Rabbi Marc Soloway shares "A Prayer for the People of Haiti" by his colleague Rabbi Naomi Levy.

A Prayer for the People of Haiti

“A Prayer for the People of Haiti” by my colleague Rabbi Naomi Levy:

We pray for Haiti.
Our hearts are breaking, God.
The human mind cannot grasp the enormity of the loss.
The cries echo through the universe.
Innocent blood is calling us
To rise up from our heartbreak and act.
We pray for Haiti.
Help us, God,
To understand that destruction can come in a moment
But healing may take a lifetime.
Teach us perseverance, teach us dedication.
We pray for Haiti.
God of the weak, God of the broken-hearted,
God of the living, God of the dead,
Send healing to Haiti.
Send hope to the children who are lost and alone,
Send strength and resilience to the wounded,
And comfort to the grieving.
Fill the leaders of Haiti with the wisdom to raise their country up.
Fill relief workers with resolve.
Bless the doctors and nurses with the power
And the skill to save as many lives as possible.
Open their eyes, steady their hands.
We pray for Haiti.
Bless us, God,
Work through us.
Remind us that every one of us is filled with the power to heal.
Do not let the passage of time lead us to indifference.
Open our hearts, open our hands.
We pray for Haiti.
Let all nations unite as one in a time of reconstruction and repair.
Raise up the people of Haiti, God, out of helplessness and despair.
Teach them to believe
That cities shall be rebuilt on their ruins
That the cries of the children will soon return to laughter.
Be with them, God, watch over them.
And gather the souls of the dead
Whose homes and schools became their graves
Into Your eternal shelter,
Let them find peace in Your presence, God.
We pray for Haiti.
Amen.

About Rabbi Marc Soloway

Marc is a native of London, England where he was an actor and practitioner of complimentary medicine before training as a rabbi in London, Jerusalem and Los Angeles. He was ordained at the Ziegler School of Rabbinical Studies at the American Jewish University in 2004 and has been the the spiritual leader at Bonai Shalom in Boulder ever since. Marc was a close student of Rabbi Zalman Schechter Shalomi and received an additional smicha (rabbinic ordination) from him in 2014, just two months before he died. He has been the host and narrator of two documentary films shown on PBS; A Fire in the Forest: In Search of the Baal Shem Tov and Treasure under the Bridge: Pilgrimage to the Hasidic Masters of Ukraine. Marc is a graduate of the Institute of Jewish Spirituality, a fellow of Rabbis Without Borders, has traveled to Ghana in a rabbinic delegation with American Jewish World Service and co-chair of the Rabbinical Council and national board member of Hazon, which strives to create more sustainable Jewish communities. In 2015, Marc was among a group of 12 faith leaders honored at The White House as “Champions of Change” for work on the climate. Marc is a proud member of Beit Izim, Boulder’s Jewish goat milking co-op.

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