Va-etchanan: The Funnel of Time (Ruth Brin)

I know I use a lot of Ruth Brin as creative liturgy, but given the stabbing at the Jerusalem Pride Parade, the so-called "Pricetag" attack that killed a Palestinian baby in the West Bank, and the seemingly endless march of death by violence we see in this country, I feel her words on this week's portion are appropriate and meaningful, and will be sharing them tonight.

The Funnel of Time, Ruth Brin
(Deuteronomy 3-7)

I prayed to my ancient Lord:
return me to Sinai,
make me a sister to Joshua,
a son to Moses, a child of Israel once again,
to listen, to understand, to perform.

Pour us back through the funnel of time
to Sinai--
my children, my parents, my grandparents--
remove from the earth the scars of the cities
we inhabit;

Remove from our memories the many times
we have turned away from You;
Return us all, as children, to begin again,
to hear this time, to understand this time;
this time to obey.

Yes, You are the One who pardons and forgives,
but forgiveness contains no gift of innocence,
and You will not return me to the beginning;

You will not roll time back for my people,
nor erase history from the consciousness
of the peoples of the earth.

Turn Your face toward us, Lord of the universe,
renew Your revelation, as You gave it at Sinai,

Soften our hearts that we may return to You,
hear us in our repentance,

Let Your Torah be the compass that turns us toward righteousness, toward compassion, and toward
You.