In remembrance of those we have loved and lost

(created by Congregation Kol Ami in Los Angeles)

 

Reader:

Sister that I never held near

Comrade that I never embraced

Your memory is almost lost.

 

Congregation:

The one we don't talk about.

The loving one who never married.

The one for whom no Kaddish was said.

 

Reader:

Your loneliness calls out to me:

I know of your struggles; we are not strangers,

And if my path is easier, I will not forget who walked it first.

We call you to mind; but did you not sometimes think of us,

Your children, lovers across the years,

Those who would follow and would think of you and bless your memory

and call you to mind.

 

Congregation:

With David and Jonathan, we will not forget you,

With Ruth and Naomi, we will not forget you,

In the name of God, you are our sisters and our brothers, and we ask that you be

remembered for peace.

 

 

Asher Yatzar: A prayer of gratitude for our bodies:

for men, women, intersex, transgender people and everybody else

(The first section comes from traditional daily Jewish services;

the last paragraph was created by Rabbi Elliot Kukla.)

 

Barukh atta Adonai Elohaynu melekh haolam asher yatzar et ha'adam b'khokhma.

Blessed are You, Eternal One our God, Ruler of the universe, who has formed the

human being with wisdom.

You created in the human body, openings upon openings and cavities upon cavities. It is

clear and well-known that if just one of these unique valves within the complexity of

each body, was blocked or ruptured, it would be impossible to survive.

 

May the day come when it is also obvious and evident, that if just one unique body within the

complexity of Your world is blocked or ruptured, if just one of us is not allowed to make

our distinctive beauty manifest in the world, then it is impossible for all of Your creation

to thrive and rise each day joyfully before You. Blessed are You, Source of all life and

form, who implanted within us the ability to shape and reshape ourselves – molding,

changing, transitioning and adorning our bodies – so that the fullness of our many

genders, the abundance of our desires and the diversity of our souls can be revealed.

Blessed are You, Eternal One, who has made me Your partner in daily completing

the task of my own formation.