In the Aftermath of the Boston Marathon

It is hard to believe that it was only Monday of this past week that we learned about the horrific news of the bombings at the Boston Marathon.  To watch the face of fear and loss rear its ugly head is quite disconcerting.  But there seems to be another side to such situations which always amazes me.  It is the ability to see beyond the dark side.  There has been much written over the past few days including this statement by Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson of the Ziegler School of Rabbinics at the University of Judaism:

Those explosions in Boston were meant to terrify, to intimidate, to silence, to disrupt. We turn to mourn the murdered and to grieve with the wounded. But our deepest response is to repudiate the goals of terror. In response to the bombs, let us live more boldly, let us stand tall together, let us speak our peace, let us love resiliently.

One cannot help see the face of true heroes, the first responders, who ran to aid those who were affected by the blasts.  It also seems that the nearby Massachusetts General Hospital was quite prepared to deal with such a crisis situation.   A website called United with Israel reported that were it not for Israeli training, the medical team at Massachusetts General Hospital might have been less prepared to deal with this situation. According to Alasdair Conn, Chief of Emergency Services at Massachusetts General Hospital, “About two years ago in actual fact we asked the Israelis to come across and they helped us set up our disaster team so that we could respond in this kind of manner. A few years ago we wanted to upgrade our emergency response to things like explosions, and unfortunately Israel was dealing with several types of [these incidents] a year… and we had to upgrade our response.”

I know there is a strong feeling that we would like the culprits of this hateful act to be caught and brought to justice.  But we also turn to prayer to express our deepest hopes and thoughts.

 A prayer by Mark Greenspan of the Rabbinical Assembly:

We reach out to the people of Boston.
We pray for healing of body and soul
For all those who were injured
And for a city traumatized by terror.
We call out to them: You are not alone!

“May God be your refuge and stronghold,
Sheltering you from the fear that strikes at night
And the terror that flies by day.” (Psalm 91)

May you find strength
In the loving concern of those
Who condemn violence and terror;
In the selfless devotion of the first responders
Who came to your aid;
In the prayers and good wishes
Of people everywhere
Who are thinking of you in this dark hour.

“When God calls on me, I will answer.
God is with me in times of distress
God rescues me and shows me salvation.” (Psalm 91)

We know, we believe with complete faith,
That violence is never the answer;
That those who learn to speak to one another
Can create a world of harmony and peace.
Amen

May those words continue to resound in our hearts and minds.  And may they come to be speedily in our day.