This piece began with Georgia and Gary Freedman-Harvey who envisioned a community prayer for those — like their son Ezra — who live the trials and triumphs of chronic conditions. They envisioned a prayer that would uplift the community in support of one another, with the tone of healing for all, a prayer in which we might see ourselves holding each other with care and compassion. As members of Temple Beth El, San Pedro, CA, they approached Rabbi Cassi Kail with the idea, who brought it to me. Here’s what we created.
For Those Who Endure Chronic Conditions
God of our mothers and fathers,
Watch over all who
Live with genetic disorders,
Life-threatening medical conditions,
And chronic or degenerative diseases.
Bless them with endurance and resilience,
Fortitude and hope,
With opportunities to thrive and shine
Even as their conditions
Progress.
Watch over them,
Their families and friends,
Our community,
And all of humankind.
We pray
For the wisdom and insight
To see each member of our community
With clear eyes and an open heart,
As another human being,
A whole person
With hopes and dreams,
Proud of who they are,
Striving to be their best selves,
Struggling with this life,
And loving it, too,
As we all do.
Rock and Shelter,
Grant us all the ability
To see each other’s humanity clearly,
To cherish each other’s individuality,
To care deeply about one another,
To mourn our losses and
Celebrate our victories together,
So that we live, act, and pray
As one community
Of care and blessing.
.בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אלהינו מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַמֵּכִין מִצְעֲדֵי גָֽבֶר
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, hameichin mitzadei gaver.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who strengthens our steps.
© 2022 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com.
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Postscript: Thanks to Georgia and Gary Freedman-Harvey and Rabbi Cassi Kail for your faith in my work.
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: Access Health