This is a prayer for healing family wounds. Choices to tailor the prayer to particular situations are in [brackets]. Use this or other language to describe your family circumstances. My prayer “For Family” includes a similar message, more softly stated. This prayer appear in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.
Family Healing
G-d of Old,
Our family has been fractured,
Torn apart by _________________ [anger, violence, death, alcoholism, suicide, disease, mental illness, neglect, abuse, abandonment, finances],
Old wounds that have steeped into our bones and our blood,
Our thoughts and our words.
Release me from my anger and my guilt,
So I may see my kin with new eyes –
Their losses and fears,
Their pain and shame –
And therefore find a source of
Forgiveness and renewed love.
Well of Blessings,
Lead us to new vision and new wisdom,
The place where love rests safely in our hearts
And peace waits quietly in our hands.
G-d of Generations,
Grant healing to my family, speedily,
So that we may rejoice together in Your gifts,
With joy and thanksgiving.
© 2012 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.
Postscript: Here are prayers of family praise: “For the Patriarch,” “For the Matriarch,” “For Our Sisters,” “For Our Brothers” and “For the Family Historian.”
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