“Blessed is the Eternal our God who has awoken me to another day of life.”
I am fortunate to still be alive.
“Blessed is the Eternal who wakes me to a new day, made me a Jew, calls me to be free, and forms me in the divine image.”
Here is a transition from the acknowledge of a ‘first source’ to the ‘God’ of our tradition, a metaphor for our evolving teachings. Religions at best infuse values and teach how properly to live a life. To the extend that circumstance permit, I am able to practice and perpetuate those values. When dong so, I am acting in accordance with the values that have been passed on to me.
“Blessed is the Eternal who opens the eyes of the blind, provides clothes for the naked, brings freedom to the captive and who lifts up the fallen.”
I deeply regret the harm that I have on occasion done to others. Nevertheless, I should extend the same understanding and forgiveness to myself as I should to others. I am obligated to help those who are helpless or in dire need of assistance. And I should try to give others who have erred another chance.
“Blessed is the Eternal who removes sleep from the eyes, slumber from the eyelids.”
I should focus on what is happening to others. Within my capability, I must speak out and at times take action against bad things.
“Help me dear God to be awake to the wonders that surround me, to beauty and love, that all being is precious, and that we walk on holy ground wherever we go.”
I should pause and appreciate the various good things I routinely see. I should appreciate or at least respect all forms of art and that which is of great aesthetic merit, keeping in mind “Beauty is as beauty does.” I should be loving to those close to me. I should work to preserve the environment. I have obligations to everyone throughout the world; not just to family, tribe, community and nation. Our sense of values must extend to all.
“Hear all Israel: The Eternal our God. The Eternal alone is One.”
I follow a value system and I must act accordingly. I cannot pick and chose, or manipulate.
“Blessed is God’s glorious dominion for ever and ever.”
May good things happen to our world and all who live in it.
“You shall love the Eternal your God with all your mind, with all your strength, and with all your being.”
I am to dedicate my efforts, my abilities, my resources and, if necessary, my life to the evolving values I have inherited and helped evolve and perpetuate.
“Set these words I command you today upon your heart, teach them faithfully to your children, speak of them when you rise up and when you lie down.”
I am to study and absorb the proper teachings of my tradition and also learn from others, I am to critique and pass them along to future generations, I am to remind myself of how to act properly through prayer when I wake in the morning and when I go to bed at night, and must utilize the same values at work and at play.
“Set them as a sign upon your hand and as a symbol before your eyes, on the door posts of your house and on your gates.”
I am to study our values, they are to guide me, I am to acknowledge them to friends and family, and also to others.
“Be mindful of all of my commandments and do them. For I, the Eternal, am your God, who led you out of Egypt to be your God.”
It is not enough to study; we must also act according to what we are taught and believe. “Egypt” is a metaphor for ‘evil’. By acting according to our values, we avoid going astray.
“Lift up my eyes beyond the days routine to see the glory of all creation. Make this day a song of prayer and thanksgiving for all this grandeur and its wondrous Source.”
Help me to observe what is taking place beyond my limited role and routine in life. Let me appreciate the good things that take place and be in awe and humble because there is so much I will never know.
