#the words are an orthodox prayer for the departed

[anchor-ice]

my piece for the @palimpsestzine

pwyw at https://palimpsestzine.itch.io/zine until 30.04, proceeds go to charity

[orthodoxadventure]

In God and in His Church there is no division between the living and the departed, but all are one in the love of the Father. Whether we are alive or whether we are dead, as members of the Church we still belong to the same family, and still have a duty to bear one another's burdens. Therefore just as Orthodox Christians here on earth pray for one another and ask for one another's prayers, so they pray also for the faithful departed and ask the faithful departed to pray for them. Death cannot sever the bond of mutual love which links the members of the Church together.

'With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the souls of thy servants, where there is neither sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing, but life everlasting.'

So the Orthodox Church prays for the faithful departed; and again:

O God of Spirits and of all flesh, who hast trampled down death and overthrown the Devil, and given life unto Thy world: Do thou, the same Lord, give rest to the souls of Thy departed servants, in a place of light, refreshment, and repose, whence all pain, sorrow, and sighing have fled away. Pardon every transgression which they have committed, whether by word or deed or thought.

-- Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Church

[orthodoxydaily]

SAINTS&READING: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2025

january 23_february 5

VENERABLE SALAMANES, THE SILENT OF THE EUPHRATES, MONK. (ca. 400).

Saint Salamanēs (Σαλαμάνης) was from the town of Kapersana (Καπερσανά) in Syria, on the west bank of the Euphrates River. Since he loved the solitary life, he followed the path of monasticism, building his cell near the Euphrates River.

The Bishop of the town, who was informed of the virtue of the venerable one, went to see him in order to ordain him to the priesthood. Arriving at the Saint's cell, the Archpastor ordered him to dismantle part of the wall so that he might enter. The Bishop spoke to him about the grace of the priesthood, but during the time he was in the cell, the Hierarch did not hear a single word from the Saint. Therefore, he departed, after ordering him to rebuild the wall.

Saint Salamanēs was content with his silence, prayer, and study of the Word of God. Thus, comforted by God, he led people's souls to Christ.

In the Synaxarion it is said that people from the place where Saint Salamanēs was born went to his cell because they wanted him to live near them. He did not protest their actions, nor agree to them, but maintained his silence. So they picked him up and brought him to their town, where they built a cell similar to the other one and enclosed him within. The Saint also remained in this cell in silence and prayer.

A few days later, some people went there by night from a town on other side of the river, who took the Saint and brought him to their town. He did not object when they took him away, neither opposing nor agreeing to it. Soon the inhabitants of the village on the other side of the river came at night to his new dwelling and heard him say this prayer: "O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and all the servants of Thy name, and those who worship Thee, our true God."

Saint Salamanēs was dead to this world, seeking only to obey the will of God. Therefore, he could say with Saint Paul: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me" (Galatians 2:20).

The ascetic did not interrupt his feat of silence, speaking only to God. The Orthodox Church honors him as the first Saint to embrace complete silence, which he maintained until his death († ca. 400).

VENERABLE GENNADIUS OF KOSTROMA, MONK (1565).

Saint Gennadius of Kostroma and Liubimograd, in the world Gregory, was born in Mogilev into a wealthy family. He displayed early love for the church, and his frequent visits to monasteries evoked the dismay of his parents. Gregory, however, was firmly resolved to devote himself to God, and changing into tattered clothing, he secretly left his parental home and journeyed to Moscow.

He visited the holy places in Moscow, but he did not find it suitable in spirit and so set out to the Novgorod region. The destiny of the future ascetic was decided by an encounter with Saint Alexander of Svir (August 30). With his blessing, Gregory went to the Vologda forest to Saint Cornelius of Komel (May 19), and was tonsured by him with the name Gennadius. Together with Saint Cornelius, Gennadius moved on to the Kostroma forest. Here, on the shores of Lake Sura, in about the year 1529, there emerged the monastery of the Transfiguration of the Lord, afterwards called “the Gennadiev monastery”. Having become igumen, Saint Gennadius did not slacken his monastic efforts, and together with the brethren he went out to the monastery tasks: he chopped wood, carried firewood, made candles and baked prosphora. He also wore heavy chains. One of his favorite tasks was the painting of icons, with which he adorned his new monastery.

For his holy life Saint Gennadius received from the Lord the gift of clairvoyance and wonderworking. Journeying to Moscow on monastic affairs, at the house of the nobleman Roman Zakharin, the saint predicted to his daughter Anastasia that she would become Tsaritsa. Indeed, Tsar Ivan the Terrible chose her as his wife.

The Life of Saint Gennadius was written by his disciple, Iguman Alexis, between the years 1584-1587. In it was inserted his spiritual testament, dictated by Saint Gennadius himself. In it he commands the monks to observe the monastery Rule, to toil constantly, to be at peace with everyone, and to preserve the books collected at the monastery, while striving to understand their meaning. He said, “Strive towards the light, and shun the darkness.”

Saint Gennadius died on January 23, 1565, and was glorified by the Church on August 19, 1646.

Source: Orthodox Church in America_OCA

1 Peter 4:1-11

1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles-when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. 5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. 7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Mark 12:28-37

28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?" 29 Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 30 'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these. 32 So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." But after that no one dared question Him. 35 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36 For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:'The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." ' 37 Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son? And the common people heard Him gladly.

[mariacallous]

(JTA) — I first met Alice Shalvi, the mother of religious feminism in Israel, in the mid-1990s during a meeting of ICAR, the International Coalition of Agunah Rights, a coalition that she founded to advocate for women denied a religious divorce by their husbands. She was in her early 70s at the time, and had been fighting for agunah rights for 20 years.

I was in my mid-20s, and new to the cause. I was there as co-chair of Mavoi Satum, which a group of us founded in 1995. This coalition was meant to be advancing systemic solutions to this awful problem. But, of course, we were stuck. As stuck then as we are now.

At one point in the meeting, Professor Shalvi started to cry. “I am 72 years old. I have been talking about this for so long,” she said, “and nothing is changing.” She was crying because the suffering of women didn’t seem to matter to our people. Then she turned to me and said, “It’s up to you and your generation to fix this.”

At the time, I felt her passing the mantle, and I didn’t want to let her down. But I’m sure I did. At least on this front. On others, too, despite our best efforts.

Shalvi, who died Monday morning in Israel at age 96, fought crucial fights decades before the rest of the world caught up with her, before the religious community had any kind of language for what she was doing, before there was any kind of feminist movement to speak of in Israel. 

She pioneered feminist ideas in Israel in the early 1970s when there were only a handful of women doing such work — Marcia Freedman, Naomi Chazan and a few others. And she was the only one coming from the religious world, and able to see the need and potential for change before everyone else. 

Starting in 1975, Shalvi began running the Pelech School for Haredi Girls, a religious feminist school, before Orthodox feminism existed as a movement — before Women of the Wall, before women’s tefillah (prayer) groups, years before Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance and Kolech, Israel’s Religious Women’s Forum, existed, before anyone even dared to put the words “feminist” and “religious” together in a sentence. Before even the Conservative movement had women rabbis. Everyone else is still catching up.  

