The Blogs: Finally - a prayer for Israel and Gaza | Shamai Leibowitz

This past year, davening seemed detached from reality.

Although many congregations responded to the horrific events of October 7 with extra prayers for the release of the hostages and the safety of Israeli soldiers, they completely ignored the mass killing of innocent people in Gaza, most of whom were women and children. They ignored the reality of a suffocating siege and a crushing occupation imposed by Israel for dozens of years prior to October 7 (to be clear, this does not–in any manner or fashion–justify the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7.).

But when I visited my brother in Boston in honor of his daughter’s bat mitzvah, he distributed to all congregants a prayer that recognizes the suffering of both people, calls for the release of all hostages, and expresses heartbreak over the atrocities committed by Israel – the mass killing of over 43,000 people including 17,000 children, and an additional 10,000 people missing or unaccounted for, presumed to have died a slow agonizing death under the rubble (it was drafted before the bombardment and invasion of Lebanon that has also killed thousands of innocent civilians).

This prayer, composed by Rabbis Roly Matalon and Felicia Sol from B’nai Jeshurun in NYC, gives voice to the horrors faced by all civilians in the last year, which have continued on a daily basis. Moreover, it’s a call to action, urging an immediate cessation of violence, and the implementation of the principle of both peoples’ right to self determination and the freedom to live in justice and dignity (without getting into the question of two-state vs. one-state solution, as prayer is not the appropriate space to discuss that issue).

This is what I recite privately when public prayers are recited on Shabbat morning:

אֵל אֱלֹהֵי הָרוּחֹת לְכָל בָּשָׂר

O God, Spirit of all Humanity

Help us to acknowledge the destruction, trauma and devastation in Gaza,

To express the heartbreak for the tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians who have died- among them so many children,

For their lack of food, shelter and medical care, for the destruction of people’s homes;

For the millions of refugees the war has created, for the hopelessness and despair.

We pray for a cessation of the violence and the safe return of the remaining hostages.

We pray for our ability to hold in our hearts at the same time the suffering of Israelis and Palestinians.

We pray that we don’t harden our hearts or refuse to see what is happening before our eyes. We pray we preserve our humanity.

We pray for the future of both peoples on this land, for the acknowledgement of both peoples’ right to self determination and the freedom to live in justice and dignity.

We pray that there will be an awakening and a realization that the only path forward is one of coexistence, “so that every person might sit under their vine and fig tree and no one shall be afraid ” (Micah 4:4)

ה׳ עֹז לְעַמּוֹ יִתֵּן, ה׳ יְבָרֵךְ אֶת־עַמּיו בַשָּׁלוֹם׃

May God grant strength to God’s people; May God bless all of God’s people with peace (Psalm 29:11).

Printable version here:

https://bj.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/bj24_PrayerForThoseInGaza4-1.pdf