This piece is part of Exploring Judaism’s 5785 High Holiday Reader. Download the whole reader here.
רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם,
כָּל־מָה שֶׁבָּרָאתָ,
לֹא בָּרָאתָ דָּבָר אֶחָד לְבַטָּלָה.
אֲוִיר לִנְשִׁימָה,
מַיִם לִשְׁתִיָּה
וּלְרַחֲצָה,
אֲדָמָה לְמִחְיָה
וּלְכַלְכָּלָה,
צְמָחִים וְחַיּוּת
לִרְוָחָה,
וְאָדָם לְעָבְדָהּ
וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ.
תֵּן בְּלִבֵּנוּ כָּל־יוֹם לַעֲסֹק בְּאוֹצָרְךָ
בֶּאֱמוּנָה,
וְכֵן נְקַיֵּם
רְצוֹנְךָ,
כְּדִבְרֵי נְבִיאֲךָ: לֹא תֹּהוּ בְּרָאָהּ,
לָשֶׁבֶת יְצָרָה:
ישעיהו מ״ה:י״ח
God,
everything You have made
has a purpose:
air for breathing,
water for drinking and
bathing,
land for living and
growing,
plants and animals in
gracious abundance,
and humanity to work and
care for Your earth.
Inspire us every day to care
Faithfully
for Your treasure,
so that we may fulfill Your
vision:
Not as a wasteland did
God create the earth, but
as a home where we may
live” (Isaiah 45:18).
