Posts Tagged ‘fallen IDF’

 

Remember My Heart

Posted on: April 29th, 2017 by Alden

This Yom HaZikaron offering imagines a prayer that might be said by the soldiers and terror victims who’ve lost their lives for the State of Israel. It’s meant to honor that raw spot of grief that exists in all of us, but that some live with daily as a result of simply living in Israel and serving this nation. The core metaphor is a ubiquitous image throughout Israel, the flower that survives by growing up through the cracks in stone, sometimes hewn stones placed by our ancestors, sometimes the very stone of the earth.

Remember My Heart
When you see a flower bloom
Between the cracks in stone,
Remember me.
Remember my heart and my hands.
The hands of sons and daughters,
Of dreamers and doers,
Soldiers by necessity,
Civilians targeted for terror,
Old hands, young hands, children’s hands,
Hands that yearned for life.

When you see a flower bloom
Between the cracks in stone,
Remember that we have shed both tears and blood
In our yearning for this land and this people.
Remember what cannot be stolen,
Our love, our hope,
Our history, our home.

Oh, to still be with you in this sacred land,
In this beauty and wonder,
In this place of my soul.

When you see a flower bloom
Between the cracks in stone,
Remember me.
Remember that beauty survives,
That our love is strong,
That our sacrifices are holy,
That our cause is just,
That our people will endure.

Blessed are you, my people,
Who remember those of us who’ve given our lives
To build, defend and live in this land.
May the Holy One
Shelter your heart in the wings of comfort
And bring peace, at last,
Peace at last.

© 2017 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: The last lines are intentionally vague implying both peace of mind for mourners and relatives of the deceased, as well as peace for the land of Israel. Here are three other prayer that are important for Yom HaZikaron: “Yizkor for a Lone Soldier,” “The Soldiers on this Mountain,” “To the Terrorist,” “For those Who Die Young” and “Memorial for a Child.”

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 by Alden Solovy

The Soldiers on this Mountain

Posted on: July 29th, 2014 by Alden

IMG_7301This is a memorial meditation for soldiers buried at the Israeli national cemetery on Har Herzl. Although it’s written to be used at a funeral, alternative openings [shown in brackets] allow it to be used by those visiting the cemetery generally and by those visiting a particular grave. There are also gender and age-related options shown with a slash “/”. This meditation was inspired by the funeral of Sgt. Max Steinberg, z”l.

The Soldiers on this Mountain
To rest we lay another youth/man/woman,
[Here rests another youth/man/woman,]
[Here rests ____________ (full name),]
A soldier on a mountain,
In a sacred city,
In a sacred land,
Held holy in our blood for millennia.

The soldiers on this mountain
Know you.
They know your heart.
They know your love.
They know your spirit.
Courage and valor are your companions.
Strength and honor are your legacy.
You are home among the defenders of
Our Promised Land.

The soldiers on this mountain
Grieve with you,
Not for themselves,
And not for you.
They grieve for the next
And the next
And the next
Who will rise up
And be struck down
To defend the children of Israel.

The soldiers on this mountain
Know you,
They know your passion,
They know your blood.

Son/Daughter of Israel,
The soldiers on this mountain
Welcome you –
One more among the fallen,
Another brave soul –
Back to the land you love.

© 2014 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Here are links to more prayers for Israel, a prayer “For the IDF during Operation Protective Edge” and a “Yizkor for a Lone Soldier,” which I wrote before attending Max’s funeral. Thanks to my friends Ros Roucher and Rolene Marks for comments on an earlier draft.

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Photo Source: Alden Solovy

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