Poem read at the Arnstein Jewish Community Center during the October 29, 2018 vigil held to honor those who passed during the mass shooting at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue on October 27, 2018
By Marilyn Kallet
Tree of Life
The blessing of an infant should be
Wrapped in joy.
The body of a congregation
At worship should
Be swaddled in
Peace.
We have come this far
To comfort one
Another.
In the time of our ancestors
We journeyed
Farther for peace
And prayer––
From Germany, Russia,
Latvia, Poland
And beyond.
We have come this far
For peaceful worship and we
Will not be deterred.
Tikkun Olum.
We cannot piece together
Lives that have
Been shattered.
We cannot undo bloodshed.
We continue the work of
Brotherhood and repair,
Speak out against
Injustice in all forms.
We have come this far to comfort
Each another, to remember
Eleven of our kin.
May their memories be a
Blessing. May we be worthy
Of them, continue the work
Of loving, teaching, healing,
Praying, blessing the babies,
Respecting the elders,
Mourning the dead.
Praise God
And every creative act.
The Tree of Life was
Made of people who tended it,
Peacefully,
Like us.
Repair and remember.