A Jewish Prayer for the Refugees of Syria by Rabbi David Greenspoon

The lifeless body of Aylan Kurdi, 3, who died after boats carrying Syrian refugees to the Greek island of Kos capsized, near the Turkish resort of Bodrum on 2 September 2015. At least 11 Syrian migrants died in a boat that sank after leaving Turkey for the Greek island of Kos.EPA/Dogan News Agency

I was unable to find a prayer for the Syrian refugees written from a Jewish perspective, so I wrote this one. The reference to Hagar and Ishmael is especially germane and timely; it is part of the scriptural selections for Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), which starts this coming Sunday evening. I welcome your use and sharing of this prayer, but ask that you keep the attribution intact.

A Jewish Prayer for the Refugees of Syria by Rabbi David Greenspoon

Almighty God,

Today during this holiest of times, we pray as a Jewish community for the refugees of Syria, people who may not love us, for they have been taught to fear and despise us. Yet today, we have no choice but to hold them in our hearts, for they have been betrayed by their own government, and all but abandoned by the governments of the world. The images of bodies ravaged by chemical weapons, of lifeless toddlers whose parents’ desperate gamble did not succeed, of men and women and children with and without their families who look too normal to be refugees, are inescapable. We look at them and know that we cannot hate them, for they are not monsters. They are the victims of monsters and we know all too well what that means.

Source of Compassion, we have not forgotten that long ago You heard the cries of Hagar as she watched our cousin Ishmael suffer near to death; You visited her with the promise of life. Today we pray that You hear the cries of innumerable Mothers Hagar lifting their hearts to You on behalf of their children and loved ones. Guide them to safety and shelter. Protect Your holy messengers from among all the worlds’ righteous who seek to make Your presence felt as a source of comfort for those seeking relief from war, violence, and death. Send consolation to those bereft of home and hearth and those who have suffered the loss of loved ones; may those suffering trauma and those in bereavement find wholeness and healing. Most of all dear God, cause Your spirit to dwell within all of Your human children so that the words of Your prophet come to fruition: that nation shall not lift up sword against nation—even its own people—and that war will be unlearned from the earth. 

Amen.