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We are the generation that stands between the fires: Behind us the flame and smoke that rose from Auschwitz and from Hiroshima; From the burning forests of the Amazon, From the hottest years of human history that bring upon us Melted ice fields, Flooded cities, Scorching droughts. Before us the nightmare of a Flood of Fire, The heat and smoke that could consume all Earth. | |
“Here! The day is coming That will flame like a furnace, “ Says the Infinite YHWH / Yahhhh, The Breath of Life — when all the arrogant, all evil-doers, root and branch, will like straw be burnt to ashes. Yet for those of you who revere My Name, Yes! My Name, Yahhhh, the Interbreath of Life! a sun of justice will arise with healing in its wings / rays. . . . | |
“Here! Before the coming of the great and awesome day of YHWH/ the Breath of Life, I will send you the Prophet Elijah to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, lest I come and smite the earth with utter destruction.”[1] Malachi 3:20-21 | |
Here! we ourselves are coming Before the great and terrible day of smiting Earth — For we ourselves shall turn the hearts Of parents to their children And the hearts of children to their parents So that this day of smiting Does not fall upon us.”[2] Malachi 3:23-24 | |
It is our task to make from fire not an all-consuming blaze But the light in which we see each other fully. All of us different, All of us bearing One Spark. | |
We light these fires to see more clearly That the earth and all who live as part of it Are not for burning. We light these fires to see more clearly The rainbow in our many-colored faces. | |
Blessed is the One within the many. Blessed are the many who make One. | |
[Light candles of commitment] |
“Between the Fires: A Prayer for lighting Candles of Commitment” was composed by Rabbi Arthur Waskow, drawing on traditional midrash about the danger of a Flood of Fire, and the passage from Malachi. Rabbi David Seidenberg (neohasid.org) was inspired to compose a prayer based on this on this one for the ten day period between the day of the flood (ל״ב בעומר) and the day of the rainbow (מ״ב בעומר) during the Sefirat HaOmer, A prayer between the Fires (between the 32nd and the 42nd day of the Omer).
“Between the Fires: A Kavvanah for Lighting Candles of Commitment, by Rabbi Arthur Waskow (the Shalom Center)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
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Associated Image:
The Rim Fire in the Stanislaus National Forest near in California began on Aug. 17, 2013 and is under investigation. The fire has consumed approximately 149, 780 acres and is 15% contained. U.S. Forest Service photo.
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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17
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