She also worked in the non-religious arena, creating, in 1984, the first feminist lobby in Israel, the Israel Women’s Network, which still pioneers on many fronts.

She also dared to work on issues of peace, taking positions that were considered pas nisht, or “unsuitable,” in the religious world — and for the most part still are. She dared to see Palestinians, especially Palestinian women, as equal human beings. This was not a position that religious Israelis, or Israelis in general, were comfortable with. It’s still an uphill battle.  She spoke and acted from a place of humanity first. 

And she could remarkably work on a multitude of  fronts, all at once, including education, academia, advocacy, politics and peace.

Alice Hildegard Shalvi was born in Essen, Germany, on Oct. 16, 1926. She, her mother and brother joined their father in London in 1934, and she later earned degrees in literature and social work. She immigrated to Israel in 1949, taught at Hebrew University and led efforts to create an English department at Ben-Gurion University. Denied the deanship because she was a woman, she mobilized female faculty members in protest.

Professor Shalvi was my formal mentor when I was on the Jerusalem Fellows, a program in Jewish education. We would meet regularly and talk about feminism, politics, religion and Israel. It was a privilege to spend those hours in one-on-one conversations. Prof. Shalvi always talked to me with complete honesty, passion and belief in what she was working for. She entrusted me with her vision, and made me feel like she believed that I would hold it for her and continue to birth it in the world.

By the time changes started to take place in Orthodoxy for women — evidenced by Shira Hadasha, a Jerusalem congregation dedicated to halachah (Jewish law) and feminism, and Orthodox women in clergy roles — she had already moved on to the Conservative movement, serving as rector of what is now the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, a graduate school and seminary associated with the movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary. She needed to go where her vision was valued and welcomed and celebrated, instead of where everything was a fight. She was highly criticized for that decision and was treated by some as a sort of traitor to the Orthodox feminist cause. But she deserved to be in a place that supported her and brought her comfort and respect, and she had earned that right.

She offered words of support for me when I took a similar leap and enrolled in Reform rabbinical school. Even though I am no longer in rabbinical school and do not associate with the Reform movement in any meaningful way, I do not regret the decision to step away from an Orthodox version of feminism and try on other hats. She inspired me and so many others to take leaps, be courageous, live from the heart and ignore the haters.

I am so glad that she found her well-deserved place in the world, and that she received many well-deserved honors and accolades along the way, including, in 1991, the Ministry of Education’s Education Prize in 1991 for teaching Talmud to girls and insisting that Pelech alumnae serve in either the IDF or the National Service. In 2007, she won the Israel Prize for her life’s work, and in 2019 a National Jewish Book Award for her memoir, “Never a Native.”

She left an incredible legacy of activism that has birthed generations of change agents in Israel.

I have often thought over the years that I wanted to be Alice Shalvi when I grew up. I loved her unstoppable courage, her ability to wear many hats, her resilience in standing up to the haters and naysayers, and her constant belief that she could make a difference. I’ve tried to follow that kind of path, though I have not had nearly the kind of strength and fortitude — and successes — that she had. But her personality and vision continue to have a permanent resting place in my heart. And I will continue to endeavor to carry her torch in this world.

[draquus]

The Life of St. Jayne the Penitent

(Author’s note: I apologize deeply if it is blasphemous to write fanfiction in the style of the life of a saint, but I have had this idea for ages and this is how it came out.)

St. Jayne was raised by poor, agnostic parents. Although they had no knowledge of the true God, they lived by virtue as best as they knew how. After the death of his father, however, Jayne went out into the worlds to earn money to support his mother and siblings. He began to live a life of moral destitution, participating in every kind of crime and vice. His only virtue was that he continued to honor his mother by sending part of his ill-gotten earnings, to keep her and his siblings from starvation.

After many years of this debauched life, Jayne met a heretical priest-monk who called himself Shepherd Book. They became friends, and in spite of the priest-monk’s heretical leanings, he did good by introducing Jayne to the Word of God. In his simplicity, Jayne learned much about the true God, and was not led astray by Book’s errors. He began to long for repentance.

After some time the priest-monk departed, but he left a copy of the Gospel, which Jayne diligently read. Jayne still struggled with many temptations, and his understanding of the Gospel was incomplete, but nonetheless he began trying to change his way of life. He, along with some of his companions, protected an insane girl who was being hunted by assassins. While trying to protect her, they sought shelter with the priest-monk Book. After they departed, the assassins found their refuge, and killed everyone there, including the priest-monk. When Jayne returned, he was deeply distraught at his friend’s death, but he did not seek revenge, instead choosing to continue helping the girl. In the end, she was cured of her insanity, and the head of the assassins repented of his evil deeds.

Seeing these many deeds of good and evil, Jayne now sought out those who could teach him how to truly repent and serve the Lord. He finally found the monastery where Book had been tonsured, but was dismayed to learn that he ad not, as he said, left with the abbot’s blessing to serve in the world, but had left because of his heretical beliefs. Book had, in his previous life, belonged to a cult of philosopher-assassins, the same ones that had sought the girl’s life. Although he had repented and joined the monastery, he fell back into some of his old errors, and would not accept the abbot’s correction.

By the grace of God, Jayne saw that the monks had the true understanding of the Gospel, and he stayed with them to learn the orthodox way. He was baptized and tonsured, but he never ceased to pray for the soul of his departed friend, whom he feared had died in error.

Jayne spent the next 40 years repenting for his own sins and praying for the soul of his friend. He exceeded all the other monks in fasting, toil, and works of mercy. Demons often came to torment him with lusts for his former sins, and despair over his friend’s errors, but he fell on the floor and prayed “Lord, have mercy” until they departed.

After 40 years had passed, Jayne saw a vision of his friend Book. Book thanked him for his years of prayers, and said that, by his intersession, he had been freed from Sheol. He also told him that they would soon be reunited in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jayne, with tears of joy gave glory to God.

Not long afterward, Jayne received another vision, showing him that the monastery was going to be attacked by some of the last remaining Reavers. He warned the other monks, but chose to remain in the monastery himself. He had lived by the sword, in his life, and so he would die by the sword as well. The other monks tearfully departed, and the Reavers came. By Jayne’s prayers (and possibly also a load of explosives that he had buried in the forest when he joined the monastery) the Reavers were diverted, and the other monks managed to escape. Jayne’s body was found unharmed in the monastery when the monks returned, with an angelic smile on his face.

[deaconjohn1987]

Tribulation Times

May 30, 2024 (Rev 6:4) And there went out another horse that was red. And to him that sat thereon, it was given that he should take peace from the earth: and that they should kill one another. And a great sword was given to him. COMMENTARY: Arrest These Insane NATO Warmongers!

