This songbook brings together 120 songs united by a single idea: How can each of us contribute to Shalom – to wholeness and peace? It invites us, through the power of music and singing together, to open up spaces where people of all generations can rediscover their responsibility for peace, fellowship, and understanding and bring it to life. “Pray for Peace” means seeking peace, knowing how little we can achieve on our own – and yet asking for it, “pursuing” it. It means remembering and drawing hope from our experience including what we have suffered, living gratefully, consciously shaping each day, and seeking open exchange and togetherness. And it also means saying goodbye with the certainty of having been in a blessed place. The main languages are German and English, along with Hebrew, Latin, Arabic, and Turkish, as well as eight further European languages. Accompanying commentary in German and English illuminates the historical and cultural background. Alongside the psalms, the foundation of this collection, appear texts by medieval thinkers such as the Jewish philosopher Maimonides and the Islamic mystic Yunus Emre. They are complemented by voices from more recent times: Schalom Ben-Chorin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Khalil Gibran; and by songwriters like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Reinhard Mey, as well as spirituals and Yiddish songs.
