One of my favorite poems in our siddur (prayer book) is by Leah Goldberg (1911-1970). Goldberg was born in Lithuania and after receiving a Ph.D. in Semetic languages at the University of Berlin, she made aliyah in 1935. She is amongst Israel’s most beloved writers. This poem of yearning for God so beautifully expresses the challenges and possibilities of prayer. Her poem is itself a prayer that God might teach us the art of prayer. May her words inspire us to open ourselves more fully to the mystery of the world and its Divine author.
Lamdeini Elohai (Teach me, O God)
translated by Pnina Peli
Teach me, O God, a blessing, a prayer
on the mystery of a withered leaf,
on ripened fruit so fair,
on the freedom to see, to sense,
to breathe, to know, to hope, to despair.
Teach my lips a blessing, a hymn of praise,
as each morning and night
You renew Your days,
lest my days be like the one before;
lest routine set my ways.
לַמְּדֵנִי, אֱלהַֹי, בָּרֵךְ וְהִתְפַּלֵל
,עַל סוֹד עָלֶה קָמֵל
,עַל נֹגַהּ פְּרִי בָּשֵל
:עַל הַחֵרוּת הַזאֹת
לִרְאוֹת, לָחוֹּש, לִנְשֹׁם
.לָדַעַת, לְיַחֵל, לְהִכָּשֶל
לָמֵד אֶת שִפְתוֹתַי
,בְּרָכָה וְשִיר הַלֵּל
בְּהִתְחַדֵּש זְמַנּךָ
,עִם בּקֶֹר וְעִם לֵיל
לְבַל יִהְיֶה יוֹמִי הַיּוֹם
,כִּתְמוֹל שִלְשוֹם
.לְבַל יִהְיֶה עָלַי יוֹמִי הֶרְגֵּל
— Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback
