Z'CHOR - REMEMBER!

A HOLOCAUST PRAYER - IN MEMORY

Written by a Holocaust Survivor

 

Prayer for the Children:
Almighty God, full of Mercy remember the generation of Jewish children that were reared for slaughter. Reared for slaughter. Remember the multitudes of children, who in their short lives never experienced joy, knowing only hunger, deprivation and fear. Almighty God, open our hearts to the plight of the deprived and hungry children of today. By helping them, we shall keep the memory of the perished alive. Amen.

Prayer for the Mothers:
Almighty God, full of Love, remember all the Jewish mothers, that carried their babies to their execution, led their children to the gas chambers, witnessed their burning, poisoned them with cyanamid, or killed them with their own hands. Let their anguish, pain and torture never be forgotten. Never be forgotten. In our memory they will live forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer for the Orphans:
Almighty God, full of Compassion, remember the orphans of the Ghetto, children who had their parents torn away. Orphans who had to wait in misery and hunger for their turn to be gassed, to be reunited with their parents in the heaps of human ashes. Almighty God, let the cries of the Innocents penetrate the armor of the heartless men, and teach them love, understanding and compassion. Amen.

Prayer for the Elders:
Almighty God, full of Compassion, remember the plight of the Elders, the Sages and Rabbis of Israel, who instead of teaching people how to live in peace, had to teach them how to die with dignity. Ruler of the Universe, fill our hearts with compassion toward the Elders, the infirm and the sick of today. By helping them to live in peace and die with dignity, we shallhonor the memory of those who perished. Amen.

Prayer for the Unknown Heroes:
Almighty God full of Wisdom, remember all the forgotten and unrecognized heroes of Israel, who knowingly and willingly sacrificed their lives, for the sake of others. In our hearts they will live forever and ever. Ruler of the Universe, open our hearts and minds to the plight of the displaced members of our society. People, who in silence bear the crushing burden, fear and despair of their collapsed world. By helping them, we will honor the memory of unknown heroes of the Holocaust. Amen.

Prayer for the Fighters:
Almighty God, remember the Fighters of the Ghettos, the Jewish Partisans and members of the Resistance. They fought without weapons, without ammunition and without hope. Their heroism, paved the way for the rebirth of our people. Without the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the wars for Israel freedom would have been impossible. Ruler of the Universe, open the hearts of the religious fanatics who for lust of power, kill in Thy Name. Let them understand that there cannot be love of God without love for the fellow man, and no religious dogma can override Your Command: Thou shall not kill. Amen.

Prayer for the Six Million:
Almighty God, remember the six million people that were gassed, killed, drowned, burned alive, tortured, beaten or frozen to death. In our hearts, their sacred memory will last forever and ever. Amen.

God of our Fathers, let the ashes of the children incinerated in Auschwitz, the rivers of blood spilled at Babbi Yar or Majdanek, be a warning to mankind that hatred is destructive, violence is contagious, while man has an unlimited capacity for cruelty. For our own sake and for the sake of our children, we have to be our brother's keeper.
Almighty God, fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah: "They shall beat their swords into ploughshares . . . nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Man shall not lift weapon against man, and shall kill no more. Amen.

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