At Shabbat services this past weekend, Rabbi Noyo shared some poignant poems and other kavanot (intentions) for our prayers. You can read them here.
Peace in Israel
by Jennifer Rudick Zunikoff
Peace in Israel
Is the Shabbat Queen
arriving in the valley near Tzfat
Smiling and fragrant
Late Friday afternoon
Peace in Israel
Is bright sunshine and steady rain,
Each in its season
Peace in Israel
Is wells full of water in Be’er Sheva
And fingers on prayers
in the crevices of the Kotel
Peace in Israel
Is a quiet sigh at the top of Masada
And laughter beneath
the waterfall in Ein Gedi
Peace in Israel
Is planting olive trees with
Arab neighbors at sunrise
And sharing glowing lights
sweet challah and wine on Shabbat
Peace in Israel
Is lying down
where no one can terrify you
And waking up to your children
singing the morning Sh’ma
Bring Them Home
by Adva Chattler
I’m empty. Dry.
Like a drained riverbed
in the heat of the desert sun.
I am emptied out,
my water taken away –
buckets
filled with my precious
drops of life.
Each drop,
a world of its own –
a life
taken captive, fate unknown.
Taken captive, dead and gone.
Taken captive
and I am here
to mourn.
Now I beg
Now I pledge
Now I pray
Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu chei ha’olamim matir asurim.
Blessed are you God, life of all the worlds, who makes the captive free.
Bring them home.
I will be here
Waiting
Ready
For their return,
like a tidal wave.
Hallel in a Minor Key
by Alden Solovy and Cantor Sue Horowitz
Praise God from the heights of rejoicing.
Praise God from the depths of despair.
Praise God from the places between.
Praise God when plague stalks our days.
Praise God when fear stalks our nights.
Praise God when the darkness descends.
We sing praises in a minor key
The key of heartbreak
With tropes of lamentation
But still praises
For beauty has not been lost
And hope has not been defeated,
And love still shines,
A beacon of tomorrow.
Hal’luyah hal’lu avdei Adonai, hal’lu et shem Adonai.
Praise God from joy and blessing.
Praise God from sorrow and pain.
Praise God from the places between.
Praise God when God feels distant.
Praise God when God feels absent.
Praise God when the darkness descends.
We sing praises in a minor key
The key of heartbreak
With tropes of lamentation
But still praises
For beauty has not been lost
And hope has not been defeated,
And love still shines,
A beacon of tomorrow.
Hal’luyah hal’lu avdei Adonai, hal’lu et shem Adonai.
A Prayer for Peace and Reconciliation for Israelis, Palestinians, and all People
by Rabbi Sam Feinsmith
Master of compassion and forgiveness, Cosmic Majesty Who is peace—
Teach us Your ways,
Show us the path that preserves life.
Take note, O God, for we are suffering deeply.
Our guts are wrenched,
Our hearts are turning within us.
Violence has devoured outside, and inside it feels deathly.
When enemies rose up against us to kill our babes,
Courageous, precious children, full of the light of life, shining like the radiance of the sky,
Our hearts became angry, our vision lost its strength,
and our spirits sunk.
And still we turn to you—
God, please!
Plant a steadfast reminder of our inherited mission in our hearts—
To be a compassionate people descended from compassionate people,
Pursuers of peace and harmony, keepers of God’s way to do charity and justice,
Despisers of revenge and begrudging,
Lovers of forgiveness and pardon,
The ones who unremittingly declare that “humans are precious, for they were created in Your Image.”
Place moderation, compassion, and forbearance in our hearts and in the hearts of the Palestinian people.
Guard our tongues from hate speech, and our lips from speaking to incite wickedness.
Help us to return to You fully,
So that we will finally understand that there is no hope in perpetual violence.
Place counsel and discernment in the hearts of our leaders,
And guide them on the path of peace, so that they may choose a path that promotes life for the benefit of all Your creations.
In the midst of intense anger, remind us all to be compassionate.
For you are the one who heals the broken-hearted and binds their wounds.
Heal us, God, that we may be fully healed.
Save us, so that we may be worthy of being saved.
God please create the conditions for healing for all of the bereft mothers who are sobbing over their precious children,
Innocent babes who were swept away in the torrent of hatred as intense as death itself between the Children of Israel and the Children of Yishmael.
My heart is pained, my heart is deeply pained for their loss.
My eye, my eye is ceaselessly flowing with tears.
Must the sword consume forever?
For how long must this continue, God?
Please!
Reveal Yourself fully, and spread over all of us the shelter of Your peace,
And may wickedness disappear from the face of the earth.
For you are the Master of compassion and forgiveness.
Blessed are you, God, Master of Peace and Reconciliation.