Here are two prayers posted for Jerusalem Pride. “Pride Wins” is in memory of 16-year-old Shira Banki, murdered at Jerusalem’s 2015 Pride Parade by an ultra-Orthodox Jewish extremist who stabbed six participants. “Love Wins” envisions a time when love celebrated by all.

Love Wins
One day, the words ‘coming out’ will sound strange,
Oppression based on gender or orientation will be a memory,
History to honor and remember,
The pain of hiding, repressing, denying,
Honoring the triumphs of those who fought to be free,
Remembering the violence and vitriol that cost lives.

When love wins,
When love wins at long last,
ואהבת לרעך כמוך,
‘Love your neighbor as yourself’
Will be as natural as breathing.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!

One day, love will win every heart,
Love will win every soul,
Fear will vanish like smoke,
And tenderness for all will fill our hearts.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!

Love wins. In the end,
Love wins.
Man for man,
Woman for woman,
Woman for man,
Man for women,
All genders,
All orientations,
All true expressions of heart.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!

Let this come speedily,
In our day,
A tribute to the many
And the diverse
Gifts from heaven.
A tribute to love deep and true,
Each of us for one another.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!

Shira Banki

Pride Wins: A Prayer after Homophobic Brutality
Pride will not be crushed by violence.
Pride will not be crushed by hatred.
Pride wins. Love wins.
Beauty and joy win.

G-d of healing,
Bless the LBGTQ community
With Your comfort and care
In the anguish and pain after yet another
Senseless and vicious attack against the innocent,
An act of calculated violence against Your children.
Bless the victims with healing and strength.
Bless their families with solace and support.
Bless the community with resolve and well-being.

Let the day be near when
Gender and sexual orientation
Are no longer used an excuse for brutality or cruelty.
Let the day be near when
Justice and righteousness prevail,
Guiding us all to delight fully in each other,
Our similarities and our differences,
A tribute to the vast wonder of Your creation.

“Love Wins” and “Pride Wins” are © 2016 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Thank you to my friend and fellow Jerusalem resident Cantor Evan Kent for his suggestions on “Love Wins.”

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: Tufts Hillel, JQUEST (Jewish Queer Students at Tufts), flag; Facebook, via JTA, Shira Banki

Shira Banki

The city of Jerusalem renamed Zion Square in memory of Shira Banki, murdered at 2015’s Pride Parade. An ultra-Orthodox Jewish extremist stabbed six participants, murdering the 16-year-old. The plaza was renamed Tolerance Square.

Addendum, June 13, 2016: In Orlando early Sunday, 50 people died in the deadliest mass shooting is U.S history, domestic hate and terror focused on a popular gay nightclub. Here’s a prayer “For Orlando, For the USA.” And Nov. 19 became another murderous moment for the community in Colorado Springs.

Pride Wins: A Prayer after Homophobic Brutality
Pride will not be crushed by violence.
Pride will not be crushed by hatred.
Pride wins. Love wins.
Beauty and joy win.

G-d of healing,
Bless the LBGTQ community
With Your comfort and care
In the anguish and pain after yet another
Senseless and vicious attack against the innocent,
An act of calculated violence against Your children.
Bless the victims with healing and strength.
Bless their families with solace and support.
Bless the community with resolve and well-being.

Let the day be near when
Gender and sexual orientation
Are no longer used an excuse for brutality or cruelty.
Let the day be near when
Justice and righteousness prevail,
Guiding us all to delight fully in each other,
Our similarities and our differences,
A tribute to the vast wonder of Your creation.

© 2016 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Here’s a song written by Julie Silver in Shira’s memory. See also, “Love Wins: A Pride Prayer, Jewish.”

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: Facebook, via JTA

“This week will go down in history as one of the saddest and most destructive, ever, in the lives of LGBTQ Jews,” declares an article from O-blog-dee-o-blog-da about the anti-semetic vitriol hurled at LGBTQ Jews at the Creating Change 2016 Conference. Pro-Palestinian protesters called for the death of fellow LGBTQ, Jews on their way to a Friday night Shabbat service. Here’s a Jewish response to this twisted hate: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Levit. 19:18), pronounced “ve’ahavta lere’acha kamocha.” In other words, love wins.

Love Wins: A Pride Prayer, Jewish
One day, the words ‘coming out’ will sound strange,
Oppression based on gender or orientation will be a memory,
History to honor and remember,
The pain of hiding, repressing, denying,
Honoring the triumphs of those who fought to be free,
Remembering the violence and vitriol that cost lives.

When love wins,
When love wins at long last,
ואהבת לרעך כמוך,
‘Love your neighbor as yourself’
Will be as natural as breathing.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!

One day, love will win every heart,
Love will win every soul,
Fear will vanish like smoke,
And tenderness for all will fill our hearts.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!

Love wins. In the end,
Love wins.
Man for man,
Woman for woman,
Woman for man,
Man for women,
All genders,
All orientations,
All true expressions of heart.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!

Let this come speedily,
In our day,
A tribute to the many
And the diverse
Gifts from heaven.
A tribute to love deep and true,
Each of us for one another.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך!

© 2016 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Thank you to my friend and fellow proud Jerusalem resident Cantor Evan Kent for his suggestions on an earlier draft of this prayer. Creating Change is an annual conference held by the National LGBTQ Task Force. The 2016 conference is still in progress in Chicago. Its purpose: LGBTQ liberation. Its stated intention: to be all inclusive. From the article referenced above: “Ironically the only LGBTQ liberation in the Middle East is fostered by Israel, often serving as a sanctuary for Palestinian LGBT who have been expelled from their homes and hunted by Hamas and Palestinian authority members, who believe gays should die for being gay.” Honor, love and respect to my friends at A Wider Bridge, the host of the Shabbat service and target of ongoing slander.

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: Tufts Hillel, JQUEST (Jewish Queer Students at Tufts)