Juneteenth Reflection Before the Amidah

Ana b’koach g’dulat y’mincha tatir tzrurah.

אָנָּא בְּכֹחַ גְּדֻלַּת יְמִינְךָ תַּתִּיר צְרוּרָה.

Please, with the power of Your great right hand, free the bound.

We pray.

Every day.

We pray as if it matters.

We pray because it matters.

We pray as if everything depends on You.

You nourish our parched souls.

You mend our broken hearts.

You strengthen our weary spirits.

Then, together, we count.

We count 900 Days.

That is two years, five months, and 18 days.

We count them all.

We count the days prayer did not hold back the flood.

We count the days prayer did not part the water.

We count the days prayer did not avert the attack.

We count the days prayer did not restore the well.

We count the days prayer did not quench the fire.

We count the days prayer did not rebuild the city that had been burned to the ground.

We pray.

Every day.

We pray to open our eyes.

We pray to stand upright.

We pray to break the bonds.

We pray to act as if everything depends on us.

We join hands.

We walk in the garden.

We are Freedom.

We are Hope.

We are Justice.

Blessed are You who strengthened Nachshon, who mended Miriam, who nourished Yocheved, and who hears our prayers.

Notes:

The Amidah - which literally means "standing" - is the core of every Jewish worship service, and is  also referred to as HaTefillah, or “The prayer.”

From the National Museum of African American History & Culture:

"Within the African American community, Juneteenth is known as our second “Independence Day”. It is a holiday that commemorates the June 19, 1865 announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas, and more generally the emancipation of African American slaves throughout the Confederate South.

Emancipation did not finally come until General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas and issued General Order No. 3, on June 19, almost two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863."

Ana B’Koach

This is the first line of the Ana Bekoach - a mystical prayer written in the 1st century by the Kabbalist, Rabbi Nehunia Ben Hakannah. It is composed from a formula of 42 letters written in seven sentences of six words each - letters which are the first 42 letters in the book of Genesis and are thought to make up a secret name for God. We are taught that the combination of letters that makes up the secret name harnesses the energies of Creation. It is a prayer for Israel’s redemption from exile that enriches our lives with spiritual light and positive energy.

Image:

Brush strokes making lines of red, black, and green behind a Star of David on the left that is layered with green in the back, then dark red/black, and bright red in front. Yellow text in the foreground reads: 9 Tammuz 5781 JUNETEENTH Keep Bending The Arc.

Keep Bending the Arc references the long arc of history that bends toward justice and recognizes that the work is ours to do and we continue to have a long way to go.

Image:

Brush strokes of red, black, and green in the background.

Red, black, and green Star of David on the left.

JUNETEENTH in yellow letters in the middle across the black brush stroke.

Rosh Chodesh Tamuz in yellow letters across the red brush stroke.

Keep Bending the Arc in yellow across the green brush stroke.