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| Source (Hebrew) | Source (English) |
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אבינו מלכנו, אב לכל ילד, שמע קולנו ביום ארור זה. האר פניך לילדי עזה שיזכו בברכותיך ובמקלט. שיחושו אור וחום במקום חשוך ועשן שבו קור חודר את העצמות. |
Lord who is the creator of all children, hear our prayer this accursed day. God whom we call Blessed, turn your face to these, the children of Gaza, that they may know your blessings, and your shelter, that they may know light and warmth, where there is now only blackness and smoke, and a cold which cuts and clenches the skin. |
ה’ צבאות, שמכי ביוצאים מן הכלל הידועים כניסים, הוצא מן הכלל את ילדי עזה ועשה להם נס. הגן עליהם מידי עמינו ומיד עמם. חוס עליהם. רפא אותם. תן להם מקום בטוח. הושיע אותם מרעב ומפחד וזעם ומצער. הושיע אותם מידי עמינו ומיד עמם. |
Almighty who makes exceptions, which we call miracles, make an exception of the children of Gaza. Shield them from us and from their own. Spare them. Heal them. Let them stand in safety. Deliver them from hunger and horror and fury and grief. Deliver them from us, and from their own. |
החזר להם את שנות ילדותם שנגנבו מהם. |
Restore to them their stolen childhoods, their birthright, which is a taste of heaven. |
הזכר לנו את ישמעאל הנער שהפך לאב כל נערי עזה. ישמעאל היה נטוש במדבר באר שבע ללא מים וללא תקווה. על הגר אמו כתוב: וַתֵּלֶךְ וַתֵּשֶׁב לָהּ מִנֶּגֶד הַרְחֵק כִּמְטַחֲוֵי קֶשֶׁת כִּי אָמְרָה אַל אֶרְאֶה בְּמוֹת הַיָּלֶד וַתֵּשֶׁב מִנֶּגֶד וַתִּשָּׂא אֶת קֹלָהּ וַתֵּבְךְּ: וַיִּשְׁמַע אֱלֹהִים אֶת קוֹל הַנַּעַר וַיִּקְרָא מַלְאַךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶל הָגָר מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַה לָּךְ הָגָר אַל תִּירְאִי כִּי שָׁמַע אֱלֹהִים אֶל קוֹל הַנַּעַר בַּאֲשֶׁר הוּא שָׁם: (בראשית כא:טז-יז) |
Be that Lord, the God of our kinsman Ishmael, who heard his cry and sent His angel to comfort his mother Hagar.[1] c.f. Genesis 21:16-17 [And she went and sat down at a distance, a bowshot away; for she thought, “Let me not look on as the child dies.” And sitting thus afar, she burst into tears. God heard the cry of the boy, and an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heeded the cry of the boy where he is.”] |
אלהים שהיה עם הנער ישמעאל ביום ההוא, הייה איתו ואיתנו היום, אב הרחמן. פקחת את עיניה של הגר והראית לה באר מים וכך הצלת את הנער. עשה כך היום. |
Be that Lord, who was with Ishmael that day, and all the days after. Be that God, the All-Merciful, who opened Hagar’s eyes that day, and showed her the well of water, that she could give the boy Ishmael to drink, and save his life. |
אללה, שאנו קוראים לו אלהים, המכלכל חיים, המודע לשבריריות החיים – שלח מלאכיך לנערים האלה. הושיעם, ילדי המקום הזה, עזה היפה עזה הארורה. |
Allah, whose name we call Elohim, who gives life, who knows the value and the fragility of every life, send these children your angels. Save them, the children of this place, Gaza the most beautiful, and Gaza the damned. |
אדון השלום – היום המלחמה אוחזת בליבנו וממלאת אותו בצלקות. | In this day, when the trepidation and rage and mourning that is called war, seizes our hearts and patches them in scars, we call to you, the Lord whose name is Peace: |
ברך את הילדים האלה ושמור עליהם. |
Bless these children, and keep them from harm. |
האר פניך עליהם ה׳. האר חייהם כבפעם הראשונה, באור וחסד ובחמלה רבה. |
Turn Your face toward them, O Lord. Show them, as if for the first time, light and kindness, and overwhelming graciousness. |
שא פניך עליהם שיזכו באור פניך וברך אותם ואת ילדינו בברכת שלום. |
Look up at them, O Lord. Let them see your face. And, as if for the first time, grant them peace. |
With thanks to Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman of Kol HaNeshama, Jerusalem.
This prayer was first published in an op-ed, “A Jew’s Prayer for the Children of Gaza,” in the newspaper, Ha’aretz, on 7 January 2009.
Notes
| 1 | c.f. Genesis 21:16-17 |
|---|
“תפילה לילדי עזה | A Prayer for Gaza’s Children, by Bradley Burston (2008)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
Bradley Burston
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Sabha, 6, getting ready to walk to school from her house on the borders eastern Gaza strip, where she and her family are still living in tents after Israeli war in Gaza. (credit: Eman Mohammed, license: CC BY-SA)(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in category lists and in shared links on social media.)
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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17
Beautiful Levi, heartfelt and deeply just to the innocent children of those who are now called our enemies. Just one question: why not add those sweet ones, children of our soldiers, who will not see their fathers again? Why not add a prayer for them too, that they, at least most of them may see their daddies again, tucking them in at night with a story of love and peace…
But again, I much appreciate your loving prayer! May it be HIS/ HER will to honour your words, Amen
!!!
I shared this prayer but did not compose it! It was written by my dear friend Bradley Burston (with a little consultation with me). He did all the heavy lifting!
Really appreciate the prayer. It is time that the peace loving people from both sides step forward and stop the killing of innocent citizens. Today the religion is facing challenge from Atheism, but alas that religions are fighting among themselves, providing more reason for Atheists to abandon religion. Muslims (especially Arab Muslims) and Jews are cousins and should come closer to each other.
Thanks again for a wonderful prayer. Amen to each word of it.