Psalm for Tisha B’Av

When Your temples are destroyed
Your people murdered by enemies of truth
We fall to our knees in ashes and dust.
 
We rend our clothing, cry psalms of lament.
Adonai, Adonai, why have you forsaken us?
Why have you given us like sheep to slaughter?
 
The valley of the shadow is deep and wide.
We fear evil. The Angel of Death does not heed
the signs on our doorposts or on our gates.
 
By the Rivers of Babylon, in the Warsaw ghetto
In Pittsburgh at the Tree of Life Synagogue
Shekhinah sits shiva with us in ashes and dust.
 
בָּרוךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵנוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, יוֹצֵר אוֹר וּבוֹרֵא חשֶׁךְ
Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Creator of light and darkness.
 
We will mourn, but then we will rise
To write new prayers and sing new songs.
We will turn dust and ashes into fertile earth.
 
Adonai, Adonai, God of compassion
You weep with us in the darkest night
But raise us in joy in morning’s light.

 

Ritualwell content is available for free thanks to the generous support of readers like you! Please help us continue to offer meaningful content with a donation today. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Rituals

Shop Ritualwell - Discover unique Judaica products

The Reconstructionist Network

Learning to Say "We": Writing Identity

In this immersion, we will reflect and expand on our personal experiences of identity, using writing exercises and in-depth discussions to think about, challenge, discover, explore, and experiment with different ways to identify ourselves, to consider how those ways connect us to and separate us from others, and how they represent and misrepresent aspects of who we are.

Four sessions, starting June 15th

Get the latest from Ritualwell

Subscribe for the latest rituals, online learning opportunities, and unique Judaica finds from our store.