Opening Prayer: Vigil for the Victims of the Pittsburgh Shooting
The following Opening Prayer was delivered by Rabbi Mark Glickman at the Vigil for the Victims of the Pittsburgh Shooting, held on October 30, 2018 ar Beth Tzedec Congregation, Calgary, Alberta.
O God, we didn’t want to have to be here tonight. We would much rather have been out to dinner, or at the movies, or at home with our families. But the violence that reared its ugly head at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Congregation last Saturday has torn our lives asunder, and we have come together tonight seeking one another’s support as we cry out in grief, in anger, and in fear.
Tonight, our hearts break for the victims and their families. Heal their loved ones, O God; restore the injured to full health, and please, we beseech you, let the memories of the murdered endure as blessings for all eternity.
Tonight, our sympathies are with the Jews and non-Jews of Pittsburgh – may calm and peace soon return to their city and their synagogues.
Tonight, our tears fall along with those of compassionate people everywhere, as we remember that despite the goodness that blossoms all around us, our world remains a broken place.
Tonight, we pray for a better world. But, God, know this and know it well. We will not stop with prayers, for in the wake of Saturday’s bloodshed, prayers alone are far from enough. Instead, as the sound of Saturday’s gunshots still echo through the world, we will take up arms – not guns and knives and other instruments of violence, of course, but our arms, the ones attached to our shoulders. We will reach up, stretching to grasp hold of highest and greatest manifestations of what it means to be human, insisting that the leaders of our nations and communities do what it takes to prevent such acts of violence, and doing what we need to build communities of love and respect. We will reach out in care, as we tend to the fallen, and the wounded and the vulnerable. And we will reach in love toward those around us, just as we do tonight, feeling the warmth and strength of one another’s embraces.
Adonai oz l’amo yitein. O God, give strength to Your people – to good people everywhere – as we work for a kinder, gentler world. Adonai y’varech et amo vashalom. And God, bless Your people – bless all people – with Your gift of peace, and may we find the way to be your active partners in making that blessing become a reality for us all.
Kein y’hi ratzon – so may this be Your will.
– Rabbi Mark Glickman