Îz ¤` Epi«¥Grl¡` dedi Epi«¥l ¨r K ¥x ¨A i¥pi ¦nÎlÇoMÎz ¤` §e z`rG ©d d¨p ¨X ©d .d ¨aFh §l D ¨z ¨`Ea §z In winter d¨k ¨x §a ¦l x ¨h ¨nE l ©h o ¥z §e In summer d¨k ¨x §A o ¥z §e .l ¥a ¥z i¥p §t d ¥E ©x §e .d ¨n ¨c£` ¨d i¥p §R l ©r .Li«¤aEH ¦n FN ªM m ¨lFr ¨d z ¤` r ¥A ©U §e .zFaFH ©d mi ¦p ¨X©M Epi«¥zFp §W K ¥x ¨aE :mi ¦p ¨X ©d K ¥x ¨a §n .dedi d ¨Y ©` KEx¨A .Ep«¥zEx ¥g §l lFc¨B x ¨tFW §A r ©w §Y lFw §e .Epi«¥zFI ªl¨B a ¥aFW §l q¥p ` ¨U §e r ©A §x ©` §A r ©n ¨X ¦i d¨rEWi ¦e xFx §C zFt §p ©M u ¤x«¨` ¨d KEx ¨A . ¨di«¤a §WFiÎlÇok §l FO©r i ¥g §c ¦p m¥I ©w §n .dedi d ¨Y ©` .l ¥` ¨x §U ¦i Shofar blast that symbolises our liberation. It is based on the laws in Leviticus (25:8–13) calling for a jubilee year when all debts are cancelled and all are free to return to their original homes. In the traditional version it becomes a summons to all Jews in exile to return to the land of Israel. Our text is based on a variety of Reform and Liberal versions, but the particular emphasis lies in the idea that the restoration of Israel is to be seen as part of a divine plan for the whole world, based on Isaiah 49:5–6. ‘And now, said the Eternal, who formed me from the womb to be His servant, to restore Jacob to him ( l’shovev ) so that Israel be gathered to Him ... And He said, it is too light for you to be my servant to ‘raise up’ ( l’hakim ) the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel, for I have made you a light of the nations so that my salvation ( yeshuati ) can be in the utmost part of the earth.’ Our version expresses the hope that all Jews who experience exile, whether
K ¥x ¨A Bless this year, our Living God, and may all that it brings be good for us; In winter: send dew and rain as a blessing In summer: send Your blessings over the face of the earth, bring life–giving water to all the earth, satisfy all the world with Your goodness, and bless our years as good years. Blessed are You God, who blesses the years. r ©w §Y Sound the great horn for our freedom, and raise a banner to restore all of us who experience exile. May the voice of liberty and freedom be heard throughout the four corners of the earth for all its inhabitants, for You are a God who redeems and rescues. Blessed are You God, who sustains Your people Israel. Epi«¥l ¨r K ¥x ¨A Bless this year ... Biblical ‘blessings’ are expressed in terms of prosperity and fruitfulness. Similarly this blessing asks for material and physical sustenance. Our text is based on the Sephardi version of this blessing used for the winter months. It is particularly apt because of its universal theme requesting that God ‘water the surface of the earth and satisfy the entire world with Your goodness’. But a good harvest alone is not enough without the effective distribution of food to all who need it, which lies within our own area of responsibility. In one rabbinic view this is the greatest of the blessings within the Amidah because it is recited not only on behalf of the Jewish people, or even of humanity as a whole, but on behalf of the entire animal kingdom as well. x ¨tFW §A r ©w §Y Sound the great horn ... This blessing begins with the call for a
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