Beloved Friends,
I cannot help but reach out to all of you in the midst of the horrific violence, physical and verbal, that has been unleashed and the attack on the core of our democracy. Even still, I am heartened by the story of Moses as it unfolds in the Torah portion for this week. Moses encounters God through a burning bush in the wilderness. Our sages of blessed memory taught that the bush had been burning for a very long time. It was only Moses who could sense something awesome and good in the hostile environment that is the desert. He saw the good. Even now, on this very dark day, let us not forget the good that is in our lives and in our country and in our world. I want to share with you a prayer that moved me. Let us be strong and of good courage. There is hope for a much better tomorrow.
A New Prayer for Our Country/ A Prayer for Our New Country: On Beginning the Book of Exodus
By Rabbi Danielle Upbin
We the people, One nation under God, turn to You, our Protector, our Rock and Redeemer.
Guide us through the Exile of what this nation has become.
A nation we no longer recognize – a time of darkness, plague, death and distortion.
Salvage Truth, who has become a stifled mute, drowning offshore in the shadows of Lady Liberty’s torch.
God of our Ancestors, You once answered the agonized cry of an enslaved people,
writhing under the hardship of tortuous taskmasters.
You remembered them, performed miracles for them, and raised them up to be Your people.
God who pierced through history with a Strong Hand and an Outstretched Arm, remember us.
Bless us with Your Grace and saving power.
Amidst the tumult of a teetering democracy, we cry out now.
From the horror that is a land of fear, dividing our country, we ask: Ad matai? How much suffering is enough?
This, too, is a prayer.
We, who had been standing on the precipice of a new beginning, a vaccine of hope,
ask that You see us through to a life of peace, healing and reconciliation for all.
Ha’Makom – God of this Place and of all Places,
Our America is also Holy Ground.
We have turned to see, but the fire is raging and consuming.
Deliver us on Eagle’s wings, the symbol of this great Nation.
Hineni. We are ready.
God above, protect our democracy and our ideals, shelter our institutions and our nation’s leaders.
Free us, save us, redeem us, deliver us, and bring us to safety. Amen.
