Preserve the memory of your loved one with a plaque on our Yahrzeit Wall. Learn More ->

Search
Close this search box.

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

“There is a war going on, / with battle aims that are different…”
a person walks in a lit field
“I cannot find the words / I seek…”
a child sleeping
This new poem uses the imagery of water through a faucet to capture the feeling of waiting for the captives to be released.
a water droplet
“Try not to think / of the children who are not getting their baths, / who are not getting their parents.”
person wearing brown tallit silhouetted against the sunset
“There is a line / drawn by darkness, emboldened by Evil, itself…”
sunshine through a giant cloud illuminating the sky
“We are looking for you. / We will not let you go.”
A woman's silhouette in the window
This new poem honors the complex feeling of Hanukkah this year, 2023/5784.
a silver and blue dreidl
“How do we choose who will live or who will die, what measure do we use / to free them and ourselves from this nightmare…”
two hands reaching to the heavens
“How can a body survive so much spilled blood?”
a rose against blackness
“As Eccesiastics cracked open / the chests of us all / as we watched Sukkot burn…”
light coming through trees

The Reconstructionist Network

Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement

Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues

Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives

Get the latest from Ritualwell

Subscribe for the latest rituals, online learning opportunities, and unique Judaica finds from our store.

The Reconstructionist Network