Water Is Life

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

Today, the Water Protectors left Standing Rock. 

Water is sacred. 

Water is life.

Water for drinking

Before we drink, we say:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיֶה בִּדְבָרוֹ.

Baruch atah Adonai, eloheinu melech ha'olam shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro.

Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Mystery of the Universe, 

by Whose word, all things came to be.

Water for washing

Water as snow

Water tumbling

Let us say:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיֶה בִּדְבָרוֹ.

Baruch atah Adonai, eloheinu melech ha'olam shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro.

Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Mystery of the Universe, 

by Whose word, all things came to be.

Water crashing

Water flowing

Water reflecting

Let us say:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיֶה בִּדְבָרוֹ.

Baruch atah Adonai, eloheinu melech ha'olam shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro.

Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Mystery of the Universe, 

by Whose word, all things came to be.

Water muddy



Water growing

Water placid

Let us say:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיֶה בִּדְבָרוֹ.

Baruch atah Adonai, eloheinu melech ha'olam shehakol nihiyeh bid'aro.

Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Mystery of the Universe, 

by Whose word, all things came to be.


Today the Water Protectors left Standing Rock.

Water is life.

Water is sacred.

Let us say:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיֶה בִּדְבָרוֹ.

Baruch atah Adonai, eloheinu melech ha'olam shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro.

Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Mystery of the Universe, 

by Whose word, all things came to be.

Rabbi Katy Allen is a board certified chaplain and serves as an Eco-Chaplain and the Facilitator of One Earth Collaborative, a program of Open Spirit. She is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long, the co-founder and President pro-tem of the Boston-based Jewish Climate Action Network, and a former hospital and hospice chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, NY in 2005 and lives in Wayland, MA.