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20 Years: A Liturgy for 9-11

Posted on: September 9th, 2021 by Alden

It’s been 20 years, and this anniversary of 9-11 falls on Shabbat Shuvah. Part of this liturgy was composed for the 10th anniversary of the attacks, and now includes newer prayers written to deepen the liturgy. Here’s a link to a video of “For 9-11 Survivors.”

For 9-11 Survivors
G-d of the survivor,
G-d of the mourner and the witness,
Grant solace and peace to those still held by physical, emotional and spiritual distress from the attacks of 9-11. Release them from visions of death and destruction, from guilt or shame, from fear or anger. Bind their wounds with Your steadfast love. Lift them on Your wings of kindness and grace.

Blessed are those who have found peace.
Blessed are those without tranquility.

Blessed are those who speak.
Blessed are those who stay silent.

Blessed are those who have healed.
Blessed are those who suffer.

Blessed are those who forgive.
Blessed are those who cannot forgive.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d, Source of strength for survivors of violence and tragedy in every land and in every age. Blessed are You, Rock of Israel, Source of hope and comfort.

To the Terrorist
You who would hold the sky captive,
The sea prisoner,
The land in chains…

You who hide in caves,
Retreat to the wilderness,
Disappear behind false names and forged papers…

You who smuggle guns and arms,
Hide rockets in cities and bombs in homes,
Build weapons against the innocent and the bystander…

You whose designs are destruction,
Whose plans are fear,
Whose joy is hate…

You who harden your hearts
And wrap yourselves in death…

What evil has robbed you of your love,
Your compassion,
Your goodness,
Your humanity?
What lies have invaded your minds
So that you choose to die in order to kill?

We who love our lives and liberty
Stand firm and strong against terror.
We will defend our nation and our people.
We will protect our land and our homes.
And we pray for you to find hope and comfort
In lives of peace.

At the Hand of Terror: A 9-11 Yizkor Prayer
Creator of all,
Source and shelter,
Grant a perfect rest under your tabernacle of peace
To ______________________ (name),
My [ father / mother / sister / brother / child / wife / dear one/ friend ]
Who died [ in / during / because of ]
The 9-11 attacks on the United States.
Remember the works of his/her hands
And the message of his/her heart
Remember all those who were lost in the terror of that day.
Grant their families peace and comfort for Your name’s sake
And for the sake of those who perished.
Bring an end to violence and terror,
Speedily, in our days.
May the memory of _____________________ be sanctified with joy and love.
May his/her soul be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst.

____________________

At the Hand of Terror II: A 9-11 Memorial Prayer
Creator of all,
Source and shelter,
Grant a perfect rest under your tabernacle of peace
To those who died in the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
Remember the works of their hands
And the message of their hearts.
Grant their families peace and comfort for Your name’s sake
And for the sake of those who perished.
Bring an end to violence and terror,
Speedily, in our days.
May their memories be sanctified with joy and love.
May their souls be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst.

Memorial Prayer for 9-11 First Responders

G-d of the selfless,
G-d of the strong and the brave,
Grant a perfect rest among the souls of the righteous
To those who died in service to others because of
The 9/11 attacks on the Unites States.
May their dedication to protecting life serve as a shining lamp of love
And the works of their hands bring us all merit in heaven.
Bless the souls of all who have died to save others,
Civilians and professionals,
The trained and the untrained,
In every age and in every land,
Men and women who answered the call of honor, duty and service.
May their memories be sanctified with joy and love.
May their souls be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst.

____________________

Yizkor for First Responders
G-d of the selfless,
G-d of the strong and the brave,
Grant a perfect rest among the souls of the righteous
To ______________________ (name),
My [ father / mother / sister / brother / child / wife / dear one/ friend ]
Who died in service to others [ in / during / because of ]
_________________________________________________ [name of event such as:
[the 9/11 attacks on the Unites States, the Mount Carmel forest fire, etc.].
May his/her dedication to protecting life serve as a shining lamp of love
And the works of his/her hands bring us all merit in heaven.
Bless the souls of all who have died to save others,
Civilians and professionals,
The trained and the untrained,
In every age and in every land,
Men and women who answered the call of honor, duty and service.
May the memory of _____________________ be sanctified with joy and love.
May his/her soul be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst.

