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July 21, 2016 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Below you'll find a prayer I wrote in honor of the victims of the Dallas shooting which I'll be reading at a vigil today organized by the Perth Amboy Chaplain Corps. I will be speaking on this prayer (and the sources quoted) during my talk tonight.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ari Saks
Adonai Elohei Haruchot L'khol Basar, God, Source of the breath of all flesh (Numbers 27:15)
You breathed your spirit into the nostrils of the First Human (Genesis 2:7)
Imbuing our earthly bodies with your heavenly spirit (Rashi on Genesis 2:7)
A pure spirit (Talmud Masekhet B'rakhot 60b; Birkhot Hashahar)
So as long as I breathe, I acknowledge Your Presence (Talmud Masekhet B'rakhot 60b; Birkhot Hashahar)
Lord in this moment of hamas, of anger and hostility (Genesis[...]
Category : American Jewish News home Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : #BlackLivesMatter breathe dallas Police prayer rabbi rabbi's journal shooting
April 21, 2016 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
I never held a pistol before, let alone carried one in a gun holster snug tightly against my hip. Yet there I was, a rabbi and a police chaplain, armed in a training simulator at the Middlesex County Police training center to get a taste of what police officers experience on a daily basis. The wall length screen in front of me projected scenarios that police face, from traffic stops of armed bikers and arrest warrant fugitives to domestic violence calls. It was sobering, surreal even, to encounter these individuals on the screen who, through the wonders of technology, seemed so real. As our Captain said, even though you know it's not real your heart rate will increase as[...]
Category : Ari-archive Tag : God Guns high holidays passover Perth Amboy Police Chaplain Corps Police power rabbi rabbi's journal training