A Prayer for RBG’s Long Life—And Our Pursuit of Justice

Photo credit: CKnight70.

Photo credit: CKnight70.

At a time as disquieting as this,

When so many of us feel deflated, shaken, worried for the future,
 
When we almost can’t remember what it’s like to go a day without name-calling, without lies, harshness, or callousness.
 
When we’re nostalgic for those halcyon years of complete sentences, dignified statesmanship, acts of empathy,
 
We still look to you, Ruth Bader Ginsburg—yeshiva-girl-turned-legendary-justice, RBG icon, fighter for the powerless and wronged.
 
May you go from strength to strength because you have been ours.
 
May you live many more years because you make the world brighter, fairer, kinder….Because we need you.
 
You have helped us remain clear—not just on the foundational principles of a nation, but on our Jewish mandate: to welcome the stranger and never to stand idly by.
 
The Hebrew words on your office wall in calligraphy read, “Zedek, Zedek, tirdof: Justice, Justice shalt thou pursue.” You have. And we’ll keep trying.


Abigail Pogrebin is the author of My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Year and Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk about Being Jewish, for which she interviewed Justice Ginsburg. 

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lilith Magazine. 

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