Beloved Friends,
The news from Israel is terrifying and heartbreaking. From the protests and violence in Jerusalem to the hundreds of rockets unleashed against the entire country, the citizens of Israel are being terrorized, lives have been lost and many more have been injured. The escalation is frightening. I pray Israel and the Palestinians will be able to pull back from the brink of this latest escalation of fighting that has gone on from the very founding of the Jewish State.
The Psalmist wrote:
Pray for the well-being of Jerusalem;
May those who love you be at peace.
May there be well-being within your ramparts, peace in your citadels.”
For the sake of my kin and friends, I pray for your well-being;
for the sake of the house of Adonai our God, I seek your good. (Psalm 122: 6-9)
I close by sharing the prayer written by Rabbi Noam Marans and sent out by the AJC today:
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.”
Shalom,
