Tag Archive for "mourn" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘mourn’

Prayer for the Jews of Germany

Posted on: October 11th, 2019 by Alden

A prayer for the Jews of Germany after the Yom Kippur attack on a synagogue in Halle, Germany. This prayer incorporates a line added to the liturgy for the Aseret Yamai Teshuvah, the 10 Days of Repentance/Return. A line from the classic Yom Kippur liturgy: וכתב לחיים טובים כל בני בריתך, And write for a good life all the children of Your covenant. At Ne’ilah, the final service of the day, the line changes to וחתום לחיים טובים כל בני בריתך, “And seal for a good life all the children of Your covenant,” as it does at the end of this prayer.

For the Jews of Germany
Author of life,
Man has turned violent,
Attacking the heart of prayer
In Halle, Germany,
Murdering and wounding innocents
In the name of antisemitism,
With a passion for bloodshed
And the destruction of the Jewish people.

וכתב לחיים טובים כל בני בריתך
And write, for a good life, all the children of Your covenant
Uc’tov l’chaim tovim kol b’nai britecha

To the traumatized in Halle,
We pray for healing,
For the Jews of Germany,
And all of the Jews of the world,
We pray for an end to antisemitism.
For the people of Germany,
And all of the people of the world,
We pray for shelter and solace,
Comfort and consolation,
Blessing and renewal.

וכתב לחיים טובים כל בני בריתך
And write, for a good life, all the children of Your covenant
Uc’tov l’chaim tovim kol b’nai britecha

Heavenly Guide,
Hand of love and shelter,
Put an end to anger and hatred,
Bigotry and fear,
And lead us to a time when no one
Suffers at the hand of another.

For the sake of our people,
And for the sake of Your Holy Name,
Grant the Jews of Germany Your protection,
Your wholeness and healing,
And Your peace.

וחתום לחיים טובים כל בני בריתך
And seal, for a good life, all the children of Your covenant
U’chatom l’chaim tovim kol b’nai britecha

Postscript: This is an adaptation of “For the Jews of France.”

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Photo credit: Associated Press

Mourner’s Lament

Posted on: August 25th, 2019 by Alden

A short meditation about the daily shifts that mourners may experience on the journey to healing, based on my own experiences of mourning. I wrote it a few days ago as a comfort for several friends currently experiencing fresh losses.

Mourner’s Lament
In the morning whisper, heal me.
In the afternoon shout, help me.
In the evening wonder, how long?

In the morning whisper, O love.
In the afternoon shout, O death.
In the evening wonder, how long?

In the morning whisper, this again.
In the afternoon shout, no more.
In the evening wonder, how long?

In the morning whisper, O love.
In the afternoon shout, O life.
In the evening wonder, how long?

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Postscript: See also: “Tears, Too Close: A Prayer of Consolation.”

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and my two CCAR Press books: This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings 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: My Jewish Learning

For Rabbi Peter Knobel, z”l

Posted on: August 21st, 2019 by Alden

Rabbi Peter Knobel z”l has died after suffering a massive heart attack almost two weeks ago. A gadol b’dor, a giant of this generation, a tzaddik, his Hebrew name was Tzaddik. He brought the love of Jewish learning — the place where Torah and intellect meet — to thousands. He chaired the Central Conference of American Rabbis and was our first family rabbi at Beth Emet The Free Synagogue. He led the drive to create a new Reform Siddur, Mishkan T’fillah, and was the first rabbi to encourage me to explore my voice as a Jewish writer. This prayer, dedicated here to Peter, was first published as “Private Meditation on the Death of a Beloved Public Figure.” Even as public eulogies begin, many of us will need private meditations for grieving.

For Rabbi Peter Knobel, z”l
Source of blessings,
Deal kindly with the soul of Rabbi Peter Knobel,
Who left a legacy of Torah and righteousness in this world,
A legacy of love, care and inspiration,
A legacy for the generations.

Rock of comfort,
So many were touched by him,
As was I,
And grief casts a shadow over my heart.
Even as his legacy is celebrated publicly,
With honors and praises due,
Hear my personal prayer,
My private grief and loss.
Let his memory become a light
For the days and years ahead.
And let those memories, private and public,
Grow stronger with the passing time,
Becoming a well of consolation.

