Rabbi Rafi Peretz, Gaza evacuee, reads psalm in Sharon’s memory

IDF Chief Rabbi Rafi Peretz, who was forcibly evacuated from the settlement of Atzmona in Gaza during the August 2005 Disengagement led by Sharon, has delivered the psalm in Sharon’s memory at the Knesset commemoration ceremony.

Peretz began the ceremony by reading Psalm 16:

A michtam of David; O God, guard me for I have taken refuge in You.
You should say to the Lord, “You are my Master; my good is not incumbent upon You
For the holy ones who are in the earth, and the mighty ones in whom is all my delight.
May the sorrows of those who hasten after another [deity] increase; I will not pour their libations of blood, nor will I take their names upon my lips.
The Lord is my allotted portion and my cup; You guide my destiny.
Portions have fallen to me in pleasant places; even the inheritance pleases me.”
I will bless the Lord, Who counseled me; even at night my conscience instructs me.
I have placed the Lord before me constantly; because [He is] at my right hand, I will not falter.
Therefore, my heart rejoiced, and my soul was glad; even my flesh shall dwell in safety.
For You shall not forsake my soul to the grave; You shall not allow Your pious one to see the pit.
You shall let me know the way of life, the fullness of joys in Your presence. There is pleasantness in Your right hand forever.

The reading was followed by the IDF chief cantor’s rendition of “Merciful Father,” a traditional commemorative prayer for the dead.