Adapted from the Invocation by Rabbi Pesner at the Inauguration of Governor Deval Patrick, January 2007.
LEADER:
In the Talmud, the ancient rabbis teach that whenever we encounter a large gathering of people, it is appropriate to offer the following blessing:
ALL:
Blessed is the Wise One
Who understands secrets
For the mind of each
Is different from the other
Just as the face of each
Is different from the other
LEADER:
Look around! See the beauty of the faces,
Each one unique
Reflecting the very image
Of the Divine
Each one from a common source
A single, sacred family.
ALL:
Yet behind every face
Hide so many secrets.
Private, painful secrets of suffering.
LEADER:
Revealing all the secrets,
The pained suffering
Of parents who watch helpless
As their children are plagued
By guns, drugs, and gangs
ALL:
The private pain
Of children struggling to care for their parents
As they age and grow frail,
LEADER:
The secret suffering of immigrants
Who like us came to this place
To seek a better life
ALL:
Of our gay brothers and lesbian sisters
Who daily confront blatant discrimination,
Inequality and humiliation
LEADER:
Of those who sleep in the streets,
Those who are overworked and underpaid,
Those who are abused in their own homes
Those who are left behind
By their disabilities.
So many secrets,
Private sufferings.
ALL:
Yet we have hope.
Yes we have faith.
Because we have each other.
LEADER:
Let our secrets of suffering
Give way to stories of
Rebuilding
Repair
And Redemption
ALL:
God, grant us your wisdom
To write one shared story:
LEADER:
The story of a commonwealth
That acts like a commonwealth
Where secrets of private suffering
Where tales of lonely languish
Are joined
Through the power of the people
Rising up
Together
Encountering one another
Face to face
And writing a new story
One story