Prayer For Passover
Teach us God, to turn our panic into patience,
And our fear into acts of kindness and support.
Our strong must watch out for our weak,
Our young must take care of our old.
Help each one of us to do our part to halt the spread of this virus
Send strength and courage to the doctors and nurses
In the frontlines of this battle,
Fortify them with the full force of their healing powers.
Send wisdom and insight to the scientists
Working day and night across the world to discover healing treatments.
Bless their efforts, God.
Fill our leaders with the wisdom and the courage
To choose wisely and act quickly.
Help us, God, to see that we are one world,
One people
Who will rise above this pandemic together.
Send us health God,
Watch over us,
Grace us with Your love,
Bless us with Your healing light.
Hear us God,
Heal us God,
Amen.
Let this night of Liberation
Mark the birth of a great healing.
Give all souls the wisdom and the strength
To sacrifice their freedom of movement
For the sake of life.
Send healing to all who are ill.
Fill doctors and nurses and all those in the front lines of this battle
With the full force of their sacred healing powers.
Watch over them, God.
Enlighten scientists all across the world
With insight and discoveries
That will lead to effective treatments,
And some day soon,
A cure.
Free us, God,
From this plague.
Shelter us with your comforting presence.
On this Passover Night
We pray to you, God,
Let it Pass Over us.
Hear us God,
Heal us God
Amen.
On this sacred night
Divided in space
United in voice
As we start our Seder
We cry out to You, God,
From our place of confinement and worry.
Hear our Passover Prayer:
Let it Pass Over, God
Let this plague Pass Over us.
Let it Pass Over every nation, every people,
The young and the old.
Let it Pass Over
Every city and every village
All across Your world.
Let it Pass Over,
Heal those stricken
In every hospital bed
And in every home. Amen
Water is refreshing, cleansing, and clear, so it's easy to understand why so many cultures and religions use water for symbolic purification. Washing hands twice during our Seder: now, with no blessing, to get us ready for the rituals to come; and then later, with a blessing, preparing us for the meal.
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav vitzivanu al n'tilat yadayim.
Blessed are You, God, Spirit of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments, and commanded us concerning the washing of the hands.
Thank God, most of us are in a position such that we do not have to compromise on any of the biblical laws (or even rabbinic restrictions and customs) of Pesah. Still, as we are set to begin a holiday bereft of some of the elements that are core to our celebrations family, shul, Yizkor, inviting those less fortunate to spend the Sedarim with us it is natural to feel sadness and disappointment. I think it's okay to feel that, to mourn the loss. But I also wonder if it's worth reframing our thinking by shifting from the sadness of what we aren't doing to the simhah, joy, of what we are doing in its stead. In that spirit, I offer the following adaptation of the holy tefillah originally composed in Bergen Belsen. Hopefully, our inability to fulfill certain elements of Pesah due to our extreme care for health and life can also be experienced through a lens of religious meaning.
Amen
Our Father in Heaven! It is open and known before You that it is our will to do Your will to celebrate the festival of Pesah with our communities, families, and friends, to pray and recite Your praises together with our communities, to have an intergenerational conversation about the story of the Exodus, to take care of the elderly, to sincerely invite those less fortunate to partake of the Seder with us, as the Haggadah says, Anyonewho is hungry come eat, anyone who is needy come and partake of the Pesah offering. With aching hearts we must realize that the current precautions around the COVID-19 pandemic prevent us from such celebration, since we find ourselves in a situation of sakkanat nefashot, of potential danger to our lives. Therefore, we are prepared and ready to fulfill Your commandment, And you shall live by them (by the commandments of the Torah), but not die by them, and we heed Your warning: Be very careful and guard your life. Therefore we pray to you that You maintain us in life and hasten to redeem us that we may observe Your statutes and do Your will and serve You with a perfect heart. Amen!
Thank you for the comfort we find in Your presence. Through the Holy Spirit we know Your presence is with us. Send us Your peace Lord; the peace that passes all understanding. Don't let us waiver and doubt. Give us a faith that is everlasting. We release our lives into Your hands. As we wait and watch, we know Lord that none of us will escape this journey through death. Teach us how to embrace it with faith. Give us strength to hold up those who are stepping closer to seeing You face to face. Take away the fear in the heart of our loved one who will soon see You; let them find peace in Your grace, comfort in Your love, and strength in Your mighty power over death. Comfort us as our grief seems to over power us. Amen
Father, we are in an unprecedented season for our generation, but You are still the God of miracles. We have heard of Your fame and renown, as in Your deliverance of Your people at Passover. Oh, Lord, renew Your miracles and wonders today, through the healing of nations and individuals, and the spreading of Your Good News worldwide. May revelation of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, as the Lamb of God and Savior spread globally, bringing revival and many, many Jewish people and their neighbors to salvation. In Jesus' name, AMEN.