On the holiest day of the Jewish calendar yesterday, half a world away from renewed violence in Israel, Jews from Harvard and Cambridge gathered in the Yard to pray for peace in the Middle East.
More than 200 people gathered on the steps of Widener Library on the chilly afternoon of Yom Kippur.
Bernard Steinberg, the executive director of Harvard Hillel, began the vigil by reading a statement, co-signed by the rabbis and student leaders of four Harvard prayer communities, that mourned the loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives.
The statement also supported the right of Israel to act in "reasonable self-defense" and urged prayers for the safe return of three Israeli soldiers captured Saturday by Hezbollah guerillas in Lebanon.
Rabbi Shai A. Held '94 recited Psalm 121 in Hebrew, and Tova A. Serkin '02, who is also a Crimson editor, recited it in English.
Rabbi Robert D. Klapper read Psalm 130 in Hebrew followed by Rachel L. Brown '01 in English.
Traditionally, Jewish communities recite these psalms during times of crisis.
Silent meditation, a reading of an excerpt from Psalm 122 and a concluding prayer for the state of Israel followed.
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