An interesting article written by Yasmine Hafiz posted on the the Huffington Post. Muslims are speaking out against extremism.
‘Muslims Condemning Things’ Tumblr Answers A Question That Should Be Obvious.
An interesting article written by Yasmine Hafiz posted on the the Huffington Post. Muslims are speaking out against extremism.
‘Muslims Condemning Things’ Tumblr Answers A Question That Should Be Obvious.
From Jerusalem,
Shabbat Shalom to everyone.
We offer this selection of readings and prayers from the CCAR Israel Solidarity Mission for your use this Shabbat. Please use them with attribution.
These first two prayers were written by liturgist Alden Solovy, inspired by the insights and yearnings of the rabbis who participated in the CCAR Israel Solidarity Mission.
When Peace Comes: A Meditation
When peace comes,
When the tunnels are gone and the walls come down,
When we sing together as brothers and sisters,
We will remember these days of sorrow and grief,
Of rockets and terror,
Of longing and despair,
As a memorial to those who were lost,
As a remembrance of our mourning,
As a monument to our yearning,
On the road to wholeness,
On the road to wisdom,
On the road to our days of rejoicing.
Oh you children of Abraham,
You sons and daughters of Sarah and Hagar,
What will you become?
How long before shalom and salaam
Echo in these hills,
In these valleys and on these shores,
As shouts of awe and amazement?
How long before we remember
To hold each other dear?
One God,
Maker of All,
Banish war from our midst.
Speedily bring forth justice, understanding and love.
Bind these wounds and heal our hearts.
On that day the children of Ishmael
And the children of Isaac
Will dance as one.
Joy will rise to heaven
And gladness will fill the earth.
We are One
My heart breaks when Jews profess their anger, loathing or distain for other Jews.
My heart breaks when Arabs profess their anger, loathing or distain for other Arabs.
My heart breaks when Jews profess their anger, loathing or distain for Arabs.
My heart breaks when Arabs profess their anger, loathing or distain for Jews.
Maker of Peace,
Heal our broken hearts with new vision,
New wisdom and new compassion,
So that we embrace each other with understanding,
With wonder and amazement,
And with love.
Wholeness is our journey,
And wholeness is our destination.
With Your loving hand,
God of Old,
We will find the path.
Let the Jewish people now say, “We are one.”
Let the Arab people now say, “We are one.”
Let Arabs and Jews now say together, “We are one.”
Let all people now say together, “We are one.”
The following prayers come from Rabbi Yehodaya Amir, the Acting Chairperson of MARAM – the Israel Council of Reform Rabbis. The CCAR Israel Solidarity Mission were introduced to these prayers during a t’filah experience with our Israeli colleagues this week in Tel Aviv. We hope to be able to offer English translations in the near future, but in the meantime, here is the original Hebrew.
שאלו שלום ירושלים
תְּפִלָּה בְּעַד עַמֵּנוּ וּבְעַד אַרְצֵנוּ
רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָם, קַבֵּל נָא בְּרָצוֹן אֶת תְּפִלָּתֵנוּ לְמַעַן מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַמָּהּ. הָרֵק אֶת בִּרְכָתְךָ עַל הָאָרֶץ וְעַל כָּל יוֹשְׁבֶיהָ. הֲבִינֵנוּ מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ, וְתֵן בְּלִבֵּנוּ אֶת מוּסַר נְבִיאֶיךָ – “עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם אֱלֹהֶיךָ” (מיכה ו, ח).
הַעֲרֶה רוּחֲךָ עַל כָּל תּוֹשָׁבֵי אַרְצֵנוּ, טַע בָּנוּ סוֹבְלָנוּת וְכָבוֹד הֲדָדִי. עֲקֹר מִתּוֹכֵנוּ שִׂנְאָה, אַלִּימוּת, כְּפִיָּה וְנִצּוּל לְרָע.
פְּרֹשׂ אֶת סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמְךָ עַל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּכָל תְּפוּצוֹתָיו. אָנָּא, תֵּן עֹז בְּנַפְשָׁם לָבוֹא לְאַרְצֵנוּ, וְיָשַׁבְנוּ בָּהּ שֶׁבֶת אַחִים גַּם-יָחַד.
