Shabbat Service, Friday November 2, 2018

Friday night at my synagogue eleven empty chairs stood in front of the ark where the Torahs are kept.  Each chair had a prayer shawl spread across it and a candle in front of it.  We stood to say the mourners' prayer in memory of those who were killed in the awful masacre in Pittsburgh. And then we sang We Remember Them, which the cantor had set to music.  Usually part of the service on the Day of Atonement, it seemed fitting for this night.  

We Remember Them

In the rising of the sun and at its going down,
We remember them, we remember them.
In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter
We will remember them, we will remember them.
In the opening buds, and in the rebirth of spring,
We remember them.
In the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer
We remember them.
In the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn
We remember them, we remember them.
In the beginning of the year and when it ends
We will remember them, we will remember them.
When we are weary and in need of strength, 
We remember them.
When we are lost and sick at heart,
We will remember them.
When we have joy we yearn to share,
We remember them, we remember them.
As long as we live, they too shall live
For they are now a part of us
As we remember them.