January | 2018 | Onward Israel

Prayer for the Peace of Two States for Two Peoples (for the Birkat Hamazon)

This Hebrew and English text by Ira Tick is a prayer for a peaceful, just solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict written for inclusion in the Grace After Meals. While the author’s political opinions

Grace After Meals Meditation Based on Traditional Sources

This post suggests a Grace After Meals mediation for gratitude, intention, and blessing, based on two separate verses from Jewish liturgy. The first is a Hebrew verse from the last paragraph of the

By the Sweat of Their Brow: An Alternative Humanist Grace After Meals

This post offers two poems in Hebrew and English, excerpts from Dr. Tzemah Yoreh‘s work, “By the Sweat of their Brow, a Humanist Birkon.” After a brief explanation of the rationale behind his project,

Blessing the Spirit of All-which-Lives after Eating and Feeling Satiated: An Ecological Grace After Meals

This post provides the PDF file of “Haveri Nevarekh: Blessing the Spirit of All-which-Lives after Eating and Feeling Satiated: A Birkon” by Aharon Varady. Pages 14-30 offer an adapted version of the traditional Hebrew Ashkenazi

A Social Justice Themed Thanksgiving Adaptation of the Grace After Meals

This post presents an English adaptation of the traditional Grace After Meals written by Interfaith Workers Justice, an American organization that engages faith communities as allies in advancing workers’ rights. Composed for Thanksgiving, this prayer

Rabbi Shefa Gold Chants the Ben Ish Chai’s Shortened Birkat Hamazon

This post presents Rabbi Shefa Gold’s meditative Aramaic and English chant based on the Ben Ish Chai’s one-line version of the Grace After Meals. The Ben Ish Chai (Rabbi Yosef Hayim, 1835-1909), was a leading Sephardic

Ofir Nagar: Mizrahi Influenced Eishet Chayil

This original version of Eishet Chayil was the first song that Israeli musician Ofir Nagar ever performed in front of an audience – at his own wedding! Although he devoted his entire childhood

Adash: A Cappella Eishet Chayil by a Czech Vocal Ensemble

This video features an original a cappella performance of Eishet Chayil by Adash, a vocal ensemble from Ostrava University in the Czech Republic. The ensemble developed out of a unique academic course, “Hebrew

Shabbat Songs Project: Israeli Artists Perform Eishet Chayil

This video features a unique version of Ben Zion Shenker’s popular Eishet Chayil melody, performed by a collection of Israeli artists as part of a project that aims to spread the light of

English Translation of Eishet Chayil with Animated Graphic Representations

This well-produced video presents an artistic graphic representation of each verse of Eishet Chayil, including a translation of the words into English as well as pleasant background music. This video was created by