A Prayer for Peace

My dear friend, Laya Crust, sent this beautiful painting to me. Her work is steeped in Jewish history, tradition and beauty. “I was wondering what I could do with my sadness over the situation in the world,” she wrote me. “The hatred is frightening. So, I wrote out these phrases and the prayer.”
She asked me to share the prayer and her visual evocation of the words. I am deeply moved and grateful to do so. For an additional sensory experience, here is the Hebrew prayer set to music composed by Julie Silver
PS
Following my last post in this space, my rabbi sent me a link to an essay written by an Israeli tour guide and educator. In his essay he offers a thoughtful and well-considered perspective on the current dispute in Sheikh Jarrah.