This prayer for the safe release of the hostages taken by HAMA”S and its allies on 7 October 2023 was shared by the Masorti Movement in Israel and the Knesset haRabanim b’Yisrael on 17 January 2025 in anticipation of the release of the remaining living hostages in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. The prayer was first published via the Masorti Movement website, here. Much gratitude to Shoshana Michael Zucker for her English translation.

Source(s)

Tefilat la-hashavat aheinu v’ahyotenu asher bishevi (Masorti Movement in Israel 2025)

“תְּפִלָּה לְהֲשָׁבַת אַחֵינוּ וְאַחְיוֹתֵינוּ אֲשֶׁר בַּשֶּׁבִי | Prayer for the Return of Our Brothers and Sisters from Captivity (Masorti Movement in Israel & Knesset haRabanim b’Yisrael, January 2025)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Shoshana Michael Zucker (translation)

Shoshana Michael Zucker was first fascinated by the boundaries and history of Jewish liturgy as a teenager in NFTY in the early 1970s, the waning days of the Union Prayer Book. Since then, she has moved to Israel, raised a family and launched them into adulthood, while praying from varied siddurim with countless notes in the margin and extra notes stuck between the pages. A translator and editor by profession, she would rather study and teach Torah.

Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

the Masorti Movement in Israel

HaTenu'ah haMasortit (התנועה המסורתית, the Masorti Movement in Israel) creates opportunities for all Jews to live Jewish lives in Israel unhindered, and on their own terms. It is a religious movement based on values of inclusion combined with traditional practice and Halakha (Jewish Law). Masorti represents a “third” way. Not secular Judaism. Not ultra-Orthodoxy. But a Jewish life that integrates secular beliefs. Halakhah with inclusion and egalitarianism. Tradition that recognizes the realities of today’s world. The Masorti Movement is committed to a pluralistic, egalitarian, and democratic vision of Zionism. Masorti engages tens of thousands of Israelis each year, young and old, native born as well as olim from around the globe.

Knesset haRabanim b'Yisrael

The Knesset haRabanim b'Yisrael (Rabbinical Assembly in Israel) is the central body of Masorti-affiliated rabbis in the State of Israel. It is closely associated with the Masorti Movement for Conservative Judaism in Israel, and the international Rabbinical Assembly.

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Tefilat la-hashavat aheinu v’ahyotenu asher bishevi (Masorti Movement in Israel 2025)

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Support this work:    The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-commercial, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture.

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