A KaddishThe Aramaic memorial prayer for the dead. Mourners recite this prayer at every service, every day, in the presence of a minyan (prayer quorum) over the course of a year (for a parent) or thirty days (for a sibling or offspring). The prayer actually makes no mention of the dead, but rather prays for the sanctification and magnification of God's name.
When the souls made their passage
Into Your hands I entrust my spirit
All the words
jumped off the page
The white fire turned soft bluish-green
The black fire set new against the white fire.
Bluish-green
Color of souls finding their way home.
At the time I lie down
And the time I rise up
G*d is with me
I shall not fear.
I had to pause after that
The words relaxed
They were banging all over the room.
I might have been swallowed up into the ground then
My feet heavy with the weight of my own soul
Settling into my body.
Pray the souls courage for the journey to the ancestors
And the meeting with G*d.
Honor the vessels that accompany the souls
Vessels working so hard to house souls
Because our souls
Are flamboyant
Hard to contain
They burn bluish-green
And light up
From within
Our holy bodies
Temples bodies palaces.
Blessed be the soul
as it leaves the Temple of body
as it makes its way home to the ancestors
who inhabit a far-away place
far away from
Detroit Buffalo JerusalemLit. City of peace From the time of David to the Roman destruction, Jerusalem was the capital of Israel and the spiritual and governmental center of the Jewish people. During the long exile, Jews longed to return to Jerusalem and wrote poems, prayers, and songs about the beloved city. In 1967, with the capture of the Old City, Jerusalem was reunited, becoming "the eternal capital of Israel." Still, the longing for peace is unfulfilled.
where they once dwelled.