Other prayers that may be useful in tailoring a 9-11 commemoration to your community are:

“Against Tyranny” – A prayer against oppressive regimes
“At the Hand of Violence: A Yizkor Prayer” – For those who died by violence
“For Bereaved Children” – A prayer of mourning and hope for children who’ve lost parents
“For the Bereaved” – A prayer of mourning for all
“After Shiva” – When the shiva is over, what next?

Postscript: They original liturgy written at the request of Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder, Ph.D., for the HUC-JIR publication Tzeh U’limad. Thanks to my sister Mara Lund for her insightful comments on drafts of these prayers.

Please check out my CCAR Press Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. The individual books are: This Joyous Soul , This Grateful Heart, and This Precious Life. Here’s a link to my ELItalk, “Falling in Love with Prayer..” For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

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Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

Domestic Insurrections

Posted on: August 16th, 2017 by Alden

In our Declaration of Independence, the Founders describe “the causes which impel them” to separate from the King of England as “a long train of abuses and usurpations.” One of those causes: “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us.” This line from the Declaration is part of the refrain in this prayer/poem, a response to the stunning moral failure of this president. See also, “We Will Not Yield,” a prayer in response to the violence in Charlottesville.

Domestic Insurrections
There are villains. There are heroes.
Our president should know the difference.
And he has excited domestic insurrections amongst us.

There are terrorists. There are defenders.
Our president should know the difference.
And he has excited domestic insurrections amongst us.

There are rallies that oppress, and rallies that protect.
Our president should know the difference.
And he has excited domestic insurrections amongst us.

There are willful offenders, and steadfast defenders.
Our president should know the difference.
And he has excited domestic insurrections amongst us.

There are words that condone bigots, and words to condemn them.
Our president should know the difference.
And he has excited domestic insurrections amongst us.

There are acts that encourage hate, and acts that discourage hate.
Our president should know the difference.
And he has excited domestic insurrections amongst us.

There are moments that define a leader as immoral,
And moments that define a leader as just.
Our president doesn’t know the difference.
And he has excited domestic insurrections amongst us.

Postscript: See also, “We Will Not Yield,” a prayer in response to Charlottesville. Several more of those abuses listed in the Declaration of Independence are eerily-Trumpian. For example:
• He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws…
• He has obstructed the Administration of Justice…
• He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither…
• For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world…

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: Library of Congress

We Will Not Yield

Posted on: August 13th, 2017 by Alden

Counterprotesters from the Unitarian Universalists congregation link arms during the Unite the Right rally.

After violence from white supremacists left death and injury in Charlottesville, here’s a prayer and a call to action for all who love this nation.

We Will Not Yield
Today,
I am neither Democrat nor Republican,
Neither left nor right nor center.
I am an American,
Born to a legacy of truth and justice,
Born to a legacy of freedom and equality.

Today, I am a patriot
Who will not yield this nation to hate.
Not to neo-Nazis.
Not to thugs self-styled as militia.
Not to slogans or chants.
Not to gestures or flags.
Not to threats and not to violence.

Hate is hate,
Ugly and brutal,
And we will not yield.

Today,
I am Christian, Muslim and Jew,
Catholic, Buddist, Hindu and Sikh,
Atheist and agnostic.
I am Asian, Latino, Hispanic, African American,
White, Native American and multi-racial.
I am an immigrant, a child of the American Revolution,
A veteran and a soldier.
I work in the dark depth of the mines
And the high towers of Wall Street,
In the factories and the farms,
In our hospitals and strip malls.
I am gay, lesbian, straight, bi, trans,
Man, woman and gender-neutral.
I am young, old, blind and deaf,
Hearing and sighted,
Disabled,
Powerful and unafraid.

Truth is truth,
That all are created equal,
And we will not yield.

Today, I am an American,
A citizen of the United States,
A child of this great democracy,
A child of this wise republic,
Dedicated to liberty,
Dedicated to action.

We will not yield.

Postscript: This prayer is adapted from “We Will Be Heard,” part of my “Liturgy for Inauguration Day 2017.”

Photo Source: Calla Kessler/The Washington Post

15 Years: A Liturgy for 9-11

Posted on: September 7th, 2016 by Alden

It’s been 15 years. This is a 9-11 liturgy composed for the 10th anniversary of the attacks, including newer prayers written to deepen the liturgy. They were written at the request of HUC-JIR’s Tzeh U’limad editor Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder, Ph.D. Here’s a link to a video of “For 9-11 Survivors.”