British Chief Rabbi Writes Special Prayer for Haiti

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rabbi-sacksThe Chief Rabbi of Britain, Lord Jonathan Sacks, has issued a special tefillah for the victims of the Haiti earthquake, a disaster which is thought to have killed more than 200,000 people.He has distributed the prayer to all shuls to be said this Shabbos and has urged the Jewish community to become involved in fundraising for the stricken country.

The Chief Rabbi said he was “deeply distressed at the tragic loss of life and damage suffered by the people of Haiti.”

He added: “It has been estimated that every single family on the island has lost either a family member or a close friend.

“Not only are they dealing with the shock, anguish and physical danger that the earthquake itself brought, but are having to cope with the challenge to survive at a time when the infrastructure around them is destroyed.”

THE CHIEF RABBI’S PRAYER FOR HAITI

Adon ha-olamim
Sovereign of the universe,

We join our prayers to the prayers of others throughout the world, for the victims of the earthquake which brought destruction and disaster to Haiti and took so many lives.

Almighty God, we beseech you, send comfort to the bereaved, and healing to the injured.

Be with those who are engaged in the work of rescue. Grant strength to those who see to the needs of the injured and sick, give shelter to the homeless, and who provide sustenance to those in need.

Almighty God, we recognise how insignificant we are, and how helpless in the face of nature when its full power is unleashed.

Open our hearts in prayer and our hands in generosity, so that by our actions we may bring comfort, healing and support.

Help us now and all humanity as we seek to do what we can by helping people reconstruct their broken lives.

Ken Yehi Ratzon, ve-nomar.
Amen.

{The JC.com/Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}


11 COMMENTS

  1. Thank you Rabbi Sacks. That was a very moving prayer! Was it written in Hebrew and this is the english translation or was it written in English?

  2. I’m a little tired of all of this yiddishe time being spent with helping Haiti. Do you realize what Haiti is? Full of voodoo and other stuff. Pat Robertson is a little nuts, but he wasn’t totally nuts.

  3. “enough already” has clearly never heard about rachmonus for his fellow man – be he from Haiti, Haifa or Hoboken.

    Please remember that http://www.matzav.com can – and definitely is – accessed by anyone in the world. Sonai anash would be only too pleased to pick up on “enough already’s” comment.

    FYI, “nice”, Chief Rabbi Sacks’ prayer was composed both in Hebrew and in English. In my shul it will be read in Hebrew.

  4. #2

    You’re right. As Jews we should stop caring about the suffering of others and worry more about hecksherim on our music.

    I’m sure that’s what God wants from us.

  5. To appreciate this prayer, you have to read Rabbi Sacks’ writing on Chumash Bereishis.
    Powerful, insightful & mechudash’dik.

  6. wow these comments are so disgusting. whe cry and complain that the world remained silent and did nothing (or didnt do much) during the holocaust…and now we are doing something so that others dont look back and accuse us of the same which we wouldnt want for us and you are whining and complaining over a prayer? how petty and small. is i hope my children never have such a poor pathetic chinuch like you obviously did.

  7. Rabbi Sacks has written a beautiful prayer.
    The efforts of all those involved in the rescue
    mission in Haiti are to be applauded as concrete fulfillment of that great Hebrew
    Commandment: “Love thy neighbor.”
    (Leviticus 19:18)

  8. Comment #3 from Englisher Yid is %100,000 right!! Very tragically, this person in Comment #2 is going %100,000 AGAINST what our Torah teaches and is making a ghastly horrific Chillul HaShem!!!!

  9. #2 #2 #2 #2 #2 #2 #2 #2 #2 #2 #2
    HORRIBLE COMMENT, TAKE THAT BACK NOW!

    Lets stop all the prayer because every single person there is a blemish to this world. Who cares if they have family and are human beings created by hashem. Everyone stop this prayer. They are mere “voodoo” worshipers, not humans who feel pain. Noooo, lets just laugh and celebrate because they are dying by the thousands! YA! EXCACTLY WHAT YOUR POST IS SAYING! HORRIBLE!!! #3, nice comment, I am into it!

  10. Today there are many who would put Avraham Avinu into Cherem for davening for the Anshei Sdom. Look, he may have been our forefather, but he was nowhere near as frum as we are today (sic). We have come a long way since his time.

  11. Comment 11. from Pashuteh Yid: This is great!! I love your sarcasm!!

    Yep, today we all think that we really know it all and that we are all perfect of the perfect perfection and holier than the holiest Malochim – angels!

    I do not remember where I read it, but I saw printed about an incident where a person was critical of certain policies of Chinuch that Torah U’Mesora was doing. Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky, ZT’L, strongly rebuked the person, forcefully telling him that these policies of Torah U’Mesora were his (Rav Yaakov’s) own policies! “Everything that Joe Kaminesky (the former director of TU) does is because I TELL HIM TO IT!! If you have any complaint on Joe Kaminesky, complain TO ME!!” “Maybe you should go back to yeshiva for another ten years (and learn a lot more Torah), and then maybe you will know something!!”

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