G-d of all being,
Grant a perfect rest under Your canopy of peace to Rabbi Knobel,
My rabbi,
Our rabbi.
May his soul be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst.

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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: Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership

Private Meditation on the Death of a Beloved Public Figure

Posted on: May 8th, 2018 by Alden

A beloved teacher, I didn’t get the chance to know Rabbi Aaron Panken z’l. Yet from everything written about him — from obituaries to Facebook posts — knowing him would have been an immense blessing. I wrote this months ago and hadn’t gotten around to posting it. The idea, which came from a friend, was that in the flow of beautiful, communal, public mourning, one could forget that private and small group moments of mourning are also important to the grieving process. It seems to me that posting this in his memory would be a fitting tribute.

Private Meditation on the Death of a Beloved Public Figure
Source of blessings,
Deal kindly with the soul of ________________ (name)
Who left a legacy of ________________ (one-word description, e.g.: Torah, music, dance, diplomacy…)
In this world,
A legacy of love, care and inspiration,
A legacy for the generations.

Rock of comfort,
So many were touched by him/her,
As was I,
And grief casts a shadow over my heart.
Even as he/she is celebrated publicly,
With honors and praises due,
Hear my personal prayer,
My private grief and loss.
Let his/her memory become a light
For the days and years ahead.
And let those memories, private and public,
Grow stronger with the passing time,
Becoming a well of consolation.

G-d of all being,
Grant a perfect rest under Your canopy of peace to him/her.
May his/her soul be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst.

Postscript: I wrote this at the suggestion of a friend. It’s rare that I can’t remember — or find a note telling me — who gave me the idea for a particular piece. If it’s you, I apologize and please send me a private message of some kind so I can fix this.

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Photo Source: HUC-JIR

For Manchester and England

Posted on: May 23rd, 2017 by Alden

This is prayer of hope and courage for the victims of the terrorist attack in Manchester. It’s based on a memorial prayer that I wrote for the 7 July London bombings. This prayer refers to that attack, as well as the recent attack at Westminster. Here’s a link to the original prayer “For the People of London.”

For Manchester and England
Author of life,
Grant peace and consolation
To the victims and the injured
After the attack in Manchester,
Where youths, teens and their parents were murdered
In an act of calculated terror.

Source and Creator,
Grant a perfect rest under your tabernacle of peace
To the victims of this attack,
Whose lives were cut off
In an act of witless aggression.
May their souls be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst.
May they rest in peace.

Remember the survivors of this horror.
Grant them shelter and solace,
Comfort and consolation,
Blessing and courage.
May their healing —
And the healing of this nation —
Continue with devotion and courage.

We also remember the victims
And survivors of the 7/7 and Westminster attacks,
Praying for their souls and their healing.

Heavenly Guide,
Hand of love and shelter,
Put an end to anger and hatred,
Bigotry and fear.
Let terrorists put down their weapons
To discover a new path.
May the victims of all violence
Find hope and renewal.
Lead us to a time when no one
Suffers or dies at the hand of another.

,עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו, הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ
וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְעַל כָּל יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵּבֵל, וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן

Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu,
V’al kol Yisraeil, v’al kol yosh’vei teivel, V’imru, Amen.

May the One who creates harmony above, make peace for us,
For all Israel, and all who dwell on earth. And say: Amen.

Postscript: Here’s my “Liturgy after Terror Attacks.”

Photo credit: Times of Israel

Attack at Westminster: For London and England

Posted on: March 23rd, 2017 by Alden

This is prayer of hope and courage for the victims of the terrorist attack at Westminster. It’s based on a memorial prayer that I wrote for the 7 July London bombings. Here’s a link to the original prayer “For the People of London.”

Attack at Westminster: For London and England
Author of life,
Grant peace and consolation
To the victims and the injured
After the attack at Westminster,
Where the heart of a democratic nation was attacked
In an act of calculated terror.

