A psalm for Rabbi Lerner after the vandalism at his home   

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Dear Rabbi Lerner -
 
The news of the personal attack on your family's home
brought this psalm to mind.

 
I'm in trouble !  I cry to God,
desperate for an answer:
 
"Deliver me from the liars, God !
"They smile so sweetly but lie through their teeth."
 
Do you know what's next, can you see what's coming,
all you barefaced liars ?
Pointed arrows and burning coals
will be your reward.
 
I'm doomed to live in Meshech,
cursed with a home in Kedar.
My whole life lived camping
among quarreling neighbours.
 
I'm all for peace, but the minute
I tell them so, they go to war !
 
(tr Eugene Peterson)
 
May our God protect and strengthen you,
and may He soon turn the hearts of those
who now support a cruel and hateful Zionism.
 
Thank you for your courage.
 
Eleanor Grant - a Karaite
in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada