Dear God, who opened Hagar’s eyes to the desert well, dear God who was with HannahHannah is the mother of the prophet Samuel, who, through her prayers, is rewarded a child. She herself is also considered a prophet. Hannah's intense devotional style of prayer becomes the model, in rabbinic Judaism, for prayer in general. as she cried out her heart to the priest Eli, deafened by his position, authority and judgment, be with Christine Blasey Ford today as she opens her lips to share her painful truths in a seat of patriarchal power, may those who seek her harm be stilled, may those who quake with their own memories find support and comfort, may those who go to parties tonight and any night seeking joy, acceptance, release, adventure, never be pinned down, ridiculed, forced to yield the basic freedom to their bodies’ autonomy, to their souls’ intactness, to their future’s possibilities. And may those who seek to limit the freedom of women in the name of their own freedom or in the name of their faith, come to see that the way to protect the sanctity of life is right before them every day—in the workplace, in their families, on the streets and in their schools, because each chance to treat a human being as human being is an opportunity to honor the sanctity of life.
