Praying for all lives impacted by the latest attack on Israel on this Jewish Holy Day. Grieving and in terror, our hearts are broken once again. As we pray, more than 700 people are already killed and hundreds of Israelis have been kidnapped, thousands are injured. Rockets continue to rain down on the Jewish home land that due to colonization is shared as sacred by so many religions. So many of the people who were attacked, kidnapped and killed by Hamas were not even Jewish… but for those of us who are Jewish, we understand that this attack is fueled by anti-Jewish hatred. And we also understand that we will be blamed for this attack,, because we live in a world where victims are often blamed for the ways they are attacked.
It is tragic that, rather than being a home for peace, Israel is once again the heart of global conflict between people who live elsewhere. Let us grieve but let us also all awaken, as watch organizing hatred explode into war and watching people around us turn to tired old propaganda tropes to blame victims rather than join in addressing the real problem: the colonization of the entire Middle East by Britain, that set it up in such a way that Israel could remain an easy scapegoat. Rabbi Gila Caine suggests that Israel was perhaps the UK’s first experiment in “land back” in that it was created as a way of creating safety for Holocaust survivors, recognizing that it has been our homeland for thousands of years, albeit under foreign rule as this small sliver of land was colonized by country after country for generation after generation. Let us pray for all the people living in the deeply colonized Middle East, who once again are victims of a colonial war waged by other countries, using the “Holy Land” as a proxy for their power struggles, at the expense of the people who live there. Let us pray for all the lives that are being lost as a result of our collective failure to understand the true villains in this war.
May we find solace from the horrifying despair that is never far from surface for all of us Jews living in a post-Holocaust world. And may we stand firm despite the knowledge that there are many around us who do not understand why we are so upset and who think that Israel is the colonizer instead of understanding the deeper complexity of this ancient power struggle between East and West. Our hearts are broken as we seek comfort and hope, knowing that humans on all sides will face death, while a few evil people will profit. And let us not forget that Jews are being blamed, once again, for our own persecution. The true spiritual test is to remain grounded in critical thinking and compassion while everyone around us continues with their daily concerns, and already has an opinion on who is wrong because of the organizing propaganda that has plagued the tiny state of Israel since before it was born. May we realize that this is the essence of colonization: when marginalized and colonized communities turn on each other in lateral violence rather than on those who are actually organizing the attacks.
I offer this prayer for peace and comfort- it is inspired by Rabbi Nir Barkin and intended for all those who are killed or wounded, regardless of race or religion. We are all one human family. May the world remember its essence and purpose, soon and speedily.
El Maleh Rachamim
Compassionate G!d,
We pray
not to wipe out haters
but to banish hatred.
Not to destroy sinners
but to heal the pain in those who choose sin
Our prayers are not for a perfect world
but a better one
Where parents are not bereaved
by the savagery of sudden attacks
Or children orphaned
by blades glinting in a noonday sun.
Help us dear God,
to have the courage to remain strong,
to stand fast.
Spread Your Light
on the dark hearts of the slayers
And Your comfort
to the bereaved hearts of families of the slain.
Let calm return Your city Jerusalem,
and to Israel, Your blessed holy land.
We grieve with those wounded
in body and spirit,
pray for the fortitude of our siblings,
The children of Israel and Ishmael and all their other siblings who live on this same small and fragile part of the world,
Eternal One, we ask You to awaken the world to our struggle and help us bring peace.
אל מלא רחמים, אל רחום וחנון
אליך אשא תפילה
לא למחוק את השונאים
אלא לבטל שנאה ושפיכות דמים
לא להשמיד חוטאים
אלא להפחית חטאים
תפילותינו אינן לעולם מושלם
אלא לעולם טוב יותר
בו הורים אינם חווים שכול, מהתקפות פתע מרושעות
בו ילדים אינם יודעים יתמות ממאכלת אכזרית בצהרי היום
אנא אלי
חזק אותי
שאעמוד איתן
מפגעים ורוע
שאוכל להפיץ אורך ברבים
ולהביא נחמה לסובלים.
אלוהי, הרעף שלום על עירך עיר-שלם
הבא מזור לסובלים וחזק אותנו החוששים.
העושה שלום במרומיו, עשה נא שלום עלינו.
(Translation: Rabbi Nir Barkin)
Emerging Torah as Rabbi Nachshon emerges 