Numbers 8:13-15
You shall place the Levites in attendance upon Aaron and his sons, and designate them as an elevation offering to the Lord. 14 Thus you shall set the Levites apart from the Israelites, and the Levites shall be Mine.
Blessed be Yah, Breathing Us In and Breathing Us Out
Help me with my obligations as a Levite for my congregation:
May I serve my community to the best of my ability with hard work and creative problem solving.
May I remember the larger goals when I am bogged down in the small details.
May I learn to set limits without being angry when those borders are crossed, as they will be.
May I never forget that that everyone means well.
May I represent my community to the wider Jewish kahal well and appropriately.
May I always remember to work with my community with diligence so together we may serve and repair our world.
Blessed be Yah, Breathing Us In and Breathing Us Out
Help my congregation with their obligations to their Levites:
May my community serve me to the best of their ability with fair wages and benefits.
May my community understand that I am a professional and not a volunteer.
May my community remember that I do not work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
May my community remember that I love what I do and who I do it for.
May my community always remember to employ me with respect so that together we may serve and repair our world.
Blessed be Yah, Breathing Us In and Breathing Us Out
Help me with my obligations to myself:
May I remember to ask for the fair parnassa that I need to sustain myself and my family.
May I always to respect myself and my needs and remember that I am just as important as any member of my community.
Just as Bezalel built the Mishkan with his labor, and as he also took joy in the beauty of his creation, may I know that I’m entitled to joy even when my hard work makes me sad.
May I always know that I love what I do and who I do it for, even when they drive me crazy.
May I always understand the limits of what I can realistically do, so that I may better serve and repair our world.
Bless be Yah, Breathing Us In and Breathing Us Out.
And bless the community, the work and the workers, that we are one in the One-ness.
Amen.