Birkon Artzi seeks to create spiritual opportunities and responses for the thousands of Jews who journey each and every year to visit, study in, and get to know the State of Israel.
With dozens of individual prayers, meditations, and readings, this pocket-sized birkon is your guide to uncovering the miracles and the magic of Israel. Entries include prayers before leaving, upon arrival, and for specific cities, bodies of water, unique moments, and well-traveled sites within the State of Israel.
This collection is an indispensable resource for anyone seeking to pause and acknowledge place and moment, to create connection, and to fashion memory.
Acknowledgments Foreword: My Heart Is in the East ix Excerpts on Israel from the CCAR Platforms Introduction
1. Prayers before Leaving for Israel At a Congregational Service Meditation for a Group Meditation for an Individual Shabbat Service prior to the Trip Mi Shebeirach on Behalf of One Traveling to Israel Mi Shebeirach Recited by the Traveler to Israel T’filat HaDerech – The Traveler’s Prayer At the Time of Departure For a Trip to Israel For Individuals, Families, and Congregations Traveling to Israel for the First Time For Annual or Frequent Travelers to Israel
2. Prayers upon Arriving in Israel Upon First Setting Foot in Israel Meditation for a Group Before Retiring on a First Night in Israel
3. Prayers and Readings for Visiting Special Sites Jerusalem Upon Seeing Jerusalem for the First Time Upon Entering the Old City The Kotel and Robinson’s Arch Har Herzl Upon Exiting Yad Vashem Tel Aviv Rabin Square or the Rabin Museum Independence Hall Caesarea Tzfat The Kinneret The Dead Sea Ein Gedi For Other Bodies of Water A Spring-Fed Stream The Mediterranean Sea or the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat For Mountains Masada
4. Prayers for Unique Moments in Israel When Planting a Tree in Israel Tree Planting Prayer When Visiting Kibbutzim or Other Agricultural Settlements Where a Miracle Occurred Where Idolatry Was Uprooted When Visiting a Grave At a Historic Synagogue At an Archaeological Site, Museum, or Display of Antiquities When Standing at or Crossing the Borders of the State of Israel 51 For Participating in Acts of Social Justice 52 Prayers for the State of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces 53 For the State of Israel 53 For the Israel Defense Forces 54 For Israeli Soldiers or Civilians Being Held Captive 55
5. Prayers for Specific Occasions For B’nei Mitzvah Ceremonies in Israel Recited by Parents Celebrating a Child’s Becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah in Israel Mi Shebeirach for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah in Israel Recited by a Bar/Bat Mitzvah in Israel Recited by a Bar/Bat Mitzvah at a Synagogue in Israel For Dedicating Resources in Israel For Attending a Convention in Israel Readings for Peace and Fellowship Interfaith Prayers for Peace
6. Prayers upon Leaving Israel 7. Prayers upon Returning Home 8. Blessings before and after Eating Blessings for the Seven Species of the Land of Israel For Fruit (grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates) For Wine or Grape Juice For Bread Birkat HaMazon: Blessing after Eating—Short Form On Shabbat and Holidays All Days On Shabbat On Yom Tov All Days
9. Havdalah The Wine or Grape Juice The Spices The Light The Blessing of Separation
10. Songs of Israel
Afterword Finding a Reform Congregation in Israel Sources
Ordained in 1991 at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi Lippe graduated with honors from the University of Chicago with a BA degree in Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Prior to joining Brooklyn Heights Synagogue in NY, he served for six years as Associate Rabbi at Temple Solel in Paradise Valley, AZ. Rabbi Lippe has also served as a faculty member at URJ Camp SWIG and Camp Eisner, and has been a regional rabbinic adviser to the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY). In May 2016, Rabbi Lippe was awarded his Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, by HUC-JIR in recognition of his 25 years of service in the Reform rabbinate. He is the editor of Birkon Artzi: Blessings and Meditations for Travelers to Israel, published by CCAR Press.
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