אַמֵּץ אֶת לֵב חַיָּלֵינוּ, מָגִנֵּי אַרְצֵנוּ; וְהָיְתָה רוּחָם עַזָּה, וְנִשְׁקָם – טָהוֹר. שָׁמְרֵם בְּצֵל כְּנָפֶיךָ, הַנְחִילֵם יְשׁוּעָה וְגָבְרוּ עַל אוֹיְבֵינוּ. אַךְ, אָנָּא, תֵּן שָׁלוֹם בָּאָרֶץ וְהִתְבָּרְכוּ בָּהּ כָּל יוֹשְׁבֶיהָ, וְקַיֵּם בִּמְהֵרָה חֲזוֹן נְבִיאֶיךָ: “לֹא יִשָּׂא גּוֹי אֶל גּוֹי חֶרֶב וְלֹא יִלְמְדוּ עוֹד מִלְחָמָה” (ישׁעיהו ב, ד). אָמֵן.
מי שברך לפצועים
מי שברך אבותינו אברהם יצחק ויעקב ואימותינו שרה רבקה רחל ולאה הוא יברך את הפצועים בני שני העמים השוכבים על מיטת חוליים. ייתן ה’ בלב הרופאים המטפלים חכמת לב ושכל טוב, לסעדם לרפאם ולחזק את רוחם; ישרה האל מרוח קדשו על כל קרוביהם ואוהביהם לעמוד לימינם בעת מצוקתם ולהעניק להם אהבה ואמונה; יאמץ ה’ את רוחם לבחור בחיים גם בעת מכאוב וסבל; ישמע ה’ את קול התפילה ויחזקם למען יוסיפו ויידעו שנות בריאות ויצירה, שמחה וברכה. ונאמר: אמן.
מי שברך לחיילי צה”ל
מי שברך את אבותינו אברהם יצחק ויעקב, ואימותינו שרה רבקה רחל ולאה, הוא יברך את חיילי צה”ל ואנשי כוחות הביטחון הנלחמים למען בטחון ישראל ושלומה. יתן להם ה’ עוז לצאת חושים נגד אויבינו הקמים עלינו, ורוח איתנה לשמור על ערכיהם ועל צלמם בעת מבחן זו. יגן ה’ עליהם מכל צרה ומצוקה, למען ישובו בשלום ובשמחה אל משפחותיהם ואל חבריהם, ולמען ימשיכו ויפרחו כבני אדם וחוה וכאזרחי מדינתם.
To our brothers and sisters throughout the world and especially in Israel,
שבת שלום
Baruch Dayan Emet, We mourn over the loss of innocent lives, Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach.
There will be time for other emotions, thoughts, reflections and actions.
But for now, it is time to grieve.
The problems plaguing the VA are a national disgrace. Our treatment of returning wounded veterans is nothing less than shameful.
It is incumbent upon the President of the United States to implement a disaster response to alleviate the backlogs and treat our veterans in need immediately. We are able to provide emergency aid to victims of natural disasters so must we be able to provide for our veterans. Mr. President, it is past time to make a public statement and direct bold swift action.
There is an urgent need to understand what happened and how the system designed to provide support for our wounded went so horribly off the rails. So investigate and correct the system. But the pressing need is to get help our vets who are struggling now. This is not the efficient way to manage the problem, but there are lives at stake. Investigating and managing the problem are secondary to the task of saving veteran’s lives.
This catastrophe is compounded both by the lies and the cover-ups, and also by the anguish and pain endured by our veterans. Certainly the system is horribly broken and we must demand accountability on all levels that permits such corruption to exist. Force resignations, fire others, prosecute criminal activity, conduct investigations and fix this horrible mess. But first, help those desperately in need.
Right now we must focus on getting help to our vets. Get caregivers into the field. If our military with all of it’s extraordinary capabilities or our other disaster response groups such as FEMA cannot do it, then get the Red Cross or Doctors without Borders in to do the job we are unwilling to do. This is a national disgrace and must be addressed now.
Israel at 66: Letter to an Israeli citizen – Al Arabiya News.
A letter from Abdullah Hamidaddin, posted from Al Arabiya News
Soon we will gather around the Seder table and recall our redemption from the suffering of slavery we endured in Egypt. We ask “Why is this night different from others?” This is a particularly profound question for us in this place and time.
We enjoy many blessings. We have prosperity and education; we can live our lives as we choose. We are free. But there are many who are not. What does our freedom mean when there are so many, Jew and non-Jew, who still suffer?
Our tradition teaches us that we are not truly free until all are free. The oppression of slavery comes in many forms including physical, spiritual, and economic. It comes from a sense of hopelessness, the despair that arises when people believe that things cannot get better, that there is only suffering. We are exhorted to help those in need and those who are oppressed to break the shackles that bind them.
We are not truly free until all are free. God’s promise to us is not fulfilled until we deliver on our part of the bargain using our blessings to help others. As we share our prayer “Next Year in Jerusalem,” let us commit to doing our part to help others also reach that profound and great place.