JRF and Jewish groups have mobilized to repsond to the March 11 tsunami that hit Japan. This is a time to offer our prayers, our financial resources and words of comfort for those whose lives have been lost in the Tsunami in Japan, the survivors trying to reclaim their lives or searching for loved ones, and for the people of Japan who are living with ongoing repercussions from the disaster and nuclear plant malfunction threats among so many other challenges. You may also consider reaching out to your local Japanese communities to lend emotional and functional support as needed.

Holy One who is Blessing

Hear our Prayers

Let our actions be of impact.

                          - Rabbi Shawn Zevit

Donations can be made through:

The Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief: https://jdc.org/donation/donate.aspx

The Jewish Federations of North America: http://www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=238775

Ve'ahavta (Canada Relief Agency): http://www.veahavta.org/

Mercy Corps: https://www.mercycorps.org/donate/japan

A Prayer for the People of Japan by Rabbi Menachem Creditor

Dear God,

Many, many images of God have been lost in earthquake

and fire and mighty waters just yesterday.

And so we turn to You, Adonai,

and we ask for Your strength and comfort.

We open our hearts one to the other

as brothers and sisters struggling in Your world.

“Above the thunder of the mighty waters,

more majestic than the breakers of the sea is Adonai (Ps. 93:4).”

Be with us as we offer what we can, through prayer and action,

to our sisters and brothers who are suffering in Japan

and who stand on alert around the world.

We ask for You to be the still, small voice after the fire,

allowing space for mourning and hope in the face of tragedy.

We see Your sheltering Presence and Your holy tears

in the receding waters of the Tsunami

and in the rescue work being carried out

by so many for the sake of a fragile world.

May it be Your will, Adonai our God and God of our ancestors,

to send healing to the injured and comfort to those in mourning.

May You be with those who are engaged in the sacred work of rescue.

Be with us as we bring shelter, food, and water to those in need.

May we merit to save many lives.

May those affected by this disaster know Your comfort.

May we act when we learn how we can help.

May our world be blessed by peace.

Amen.

A Prayer in Response to the Earthquake and Tsunami

The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief.  I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light.  For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.