Rabbi Julie met with congregants who heeded a call to discuss the Prayer for Israel, the Prayer for Our Country, and the Prayer for Peace that we as a congregation typically say during our High Holiday services. Everyone agreed that in the aftermath of October 7 in Israel and the rise of antisemitism in America we as a people are facing a dark time, but that’s all we agreed on. Otherwise, we were all over the map.

Given the range of feelings and opinions expressed in the meeting alone — with only a handful of congregants present — members of our community were invited to write their own prayers.

This is an ongoing project. Please send your prayers to:

Supplicant
Submitted anonymously

God, let my heart not be hardened
By the cruelty we inflict on one another and
The silence of the Heavens

Install in me a heart that breaks and
Breaks again
Let my arms open to give comfort
To hold hurt
Despair
Rage

Let it be my Yom Kippur prayer
That You allow me to be a messenger of Your peace
And a vessel of justice
And a Jew who seeks Your light
And walks in Your Ways.

When I lose faith—
Over and over I lose it!—
Remind me

Prayer for Our Country
By Sarita Eisenberg

Adonai, we pray for you to turn your face towards the people of our country.

Help us to see your image in everyone, regardless of their differences from us in appearance and beliefs.

Help us to remember that our people were sent away to their deaths so that we will not turn away from others who are yearning to come here for safety and security.

Help us to work together to repair the world and make our country a better place — as stated in our Constitution, to promote the general Welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty for all people who live within our borders.

Prayer for Safe Return
Compiled by Rabbi Julie from other prayers

Adonai, our God
We hear the cries of the hostages still held in the tunnels of Gaza
We pray that they know we have not forgotten them
For those who remain alive
Return them swiftly to their families’ embrace
Have mercy on the ones who have died and
Return them quickly to their families for burial

We pray that – in our trauma, our sorrow, and our despair
We don’t harden our hearts
Help us not become numb to the destruction wrought
Or the loss of innocent lives in defense of our own
We pray for our safety and protection
And we pray we preserve our humanity

We pray for the future of all peoples in the Holy Land
May they all live in justice, dignity, and security
“So that every person might sit under their vine and fig tree
And no one shall be afraid” (Micah 4:4)
May we see the day when war and bloodshed cease
When a great peace will embrace the whole world.

Header image: adapted from “diary writing” by freddie boy licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.