Eloheinu velohei avoteinu v’imoteinu,

Our God and God of our fathers and mothers,

The flood waters came, wreaking havoc upon our cities, our
homes,

            our
rescue workers, our sense of security,

And we turn to You for comfort and support. 

Help us to differentiate between floods of destruction

            and
down-pouring of Your love and comfort. 

We know that waters can destroy. 

In a world decimated many times before,

having been submerged in waters

from the Florida hurricanes, the Asian tsunami, and …

each of Biblical proportions,

we remember the destructive abilities of these flood
waters. 

Recalling now that the world, though filled with Your
Glory,

is not equal to Your flawlessness,

we strive desperately, sometimes without success,

to move beyond the impulse to blame You. 

Keep us far from apocalyptic thoughts, for we know that
You ask us to care for each other, an awesome responsibility.

We also know that we can seek You in the waters. 

We recall Your Loving Hand, guiding us in our infancy:

            From
a barren rock, You brought forth water to quench our thirst,

            In
the midst of a journey through the wilderness, You showed Miriam a

myriad
of wells which healed our parched throats,

            You
guided us through Yam Suf, the Red Sea, moving us past destruction

toward
new life and new beginnings. 

            Through
Your love, we found our way. 

                       

Be with us now, during these deluged days. 

            Draw
us close to those harmed by these waters, hearing their

cries,
responding to their needs.

            Lead
us to support those who will fix the cities,

care
for the displaced, who bring healing to those suffering.

            Though
our attention spans seem so short, may we

be
slow to forget those who were in danger. 

Please bring a warm wind and hot sun from the heavenly
realms

to help dry up the flood waters.

And may we all embrace at least one lesson spoken aloud by
so many who – facing the floods – rushed to pack up their valuables:

That memories of love and of time
spent with family and friends

                        are
priceless, holy and sacred.

This can never be taken away.

As we rush to meet the challenge of
living in this

imperfect
world of ours,

May we slow down enough to cherish
those who are truly valuable –

                        kadosh/holy
– to us. 

        

         Baruch Ata
Adonai, Hamavdil bein kodesh l’chol. 

         Blessed are You, O
God, who differentiates between the truly

                        Valuable
and everything else.