The below original Humanistic Judaism liturgy was written by Stan Eichner, a member of Kahal B’raira Boston Congregation for Humanistic Judaism who also serves on its liturgy committee. It was first recited during a Sunday service before Thanksgiving 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic. Stan is a retired civil rights attorney who now focuses on his photography.
Responsive Reading: Appreciating and Giving Thanks
We appreciate the hard work and sacrifice of all the medical providers;
Nurses, doctors, orderlies, and others who treat and rehabilitate those who have become ill or are healing;
We appreciate the hard work of all front line workers;
Those who have not been able to work remotely, but have kept everything going – delivery people, fire fighters, police officers, mail carriers, utility workers, food servers and construction workers;
We appreciate all the teachers, aides, therapists and administrators who worked so hard to continue teaching our children;
Those who struggled to figure out the best ways to help our children learn, working long hours revamping curriculum and teaching methods so that the negative impact on our young learners would be minimized;
We appreciate all those who kept producing and delivering our food;
Farmers, warehouse workers, truckers, and store clerks who ensured that the supply chain of food would not be broken;
We appreciate all those who worked so hard to create a vaccine to fight this awful disease;
Scientists, doctors, biochemists, lab workers, statisticians and those people who volunteered to try the vaccine;
We appreciate everyone who worked to make the election possible, despite medical risks;
Millions and millions of voters, and those who encouraged others to vote, election officials, ballot counters and certifiers, judges who heard and resolved disputed issues;
We appreciate all those who marched to advocate for a better world;
People from all walks of life who decried racial injustice, argued for climate justice and to protect our democratic republic.
Lovely, Stan. Good of you to share, Paul