Stoltenberg with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Giorgia Meloni, Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

at the 2023 Vilnius summit [Wikipedia.org image by Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street]

Incredibly, the world is being pushed to the abyss of nuclear war by nonentity Western numbskulls who are not even elected. Jens Stoltenberg, the civilian head of the NATO military bloc, is the latest blockhead to advocate for the United States to permit the targeting of Russia with long-range weapons. The Norwegian figurehead, we are led to believe, made the conceptual breakthrough (how much was he paid and by whom or what was the blackmail used?) by telling the Economist magazine that the Ukrainian regime should henceforth be officially allowed to use NATO missiles to hit Russia. However, with the logical skills of a hacked-up chopping block, Stoltenberg claimed that such a move would not lead to an escalation in war between Russia and NATO because the weapons were not being fired from NATO countries. So Stoltenberg thinks it’s somehow feasible to turn Ukraine into a silo for launching ballistic missiles at Moscow and yet for Russia not to perceive NATO nations as a legitimate target? As if to further reassure, he added: “We don’t have any intention to send NATO ground troops into Ukraine because our purpose… has been two-fold, to support Ukraine as we do, but also to ensure that we don’t escalate this into a full-scale conflict.” The barefaced cheek of Stoltenberg and other Western figures is that, in their arrogant mindsets, what’s going on is not escalation because they say it is not escalation. It’s like hitting someone with a punch in the face and then having the brass neck to tell the person you didn’t hit them because you said so. The former Norwegian prime minister, who is soon to leave his NATO job to take up a plum post as a central banker, is the latest Western voice to up the ante in the U.S.-led proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS: The War Is Widening Into Armageddon

[wikipedia.org image] UPDATE: Ukraine warns of new Russian reinforcements as NATO members soften red lines on weapons use RELATED HEADLINES Germany and France agree Ukraine may strike Russian military targets Italy says no to Ukraine using Western weapons to strike military targets inside Russia Putin’s forces massing in northern Kharkiv as Sweden sends Kyiv surveillance planes ORTHODOX PRAYER: O God of spirits and of all flesh, Who hast trampled-down death by death, and given life unto Thy world, do Thou the same Lord, give rest to the souls of Thy departed servants in a place of brightness, a place of green pasture, a place of repose whence all sickness, sorrow, and sighing have fled-away. As Thou art the good God Who lovest mankind, do Thou pardon their every transgression, whether of word, or deed, or thought, for Thou only art without sin, and Thy righteousness is unto all eternity, and Thy Word is truth. For Thou art the Resurrection, the Life, and the Repose of our Orthodox warriors, those who have laid down their lives in battle for the Faith, our freedom, and our land, and likewise the veterans of wars who have gone to their rest, O Christ our God, and unto Thee we ascribe glory, to Thy Father Who is from everlasting and to Thine All-holy, Good, and Life-creating Spirit. Now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

The Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Sober Living

9. Evagrius said, 'It is a great thing to pray without distraction. It is even greater to sing psalms without distraction.'

Prayer request? Send an email to: PrayerRequest3@aol.com

"Have ANY Catholic Question? Just ask Ron Smith at: hfministry@roadrunner.com

This month's archive can be found at: http://www.catholicprophecy.info/news2.html.

[leonbloder]

Every Day Christmas

In the Gospel of Luke chapter 2, we find the account of Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to the Temple to be presented and blessed.  

This was part of Jewish tradition in the first century and would have occurred when Jesus was 40 days old. 

The story relates how, as the Holy Family approached the Temple, they met two fascinating characters: A holy man named Simeon and a prophetess named Anna.  

Both of these people were incredibly faithful in practicing their Jewish faith, and both prayed constantly at the Temple for the "consolation of Israel."  This meant that they were expectantly and fervently awaiting the coming of the Messiah and the liberation of Israel from foreign oppression. 

When Simeon meets the Holy Family and sees Jesus, he exclaims that he has seen the Messiah and offers this prayer: 

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,     you may now dismiss[d] your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,     and the glory of your people Israel.”

This prayer was given a name in Latin: Nunc Dimittis.  

The phrase translates, "Now lettest thou depart."  It's been part of Christian liturgy in the Catholic Mass and the Orthodox tradition for centuries.  Protestants (like me) often use this prayer as part of the Commendation in a funeral service.  

I love that this prayer is prayed and sung in many aspects of Christian worship.  It reflects what it means to embrace the meaning of Christmas and the epiphany that comes after encountering Christ.  

The 16th-century poet and pastor John Donne wrote a sermon for the Feast of St. Simeon, and this passage from that sermon resonates with me: 

Donne's vision of the glory of Christmas living within us "all the year, and all the years" gives me great joy and no small amount of hope.  

One of the liturgical choices I make at every funeral that I officiate is to end the service with a benediction that includes these words: 

"Know that the God who breathed life into you when you were born will most certainly be with you when you breathe your last." 

The knowledge that the Christ of Christmas is within you and all around you all the years of your life is one of the great lessons of the Season of Epiphany, which follows Christmas and leads us to Lent. 

Like Simeon, we can confidently say that no matter what happens next, we have seen salvation, and our salvation is present within us now, even as it was first made known so long ago. 

Every day of our lives is Christmas Day in this way of thinking.  Christ is born again within us every single morning, along with the renewed mercies of God, who loves us, cherishes us, and chooses us.  

May this give you great joy today and every day from now on.  And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.  

[ruminativerabbi]

Neilah on Dizengoff Square

It’s hard to know what to make of the events that unfolded in Tel Aviv towards the end of Yom Kippur. But what’s not difficult at all is to understand that the incident—not quite a riot, but a serious incident of incivility and poor behavior—is a good example of what happens when people mistake intolerance for zeal and antagonism for principled disagreement.

The incident had to do with a public-space gathering to recite the Neilah Prayer that ends Yom Kippur. Every shul-Jew knows this to be a highlight, not only of Yom Kippur or even the High Holiday season, but really of the entire prayer-year. The mood in our sanctuary at Shelter Rock, for example, is intense, focused, and very stirring. The spirits whose palpable presence made the air in the room so heavy during Yizkor have mostly departed back to Sheol (or wherever), but the residue of their ghostly presence lingers still in the room. The fast has begun to take its toll; people are hungry and thirsty. Those of us for whom a day without caffeine is torture are mostly nursing giant headaches. The specific nusach that the cantor uses to chant the prayers is hauntingly beautiful, but also vaguely ominous; the notion that the gates are poised to swing shut—and our chances to have our initial inscription in God’s great Book of Life upgraded through some combination of repentance, prayer, and pledges of charity thus dwindling by the minute—creates a unique blend of resignation and (despite all we know of ourselves) hope that all who have experienced Neilah in a traditional setting will recognize easily. It’s a remarkable moment.

