Prayer

Apr 13, 2024

Our Creator in Heaven, Rock, and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, the first manifestation of the approach of our redemption. Shield it with Your lovingkindness, envelop it in Your peace, and bestow Your light and truth upon its leaders, ministers, and advisors, and grace them with Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our holy land, grant them deliverance, and adorn them in a mantle of victory. Ordain peace in the land and grant its inhabitants eternal happiness.

Lead them, swiftly and upright, to Your city Zion and to Jerusalem, the abode of Your Name, as is written in the Torah of Your servant Moses: “Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the world, from there the Lord your G-d will gather you, from there He will fetch you. And the Lord your G-d will bring you to the land that your fathers and mothers possessed, and you shall possess it, and He will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your fathers and mothers.” Draw our hearts together to revere and venerate Your name and to observe all the precepts of Your Torah, and send us quickly the Messiah son of David, agent of Your vindication, to redeem those who await Your deliverance.

Manifest yourself in the splendor of Your boldness before the eyes of all inhabitants of Your world, and may everyone endowed with a soul affirm that the Lord, G-d of Israel, is king and his dominion is absolute. Amen forevermore.

A Prayer for the United States

Our G-d and G-d of our ancestors, grant to our country the will and wherewithal to fulfill its calling to justice, liberty, and equality.

May each of us fulfill our responsibilities of citizenship with care, generosity, and gratitude, ever conscious of the extraordinary blessing of freedom, ever mindful of our duties to one another. Bless those who volunteer to labor on behalf of us all; may they find the strength and courage to complete their tasks and fulfill their dreams.

May our judges, elected leaders, and all who hold public office exercise their responsibilities with wisdom, fairness, and justice for all. Fill them with love and kindness, and bless them that they may walk with integrity on the paths of peace and righteousness. Creator and protector of all, watch over our armed forces and all those entrusted with our safety, as they daily put their lives at risk to protect us and our freedoms.

Be with them in times of danger; give them the courage to act with honor and dignity, as well as insight to do what is right in Your eyes. Fill us all with the gifts of love and courage, so that we may create a world that reflects Your glory.

May we each respond to the charge of Your prophet, “For what does Adonai demand of You — but to act justly, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with Your G-d” (Micah 6:8). May the one who brings peace on high bring peace and prosperity to our world and keep us in safety. And let us say: Amen.

A Prayer for Peace

May it be Your will, Holy One, our G-d, our ancestors’ G-d , that you erase war and bloodshed from the world and in its place draw down a great and glorious peace so that nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war any more.

Rather, may all the inhabitants of the earth recognize and deeply know this great truth: that we have not come into this world for strife and division nor hatred and rage, nor provocation and bloodshed.

We have come here only to encounter You, eternally blessed One.

And so, we ask your compassion upon us; raise, by us, what is written:

I shall place peace upon the earth and you shall lie down safe and undisturbed

and I shall banish evil beasts from the earth and the sword shall not pass through your land.

but let justice come in waves like water and righteousness flow like a river,

for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Holy One as the waters cover the sea.

So may it be.

May we feel peace in the week to come,

Betzy Lynch, CEO