The Prayer
Prayer for the Memorial Day for Road Accident Victims, 5768 — 18 November 2007
By Rabbi Yisrael Weiss
“A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I have called You, Lord. Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.”
“With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead with the Lord. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare my distress before Him.”
Please, Lord, full of mercy, in whose hand is the soul of every living thing and the spirit of all human flesh.
Grant fitting rest beneath the wings of the Divine Presence to the souls of all those killed in road accidents, on the roads of this country and beyond it.
I grieve for you, my dear brothers and sisters; I grieve at your being taken. The earth trembled and the heavens also dripped when the God of Heaven took you. And He, our Father in Heaven, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young,
He will spread His wings, take you and carry you upon His pinions.
I cry out to you, exalted angels who bring prayers for mercy: please bring our plea for mercy before the Merciful One. You who make prayer heard, make our prayers heard before the One who hears prayer; and you who make cries heard, make our cries heard before the One who hears cries — for our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, our wives and husbands, our parents and loved ones who dwell in the dust: the victims of road accidents, who were taken in an instant, in the flower of their youth and in their glory, as if struck by lightning, leaving us in pain and broken.
Master of all worlds, Lord of all souls, send Your loving-kindness and Your truth, living God, to the living and the dead.
Remember them well, with goodness and mercy; raise them up and illuminate them, exalt them and seat them upon the paths of life and in dwellings of safety.
May it be Your will, You who hear the sound of weeping, to place our tears in Your flask, and to deliver us from every harsh and cruel decree, for our eyes are fixed upon You alone.
God Almighty in the heavens,
Please say “enough” to our troubles,
And fulfil for us the verse that is written:
“He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from every face.”
Amen and amen.
This is a faithful English translation. The Hebrew text remains available in the Hebrew version of this page.