And, for the last few years, an effort has been made to hold public prayers services in Tel Aviv, the heart of secular Israel, in an attempt to reach out to Jews who would otherwise not experience any aspect of Yom Kippur as a day devoted to prayer and introspection. The service the previous evening—the Kol Nidre service—went well enough, but there were those present who strongly objected to the insistence of the prayer service’s organizers, a group called Rosh Yehudi (“A Jewish Head”) headed by one Israel Zeira, to separate men and women during the service. Gender segregation is a big deal in today’s Israel, a kind of a flashpoint between secular and Orthodox-religious Israelis. It's not only a matter of synagogue seating either—the issue has to do with mixed-gender seating on buses and trains, on mixed-gender classes in public schools, and in public swimming pools maintaining “men only” and “women only” hours alongside the “regular” schedule that invites men and women to use the pool simultaneously. So this is a big deal in Israel and, as such, a much touchier issue than it is in our country.

Erev Yom Kippur went more or less as planned. But the following evening, both sides of the dispute dug their heels in. Suddenly, there was an actual barrier separating men and women, albeit a flimsy one that was really just a wall of plastic Israeli flags. But that was just as provocative as the Rosh Yehudi people should surely have known it was going to be. And so, when secular Tel Aviv arrived in Dizengoff Square with their own agenda and their own strong, angry, hostile words to add to the mix, things did not end at all well.

To refer to what ensued as a riot (as I noted in several on-line sources) is probably an exaggeration. But what happened was a travesty nonetheless and, at that, one that could and should have been avoided.

The good news is that large numbers of secular Israelis, most of who would not think of spending Yom Kippur in a synagogue, have been drawn to these public prayer services since their inception in 2020. That yearning for spiritual fulfillment I have noticed in Israel over the years in many different contexts—and to such a great extent that even the traditional division of Israelis into secular ones and religious ones has seemed less meaningful to me in recent years. So the idea itself of organizing public prayer for shul­-averse citizens is not only rational but, in my opinion, laudable. But by insisting on gender segregation during prayer—given the status of that specific matter as a hot-button issue across Israeli society in recent years—was almost to doom the effort to failure even before it got off the ground.

On the other hand, the secular types who came to the service with their dukes up, spoiling for a fight and prepared to use the most vile, insulting, and vituperative language—those people have a lot to learn about what Yom Kippur means and should mean. A day devoted to prayer, to repentance, and to making peace where peace needs to be made was sullied by extremists more eager to make their own point than to reconcile with people who feel differently than they do. And that was a true travesty and a disgrace.

It's easy to make peace with people with whom you disagree slightly, significantly less so when the parties involved are at loggerheads on foundational issues relating to culture, societal norms, and a nation’s basic ethos. But that is how peace is made in a society divided against itself—by listening carefully to the good on the other side and by finding a way to be flexible emotionally and politically without being untrue to yourself.

The secular types who were outraged by the idea of gender segregation in a public spot needed to get a grip on themselves: this wasn’t an instance of women being denied the vote or made to wear chadors in public, and neither was it an instance of women being told to go home or not to participate or not to say their prayers at all. Yes, it was a bit ham-fisted (if you can say such a thing about religious Jews on Yom Kippur), but it was also a way to draw in Jews used to the idea of separate seating during worship and so to make such people feel comfortable and welcome. And that seems to me to be the more crucial issue here.

The Rosh Yehudi organizers and their follows who couldn’t imagine a Neilah service that didn’t involve gender segregation needed to get a grip on themselves too. Dizengoff Square is not a synagogue. The whole idea of public prayer is that the prayer service be welcoming to the public, a goal at total cross-purposes with an insistence on flouting the laws regarding gender separation. The idea of creating an opportunity for secular Israelis to feel drawn to tradition through the medium of public prayer is a noble one, a good one. But if someone is drowning in the sea, you can only do good by throwing a life preserver into the water where the person in trouble is, not where you yourself are! To involve secular Israelis in prayer means to create a setting in which such people are comfortable and at their ease, in which they are predisposed to let the words of the liturgy enter their hearts and move them, possibly even to awaken some kind of dormant faith in them. And if that requires abandoning some norms that would prevail automatically in a room in which everyone present self-defines as an Orthodox Jew, then that’s what’s required. The Rosh Yehudi people, as far as I can see, wished to do good. But they wished only to do it on their own terms. And that is, generally speaking, not how good is really ever done.

So that was last week. This week, Israel is covered with sukkot both in public places and on people’s roofs and balconies, and in the courtyards and gardens of apartment houses. Those sukkot  represent the great sukkah of peace for which we pray daily in our evening prayers. And this year those sukkot should be suggestive to all of the great lesson of Sukkot: that the medium in which spiritual progress—both on the individual and the societal levels—is made is peace: peace between nations, peace between warring factions within society, and peace between individuals. Yom Kippur in Dizengoff Square was a disaster. But it could also serve as a wake-up call for a riven nation in need of healing on all fronts: politically, religiously, and societally. What is needed is compromise, the cultivation of intellects supple enough to respect others’ opinions, and the abandonment of the kind of cultural arrogance that cannot imagine an alternate opinion to one’s own being valid. Intransigency is not a virtue. Reaching out to others with respect and a willingness to compromise—those are the virtues that can save any society, no matter how divided against itself it might have grown.

[apilgrimpassingby]

O God of spirits and of all flesh, Who hath trampled down death and overthrown the Devil, and given life to Thy world, do Thou, the same Lord, give rest to the souls of Thy departed servants in a place of brightness, a place of refreshment, a place of repose, where all sickness, sighing, and sorrow have fled away. Pardon every transgression which they have committed, whether by word or deed or thought. For Thou art a good God and lovest mankind; because there is no man who lives yet does not sin, for Thou only art without sin, Thy righteousness is to all eternity, and Thy word is truth.

For Thou are the Resurrection, the Life, and the Repose of Thy servants who hath fallen asleep, O Christ our God, and unto Thee we ascribe glory, together with Thy Father, who is from everlasting, and Thine all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, now and ever unto ages of ages. Amen.

The standard Orthodox prayer for the dead

Pray for my brother, he killed himself tonight. He was happy, he talked about the future, but now, but now, he's gone. Please, please, please please please please please please please please pray just pray

Oh my goodness!! Of course!! I'm so sorry 🫂

[orthodoxadventure]

2nd Saturday of Great Lent: Memorial Saturday

Commemorated on March 30

Only Creator, with wisdom profound, You mercifully order all things, and give that which is needed to all men: Give rest, O Lord, to the souls of Your servants who have fallen asleep, for they have placed their trust in You, our Maker and Fashioner, and our God.

Saturday is the day which the Church has set aside for the commemoration of faithful Orthodox Christians departed this life in the hope of resurrection to eternal life. Since the Divine Liturgy cannot be served on weekdays during Great Lent, the second, third, and fourth Saturdays of the Fast are appointed as Soul Saturdays when the departed are remembered at Liturgy.

