Praying for Israel

By Hazzan Jacob Sandler.

Like many of us, all I can think about is what’s going on in our beloved Israel. I’ve never watched so much news in my life. All of it brings to mind Psalm 27 which we finished reciting only just a week ago. For nearly 2 months, we said these words, twice daily: 

אִם־תַּחֲנֶה עָלַי  מַחֲנֶה לֹא־יִירָא לִבִּי אִם־תָּקוּם עָלַי מִלְחָמָה בְּזֹאת אֲנִי בוֹטֵחַ׃

“Should an army besiege me, my heart would have no fear; 

Though war should rise up against me, Even then will I be confident.”

On the one hand, from half a planet away, I do have fear. I think many of us do, as do our loved ones in Israel. Fear for our family, our friends. Fear for how long this may last. Fear for the lives it will cost us. Fear over the world’s response to our response. And yet, I’ve heard from many Israelis, through personal texts, social media posts, and on the news, that unlike the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago, there is a strong confidence that Israel will prevail. The IDF is strong, and more than double its regular size in terms of active soldiers. And Am Yisrael is stepping up in all the ways we can to support Israel at this time. 

In the very same psalm, the psalmist prays, 

אַל־תִּתְּנֵנִי בְּנֶפֶשׁ צָרָי כִּי קָמוּ־בִי עֵדֵי־שֶׁקֶר וִיפֵחַ חָמָס׃

“Deliver me not to the desire of my foes; for false witnesses have risen against me, and spouters of violence (heb. ‘Hamas’).”

This is my payer too. That God will save us, our people, from Hamas – the terrorist organization, and all violence for which it was named. On the High Holidays, we stood in anxiety, asking “who shall live and who shall die – and how?” Left with three paths to a better fate: Teshuva, Tefillah and Tzedakah. It seems so obvious now. We must strive to be the very best people we can be, living our ethical and spiritual values every day. We can pray together, as we will tonight and in the days and weeks ahead. As our ancestors did and as the psalmist did. And we can give tzedakah – acts of charity, donations to organizations that can help support Israel in all its efforts. Tzedakah being derived from the root Tzedek meaning justice. Our thoughts, our words and our deeds define who we are, and collectively we can impact our world through these channels. 

So I will continue to pray:

May the lives of the innocent be spared as much as possible.
May we see the day when war and bloodshed cease and a great peace will embrace the whole world.
May we recall the words spoken to Joshua when our people first returned to the land after sojourning in Egypt, and the wilderness. Those same words echoed at the end of Psalm 27.

חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ
Be strong and resolute.

לוּלֵא הֶאֱמַנְתִּי לִרְאוֹת בְּטוּב־יְהֹוָה בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים׃
קַוֵּה אֶל־יְהֹוָה חֲזַק וְיַאֲמֵץ לִבֶּךָ וְקַוֵּה אֶל־יְהֹוָה׃

“If only I could trust that I would see the good of HaShem in the land of the living.
Place your hope in HaShem, may your heart be strong and resolute, and hope in HaShem.”