Reader:
We end each service by reciting the Aleinu—a prayer in which we affirm our personal and communal obligations to work for a world that is filled with Godliness and a manifestation of the Torah’s vision for justice. Aleinu—it is upon us.
Before we say the traditional text of the AleinuPrayer proclaiming God’s kingship, said near the conclusion of the prayer service., I invite you to join me in a collective recitation of the commitments of the Reconstructionist Reparations Resolution, passed in January 2023 by all governing bodies of the movement of which we are members.
Congregation:
הִנְ֒נִו מוּכָןים וּמְזֻמָּנים
Hineinu muchanim u’mezumanim,
We are prepared and ready to recite the commitments of our Reparations Resolution:
- In our commitment to work for a national reckoning in the United States through reparations, we collectively acknowledge the harm that has been done to BIPOC communities and the ways that current American prosperity is largely the result of a system built on oppression and white supremacy;
כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן – ken yehi ratzonLit. "May it be Your Will ..." The opening of many petitionary prayers. – May it be so!
- We strive to join with BIPOC-led efforts in the United States and to pursue policies and decisions that seek to have our country confront its history squarely and honestly, and to redress the many harms, particularly the persistent racial wealth gap, caused by disparate access to opportunities and resources;
כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן – ken yehi ratzon – May it be so!
- We are committed to supporting and advocating for institutional, local, and federal legislation and policies that specifically address the need for reparations;
כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן – ken yehi ratzon – May it be so!
- We encourage one another to engage in ongoing learning about systems of oppression and structural racism, and about how these systems have caused, and continue to cause, harm in our communities;
כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן – ken yehi ratzon – May it be so!
- Informed by and working in solidarity with impacted communities, we engage in deep reflection on the ways in which we have participated in or benefitted from racial injustices in our communities and to answer the call of TorahThe Five Books of Moses, and the foundation of all of Jewish life and lore. The Torah is considered the heart and soul of the Jewish people, and study of the Torah is a high mitzvah. The Torah itself a scroll that is hand lettered on parchment, elaborately dressed and decorated, and stored in a decorative ark. It is chanted aloud on Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbat, according to a yearly cycle. Sometimes "Torah" is used as a colloquial term for Jewish learning and narrative in general. to pursue justice and practice teshuvah by taking concrete steps to repair the harm.
כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן – ken yehi ratzon – May it be so!
Reader:
וִיהִ֤י ׀ נֹ֤עַם אֲדֹנָ֥י אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּ עָ֫לֵ֥ינוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂ֣ה יָ֭דֵינוּ כּוֹנְנָ֥ה עָלֵ֑ינוּ וּֽמַעֲשֵׂ֥ה יָ֝דֵ֗ינוּ כּוֹנְנֵֽהוּ
Vayehi noam adonai eloheinu Aleinu, u’ma’aseh yadeinu koneneyhu Aleinu, u’ma’aseh yadeinu koneneyhu
And let the beauty of the SOURCE OF JUSTICE be upon us: and establish the work of our hands upon us; establish the work of our hands.
Amen!
