Communal Tragedy

As individuals, we all know pain and loss. It is the rare person who escapes sorrow. But when one of us hurts, others are there to offer comfort. Communal tragedy is different. When something bad happens to us as a community—whether that is a school, a town, a people, or a country—we struggle to figure out how to tend to our own wounds while taking care of each other. Drawing on compassion, empathy, justice, and love, we can bring out the best in each other, and perhaps, find a theology of hope in the midst of despair.

Latest Rituals

“We turn to our avodah, / Our Holy Service…”
new mexico desert
“In truth, / I just want them home…”
the contrast of darrk and light on a building made of Jerusalme stone
“And I believe her, / as I march with her colors. / Next time she’ll march with mine…”
The author and her friend march together
“And I wish / The fields of Israel’s kalaniot — red poppies — / Were all that were needed to generate peace”
a field of red poppies
“When did the word ‘love’ become a trigger?”
sunset
“The ones who say Zionism is a dirty word, / The ones who choose death on your account, / They only see the ‘ism.'”
View of the negev desert with a small tree
“Please one who receives, crack me open so all I do is open…”
a person stands on a beach with arms open wide
“Hashem yereicham, Source of Mercy and comfort, be with us now…”
a prayer book on a lectern with a Star of David
“This is the first year I thought, how old were those children?”
a brown feathered hawk
“May each life be treated as a sacred treasure, as You have intended.”
three hands--one with brown skin, one with white skin, one with black skin touch each other over the image of a world map

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