Thanksgiving

Blessed Yah, Creator, Created, Creating...

We pray for peace,

For ourselves and the world,

Even if only for one day:

Instead of anger, we choose kindness.

Instead of revenge, we choose justice.

Instead of resentment, we choose empathy.

Instead of work, we choose rest.

Instead of ideology, we choose compromise.

Instead of destruction, we choose community.

Instead of fear, we choose endurance.

Instead of invective, we choose prayer.

Instead of violence, we choose peace.

Blessed Yah, Creator, Created, Creating...

We give thanks for this day of peace.

May it change us, may it change the world,

And let us say, Amen.

Abraham Joshua Heschel. a rabbi who marched for civil rights alongside Martin Luther King, Jr

Wrote that morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings,

That indifference to evil is worse than evil itself

That in a free society, some are guilty but all are responsible

May we continue to practice tikkun olam, repairing the world

May we continue to practice, gemilut chasidim, acts of lovingkindness

May we continue to practice tzedakah, just giving

May we recognize that all beings are created equal, b'tzelem elohim, in the image of the divine

May we walk away today knowing that each of us has the power to create change.

by Deanna Neil

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Urim Sameach. Tonight we are attempting something that I don't believe has ever been done before - a Chanukah Seder. We are incorporating Shabbat and Chanukah blessings and songs, and adding in some new ways to honor the holiday as modeled by the Passover Seder, which was itself modeled after the concept of a Greek Symposium. We encourage full participation in the seder as a whole, but that also means opportunities to talk amongst yourselves at your tables, shouting out responses to things in this haggadah, coloring in pages, and using all your sense to immerse in this celebration.

This is not your average prayer service.