In memory of the victims of yesterday's hate crime at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, here's the traditional Jewish prayer, Kaddish, recited for the dead.
May the souls of the victims rest in peace: and may anti-Semitism, which is just another form of the even more ancient evils of racism and sectarianism, be cursed along with them in the sight of God and humankind. May those who espouse such views come to their senses before another such evil is perpetrated. That's a pipe dream, I know . . . but it's still worth praying for.
Peter
While the sentiment is appreciated, a slight correction is in order. The Kaddish prayer (as the linked Wikipedia article explains) is not a prayer for the dead but a hymn of praise used in various forms in different places in Jewish liturgy. Its use by mourners is the most well-known but is not its primary function.
ReplyDeleteThis particular variant in the video is not the “mourners’ Kaddish” but rather the version with which major sections of the daily prayers are concluded, and the melody is a celebratory one, used during the holiday prayers.