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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

Rabbi David Mark offers a teaching following the deaths of six hostages killed in Gaza.
a white rose set against a black background
“For the length of a medical visit my imagination roamed the wreckage of another’s mind and hers, mine…” 
silver stethoscpe
“they are far / unreachable / underground…”
an empty desert landscape
“My mikveh is gone and swallowed up in this dark place. Where can I find peace?”
Rolling, mist-covered mountains at sunrise with autumnal forest in the foreground.
“We will weep through as many nights as we must…”
tents camped in the desert
“I will teach you the melody of my Echa, together we will sit on the ground and mourn for the peace of Jerusalem.”
a person sits on a rock in the desert
what does ethereal mean / when is the pool open for lap swimming / what’s happening in the middle east
a person's finger is touching a search bar's magnifying glass icon against a gray background
“We do not want to choose whose child will live and whose will die.”
two children playing in a pond
“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

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