When Our Israeli Brothers and Sisters Are Under Attack: A Prayer
Rabbi Noam E. Marans – AJC Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations
When the indiscriminate rockets of hate are launched, our Israeli brothers and sisters are not alone. All Jews are responsible one for the other. Their life and spirit are ours. We are with them.
When the story of the Jewish people in its ancestral homeland is denied and the presence of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel is rejected, it is our story which is under assault. We are with them.
When Israel, which has never known a day without external threats, sustains yet another moment of heightened assault, we are reminded of the Jewish state’s challenging existential reality. We are with them.
When our Israeli siblings are racing to safe rooms and shelters, our hearts stop with theirs. We are in the ends of the West, but our hearts are in the East. We pray for their safety. We are with them.
When Israel’s soldiers and security forces are mobilized in defense of their country, they renew their commitment to protect the Jewish people wherever and whenever they are endangered. We are with them.
When the eternal capital of the Jewish people is the scene of violence, we pray, like the Psalmist, for the peace of Jerusalem, for the safety of all its inhabitants, diverse peoples of different faiths, all children of God. We are with them.
When Israel demonstrates time and again its passion for peace and successfully advances peace with multiple neighbors, the value and possibility of shalom are affirmed. We are with them.
Dear God, we pray with our Israeli brothers and sisters, “Spread over us Your shelter of peace . . . Shield us from enemies . . . sword and sorrow. Remove the evil forces that surround us, shelter us in the shadow of Your wings.”
“You, O God, guard us and deliver us . . . Guard our coming and going, grant us life and peace, now and always . . . eternal guardian of Your people Israel.”