To help Jewish youth process the ceasefire deal in Gaza and the hostage release, Moving Traditions offers you this excerpt of a new special edition curriculum.
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Prayers for This Moment
SAY:
For many of us and for the world, the news of the ceasefire and the return of the hostages is a mix of joy, relief and then also questions, worries, and even grief and fear. On the one hand, everyone wants to see a peaceful future for Israel, Gaza, and the world and so many of us have been praying for the release of the hostages and the end of war for a long time. On the other hand, we may all have very different opinions on what should happen next, worries about what will happen next, and concerns about whether this cessation of war will last. We may also be mourning the many, many lives that were lost on Oct 7 and during the two years of war including those of the hostages who will not return alive.
Our tradition has prayers for occasions similar to this, though no one prayer can truly express all of the different responses we might have in this historic. We’re going to read the selections of prayers and discuss the questions below.
These prayers use a lot of “God language.” I am not necessarily expecting everyone to believe in God. You may believe in some kind of higher power, or you may believe in the goodness of humanity as a whole, or you may not believe in anything. All of that is OK. For thousands of years, Jews have expressed hopes, dreams, fears, and values through the language of the siddur. That tends to use the language of God, but that does not mean Jews throughout all of history have believed. You can find meaning, values, or poetry in the language of prayer, regardless of whether you believe literally in God or not.
Prayers for the Moment
Questions for Discussion:
- Which prayers do you think contain a meaningful message for today?
- What kinds of values, ideas, or themes do you see expressed in these prayers? Which ones resonate with you? Which ones do not?
This was an excerpt. The full session includes additional context setting, exercises to help teens process, and an opportunity for teens to write their own prayers for Israel and the world.