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

The World and Our Place Within it, in Three Parts

“Through the hundreds of mitzvot / You are trying to teach us / How to live a life / In reverence of interconnection…”

anger, awareness, climate crisis, courage, environment, war

Hand holding a glass ball reflecting a pink magnolia tree

Pittsburgh: A Trial Begins

“Four and a half years have passed / Much of the world seems to have / forgotten / But we never will”

dandelion fluff blowing in the wind

Prayer for Israel’s Present and Future

“May we remember that there is no future for any of us without all of us.”

view from above of the mediterranean coast at Jaffa

A Prayer for a Mass Shooting, Before You Know What is Going On

“When the time comes, grant us wisdom, fortitude and stamina.”

a woman in a ponytail silhouetted against a white wall

Be Safe: Prayer for Those Affected by Floods in California

“Be safe, / Be warm, / Be dry”

environment, natural disaster

flooded street in forest with sign that reads road closed by flood and another sign that reads causeway and another sign that reads give way

On the second night of Hanukkah the miracle is Ukraine

“On the land / we were forbidden to light / candles, they now burn / under rocket-fire”

hanukkah, Ukraine

close up of five hanukkah candles burning in the dark

Ceremony: For Sandy Hook, After 10 Years

“Teach us to spin apart the light in this dark.”

grief, mass shooting, Sandy Hook, Uvalde

person holding lit tea light candle near rows of other lit tea lights

Shekhinah’s Lament

“In a field of lilies trampled by warriors / the Shekhinah weeps”

peace, Shekhinah, war

close up of light yellow-white lilies with black background

Against Gun Violence

“The voice of lamentation echoes across the land”

gun violence, guns, justice

A tealight candle burning on a snowy surface.

After Roe: A Havdalah Ritual for Losing Abortion Access

Ritual to acknowledge loss of abortion access

abortion, America, feminism, gender, social justice

Silhouette of a person blowing out a candle against a vivid blue background.