In addition to the Liturgy, kollyva (wheat or rice cooked with honey and mixed with raisins, figs, nuts, sesame, etc.) is blessed in church on these Saturdays. The kollyva reminds us of the Lord’s words, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).The kollyva symbolizes the future resurrection of all the dead. As Saint Simeon of Thessalonica (September 15) says, man is also a seed which is planted in the ground after death, and will be raised up again by God’s power. Saint Paul also speaks of this (I Cor. 15:35-49).

It is customary to give alms in memory of the dead in addition to the prayers we offer for their souls. The angel who spoke to Cornelius testifies to the efficacy of almsgiving, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God” (Acts 10:4).

Memorial services for the dead may be traced back to ancient times. Chapter 8 of the Apostolic Constitutions recommends memorial services with Psalms for the dead. It also contains a beautiful prayer for the departed, asking that their voluntary and involuntary sins be pardoned, that they be given rest with the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles in a place where sorrow, suffering, and sighing have fled away (Isaiah 35:10). Saint John Chrysostom mentions the service for the dead in one of his homilies on Philippians, and says that it was established by the Apostles. Saint Cyprian of Carthage (Letter 37) also speaks of our duty to remember the martyrs.

The holy Fathers also testify to the benefit of offering prayers, memorial services, Liturgies, and alms for the dead (Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Saint John of Damascus, etc.). Although both the righteous and those who have not repented and corrected themselves may receive benefit and consolation from the Church’s prayer, it has not been revealed to what extent the unrighteous can receive this solace. It is not possible, however, for the Church’s prayer to transfer a soul from a state of evil and condemnation to a state of holiness and blessedness. Saint Basil the Great points out that the time for repentance and forgiveness of sins is during the present life, while the future life is a time for righteous judgment and retribution (Moralia 1). Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Gregory the Theologian, and other patristic writers concur with Saint Basil’s statement.

By praying for others, we bring benefit to them, and also to ourselves, because “God is not so unjust as to forget your work and the love which you showed for His sake in serving the saints...” (Heb. 6:10).

[Text from OCA]

With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the souls of Your servants, where there is neither sickness nor sorrow, and no more sighing, but life everlasting.

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Wednesday, June 19, 2024

june 6_june 19

VENERABLE DODO OF THE ST. DAVID-GAREJI MONASTERY, GEORGIA (596)

A companion of St. Davit of Gareji, St. Dodo belonged to the royal family Andronikashvili. He was tonsured a monk while still an youth, and was endowed with every virtue.       An admirer of poverty and solitude, he labored as a hermit at Ninotsminda in Kakheti.       Having heard about the miracles of Davit of Gareji, St. Dodo set off for the Gareji Wilderness to witness them himself. The venerable fathers greeted one another warmly and began laboring there together.       After some time, St. Davit became deeply impressed with Dodo’s devotion to the Faith, and he proposed that he take with him some of the other monks and begin to construct cells on the opposite mountain.

 The brothers built cells and began to labor there with great ardor. Before long the number of cells had reached two hundred. St. Dodo isolated himself in a narrow crevice, where there was barely room for one man. Day and night, winter and summer, in the heat and the cold, he prayed with penitent tears for the forgiveness of his sins, the strengthening of the souls of his brothers, and the bolstering of the true Faith throughout the country.       Once St. Davit miraculously healed the son of Prince Bubakar of Rustavi. In return, the grateful prince donated food and other necessities to the monks of Gareji Monastery. St. Davit took part of his contributions and sent what remained to St. Dodo. He advised Bubakar to have St. Dodo baptize him, and St. Dodo joyously baptized Bubakar, his sons, and all his suite.       St. Dodo labored to an advanced age in the monastery he had founded and reposed peacefully.       His spiritual sons and companions buried him in the cave where he had labored, and a church was later built over his grave.

© 2006 St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood.

SAINT BESSARION THE WONDERWORKER OF EGYPT (466)

Saint Bessarion, Wonderworker of Egypt was an Egyptian. He was baptized while still in his youth, and he led a strict life, striving to preserve the grace given him during Baptism. Seeking to become more closely acquainted with the monastic life, he journeyed to the holy places. He was in Jerusalem, he visited Saint Gerasimus (March 4) in the Jordanian wilderness, he viewed other desert monasteries, and assimilated all the rules of monastic life.

Upon his return, he received monastic tonsure and became a disciple of Saint Isidore of Pelusium (February 4). Saint Bessarion took a vow of silence, and partook of food only once a week. Sometimes he remained without food or drink for forty days. Once, the saint stood motionless for forty days and forty nights without food or sleep, immersed in prayer.

Saint Bessarion received from God the gift of wonderworking. When his disciple was very thirsty, he sweetened bitter water. By his prayer the Lord sent rain upon the earth, and he could cross a river as if on dry land. With a single word he cast out devils, but he did this privately to avoid glory.

His humility was so great that once, when a priest ordered someone from the skete to leave church for having fallen into sin, Bessarion also went with him saying, “I am a sinner, too.” Saint Bessarion slept only while standing or sitting. A large portion of his life was spent under the open sky in prayerful solitude. He peacefully departed to the Lord in his old age.

Source: Orthodox Church in America

ACTS 23:1-11

1 Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?" 4 And those who stood by said, "Do you revile God's high priest?" 5 Then Paul said, "I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.' " 6 But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!" 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. 8 For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection-and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. 9 Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees' party arose and protested, saying, "We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God." 10 Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks. 11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome."

JOHN 16:15-23

15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. 16 A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father. 17 Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "What is this that He says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, 'because I go to the Father'?" 18 They said therefore, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'? We do not know what He is saying." 19 Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'? 20 Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. 21 A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. 23 And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.

[onwesterlywinds]

PROMPT #15: Row

Not for the first time, Ingvald stood among his fellow Ala Mhigans without any recognition of their customs. Other Resistance soldiers had placed candles, trinkets or other tokens alongside the row of graves. Some spoke comforting words, recited old prayers or poems, but he recognized none of them. He merely stood near the back of the cavernous sepulchre, watching his would-be compatriots profess their grief in ways that were as foreign to him as if the service were being conducted as an Ishgardian Orthodox mass.

He had never attended a funeral before. The Kingsguard had more or less done away with them by the time he had joined their ranks, and he had rarely cared to attend Garlean ceremonies of grieving. Wilhelm's misdeeds had ensured that they were both far away at the time of their parents' burial.

And yet he nonetheless remembered the last time, so many years ago now, when Rhalgr's Reach had been put to the torch.

He reached to take Orella's hand in his. At first she made to swat him away, until she presumably recognized his intentions; without so much as a glance toward him, she accepted the contact and gave his fingers a single firm, comforting squeeze. Then she departed just as abruptly, cutting a direct path through the crowd of mourners to reach the open air.

Nothing remained for Ingvald there - certainly not the deceased. And so he followed Orella outside and emerged beneath a blanket of thunderheads, where he felt some gratitude that the sky could give voice to some small fraction of his helplessness.

[eli-kittim]

Should Our Prayers Be Offered to Jesus or to the Saints?

