Shemoneh Esrei: Hashem Sifatai Tiftach

There is a special prayer called the Shemoneh Esrei,
We say it three times a day,
Amidah is another name for this prayer,
Amidah means to stand before our creator.

Hashem we've never seen,
To stand before Him what does it really mean?
Imagine you are an actor in a play,
You were given lines to practice and say.

As the dramatic scene unfolds, you don't like what you see,
You scream "Cut! I need to talk to the director immediately!"
The director is as busy as can be,
Yet he takes the time to listen patiently.

All of a sudden you begin to tremble in your heart,
You stand in awe and don't know how to start,
You are not standing before a director of a Hollywood scene,
Hashem is the director of heaven and earth and everything in between.

You ask the director to open your lips, because He knows your part,
So that you can use your mouth to praise Him with all your heart,
Hashem desires a relationship with every Jew,
Hashem wants to hear your perspective and view.

When we Daven, Shmoneh Esrei, quietly,
We are speaking to the director of the world privately,
Hashem listens to our needs, worries and fears,
Hashem is our loving father who cares!

Hashem says "I know that the accident scene isn't pretty,
And that in the dentist's chair you don't want to be,
But there is a plan that you can't see,
I will take care of everything, don't worry."

Souvenir:

Beraishit

בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

There was once a couple who waited many years,
To be blessed with a baby they prayed and shed many tears,
At last they were blessed with a baby boy,
They were so grateful and full of joy.

When the boy grew up, he went to Yeshivah every day,
His father walked him all the way,
The boy studied Torah with all his heart,
"Beraishit Barah Elokim" is how the Torah does start.

The boy told his father that he didn't have to walk him all the way,
He could meet his friends and he would be ok,
At last, the father did agree,
And he went to meet his friends happily.

His happiness didn't last long,
He was kidnapped by an officer who was strong,
To hold onto his Chumash with all his might he did try,
But the officer put it in the king's library, on a shelf so high.

Meanwhile , the king was very sick,
They called the doctors quick,
To get a book of medicine from the library they did go,
They returned with the Chumash, to read Hebrew nobody did know.

The king's officer recognized the book,
He called the young boy to come and take a look,
The boy began reading the first verse,
The king began feeling better instead of feeling worse.

"In the beginning, Hashem created the heaven and the earth" he did explain,
By the time he was done, the king had no more pain,
"What would you like for saving my life?" the king asked the boy,
"To be reunited with my parents, is the only thing that will bring me joy!"

To see his parents he did yearn,
In a royal carriage he did return,
From all the king's gifts nothing could compare,
To his Chumash which he held so dear!

Souvenir: 7 days of creation necklace

Vayehi Binsoah Haaron

וַיְהִי בִּנְסֹעַ הָאָרֹן וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה קוּמָה יְהוָה וְיָפֻצוּ אֹיְבֶיךָ וְיָנֻסוּ מְשַׂנְאֶיךָ מִפָּנֶיךָ. 

כִּי מִצִּיּוֹן תֵּצֵא תוֹרָה וּדְבַר יְהוָה מִירוּשָׁלִָם. בָּרוּךְ שֶׁנָּתַן תּורָה לְעַמּו יִשרָאֵל בִּקְדֻשָּׁתו: 

Whenever the Ark set forth, Moshe would say: "Arise, God, and Your enemies will be dispersed those who hate You will flee before you." For the Torah shall go forth from Zion and the word of God from Jerusalem. Blessed is He Who gave the Torah to His people, Yisrael, in his holiness.

When it is time to read from the Torah scroll,
To open the ark is an honorable role,
We stand with awe and fear,
As if we were receiving the Torah now and here.

When the ark is opened "Vayehi Binso'a Ha'Aron," we say,
It is a prayer that dates back to Moshe's day,
When the Jews camped and when they were on the go,
The ark which contained the tablets was the center of the show.

When the Jews were in the desert, the cloud of glory was their GPS,
When they would travel next the Jews could only guess.
When the cloud would rise, their possessions they gathered,
When the ark was lifted, Moshe said, "Your enemies shall be scattered."

For the Jews, the holy ark paved the way,
The wild beasts and poisonous snakes ran away,
No enemy threatened the Jews when they were on their way,
May Hashem scatter our enemies today.

We also remember a prophecy about Moshiach's days,
When the entire world will follow in Hashem's ways,
"Out of Zion shall go forth the Torah," we say,
"And the word of Hashem from Jerusalem," may it happen today!

Souvenir: small plush Torah

Shehakol

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe,
at whose word all came to be.

On all the food that does not grow,
We say the blessing of "Shehakol Nihiye Bidvaro"
On chicken, meat, fish eggs and cheese,
On ices and ice cream that we need to freeze.

By Hashem's word all things came to be,
We say "Shehakol" on chocolate and candy,
If we are unsure of a particular food's blessing,
We say "Shehakol" instead of guessing.

Souvenir: candy eraser

Haadama

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe,
who creates the fruit of the ground

On all the vegetables that are found,
Growing from the ground,
"Borei Pri Haadama" we say,
They are nutritious in every way,

Cucumbers, peppers, lettuce and tomatoes,
Carrots, spinach, broccoli and potatoes,
We thank Hashem for making the vegetables grow,
Each one is planted in its own neat row.

The blessing of "Haadama" is the one that is right,
On bananas to recite,
Because the banana tree doesn't last from year to year,
It just dries up and disappears.

Souvenir: vegetable eraser

Haeitz

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe,
who creates the fruit of the tree.

When you are outside enjoying the breeze,
And you see delicious fruit hanging from trees,
The blessing of "Borei Pri Haeitz" comes to mind,
Thank you Hashem for creating the fruit that we find.

On Tu B'Shvat it is a custom to eat,
Fruit that Israel is blessed with, what a treat,
Grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates,
Make a blessing and fill your plates!

Souvenir: fruit eraser

Hagafen

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe,
who creates the fruit of the vine.

"Borei Pri Hagafen" is the blessing on grape juice and wine,
We thank Hashem for creating the fruit of the vine,
We drink wine many times on the Jewish calendar,
On Shabbat, Holidays and Simchas which are spectacular!

We use wine to separate,
Weekdays from holy days that are great,
With the Kiddush wine we sanctify,
With the Havdalah wine we say goodbye.

On Purim we drink until we can show,
That the difference between Haman and Mordechai we don't know,
On Pesach we drink not one cup but four,
For Elijah the Prophet we fill up one more.

At the Brit of a newborn baby boy,
A blessing is made on wine and we celebrate with joy,
Under the Chuppa at every wedding,
On a cup of wine there is a blessing!

Souvenir: kiddush cup