🆕 אַחֵינוּ הַנְּתוּנִים בְּצָרָה וּבְשִׁבְיָה | Our brethren in distress and bondage, a plea for the safety of Am Yisrael at the conclusion of prayer and ceremonies by Seth (Avi) Kadish

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3 September 2026 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories:

Congregation & Community, Military Personnel & Veterans

Tags:

21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., חתימות ḥatimot (concluding prayers), צה״ל IDF

This prayer is for all members of עם ישראל who are in danger or oppressed in our time: First and foremost for all Israeli soldiers, next for those who are in combat at this moment, then for captive or wounded soldiers and civilians alike, then “all those threatened by malice in our land and in exile” (mostly not soldiers), and finally “all those in need of Your comfort” which especially means the families of dead or wounded soldiers and civilians in Israel and in exile.

When I say this prayer in public at weddings (before the groom breaks the glass), I usually informally add “אחינו” to the first to groups: אחינו העומדים על משמר ארצנו and אחינו הלוחמים בשדה הקרב, because the soldiers defending our lives and defending the nation state of the People of Israel are indeed our brothers and our children.

I also usually add, regarding the wounded, ופצועים במערכה, חיילים ואזרחים, because the our enemies’ violence is directed at every member of the People of Israel, and to our sorrow it sometimes reaches them, whether they are soldiers defending life and liberty or civilians (both in Israel and abroud).

Source (Hebrew)

Translation (English)

Suggestions for use:
At weddings before breaking the glass,
at the end of Birkat ha-Mazon,
before returning the Torah to the Ark,
or at the end of any group study or prayer.

אַחֵינוּ כָּל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל הַנְּתוּנִים בְּצָרָה וּבְשִׁבְיָה:
אַחֵינוּ הָעוֹמְדִים עַל מִשְׁמַר אַרְצֵנוּ
בַּיָּם וּבָאֲוִיר וּבַיַּבָּשָׁה,
אַחֵינוּ הַלּוֹחֲמִים בִּשְׂדֵה הַקְּרָב,
וְכׇל בְּנֵי עַמֵּינוּ (הַמֻּחְזָקִים בַּשֶּׁבִי)
(וְ)הַפְּצוּעִים בַּמַּעֲרָכָה,
וְהַמְּאֻיָּמִים מֵהַשִּׂטְנָה בְּאַרְצֵנוּ וּבַגּוֹלָה,
וְכׇל הַזְּקוּקִים לְנֶחָמָתְךָ —
הַמָּקוֹם יְרַחֵם עֲלֵיהֶם וְיוֹצִיאֵם מִצָּרָה לִרְוָחָה,
וּמֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹרָה וּמִשִּׁעְבּוּד לִגְאֻלָּה,
הַשְׁתָּא בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב.
וְנֹאמַר: אָמֵן.

Our brethren, the whole House of Israel, who are in distress and bondage:
Our brethren who stand guard over our land
on the sea and in the air and on the ground,
Our brethren in combat on the battlefield,
And all members of our people (held in captivity)
(and) wounded in the struggle,
And those threatened by malice in our land and in exile,
And all those in need of Your comfort —
May the Omnipresent֑֭דפשמ֖ have mercy on them and lead them from distress to relief,
from darkness to light and from bondage to redemption,
now, speedily and soon.
And let us say: Amen.

Seth (Avi) Kadish

Rabbi Dr. Seth (Avi) Kadish teaches medieval Jewish philosophy, history and Bible at Oranim Academic College of Education and in the Overseas School at the University of Haifa. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Haifa (2006), and previously studied at Yeshiva University (where he earned rabbinic ordination and master’s degrees in Bible and Jewish Education). For many years he also taught immigrant soldiers in the Nativ program of the IDF education corps, and adult Israeli Jewish education for the Hebrew University’s Melton School. He lives in Kiryat Motzkin, Israel with his wife and children. He has helped build modern Orthodox Israeli communities that are meant to be open and welcoming to the entire public. Rabbi Kadish is the author of Kavvana: Directing the Heart in Jewish Prayer and The Book of Abraham: Rabbi Shimon ben Zemah Duran and the School of Rabbenu Nissim Gerondi.

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=68988

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Soldiers from the Elite Egoz Unit Take Their Final Test (credit: IDF, CC BY-SA)

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו׃ (תהלים צ:יז) · "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)

2026-09-04 at 1:56 am · Reply.

Thanks for posting this.
I’ll just note that this prayer is for *all* members of עם ישראל who are in danger or oppressed in our time: First and foremost for all Israeli soldiers, next for those who are in combat at this moment, then for captive or wounded soldiers and civilians alike, then “all those threatened by malice in our land and in exile” (mostly not soldiers), and finally “all those in need of Your comfort” which especially means the *families* of dead or wounded soldiers and civilians in Israel and in exile. This is very much NOT a prayer only for “the safety of military personnel”!
When I say this prayer in public at weddings (before the groom breaks the glass), I usually informally add “אחינו” to the first to groups: אחינו העומדים על משמר ארצנו and אחינו הלוחמים בשדה הקרב, because the soldiers defending our lives and defending the nation state of the People of Israel are indeed our brothers and our children.
I also usually add, regarding the wounded, ופצועים במערכה, חיילים ואזרחים, because the our enemies’ violence is directed at every member of the People of Israel, and to our sorrow it sometimes reaches them, whether they are soldiers defending life and liberty or civilians (both in Israel and abroud).
Shabbat shalom and shanah tovah!