By Author Eli Kittim

The Communion of Saints

Intercession of the saints plays a crucial role in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches. This practice is derived from the Catholic creed of the Communion of saints. The said doctrine holds that dead saints pass instantly into the divine presence and therefore have a sort of fiduciary power in helping others to procure favors and blessings. This is not unlike Shinto, a Japanese religion that incorporates the worship of ancestors. In fact, the Christian patron saints that act as intermediaries between God and humans, interceding for trade, agriculture, health, and so on, are reminiscent of the Greek pantheon of demigods (The Twelve Olympians) in which each deity was responsible for a particular aspect of life. In this sense, the church adopted a form of pagan polytheism. The specific dedications and remembrances of saints in the Catholic, and especially in the Orthodox, churches have been highly developed to such an extent that the entire liturgical year is devoted to and structured around the so-called calendar of saints, in which each day pays homage to a particular saint(s) (i.e. feast day). Not to mention the ancient preoccupation with saints' relics and the lucrative pilgrimages that have been designed for such worship.

Do the Saints in Heaven Pray for the People on Earth?

Much to our dismay, saints in heaven don’t pray on behalf of earthlings. Rather, these martyrs pray for God to avenge their blood (Rev. 6.9-10 NRSV):

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under

the altar the souls of those who had been

slaughtered for the word of God and for the

testimony they had given; they cried out

with a loud voice, ‘Sovereign

Lord, holy and true, how long will it be

before you judge and avenge our blood on

the inhabitants of the earth?’

Similarly, “the prayers of the saints” in Rev. 5.8-10 are solely directed to Jesus, praising him for his extraordinary feats. They’re not about helping John Doe, back on earth, with his financial woes, or Jane Doe with her marital breakdown. Rev. 5.8-10 reads:

When he had taken the scroll, the four living

creatures and the twenty-four elders fell

before the Lamb, each holding a harp and

golden bowls full of incense, which are the

prayers of the saints. They sing a new song:

‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to

open its seals, for you were slaughtered and

by your blood you ransomed for God saints

from every tribe and language and people

and nation; you have made them to be a

kingdom and priests serving our God, and

they will reign on earth.’

Incidentally, the so-called “saints” in Rev. 5.8 are not an elite, hierarchical class of people worthy of worship. That’s a misnomer. On the contrary, all who are *born-again* in Christ are called “saints” (cf. Rom. 1.7). Remember, not even angels are allowed to be worshipped in God’s kingdom (see Rev. 19.10), let alone departed spirits.

Is Praying to Saints Biblical?

Over against the intercessory prayer of saints is Deut. 18.11 which explicitly forbids those who consult the dead (cf. Isa. 8.19). That’s precisely why, in the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31), the rich man’s intercessory-prayer request is denied!

Sometimes Catholic and Orthodox writers will point to Old Testament accounts in which patriarchs or prophets enlisted the help of an angel (e.g. Gen. 48.16; Zech. 1.8-11). But they fail to mention that the said angel is typically associated with the angel of the Lord, which is traditionally viewed by Christian commentators as the Pre-Incarnate Son (cf. Gen. 16.7; Exod. 33.14; Jer. 1.4). Furthermore, conversing with an angel is not the same as praying to an angel. Yet in defense of intercessory prayer of heavenly beings, Catholic writers often point to the Annunciation as a case in point. But again, Mary’s conversation with Gabriel does not involve an intercessory prayer request, nor an act of prostration or worship.

The Catholic commentariat has also presented several examples from the New Testament to make their point. For instance, they cite Rev. 8.3, namely, the prayers of the saints that rise up before God. However, the context of this eschatological verse is God’s wrath that is poured out upon the earth, not an answer to our prayers (Rev. 8.3-5):

Another angel with a golden censer came

and stood at the altar; he was given a great

quantity of incense to offer with the prayers

of all the saints on the golden altar that is

before the throne. And the smoke of the

incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose

before God from the hand of the angel.

Then the angel took the censer and filled it

with fire from the altar and threw it on the

earth; and there were peals of thunder,

rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an

earthquake.

Human Intercession versus Intercession of saints

The fact that there is a body of Christ (“a cloud of witnesses” Heb. 12.1) is not an invitation or a request to worship them. Catholic scholars have confused the issue even further. They cite various instances in the New Testament in which Paul commands Christians to pray for him (e.g. 2 Cor. 1.11). Or they’ll cite the example of Timothy who commands Christians to pray for one another (1 Tim. 2.1). However, praying “FOR” someone and praying “TO” someone are two completely different things. To pray “for” (or on behalf of) a living person is one thing. To pray “to” a dead person is quite another. In the first case, you’re simply praying *for* the living (human intercession) and asking God to help them in their time of need. However, praying *to* a deceased saint for help is a different matter altogether. Now, you are praying not to God but *to* a dead saint (Intercession of Saints) to help a living human being. As a result, the saints have gained so much power that they have become intercessors between heaven and earth. It’s true that Paul and Timothy instructed Christians to pray for the betterment of others. But that’s not the same as praying to dead saints for help, grace, and blessings.

Although Protestant denominations accept human intercessory prayer for the living (cf. Rom. 15.30), they deny the intercession of the dead on behalf of the living. Similarly, Reformed theologians acknowledge that the “communion of saints" comprise all who are in Christ, including the departed. Nevertheless, in their view, invocations of the departed spirits of saints constitute a transgression of the First Commandment (see Deut. 5.7): “You shall have no other gods before me.”

On the Importance of Developing a Personal Relationship with Christ

The Catholic and Orthodox mindset is that God is not in competition with his creation (Robert Barron), and that although Christ is humanity’s mediator via the cross (1 Tim. 2.5), he’s not necessarily accessible as our 24-7 prayer advocate on a minute-by-minute basis. He has partners and associates that work under him, much like a high-end law firm in New York. But the so-called “managing partner” (i.e. Law firm CEO) at the top is usually inaccessible. Hence the need for the intercessory prayers. They argue that turning to the saints for help is not in competition with Jesus Christ since God has many partners and friends and is the ultimate source of all living things.

But this represents a distortion of Biblical revelation. The multiple attestations of the New Testament are all about Jesus. They feature Jesus as the leading figure, who is the hero of the story, and without whom we cannot be saved. It is the story of the creator who enters creation. He is the one “through whom he [God] also created the worlds” (Heb. 1.2). John’s gospel attests of his divinity: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1.1). Paul declares: “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col. 2.9). And without the shedding of his blood there can be no New Testament, much less a church (cf. Heb. 9.17, 22). Phil. 2.10-11 concludes:

so that at the name of Jesus every knee

should bend, in heaven and on earth and

under the earth, and every tongue should

confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the

glory of God the Father.

In Mt. 28.18, the Matthean Jesus exclaims:

All authority in heaven and on

earth has been given to me.

In Rev 1.8, Jesus is equated with God Almighty:

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’

says the Lord God, who is and

who was and who is to come,

the Almighty.

