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Communal Tragedy

Memorial wall with photos and plaques honoring Yitzhak Rabin at Tel Aviv assassination site.

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

Unprayer for Uvalde

“I am tired of praying to a silent God”
  • by Sara Stock Mayo
gun violence, Uvalde
Silhouette of a person standing by a large window with a tiled wall background, looking outside.

To the Lawmakers after Mass Shootings

“Don’t bring your flowers”
  • by Cantor Vera Broekhuysen
gun violence, Uvalde
A hand holding a polished, striped stone against a blurred background.

Love is More Potent Than Guns

“I will never normalize mass death”
  • by Nick Pipitone
gun violence, Uvalde
A group of people in colorful sweaters join hands in a circle.

After Uvalde: The Court of the Innocent

The Court of the Innocent has lost faith in us: a rebuke from the gates of heaven
  • by Alden Solovy
gun violence, Uvalde
A group of people standing in a close circle, embracing each other in a church setting.

Prayer for Guidance and Protection in Times of Fear

“We lean into Your guidance / like wobbly-legged toddlers.”
  • by Karen Erlichman, D.Min., LCSW
healing, violence
A person in a white outfit gazes upward against a cloudy sky.

Black Holes: For Uvalde

“We cannot live in constant sorrow”
  • by Martha Hurwitz
gun violence, Uvalde
Person with a tripod on a desert at night, gazing at the starry sky with scattered clouds.

Finding the Words

“No altars for candles and teddy bears. / No petitions, angry protests, or briefings.”
  • by Rabbi Nina Mandel
gun violence, Uvalde, violence
Open notebook with handwritten notes and a silver fountain pen resting on its pages.

May the Earth Reflect the Heavens: A Prayer for Change

“A heavenly court grows… / They bear witness to / Our ongoing news cycle”
  • by Rabbi David G. Winship
gun violence, Uvalde
Silhouetted trees against a golden sunset sky with wispy clouds.

At My Kid’s Gymnastics Class I Read the News from Texas

Poem in response to school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, May 24, 2022
  • by Hila Ratzabi
grief, gun violence, guns, Uvalde
A row of lit candles with warm, glowing flames in a dimly lit setting.

Kaddish for Aylan

“it cannot be a still small voice”
  • by Elizabeth Caplun
justice, kaddish, refugees
Birds-eye view of a sandy beach with gentle waves rolling in from a turquoise ocean under a cloudy sky.
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