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.

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“For more than a year now, / you’ve been with me everywhere…”
“Peace does not look like a dove / or a palm branch in the Old City…” 
“May the One who makes peace in the heavens / Bring peace to us, to our children, / To our communities, And to this broken world.”
“Your story is not over; your life is larger than this. / We’re listening.”
“bullets have shattered / the land of make believe…”
“The world is a narrow bridge, we sing in response /  But we are not afraid.” 
“may we atone our sins / and learn to embrace life, and each other, once again…”
“When I open my mouth no sound comes out..”
“May the souls so callously severed from their bodies find shelter, refuge, in the hidden space beneath Your wings.”
This poem is dedicated to Eden Yerushalmi & Carmel Gat.

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