A Yom HaShoah prayer-poem for 5784, in the form of a vision, imagining how the souls of murdered in the Holocaust might respond to the souls of the murdered in the Hamas shock assault of October 7, 2023. The Holocaust victims in heaven purposefully misquote verses from four Psalms–Psalms 121 and 129-131–reframing them as questions, rather than asserting them as statements of faith.
Yom HaShoah, תשפ’ד
In the precincts of heaven,
The Six Million assemble,
Guiding the newly murdered
To the sacred courtyards,
While the defenders of Israel stand guard
On the ramparts and at the gates.
As they approach the inner courtyard,
The multitudes sing psalms,
Not as praise, as questions:
Does the Guardian of Israel
Slumber and sleep? (Ps 121)
Will You cut the bonds of the wicked? (Ps 129)
From the depths I call out;
Do You hear my voice? (Ps 130)
Shall we put our hope in You? (Ps 131)
In the courtyards of heaven
The Six Million assemble,
Bringing with them the
Newly murdered.
With their blood and tears
They entreat the Holy of Holies:
Free the hostages.
Protect Your people.
Save our land.
To the living they declare:
Remember.
© 2024 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight
Alden Solovy spreads joy and excitement for prayer. A liturgist and poet, his work has been used by people of all faiths throughout the world. He’s written more than 700 pieces of new liturgy, offering a fresh new Jewish voice, challenging the boundaries between poetry, meditation, personal growth and prayer. He’s a teacher, a writing coach and an award-winning essayist and journalist. He’s an ELI talk fellow, speaking on “Falling in Love with Prayer.”
Alden’s writing was transformed by multiple tragedies, marked in 2009 by the sudden death of his wife from catastrophic brain injury. As a result, he deepened his exploration of meditation, poetry, liturgy and personal prayer as a healing, spiritual practice. His third book, This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day, was released in 2017 by CCAR Press. His next book, This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings, is anticipated this winter, also from CCAR Press.
Alden’s work has been widely anthologized, including Men Pray (Skylight Paths Publishing) and Choosing a Jewish Life (Anita Diamant, Schocken), as well as these CCAR Press books: Gates of Shabbat; Mishkah R’Fuah: Where Healing Resides; L’col Z’man Eit: For Sacred Moments, a Rabbi’s Manual; and Mishkan Hanefesh, a new machzor. Alden is a three-time winner of Chicago journalism’s top prize for essay writing. He was the National Havurah Committee’s 2015 Summer Institute Liturgist-In-Residence. Here are his publishing credits.
Alden is available to teach, read his work or serve as liturgist-in-residence. His teaching spans from U.S. synagogues to Limmud Conference UK to HUC-JIR, Jerusalem. Here’s his speaking schedule, as well as testimonials from rabbis and educators.
Alden holds a B.A. in English composition with a minor in literature from Beloit College, an M.A. in journalism from the University of Illinois-Springfield and an M.B.A. in economics and finance from the University of Chicago. He previously served as executive editor and associate publisher for the Journals of the American Hospital Association.
Powerful words