Communal Tragedy

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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

“I pray for peace in every heart / In every living thing”
“I cradled your / black-inked letters, letters overflowing with infinity…”
“When will You lie us down in peace? When will these hakafot of violence end?”
“Inspire them to turn their swords into plowshares, / to turn their callousness into empathy.” 
“Bring them home. /I will be here Waiting / Ready / For their return, like a tidal wave.”
“Loved ones and friends, and / strangers– / in a blink, in a flash, forever lost. / This day, today…”
“The cries that carry / from one end  of the earth / to the other.”
“To our friends and family / From the windswept Golan / To the sands of the Arava: / We hold you in our hearts”
“What happened to our prayers, O God? Did You hear them? When? Who? Where?”

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