A Prayer for Tucson

On this Shabbat Shira, the Sabbath of Song,

We sing to God a song of grief

For innocent victims

Cut down too soon.

May their memories be a blessing,

May their lights shine brightly upon us.

Gather them into Your eternal shelter, God,

Your shelter of peace.

We sing to God a song of mourning

For the broken hearts,

The senseless loss, the shock, the emptiness.

Send comfort, God, to the grieving families,

Hear their cries.

Fill them with the courage

To carry on in the face of loss.

We sing to God a song of healing

For the wounded.

Lift them up God,

Ease their pain,

Restore them to strength, to hope, to life.

We sing to God a song of peace

For our nation.

Teach us how to rise above hatred

And cruelty and indifference.

Show us how to live up to the beauty You’ve planted within us.

Let us rise up from this tragedy,

Let us walk together hand in hand

United in hope

On a path of peace, Amen.

Rabbi Naomi Levy is the founder and spiritual leader of Nashuva and author of To Begin Again (Knopf), Talking to God (Knopf) and Hope Will Find You (Doubleday).