A Prayer for the State of Israel (2025)

In the days and weeks following October 7, I wrote A Prayer for Israel at War that tried to give voice to what so many of us were feeling — heartbreak, horror, fear, and hope. It was a prayer for a time of conflict: for the safety of captives and soldiers, for the healing of the wounded, and for the strength to persevere through unimaginable grief. 

But in the wake of the ceasefire and the return of hostages, it became clear that this version of the prayer no longer spoke to the spiritual moment we were in. What we needed now was not a prayer for endurance in a crisis, but for renewal — for the long, hard, sacred work of peace, justice, and reconciliation that must follow.

This new prayer grew out of that realization. It keeps the bones of the traditional Tefillah l’Medinat Yisrael, but revisits its theology. Like the classic version, it blesses the State of Israel as “the beginning of the flowering of our redemption,” but turns the phrase from statement to supplication: that Israel may become the beginning of redemption. It draws on Israel’s Declaration of Independence, which envisions a society “based on freedom, justice, and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel,” and it weaves together the voices of those very prophets — Hosea’s dream of safety, Isaiah’s vision of disarmament, and the psalmist’s plea to “seek the peace of Jerusalem.”

Moreover, this prayer aims to widen the circle of blessing. It prays for all who dwell in the land — the children of Sarah and the children of Hagar, Jews and Arabs alike — and for all who love Jerusalem from afar. It asks that fear give way to trust, that enmity become understanding, and that Zion be redeemed through justice and those who return to her through righteousness. And it calls upon each of us, wherever we live, to help Israel fulfill its founding promise.

I hope this new Prayer for the State of Israel offers words worthy of the moment we find ourselves in — a prayer that holds both love and longing, pride and responsibility, gratitude for what is and hope for what might yet be. May the day soon come when the prayer itself becomes unnecessary, because the peace we seek has finally taken root.

Prayer for the State of Israel (2025)

Most High God, Creator of All — bless the State of Israel, that it may become the beginning of the flowering of redemption, a beacon of hope and dignity to all who dwell on earth.

Shine the light of Your truth upon all who lead and serve in our holy land, guiding them to recognize Your image in all people and uphold the precepts of “freedom, justice, and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel” (Israeli Declaration of Independence).

Strengthen the hands and steady the spirits of all who protect innocent life between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, and from the Golan to the Negev, helping them bring near the day when “bow and sword and battle will be banished from the land, and all may lie down secure” (Hosea 2:20).

Inspire the children of Hagar and the children of Sarah to pursue peace and tranquility for all who dwell in our holy land, redeeming Zion through justice and those who return to her through righteousness (Isaiah 1:27). 

Enable all who love Jerusalem, wherever we dwell, to seek her welfare and rejoice with her, (Psalm 122:6-7) readying us to realize the vision of your prophet, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).

And let us say: Amen.