הושענא למען השיקום, שנת תשפ״ו | Hosha-na for Rebuilding Sukkot, 5786 — by Shoshana Michael Zucker (Ḳehillat Hod veHadar)

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12 October 2025 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

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2023-2025 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., הושענות hoshanot, religious Zionist prayers

I wrote this Hosha-na for Sukkot 5786 for the weekday minyan at קהילת הוד והדר (Ḳehillat Hod v’Hadar) updating the one I wrote last year. I attempted to balance the memory of the horrors of 7 October 2023 and the tense anticipation of October 2025, after the ceasefire agreement was signed but not fully implemented. Thus, the alternate versions of the line concerning the hostages’ return. It is forward-looking because Sukkot is a time for building, even if that building is fragile. I was initially inspired by the hosha-na text written by Rabbi Annie Lewis in 2023 (that I translated).

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
הוֹשִׁיעָה נָא	Hoshiah Na! (Redeem now!)
אָנָּא פְּתַח־נָא שַׁעֲרֵי יְשׁוּעָתְךָ מֵחָדָשׁ הוֹשַׁע נָא	Please reopen Your gates of salvation Hosha-na (save now)
לְמַעַנְךָ וּלְמַעֲנֵנוּ הוֹשַׁע נָא	For Your sake and for ours Hosha-na
לְמַעַן זִכְרָם שֶׁל כָּל הַהֲרוּגִים, אֲנָשִׁים, נָשִׁים וָטַף הוֹשַׁע נָא	In memory of all those have been killed, men, women, and children Hosha-na
לְמַעַן חֲזָרָתָם שֶׁל כָּל החֲטוּפוֹת וַהחֲטוּפִים, השְׁבוּיוֹת וּהשְׁבוּיִים [או לְמַעַן החֲטוּפוֹת וַהחֲטוּפִים, השְׁבוּיוֹת וּהשְׁבוּיִים הַמִּשְׁתַּחְרְרִים מִשִּׁבְיָם] הוֹשַׁע נָא	For the return of all those who have been kidnapped and captured [or “those who now being released from captivity”] Hosha-na
לְמַעַן מְנוּחָתָם שֶׁל הַחֲלָלִים שֶׁמָּקוֹם קְבוּרָתָם לֹא נוֹדַע. הוֹשַׁע נָא	For the rest of the deceased whose burial place is unknown Hosha-na
לְמַעַן הַבְרָאָתָם שֶׁל כָּל פְּדוּיֵי הַשֶּׁבִי הָאָיֹם וּמִשְׁפְּחוֹתֵיהֶם הוֹשַׁע נָא	For the recovery of those redeemed from horrendous captivity and their families Hosha-na
לְמַעַן רְפוּאָתָם שֶׁל הַפְּצוּעִים בַּגּוּף וּבַנֶּפֶשׁ הוֹשַׁע נָא	For the healing of all who have been injured, physically, and psychologically Hosha-na
לְמַעַן שׁוּבָם שֶׁל הָעֲקוּרִים לְבָתֵּיהֶם הוֹשַׁע נָא	For the return of all the displaced to their homes Hosha-na
לְמַעַן חַיָּלֵי הַסָּדִיר והַמִּלּוּאִים הַמַּמְשִׁיכִים לְשָׁרֵת בְּנֶאֱמָנוּת הוֹשַׁע נָא	For the compulsory and reserve soldiers who continue to serve steadfastly Hosha-na
לְמַעַן הַמִּשְׁפָּחוֹת הַתּוֹמְכוֹת בָּעֹרֶף הוֹשַׁע נָא	For the families supporting them at home Hosha-na
לְמַעַן מַעֲשֵׂי הַחֶסֶד וְהִתְנַדְּבוּת הָרַבִּים הוֹשַׁע נָא	For the many acts of care, kindness and volunteering Hosha-na
לְמַעַן הַיִּשּׁוּבִים הַקָּמִים מֵחֻרְבָּנָם הוֹשַׁע נָא	For the communities being rebuilt from the ruins Hosha-na
לְמַעַן כָּל אֵלּוּ שֶׁאֲנַחְנוּ מַזְכִּירִים בַּלֵּב הוֹשַׁע נָא	For everyone we are mentioning silently Hosha-na
לְמַעַן אִחוּי הַקְּרָעִים בָּעָם הוֹשַׁע נָא	For mending the ruptures within our people Hosha-na
לְמַעַן קִיּוּם עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּאַרְצוֹ הוֹשַׁע נָא	For the continued life of the People of Israel in its land Hosha-na
לְמַעַן הַסִּכּוּי לְשָׁלוֹם בַּר קְיָמָא הוֹשַׁע נָא	For the chance of lasting peace Hosha-na
אָנָּא ה׳ הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא	Please YHVH, Redeem us now!

Shoshana Michael Zucker

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.

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=63926

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Marking 150 days since the start of the Gaza War on 7 October 2023, a demonstration was held in front of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv by the families of the hostages, who appealed to President Biden for help. (credit: Lizzy Shaanan, license: CC BY-SA) via the PikiWiki – Israel free image collection project

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