In her introduction to The Book of Blessings, Marcia Falk writes, “If you are looking for the heart and soul and bones of Hebrew prayer, you will find them all in the blessing. A blessing—in Hebrew, b’rakhah—is a special kind of utterance that can turn a moment into an event. Blessings intensify life by increasing our awareness of the present even while awakening our connections to the past. In a richly faceted world, full of surprise and infinite variation, the source of blessings is everywhere to be found. No wonder the rabbis of the Talmud (b. Berakhot 35a) proclaimed it forbidden to enjoy anything of this world without first saying a blessing.”
This blessing from Sacred Journeys, composed for a friend, continues this week’s exploration of how we find blessings in what is elemental and basic to our lives—and how we might offer blessings in turn. To pick up the thread of this week’s reflections, visit Monday’s post.
By Wind Be Blessed
May you dance in the rushing wind.
May she blow open your door
and wildly lead you across dawn-lit hills.
May she sing through the trees
and beckon you to accompany her rhythms.
May she capture your breath,
draw out the Spirit in you,
and run with it,
laughing,
under a star-drenched sky.
May the rushing wind dance in you.
Questions for reflection
What makes up the heart and soul and bones of your own prayers? In the rhythm of your days, how might—or how does—the presence of a prayer or blessing turn a moment, as Marcia Falk writes, into an event? Is there an occasion, ordinary or otherwise, that might benefit from a blessing, whether carefully composed or spontaneously offered?
Adapted from Sacred Journeys © Jan L. Richardson
