Preserve the memory of your loved one with a plaque on our Yahrzeit(Yiddish) The anniversary of a death, usually marked by the lighting of a 24-hour yahrzeit candle and the recitation of Kaddish, the memorial prayer. For U.S. Jews, the unveiling of the headstone usually takes place on or around the first yahrzeit. Wall. Learn More ->

A Prayer for Protest

To those who gather to express their outrage

To be united in grief and anger

To those who have reached

a breaking point

In this place built on dark secrets

and false promises

To those who have been unheard

To those who have tried to be peaceful

and have seen no results

To those who stand up to the powerful

only to be shoved back down

time and again

whether by the barrel of a gun

or a knee to the neck

For those who have lost hope

because they are so tired of hoping

wishing, working hard,

playing by the rules

For those who want to re-invent the rules

For those who want to rest their weary heads

and know a few long moments of real peace

For those who have nothing left to give

but their tears and their rage

their bodies moving because they have to—

their bodies moving because

they still can

For those who have dreams for their children

but know that their children are at risk

each time they step out the door

For those whose backs are straight

even when their intentions are misrepresented

For those who are on the front lines

For those just trying to feed a family

For those protecting the inner circle

For those who stand in the front

with unmarked vests and cars

hauling them away to undisclosed locations

taking away their rights to phone calls and attorneys

For those who have been

silenced and scorned

For those who have sung songs filled

with both celebration and pain

For those who have built a country

with the sweat of their brows

and the weight of oppression on their backs

For those separated from families

and for those locked up in cages

For those who demand answers

and those who use their power to bring this darkness out into the light

For those who have created cultures ripe with literature and law, dances, drums and dreams, community and cuisine, music and memory

For those who are sweet, salty, spicy,

spirited, soulful

For those whose arms are open wide

whose hearts are open even wider

May you keep marching with your ancestors

and may we have the wisdom

to walk beside you

so that our children can all be the siblings

they were meant to become

Posted in Pursuing Justice
justice, protest, resilience, resistance

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