A Time to Embrace

A Ceremony Toward a National Healing and Reconciliation
Time and Date: Saturday, November 21, 2020 8PM EST

Using the framework of the Havdalah ritual (explained below*) at the end of the Jewish Sabbath, a diverse group of Americans will join together in a ceremony to separate from the divisiveness of the recent past in our country as well as to build bridges of healing, hope, and reconciliation. The program will include ritual and musical elements and voices of faith leaders from a rich tapestry of faiths, offering prayers from their traditions for our country and its people.

We are encouraging faith communities and institutions to endorse this program.

Participating institutions agree to the following:
1) Agree to be listed as Endorsers
2) Publicizing the program to its constituents
3) Voluntary donation to defray technical costs of creating the program ($100 or more suggested donation)
For donations please use the following link: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=89TYHQT5W74PJ&source=url

Pre-recorded portions of the program must be forwarded to Ramón Tasat ([email protected]) as soon as possible, but in by 5PM, November 10. With permission of those who submit their contributions, those contributions which do not make it into the final pre-recorded program may be placed on a special website to be created for the purpose of advancing our mission of a national healing and
reconciliation.

Submissions are sought in these four categories:
1) Video messages from religious leaders, artists (musicians, dancers, etc.) elected officials, and community leaders (no more than 1-2 minutes) on the following topic: National Healing and Reconciliation
2) Videos of Songs and poems on that topic or such topics as the following: Cooperation, Trust, Compassion, Openness, Healing.
3) Drawings from children and teens about the following topics:  Being together, getting along, generosity, etc.
4) Visual artists who have works on the themes:

• The hour of dawn when the night ends and the day begins                                                                                                                                       
• Looking into the face of another human being and you have enough light in you to recognize your brother or your sister. 

*Havdalah marks the conclusion of the Sabbath and has elements which mark diversity such as light vs. darkness, sacred vs. ordinary, times of rest and work. With the return to the time of work the ritual is associated with the hope for a future