Ribbono Shel Olam
Holy One, Creator of All Things
In the beginning
You spoke
there was light
And there was darkness
And there was life
You were manifest as
Ruach Elohim
The Wind
The Spirit
The very breath of existence
And you formed us
the human being
from clay
And you animated us with
the breath of life
To live is to breathe
Ribbono Shel Olam, Ruach Elohim
Creator of All Things and Breath of All Life
The voice of your children
Cry out to you from this earth
We are struggling to breathe.
A mysterious virus – also part of life, and creation
is stealing our breath.
We must stand apart from one another
Our breath, our voices, are straining behind masks
to keep us safe
And we weep for 100,000 of your children in our nation who have died.
We wail for hundreds of thousands more across the globe.
And we pray for those who are ill and struggling.
But Dear God,
Most of all we cry out in rage
For the murder we have committed ourselves
The breaths WE have stolen from your children
Because of the brutally racist and inequitable systems we have built.
How many of your children have died needlessly?
How many have died because they were poor?
How many who were living in the streets
How many who lacked health care access?
How many health care workers who lacked protection?
How many low-wage workers who had no choice, and also had no protection?
How many who languished in unsafe nursing homes?
How many people with disabilities?
How many because we caged them in prisons?
How many because they were migrants in detention,
Or refugees with no home?
How many because they were Black, or Brown, or Native American?
The voice of our sisters
And of our brothers’ blood
cries out to us from the earth
Voice from blood and not from breath;
Because their breath was taken –
and we failed them.
And George Floyd
“I can’t breathe”
Amidst all of this.
The reminder of countless Black people
whose breath is stolen from them
by the brutally racist and inequitable systems
We have built.
God forgive us.
Ribbono Shel Olam, Ruach Elohim
Creator of All Things and Breath of All Life
We know that death is part of life
And sickness along with health
Forgive us,
But demand from us O God
Require us
To treasure Your gift of breath
To love, and protect, and care for
Every one of your children
Let not one more breath be stolen
From a person
Because we failed You once again.
In the beginning
You spoke
And there was light
And there was darkness
And there was life
May we bring forth Your light
in the darkness
And where there is death
Choose Life
Amen
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner represents the Reform Movement to Congress and the administration as the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. He also serves as the senior vice president of the Union for Reform Judaism. Named one of the most influential rabbis in America, he has been an inspirational leader, creative entrepreneur, and tireless advocate for social justice.
