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In the wake of the events of October 7, 2023, many of us in the global Jewish community have found ourselves longing for liturgical language to speak to the sense of loss, hopelessness, and heartbreak we have felt over the past year. The following words are an adaptation of El Malei Rachamim (“God full of compassion”), a prayer traditionally recited over the dead at funerals and during Yizkor on Yom Kippur, created by Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, President of Hebrew College.

Our needs are not always primary. In fact, to be a good ally and a good steward of Creation, we must put the needs of others ahead of our own.

We all must work towards a more just society, understanding and accepting that we will never attain perfection.

Yeshayahu Leibowitz wrote, “The uniqueness of the People Israel is not a fact; it is a task. The holiness of Israel is not a reality but a role.” If Jews are to express some sense of being “treasured,” we need new religious perspectives recognizing everyone as created in God’s image.

We offer these texts, sermon ideas, articles, talking points, and insights about the Israel-Hamas war and its reverberating effects to make it a little easier to meet the needs of your community at a tremendously difficult time. 

The world becomes more dangerous when leaders cannot be trusted and incontrovertible facts are subject to manipulation. Our responsibility, both as leaders and as citizens who elect them, is to value accountability.

We are not just meant to see the good land, but the whole of it, even what is hard to look at. And when we witness injustice, bitterness, and badness, we are meant to take up the sacred task of picking up the shattered pieces of destruction and building something good, building something worth gazing upon.

As we travel into the unknown wilderness of our shared future, may we clearly articulate what we need from our leadership and insist that we be led by wisdom, capable experience, and the commitment to equity for all.

The necessary work of teshuva cannot be completed by one individual alone. Rather, our mandate to uphold God’s name “in truth, in justice and in righteousness” can only be achieved through collective action.

The daughters of Zelophehad had previously been disenfranchised by the system but were able to advocate for themselves and not only did God heed their request, God changed the law entirely. We must act as the daughters of Zelophehad and reconcile the injustices we find.