i awaken today with the feeling of tears, of loss, of letting go and witness these clouds as a natural flow and a cue to tune into  the mystery of trust by being thanksgiving for whatever is here… many metaphorical miles and hours later, i hear of the death of Elie Wiesel, Auschwitz survivor, eloquent witness, messenger of the oppressed, messenger for dignity and atonement and peace, Nobel laureate for peace who implored each of us to see ourselves in each other and make real the vow of “never again”…

to honor this being of peace, listen to some excerpts from a prayer he published in 1997…

A Prayer for the Days of Awe

Master of the Universe, let us make up. It is time. How long can we go on being angry?

More than 50 years have passed since the nightmare was lifted. Many things, good and less good, have since happened to those who survived it. They learned to build on ruins. Family life was re-created. Children were born, friendships struck. They learned to have faith in their surroundings, even in their fellow men and women. Gratitude has replaced bitterness in their hearts. No one is as capable of thankfulness as they are. Thankful to anyone willing to hear their tales and become their ally in the battle against apathy and forgetfulness. For them every moment is grace…

Auschwitz must and will forever remain a question mark only: it can be conceived neither with God nor without God. At one point, I began wondering whether I was not unfair with you. After all, Auschwitz was not something that came down ready-made from heaven. It was conceived by men, implemented by men, staffed by men. And their aim was to destroy not only us but you as well. Ought we not to think of your pain, too? Watching your children suffer at the hands of your other children, haven’t you also suffered?

As we Jews now enter the High Holidays again, preparing ourselves to pray for a year of peace and happiness for our people and all people, let us make up, Master of the Universe. In spite of everything that happened? Yes, in spite. Let us make up: for the child in me, it is unbearable to be divorced from you so long.

~

saluting the source flowing through all our relations, may we join together as the one heart we are in the stillness of love and the silence of peace