מי שברך לעוסקות ועוסקים במלאכת תיעוד הפגיעות המיניות ומעשי הקינוסייד ב 7.10 | Mi sheBerakh (a protective prayer) for those documenting the atrocities of 7 October 2023

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13 January 2026 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

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2023-2025 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., מי שברך mi sheberakh

I had the honour of hearing Dr. Cochav Elkayam Levy speak of the work she has done since Oct. 7, 2023, documenting the savagery committed by Hamas on that day. Apart from documenting the torture, rape and murder committed that day, Dr. Elkayam-Levy and her team named a specific form of terror: Kinocide—violently harming family members in each other’s presence. After her talk, I realized our community must support both this work and those doing it. Exposure to such evidence is itself harmful (which is why Hamas livestreamed their attacks), making this documentation both sacred work and a source of spiritual, mental, and emotional trauma. The Mi Sheberakh I wrote is one step toward creating a community of protection around those doing this unbearably difficult work. Read more about this on my page.

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ אִמּוֹתֵינוּ וַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ הוּא יְבָרֵךְ וְיָגֵן עַל הָעוֹסְקוֹת וְהָעוֹסְקִים בִּמְלֶאכֶת תִּעוּד זְוָעוֹת ב 7.10.2023. תִּעוּד מַעֲשֵׂי הָאֹנֶס וְהָעִנּוּי, מַעֲשֵׂי הַטֶּבַח, וּמַעֲשֵׂי רֶצַח מְכֻוָּן שֶׁל הוֹרִים וִילָדִים אֶחָד לְעֵינֵי הַשֵּׁנִי, לְמַעַן נִזְכֹּר לְדוֹר אַחֲרוֹן.	May the One who blessed our Ancestors bless and protect those engaged in the work of documenting the atrocities of October 7, 2023. Documenting the acts of rape and torture, the acts of massacre, and the acts of deliberate murder of parents and children before each other’s eyes, so we may remember to the last generation.
הַיּוֹצֶרֶת אוֹר וּבוֹרֵאת חֹשֶׁךְ, שִׁמְרִי עַל הַהוֹלְכִים בִּנְתִיבֵי חֹשֶׁךְ בְּאַסְּפָם עֵדוּת לְמַעֲשֵׂי הַזְּוָעָה שֶׁל אַנְשֵׁי הַחַמַאס וְעוֹזְרֵיהֶם.	Creator of Light and Darkness, watch over those who walk the paths of Darkness as they gather testimony to the acts of horror committed by Ḥamas operatives and their accomplices.
הָעוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם וּבוֹרֵא רַע, חָזָק אֶת הַמְּתַעֲדִים בְּעוֹדָם נִכְנָסִים בִּגְבוּרָה לִתְהוֹמוֹת הָרֹעַ, לִלְמֹד כָּל עֵדוּת מְצֻלֶּמֶת, מֻקְלֶטֶת, כְּתוּבָה וּמְסֻפֶּרֶת, שֶׁל אֹנֶס, אֹנֶס קְבוּצָתִי, עִנּוּי וְרֶצַח. רֶצַח הַגּוּף וְרֶצַח הַנֶּפֶשׁ.	Maker of Peace and creator of Evil, strengthen the Documenters as they bravely enter the depths of Evil to study every photographed, recorded, written and recounted testimony of rape, gang rape, torture and murder. Murder of body and murder of soul.
שְׁכִינָה מְקוֹר הַחַיִּים, הֲגֵנִי עַל הָעוֹסְקִים בִּמְלֶאכֶת הַתִּעוּד בְּעוֹדָם נִכְנָסִים לְפַרְדֵּ״ס הַטֻּמְאָה.	Shekhinah, source of life, protect those engaged in the work of documentation as they enter the Orchard of Impurity.
שִׁפְכֵי כַּמַּיִם אַהֲבָתֵךְ עֲלֵיהֶם לְמַעַן יִטְהֲרוּ. חַתְּלִי פִּצְעֵי רוּחָם וְנָקִי אוֹתָם בְּמֶלַח בְּרִית חַיִּים וּבְרִית שָׁלוֹם לְמַעַן אִחוּי נַפְשָׁם הַקְּרוּעָה מִמַּרְאוֹת קָשִׁים.	Pour Your love upon them like water so they may be purified. Bind their spirit-wounds and cleanse them with the salt of the Covenant of Life and the Covenant of Peace, so that their spirit torn by terrible sights may heal.
בַּעֲבוּר שֶׁכָּל עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל מִתְפַּלְּלִים בְּעַד שׁוּבָם שֶׁל הַמְּתַעֲדוֹת וְהַמְּתַעֲדִים אֶל זְרוֹעוֹתֵינוּ בְּאַרְצוֹת הַחַיִּים.	As all the people of Israel pray for the return of the Documenters to our embrace in the land of the living.
וְנֹאמַר, אָמֵן.	And let us say, Amen.

This mi sheberakh prayer was offered by Rabbi Gila Caine for those reviewing and compiling the documentary evidence of the depraved violence committed by HAMA”S and its allies on 7 October 2023.

Gila Caine

Born and raised in Jerusalem, Rabbah Gila Caine graduated from the Hebrew University with an MA in Contemporary Judaism and received her rabbinic ordination at the HUC-JIR’s Israeli program in 2011. She now serves as rabbi at Temple Beth Ora congregation in Edmonton, Alberta, where she lives with her husband, children and two cats.

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Hadas Kalderon, whose children have been taken hostage and whose mother and niece were killed, breaks down in tears while looking through her mother’s burned home. 20 Oct. 2003, Nir Oz, Israel. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) via צה״ל.

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