EL MALEH RACHAMIM - JEWISH PRAYER FOR THE DEAD

G-d, filled with mercy, dwelling in the heavens' heights, bring proper rest beneath the wings of your Shechinah, amid the ranks of the holy and the pure, illuminating like the brilliance of the skies the souls of our beloved and our blameless who went to their eternal place of rest. May You who are the source of mercy shelter them beneath Your wings eternally, and bind their souls among the living, that they may rest in peace. And let us say: Amen.

Cecil Rosenthal
David Rosenthal
Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz
Irving Younger
Melvin Wax
Rose Mallinger
Bernice Simon
Sylvan Simon
Joyce Feinburg
Richard Gottfried
Daniel Stein

Amen.

The killings and woundings by Robert Bowers in Tree of Life Synagogue left me speechless and without tears. It was only today when I saw the people in Pittsburgh marching in solidarity with their Jewish neighbors that I shed tears. Isn't the Jewish prayer for the dead, El Maleh Rachamim, one of the most beautiful prayers ever?

IT'S NOT THE GUNS - PART 5

Santa Monica is the latest scene of a mass shooting resulting in multiple fatalities. At least six people are dead after a man reportedly wielding an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle ran through the Los Angeles suburb, firing indiscriminately at passing vehicles and people as he made his way to Santa Monica College, where he was killed by police.

It's unknown at this time what the man's name is or why he allegedly did this. Right now, it looks like the spree began sometime around noon Pacific time at a house fire, where two men were found dead, apparently from gunshot wounds.

Another mass shooting with at least 6 people dead and others wounded.  Two of the dead were the shooter's father and brother.  And we do nothing.  How many deaths will it take?

UPDATE: Apparently, 5 rather than 6 people were killed in the rampage.

A PRAYER FOR SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, NEWTOWN, CT

Prayer for Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut

By Kelvin Holdsworth

 Eternal God,

hear your diverse people
as a world unites in prayer and compassion
for the people of Newtown Connecticut.
We pray for all involved in the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Bless with your kindness those who speak to the broken-hearted.
Bless the teachers, paramedics, medical staff and police
with courage, skill and wisdom.
Bless those who mourn.
Bless those who grieve
and comfort the bewildered.
Help us each to build a world safe and fit for children.
Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen.

And Rmj at Adventus:

Rend the heavens and rend our hearts.  Whatever it takes, we need it now.  It is unimaginable that we are still waiting for God to come and save us from ourselves.  Whatever relief there is from this horror, we cannot seem to provide it.

We can't even seem to talk about how to prevent it. 

HOW TO TALK ABOUT THE MASS SHOOTINGS

It's time to have a somber national discussion about the [insert shooting tragedy here] tragedy.

Before we get started, let's go over a few basic ground rules.

1. In the wake of the __________ tragedy it's time for us all to come together as a nation and not assign blame. This is not the time, for example, to talk about how it's easier to purchase a gun in America than it is to vote (or buy French cheese).

2. And we won't tolerate any second guessing of the Second Amendment right to carry assault weapons, or questions about how the Framers could have possibly envisaged an assault rifle over 200 years ago, or why a "hunter" needs six thousand rounds of ammunition, or kevlar, or smoke grenades to kill a pheasant.

In his post at the link above, Chris Andoe at Americablog lists the rest of rules for discussion here in the United States of the most recent mass shooting and those that may follow.  People in other countries are not bound by our rules for discussion, so you may read or hear words that you find offensive and politically incorrect, such as, "America's gun laws are insane."

At the time of the Colorado shootings, I'd forgotten that the previous mass shooting was only two months before in Seattle, Washington.   The time lapse between the two most recent mass shootings was two weeks. With the grief over the Colorado shootings still fresh, it's a wonder that most of us go on as if nothing unusual has happened.  Two mass killings within two weeks...  I am stunned. One of my Facebook friends commented on a thread on my page which included gallows humor.  I responded that gallows humor is one way of coping for me, because the horror is too much to take in.

And now, on to the discussions, as we remember to follow the rules as laid out by Chris at Americablog.  

SEVEN DEAD IN SHOOTING AT SIKH TEMPLE IN WISCONSIN

Police and fire departments are handling a shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., south of Milwaukee, where at least seven people, including the gunman, are dead, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and other news organizations. At least three people, including a police officer who exchanged shots with the suspect, have been injured and taken to a hospital.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.