Pittsburgh Vigil Remarks- Rabbi Nikki DeBlosi
נֵ֣ר יי נִשְׁמַ֣ת אָדָ֑ם
“The light of the Eternal is the human soul,”
says Mishlei, or Proverbs, a sacred text of the Jewish people.
Lighting a candle in memory of the soul of a loved one
reminds us that grief is but a sign
of our undying love
for those whose light has guided us.
We will remember their lives,
how they illuminated their communities.
We will remember them at the anniversary of their murder.
We will remember them on the holidays of the Jewish people,
when we say the Yizkor memorial prayer
in honor of all those who have died
simply for being Jewish.
We will remember them in our hearts and prayers,
and we will remember them in our actions,
by keeping the flame of hope every kindled in our own hearts
and by shining the light of chesed, of lovingkindness,
into all the dark places.
Tonight, we light one candle
in commemoration
of each precious soul
taken from us, taken from the Jewish people, taken from our world,
in senseless hatred and violence.
Members of the NYU Jewish community,
and our interfaith partners,
will come up as I recite the name of each soul
whose light was diminished in Pittsburgh this past Shabbat.
Please rise
as I invoke the words of the Jewish memorial prayer
and speak their names…
אֵל מָלֵא רַחֲמִים שׁוֹכֵן בַּמְּרוֹמִים
הַמְצֵא מְנוּחָה נְכוֹנָה תחת כַּנְפֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה
בְּמַעֲלוֹת קְדוֹשִׁים וטְהוֹרִים כְּזוֹהַר הָרָקִיעַ מַזְהִירִים
נִשְמות אחותינו ואחינו
שֶׁהָלַכו לְעוֹלָמם…
God of abundant mercy, God Most High,
grant clear and certain rest,
under the wings of Your Presence,
in the lofty heights of the sacred and pure,
whose brightness shines like the very glow of heaven,
[grant perfect rest]
to our brothers and sisters who have entered eternity…