Source and Creator,
Grant a perfect rest under your tabernacle of peace
To the victims of this attack,
Whose lives were cut off
In an act of witless aggression.
Remember the survivors of this horror.
Grant them shelter and solace,
Comfort and consolation,
Blessing and courage.
May their healing —
And the healing of this nation —
Continue with devotion and courage.
We also remember the victims
And survivors of the 7/7 attack,
Praying for their souls and their healing.

Postscript: Here’s my “Liturgy after Terror Attacks.”

Please check out my Meet the Author video 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 credit: WikiMedia Commons. The photo is from the 7/7 attack.

Death of a Horrible Relative

Posted on: February 12th, 2017 by Alden

When family members die, we strive to remember the best moments of their lives. We must also recognize the complexity of mourning when a person has suffered trauma at hand of a newly-departed relative. Although a response to death, this is a personal prayer of healing. It is intended for private use. Optional verses appear in [brackets]. Alternative word choices are separated with a slash (“/”).

Death of a Horrible Relative
Dad/Mom/_________ (other relative, name or relationship),
So many moments of pain,
So many chances for healing that you abandoned,
So much suffering that you caused,
And now, you are dead.
What is it that I/we mourn?
The dad/mom/_________ (other relative) we never had?
The loss of so much time and energy
To the misery you caused?
The hope that one day you would become
A person of integrity and valor,
Kindness and love?

As in life,
Your death brings mixed emotions,
Different for each of us in our family as we grapple to understand,
As we grapple to find comfort and peace.

G-d of Old,
[Where were You when our family needed healing?]
[Where were You in the pain the sorrow?]
Help me to let go of the false hopes and empty promises
That never came to be.
Teach me to accept my past as it was
So I can embrace a richer tomorrow.
Teach me to release my anger and pain
So that I may lead a life of awe and wonder,
Full of joy and laughter.
Help me to move on.
[Help me to forgive. So that one day I can say:]
May his/her soul be bound up in the bond of life,
[At long last,]
A living blessing in our midst.

Postscript: See also “Grieving the Living.” Here’s a link to all of my Yizkor and memorial prayers.

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

For Nice

Posted on: July 15th, 2016 by Alden

A prayer of solidarity and healing after Thursday night’s Bastille Day truck attack in Nice. Sadly for the people of France, it’s in large part the same prayer I wrote “For Paris” after last year’s attacks, simply switching Nice for Paris, adding mention of children and removing reference to the coordinated nature of those attacks. The closing stanza is in French. A full French version follows.

For Nice
Author of life,
Man has turned violent,
Killing our children,
Killing our brothers and sisters,
Crushing lives,
Upending dreams,
Attacking the heart of a democratic nation
With vitriol and hatred.

Source and Creator,
Grant a perfect rest under your tabernacle of peace
To the victims of terror in Nice,
Innocents murdered and wounded,
Men and women whose lives were cut off by witless aggression.

Remember the survivors of this horror.
Grant them shelter and solace,
Comfort and consolation,
Blessing and renewal.
Grant them endurance to survive,
Strength to rebuild,
Faith to mourn,
Courage to heal,
And devotion to each other.

Heavenly Guide,
Hand of love and shelter,
Grant the people of Nice Your protection,
Your wholeness and healing,
And Your peace.

Guide divin,
Main d’amour et refuge,
Accorde aux peuple de Niça Ta protection,
Ta guérison et ton intégrité,
Et accorde-leur Ta paix.

Pour Niça
Auteur de la vie,
L’homme s’est tourné vers la violence,
Tuer nos enfants,
Tuer nos frères et sœurs,
Ecrasant des vies,
Bouleversant des rêves,
Attaquant le cœur d’une nation démocratique
Avec vitriol et haine.

Source et Créateur,
Accorde un repos parfait sous ton tabernacle de la paix
Pour les victimes de la terreur à Niça,
Innocents tués et blessés,
Hommes et femmes dont les vies ont été tragiquement écourtées.

Rappelle-toi des survivants de cette horreur.
Accorde-leur un abri et du soulagement,
Du réconfort et de la consolation,
Une bénédiction et un renouvellement.
Accorde-leur l’endurance de survivre,
La force de reconstruire,
La foi pour se lamenter,
Le courage de guérir,
Et la dévotion à l’autre.

Guide divin,
Main d’amour et refuge,
Accorde aux peuple de Niça Ta protection,
Ta guérison et ton intégrité,
Et accorde-leur Ta paix.

