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.
“Allah, Adonai – please give ear to us”
Poem by Israeli peace activist on war with Gaza
“Shalom, salaam – the only victory”
“our eyes clouded / By rocket fire”
“Today we pray in the name of the children”
“and so we forget our own house / and walk in g-d’s”
Prayer for those who lost their lives in the Mount Meron stampede on Lag B’Omer, April 29, 2021
“Dear God, help us look, / look closer so that we may see / our children in their children”
Prayer in response to shooting in Atlanta on March 16, 2021
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