Rabbi Julie met with congregants who heeded a call to discuss the Prayer for Israel, the Prayer for Our Country, and the Prayer for Peace that we as a congregation typically say during our High Holiday services. Everyone agreed that in the aftermath of October 7 in Israel and the rise of antisemitism in America we as a people are facing a dark time, but that’s all we agreed on. Otherwise, we were all over the map.
Given the range of feelings and opinions expressed in the meeting alone — with only a handful of congregants present — members of our community were invited to write their own prayers.