The Morning Blessings we use now evolved over a period of years, beginning with a High Holiday service. The repeated opening formula is from Andrew Shaw, shared on the Open Siddur site. He has original poems interspersed – they’re great, you should check them out.

The second half of each line is either from the tradition, when that felt right, or is new text created by Elliott in Hebrew and English. For our 15th Anniversary, Otter premiered an original chant line for these blessings, which we’ll get uploaded here at some point.

The theology here is a bit more traditional than is the normal for us. While the formula is not us blessing capital G “god,” it is an expression of blessings that flow down from an overarching power. That sits more or less comfortably for each of us, balanced with liberatory images of “desire to march out of my oppression” and the creator who “opens the mind.”

click on the first image to open the gallery