Mi sheberach Avoteinu veimateinu.
May the Holy One Ancient of Days Who Blessed our ancestors turn and Bless victims, survivors, mourners, supporters, workers, and friends at this time of distress and in the face of this great devastating flood.
May the Holy One whose powers can melt mountains like wax also shine healing and strength to those crying out in need and dislocation.
To the One who raised Israel out of the Mighty Waters on the Wings of eagles and saved Moses as he floated on the river, turn toward those who now must part the waters that surround their homes and communities and grant them dry land on which to begin life again.
To the Holy One Who Listens that turn the bitter war into sweet healing and who granted Miriam, the prophetess, the vision, compassion and energy to create a well of blessing turn us into one who will open up our arms and stretch out our hands to embrace assist and sustain those shocked into need.
To the One who sank Jonah to the bottom of the sea and tossed him about beneath the waves and provided refuge for him now turn to those who have seen the wind blow and the rains deluge and give them refuge, let them also challenge the cities near and far to help them renew and reestablish great good and bounty of our land.
To You Who rocked Noah and terrified him as he floated over the mass of destruction, Turn the Curse into Blessing and Create a new rainbow, a crescent this time not woven only by light but by the multitude, different faces, languages, sounds, and tempos that make up our multicolored nation.
May the One who renews life restore us as days of old by blessing us as dreamers that can see through this bleak moment to a brighter day to come.
Al-Mei M’nuchot Yinahalayni
Nafshi Yishovayv
“You lead me beside the still waters and renew my soul” Psalms 23
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. To what extent is this prayer and request for help from God and to what extent is it a rally for human activism? Do the two go hand-in-hand?
2. How does the author invoke biblical imagery to advocate for intervention and rescue of Katrina victims and survivors?
3. How does the Katrina narrative fit into, or stray away from, the narratives of other environmental catastrophes presented in this prayer?
Time Period: Contemporary (The Yom Kippur War until the present-day)