In Isaiah chapter 42 verse 8, God says:

I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I

give to no other, nor my praise to idols.

With Jesus’ extraordinary credentials and qualifications, why should we consult the spirits of dead men? The point is that Jesus is everything to regenerated Christians. He’s constantly on their mind. Born-again Christians are madly in love because of what Jesus has done for them, namely, he has made them *fully alive,* while their cup is running over with love, peace of mind, and perpetual bliss! Hence, there’s a fire of love for Jesus that burns inside every born-again-Christian’s heart. So, your focus should not be diluted on secondary figures and causes. Rather, your attention must be concentrated on Christ alone, if you are to “be transformed by the renewing of your minds” (Rom. 12.2). That’s because there is only *one* mediator (not two or three) between God and humanity——“the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2.5). Therefore, when religion tries to seduce you into chasing after idols, you must run the other way.

Is the Intercession of the Saints Blasphemy?

Dr. Edward Sri——theologian, author, and prominent Catholic speaker who appears regularly on EWTN——wrote a paper entitled, “What Does the Bible Say about Praying to Saints?” The article concludes as follows:

How to Grow in Fellowship with the Saints 

1. Pick a few saints that you want to get to know. 

2. Read their writings and learn about their lives. Fill your mind with their stories and their example. 

3. Talk to those saints, every day. Share your weaknesses with them and ask them to walk with you in your difficult times. Don’t just ask them to pray for you…invite them to be with you in every part of your life.

This borders on blasphemy. The point of Sri’s exhortation is that instead of developing a personal relationship with Jesus, we are encouraged to develop an intimate relationship with a beloved saint of our choosing. In other words, the aforesaid article is strongly urging people to devote themselves to someone other than Christ (in fact, a departed spirit) and to focus all their energies on the said saint. It is a clever, if not demonic, deception to remove our focus away from Christ under cloak of religion (2 Cor. 11.14):

And no wonder! Even Satan disguises

himself as an angel of light.

——-

[eretzyisrael]

Interviews with volunteers from the Jewish community who are helping victims of the disaster in Florida.

On Thursday, June 24, 2021, tragedy struck Champlain Towers, a 12-story residential building in the Miami suburb of Surfside. Half of the complex suddenly collapsed in the early hours of the morning, burying entire families in the rubble. Days after the disaster, the remains of several people killed in the crush have been recovered and 150 people remain unaccounted for.

Champlain Towers is home to a diverse community that includes many Jews. In the days that followed this catastrophe, Jews and others around the world have come together to help search for victims and to comfort the families desperately waiting for word of their loved ones.

Searching Through the Rubble

Leon Roy Hausmann, a volunteer with the Mexican Jewish rescue organization Cadena, is on the scene in Surfside and spoke with Aish.com about the sense of solidarity he feels with the community and the many victims of the calamity.

Cadena volunteers help people “regardless of nationality, regardless of religion; we don’t discriminate,” he explains. After working around the world to help search for and rescue victims of over 1,000 natural disasters, helping search for residents of Champlain Towers feels close to home. “It just feels more immediate when it’s our people who are victimized by this event.”

When Cadena volunteers heard about the Chaplain Towers collapse, they sprang into action, dispatching seven Jewish search and rescue experts to Miami, and mobilizing local Cadena volunteers in the Miami area. “This is the highest technology in the market,” Hausmann notes of his team’s equipment, which includes sonar devices that can detect sounds underneath dozens of feet of rubble, search dogs trained to detect human scent, and x-ray machinery.

“We’re working with the Fire Department of Miami-Dade County," Hausmann notes, describing their work as round the clock and nonstop. Cadena volunteers have also dispatched psychologists and therapists who are working with family members who are still awaiting news.

Thousands of local residents have been volunteering to bring food and clothes and other items to the family members who are waiting and also to those families who made it out of Chaplain Towers alive and are currently homeless. “Thousands of volunteers have been bringing food and clothes and anything the families need. It has been very touching to see.”

One of Hausmann’s most moving moments during the past few days came on Shabbat, the day after the collapse. About 17 Cadena volunteers were at the site late on Friday night, providing support to the local fire department rescuers. “We made Kiddush for the whole team,” Hausmann recalls, “and also for all the Jewish people who are still trapped underneath the rubble.”

Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai at the site of a building collapse in Surfside, Florida, just outside Miami, on June 27, 2021

On Sunday, June 27, a group of ten Israeli Home Front Command soldiers arrived in Surfside. They went straight to the site of the building collapse and got to work alongside Cadena volunteers and local Miami-area first responders, searching in the rubble for survivors and also for the remains of victims of the collapse, bringing their unique search and rescue experience and expertise.

Rabbi Counselling the Bereaved and the Waiting

“The need right now is endless. You think of all these different families that have been erased in the blink of an eye,” explained Rabbi Dr. Fred Klein, one of the key responders in the area.

Rabbi Klein is the Executive Vice President of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami, Director of Mishkan Miami, and is board certified in clinical pastoral care. When Champlain Towers collapsed, the Jewish Federation of Greater Miami sent Rabbi Klein to help. He spoke with Aish.com during a busy day, filled with meetings and work coordinating the many elements of response to the disaster.

Right now, there are two main areas where Rabbi Klein and other volunteers are focusing their efforts. “One is actually the area where they’re doing search and rescue,” he explains. Throughout Sunday, June 27 – the Jewish fast day of the 17th of Tammuz, when Jews were fasting despite the extreme heat in Surfside – Rabbi Klein worked to take groups of family members to visit the site. “It’s extremely traumatic for them.”

A second area where Rabbi Klein is working is a local hotel where hundreds of family members of people who are still missing are gathered. “They came from around the country. They’re waiting for news and I think it’s a very difficult place to be psychologically.” He notes that many family members are praying “for a miracle” that their loved ones are found alive. “It’s hard to know what to do, or how to feel, or how to plan,” without knowing whether their loved ones are still alive. The hotel is offering kosher meals, all prepared by local volunteers. “So much good will has been flowing in from the Jewish community since the tragedy," Rabbi Klein explains, helping both Jewish and non-Jewish victims alike.

He notes that donations have poured in from throughout the area and that some local synagogues have transformed themselves into distribution centers for donated goods. “It’s not just the families who are waiting for news of a loved one,” he notes: “There are also families who lived in Champlain Towers who escaped. They are in need too. They’re homeless right now and are going to have to rebuild their lives.”

“I’m an Orthodox rabbi,” he notes, “but you see rabbis from all different walks of life – men and women – they’re on the ground right now. They’re trying to help diverse groups of Jews.”

Vital Medical Support

Many of the volunteers supporting the first responders in Surfside and aiding families of missing people are members of Hatzalah of South Florida, a Jewish group that improves health and medical outcomes by “augmenting existing emergency medical services in South Florida with community-based state-certified EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) volunteer responders.”

Joseph Dahan is one of the Hatzalah volunteers working in Surfside. “We’re broken down into several different teams,” he explained to Aish.com – with each team focusing on a different area of need.

