Standing in the North:
I turn to face South.
(all):
All Israel shall find themselves
focusing their hearts on one place:
The Holy of Holies.
(leader):
From there,
God is speaking to us
even now.
(all):
Exile is from the Land.
Never from God.
_________________________________________
(based on Berachot 30a)
About this poem
I took a section on “the direction of praying” from the Talmud and arranged it as couplets; a responsorial poem for congregational reading or singing. I changed the language to a series of affirmations. I edited out the proof-texts, made the language more gender-inclusive and the phrasing as uniform as possible. Where I felt it necessary, I included the original Hebrew form, even where it doesn’t conform to my English translation. This poem can serve both educational and devotional purposes. more »
Written on February 12, 2022
Submitted by elimallon on February 12, 2022
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:01 min read
- 4 Views
Quick analysis:
| Scheme | a aa bc ca ad dx ee fg gf hi ih Addd exdx Abx x |
|---|---|
| Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
| Characters | 974 |
| Words | 204 |
| Stanzas | 15 |
| Stanza Lengths | 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 3, 1 |
2 fans
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"Directing My Heart in Prayer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/120203/directing-my-heart-in-prayer>.
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