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shelter us in place (hashkiveinu)

from ORAH HI by Eliana Light

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about

March, 2020. The time when time stood still. So much confusion, despair, hope. I had just moved, and the circumstances exacerbated an already aching loneliness. I found myself singing a phrase I was hearing in the news: “shelter in place.” It felt like a prayer, and became one for me. I sang it to myself in the shower, lying in bed, pacing the hall - not outside as I hadn’t figured out how to beat back NC pollen yet. And as the prayer became mine, I realized that, as often happens, there is a spiritual ancestor who prayed a similar prayer that made its way into our liturgy. “Lie us down in peace,” prays the ancestor. There is a reason this is part of the evening liturgy. When the sun goes down, and a chill comes to the air, and chaos seems to loom, we are reminded of what remains constant - the sun will set and then rise again, and the stars have their place in the sky. But even after these assurances, we ask for safety. And although shelter-in-place is no longer our reality, there are still too many people in our world who cannot count on being safe. So we keep praying. So I keep praying.

Note: Yah is a nickname for g?d utilizing the first two letters in g?d’s “proper” name, “yud” and “hey.” It is connected with breath, a prescient metaphor for the Divine in the early days of Covid lockdown.

lyrics

Shelter us in place, shelter us in peace,
Shelter us in love, shelter us in love.

הַשְׁכִּיבֵנוּ ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ לְשָּׁלוֹם
hashkiveinu yah eloheinu. hashkiveinu l'shalom.
Lay us down, Divine Breath, Our Everything, to wholeness/to peace.

Text from the evening liturgy

credits

from ORAH HI, released August 31, 2023
Sponsored by B’nai Vail Congregation in Vail, CO. Thank you!

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Eliana Light Durham, North Carolina

Working towards a world of One-ness, guided and inspired by Jewish heritage.

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