Postscript: The original translation was created by Gary Goldman and sent to me by friend Cantor Sheri Allen. In order to get this out quickly, I’ve taken the risk of using Google Translate for the two additional lines “Killing our children / Killing our brothers and sisters.” I also removed a line of French. Any errors in the French version are my own. My prayer “For the Jews of France,” written in March, 2012, after the deadly anti-semitic attack in Toulouse, has also been translated into French.

Photo credit: Buvizia

For Brussels

Posted on: March 23rd, 2016 by Alden

A prayer of solidarity and healing after the terror attacks in Brussels. The closing stanza is written in English and the three official languages of Belgium: Dutch, German and French.

For Brussels
Author of life,
Man has turned violent,
Crushing lives,
Upending dreams,
Attacking the heart of a democratic nation
With vitriol and hatred
In coordinated acts of calculated terror.

Source and Creator,
Grant a perfect rest under your tabernacle of peace
To the victims of terror in Belgium,
Innocents murdered and wounded,
Men and women whose lives were cut off by witless aggression.

Heavenly Guide,
Hand of love and shelter,
Grant the people of Brussels Your protection,
Your wholeness and healing,
And Your peace.

Guide divin,
Main d’amour et refuge,
Accorde aux peuple de Bruxelles Ta protection,
Ta guérison,
Et ton intégrité,
Et accorde-leur Ta paix.

Himmlischer Vater,
Hand voller Liebe und Geborgenheit,
Gib den Menschen in Bruessel Deine Vollkommenheit,
Deinen Schutz,
Deine Kraft zu heilen,
Und Deinen Frieden.

Hemelse Gids,
Hand van de liefde en onderdak,
Verleen de Brusselaars Uw bescherming,
Uw toewijding,
Uw genezing,
En Uw vrede.

Postscript: This is based on my prayer “For Paris,” which is why I selected this image to illustrate the prayer. It was tweeted by Le Monde’s veteran cartoonist, Jean Plantureux, better known as Plantu. Thank you to my friends who translated the closing verse: Carolin Melamed, German; Genevieve Begue, French; and the Dutch by a friend who asked to remain anonymous.

Photo credit: Jean Plantureux as shown in The Guardian

Pour Paris

Posted on: December 23rd, 2015 by Alden

This is a full translation of a prayer of solidarity and healing “For Paris” that I wrote immediately after last month’s terror attack. The original prayer includes one closing paragraph translated into French.

Pour Paris
Auteur de la vie,
L’homme s’est tourné vers la violence,
Ecrasant des vies,
Bouleversant des rêves,
Attaquant le cœur d’une nation démocratique
Avec vitriol et haine
Avec des actes de terreur coordonnés et calculés.

Source et Créateur,
Accorde un repos parfait sous ton tabernacle de la paix
Pour les victimes de la terreur à Paris,
Innocents tués et blessés,
Hommes et femmes dont les vies ont été tragiquement écourtées.

Rappelle-toi des survivants de cette horreur.
Accorde-leur un abri et du soulagement,
Du réconfort et de la consolation,
Une bénédiction et un renouvellement.
Accorde-leur l’endurance de survivre,
La force de reconstruire,
La foi pour se lamenter,
Le courage de guérir,
Et la dévotion à l’autre.

Guide divin,
Main d’amour et refuge,
Accorde aux peuple de Paris Ta protection,
Ta guérison et ton intégrité,
Et accorde-leur Ta paix.

Postscript: Thank you to my friend Cantor Sheri Allen for sending this translation by Gary Goldman. Here’s a link to the original English version of the prayer. My prayer “For the Jews of France,” written in March, 2012, after the deadly anti-semitic attack in Toulouse, has also been translated into French.

Photo credit: One of many adaptations of original art by Jean Jullien.

Posts Tagged ‘mourn’

Prayer for the Jews of Germany

Mourner’s Lament

For Rabbi Peter Knobel, z”l

Private Meditation on the Death of a Beloved Public Figure

For Manchester and England

Attack at Westminster: For London and England

Death of a Horrible Relative

For Nice

For Brussels

Pour Paris

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