Yom Ha’Atzmaut Seder Packing List

So much about this time continues to be heart-breaking and soul-rending. Here in the United States, far removed from the front lines, one of the things that has been most painful for Rabbi Isaac Saposnik over these last few weeks has been the animus with which members of our Havaya family are engaging with one another – primarily on social media.

Rabbi Deborah Waxman explores the stories of Genesis, as well as contemporary thought, in a search for “wellsprings of empathy.” This teaching points toward means of resilience in the extreme uncertainty of the present.

For 45 minutes, participants had a digital space to be together and hold their intense, conflicting emotions. Presenters recited poems — both their own work, composed in the past days, and the work of other poets — led meditations and recited prayers, such as the Mi Sheberach, a prayer for healing, and the Kaddish, the memorial prayer for the dead. (Here is a link to all the resources recited during the program.)