Death and Mourning
After another day of horror, this one in New York City, here is a prayer for the victims and their family and friends. Sadly, this one, too, is equally appropriate: “Liturgy after Terror Attacks.” May we never need prayers such as these again. For Manhattan, New York Author of life, Source and Creator, Grant a perfect rest under Your tabernacle of peace To the victims of the massacre in Manhattan, Whose lives were cut off by violence, In a rampage of aggression beyond understanding, Targeted by vehemence and hate. May their souls be bound up in the bond of life, A living... Read More
At least 58 people are dead in the wake of the worst mass shooting in modern American history. Again and in ever more terrifying ways, gun violence has shaken the United States to its core. We mourn. We come together. We offer words of condolence in an attempt to somehow address the compounding and boundless scope of grief and the scale of innocent human lives lost. But, writes Daryl Messinger, chair of the Union for Reform Judaism, “[Each] time, the country goes back to business as usual. As the body count grows, with new scenes of senseless slaughter, nothing changes. Thoughts, prayer,... Read More
Yitgadal v'yitkadash sh'may rabba... Exalted and Holy be Your great name... Yet little feels holy today. Another mass shooting An incomprehensible horror Too many dead and too many wounded And we are left to mourn the dead to heal the wounded to wonder why? ...b’alma di v'ra chirutei… …in the world which You God created, according to plan… But is this part of Your plan? That death and destruction emerges from the free will You entrusted to us That automatic gunfire rains down unceasingly That people kill people, using weapons we designed and created with the... Read More
It’s always difficult to whittle down the list of influential Jews who died in a given year, but this year the task seemed to be especially tough. The number of Jews who left historic marks on their fields — and, more broadly, on Jewish culture — was remarkable. As 5777 draws to a close, here are some members of the tribe — representing areas as diverse as pop culture to politics — we've mourned since last Rosh HaShanah. Carrie Fisher, 60 Most know Carrie Fisher because of her iconic role as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars films, but her tumultuous career extended... Read More
Anita Diamant is the author of 12 books, including six guidebooks to contemporary North American Jewish practice and her best-selling novels, The Red Tent and The Boston Girl. In the past two years, she has updated Choosing a Jewish Life, The Jewish Wedding Now, and Saying Kaddish (to be published in 2018). Diamant is the founding president of Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh and Education Center in Newton, MA. She and her husband, Jim Ball, are members of Congregation Beth El of the Sudbury River Valley in Sudbury, MA. ReformJudaism.org: In updating and revising your books... Read More
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