At the site of the building collapse itself, “we’re providing the triage and medical support for the search and rescue teams,” he notes. When rescuers become injured or dehydrated on the job, Hatzalah volunteers help tend to the first responders.

Hatzalah also operates units of volunteers at the hotel where hundreds of family members are waiting for news. They employ psychotherapists and also work with other organizations to help counsel people. Hatzalah provides support medically and emotionally during these trying times.

Running a Storehouse of Donated Goods

Rabbi Gidon Moskovitz currently lives in Houston, but he and his family are soon planning to move to Bal Harbor – a neighboring suburb near Surfside – when he becomes the rabbi of Young Israel of Bal Harbor later this summer. As soon as Rabbi Moskovitz heard about Champlain Towers disaster, he knew he had to be with his Florida congregants, and flew to the area to help.

What he found was a huge outpouring of chesed (acts of kindness and help). Local Jews were collecting food, toiletries and other items to donate to families who lost their homes and possessions in the collapse. Soon, the garage of Young Israel of Bal Harbor was filled with donated items to distribute. Many of his congregants have friends and relatives who are still missing, and they are doing all they can to help.

“We knew they had nothing.”

“As soon as we heard about things Thursday morning at the crack of dawn, we checked on our (congregational) families,” recalls Mike Baranek, the Director of Congregational Engagement of Temple Beth Shalom in Miami Beach, in an Aish.com interview. He soon found that two of his synagogue’s members lived in Champlain Towers. “Thank God, both families were alive,” he notes. “One family walked out (of the building) in their pajamas” – unable to return to the destroyed building, they cannot access any of their family possessions.

Baranek notes that local Jewish families immediately opened their homes, giving displaced residents places to stay. “It’s been an amazing response from the city and from the Jewish community.” His congregants have been working to gather donations and to help in any way they can. “We got to the point where announcements were made that no more physical supplies are needed.”

The day after the collapse, Temple Beth Shalom delivered Shabbat dinner to their congregants who’d lost their homes. In addition to food, the synagogue also delivered kippahs, tallitot (Jewish prayer shawls), siddurs (Jewish prayer books), wine and candles for Shabbat. “We knew they had nothing,” Baranek explains.

What we can do

With the search and rescue operation still underway, there are many ways that we around the world can also step up to help. “At this moment the most important thing is to pray for the lives of the people who perished and who may still be alive,” notes Cadena volunteer Leon Roy Hausmann. Rabbi Moskovitz has been emphasizing the “power of what prayer can do.” He wants people to understand that prayer is just as important as other types of actions.

During times of tragedy, it’s a Jewish custom to recite Psalms. Consider spending some time reciting one or more Psalms each day. Here is a link to English translations of these powerful, timeless Jewish prayers. https://tehillim-online.com/tehillim-translated-into-english

We can also donate funds to help sustain the volunteers working in Surfside and the families who are in dire need.

The Greater Miami Jewish Federation has set up a fund to help victims of the Champlain Towers collapse. https://jewishmiami.org/gift/surfsidebuildingcollapse/?fbclid=IwAR318kF3kFQzOJaVXD3mVG0Zedgd0-f1SGr-wWGCZGi5B0zUhMOKafbr4Rk

The Shul of Bal Harbour, which is near to Champlain Towers and has served as a center for receiving and sorting donations, has set up the 8777 Collins Avenue Relief Fund. This fund will “be dispersed as needed directly to the victims and families.” https://www.theshul.org/8777

Donations to Hatzalah of South Florida can be made at this site: https://www.hatzalahsouthflorida.org/donate

[ustkhan]

During Vespers, certain prayers sometimes I find myself dwelling and often repeating them.

The Vesper Hymn  ( A composition of the Holy Hieromartyr Athenogenes)

O Gentle Light of the Holy Glory of the Immortal, Heavenly Father ; O Holy, blessed Jesus Christ, Son of God ; Having come to the setting of the sun, having beheld the evening light, we praise the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit : God. Meet it is for Thee at all times to be hymned with reverent voices, O Son of God Giver of life to all the world, therefore, the whole world doth glorify Thee.

The Prayer of St Simeon the Receiver of God

Lord, now lettest Thou servent depart in peace, according to Thy Word: for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: a Light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the Glory of Thy people of Israel

O Heavenly King, uphold Orthodox Christians; strengthen the faith; calm the nations; give peace to the world. Keep this holy house aright, and establish in the dwellings of the righteous our fathers and brethren who have gone before us, and accept us in the Orthodox faith and repentance. Hve mercy on us O Lord; for Thou art good and lovest mankind

[troybeecham]

Today, the Church commemorates the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.

The Presentation of Jesus at (or in) the Temple is an early episode in the life of Jesus, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem in order to officially induct him into Judaism, that is celebrated by many Christian Churches on the holiday of Candlemas. It is described in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament in the Christian Bible. Within the account, "Luke's narration of the Presentation in the Temple combines the purification rite with the Jewish ceremony of the redemption of the firstborn (Luke 2:23–24)."

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Presentation of Jesus at the temple is celebrated as one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante (Ὑπαπαντή, = "Meeting" in Greek). In Western Christianity, the additional name for the Service the day, Candlemas, is added. This Feast-day is also known as the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin or the Meeting of the Lord. In some liturgical churches, Vespers (or Compline) on the Feast of the Presentation marks the end of the Epiphany season. In the Church of England, the Mother Church of the Anglican Communion, the Presentation of Christ in the Temple is a Principal Feast celebrated either on 2 February or on the Sunday between 28 January and 3 February. In the Catholic Church, especially since the time of Pope Gelasius I (492-496) who in the fifth century contributed to its expansion, the Presentation is celebrated on 2 February and is the fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary.

The event is described in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:22–40). According to the gospel, Mary and Joseph took the Infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days (inclusive) after his birth to complete Mary's ritual purification after childbirth, and to perform the redemption of the firstborn son, in obedience to the Torah (Leviticus 12, Exodus 13:12–15, etc.). Luke explicitly says that Joseph and Mary take the option provided for poor people (those who could not afford a lamb; Leviticus 12:8), sacrificing "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." Leviticus 12:1–4 indicates that this event should take place forty days after birth for a male child, hence the Presentation is celebrated forty days after Christmas.

Upon bringing Jesus into the temple, they encountered Simeon. The Gospel records that Simeon had been promised that "he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ" (Luke 2:26). Simeon then uttered the prayer that would become known as the Nunc Dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon, which prophesied the redemption of the world by Jesus:

“Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29–32).

Simeon then prophesied to Mary: "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed. (Luke 2:34–35).

The elderly prophetess Anna was also in the Temple, and offered prayers and praise to God for Jesus, and spoke to everyone there of His importance to redemption in Jerusalem (Luke 2:36–38).

Almighty and everliving God, we humbly pray that, as your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple, so we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts by Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Amen.