In solidarity and compassion
the hearts of Squirrel Hill turn to ColleyvilleÂ
knowing all too well the stain of terror in sacred space
Â
Throughout the ages, there have been many who have risen upÂ
with these same evil intentions
but never onceÂ
were our people beaten backÂ
retreating into dark corners
making ourselves small
We have had and will continue to have
the audacity to remain alive
Â
This past Shabbat we sang the song of the sea
The one that carried our people
across the shores from slavery to freedom
We did not know then what dangers could occur
in the crevice of land amidst the waves
nor what lay on the other side
but we had already traversed the barren desert
and knew narrow space before
so, we had the imagination to envision
that new worlds were possibleÂ
Â
On this Tu Bi’shevat
as the almond blossoms are just beginning to flower
in the ancient cities of our ancestorsÂ
we open our hearts to a community that most of usÂ
had only just learned the name of
this past Shabbat
Â
We continue with them to bloom and flourish
even in the harshest of conditions
and in places where nothing grows
For millennia
our roots have pushed their way up through the cracks
time and time again
Â
Dreaming is in our bones
Â
From Pittsburgh to Poway to Berlin to Colleyville
and all of the places and times in betweenÂ
2018 and now
we are links in a chain that no one wanted to connect
of unimaginable lived experienceÂ
and generational traumaÂ
Â
Where once we had grand illusions of safety
we have come to discover that we are inextricably woven into our collective history
come to repeat itself in unwelcome ways
We have the reluctant opportunity to remind ourselves
that survival is our destiny
Â
We sing a new Mi Hamokha in your names today
for you have crossed the sea and come to the other side
bearing the scars of your journeyÂ
Â
Today, we plant new trees
that will grow in spite of all we have witnessedÂ
Our children will be the flowers we produce
and they will have the gift of eternal song
in wide open fields of freedom
in wide open fields of freedom
