El Malei Rachamim
A prayer by Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld which includes mourning the lives of Palestinians as well:
God full of mercy,
Womb of the world,
In whom there is room enough
for all life to flourish
From whom there is blessing enough
For all life to be nourished –
We call out to You,
broken-hearted.
Shochen bameromim
You who dwell on High
Beyond the borders of loyalty and love
that make us human —
Hearing what we cannot
Holding what we cannot
Healing what we cannot —
Help us.
Hamtzeh menucha nechona
tachat kanfei hashechina
Grant perfect rest
Beneath the wings of Your Presence
To the precious innocent souls —
Israeli and Palestinian,
Jewish and Muslim,
Christian, Bedouin, and Druze,
Migrant workers from around the world —
Who have lost their lives
to the ravages of war
during this past year.
Shelter those who witnessed unspeakable brutality
And whose walls could not protect them.
Carry those who were caught or cornered,
unable to escape destruction, degradation, despair.
Lift up those who searched for sustenance or safety,
longing for the embrace of home.
B’ma’alot kedoshom utehorim
K’zohar harakiyah mazhirim
May those souls
who are with you now
be granted a glimpse of the world as You see it —
shimmering
everywhere
with the light of Your presence.
B’Gan Eden tehei menuchatam.
May they find rest and comfort
In Your holy Garden.
Ana ba’al ha Rachamim
Please,
O Master of Mercy,
Yastire’hem b’seter kenafecha l’olamim
Vitzror biztror hachaim et nishmotehem
Hide them beneath the cover of your wings, forever,
And let their souls be bound up with ours,
Summoning us all to righteousness
And hope renewed.
Adonai hu nachalatam
V’yanuchu v’shalom al mishkavam
May Your unending love be their inheritance.
May their eternal resting place be Your peace.
And let us say:
Amen.
Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld

