🡄 (Previous category) :: 📁 Slavery & Captivity

📁 War :: (Next Category) 🡆

Terror

This is an archive of prayers composed in response to or in anxious anticipation of an attack intended to invoke communal terror and distress.

Click here to contribute a prayer you have written, or a transcription and translation of a historical prayer.

Sorted Chronologically (old to new). Sort most recent first?

[Prayer for] the Ninth of Aḇ, by Rabbi Abraham Cronbach (1924)

This prayer for “The Ninth of Ab” by Rabbi Abraham Cronbach is found in his, Prayers of the Jewish Advance (1924), on pages 60-65. . . .

Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, prophetic revelation

Contributor(s): Abraham Cronbach and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Prayer for Peace in Israel, by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK & the Commonwealth, 2003)

According to the Rabbi Sacks Legacy Trust (RSLT), “A Prayer for Peace in Israel” was composed by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks following terror attacks in Israel in 2003 (i.e., during the Second Intifada). The text of the prayer appearing here was shared by the RSLT via their Facebook page in the context of the 2022 Tel Aviv Shooting. . . .

Categories: Conflicts over Sovereignty and Dispossession, Terror

Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, peace, Second Intifada, ישראל Yisrael

Contributor(s): Jonathan Sacks, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

פתח לנו שער בעת נעילת שער | Open for us a gate at the closing of a gate, by Rabbi Dr. Dalia Marx (2005)

A prayer for the State of Israel during conflicts over sovereignty and dispossession. . . .

Categories: Conflicts over Sovereignty and Dispossession, 🇮🇱 Medinat Yisra'el (the State of Israel), Terror

Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Gaza, Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, Israeli disengagement from Gaza, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, נעילה‎ neilah, protection, the Occupation

Contributor(s): David W. Nelson (translation), Moshe Silberschein (translation) and Dalia Marx

Prayer After the Bombing in Boston, by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat (2013)

I wrote this a few days after the Boston Marathon bombing. It arose out of a meditation service which I led at my synagogue. The doors to our sanctuary were open, so we had the sounds of the nearby wetland in our ears, and I invited the meditators to join me in cultivating compassion and sending it toward Boston. The line “My heart is in the east and I am in the west” is adapted from the medieval Spanish poet Judah haLevi. . . .

Categories: Terror

Tags: 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Boston, elegy, English vernacular prayer, Massachusetts, Prayers as poems, קינות Ḳinōt, United States

Contributor(s): Rachel Barenblat

תפילה לבאסטאן | Prayer for Boston after the bombing, by Rabbi Stephen Belsky (2013)

May the One who spoke the world into being, and who blessed humanity created in God’s image, and who brought about the miracle of these United States to promote freedom and peace among all people — bless, guard, and protect all the inhabitants of the Boston area, and strengthen and encourage their leaders, representatives, police officers, and detectives; bring them out from the shadow of death to light, and from danger to relief; and may the verse be fulfilled for them which says, ‘God is good to all, and shows mercy to all God’s creatures.’ And let us say: amein. . . .

Categories: Terror

Tags: 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., American Jewry of the United States, bombing, Boston, Massachusetts, prayers for municipalities

Contributor(s): Stephen Belsky

תְּפִלָּה לְהַצָּלָה מִפִּגּוּעֵי טֶרוֹר | Prayer for Rescue from Terror Attacks | Bön om skydd från terrorhot, by R’ Hillel Ḥayyim Lavery-Yisraëli (2014)

Let us not fear or be afraid, for you are our protector. “…Jacob shall return and live in peace and security; no one will terrify him again.” Guard our going out and our coming in, from now until eternity, and let us say, Amen. . . .

Categories: Terror

Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., European Jewry, Gothenburg, protection, security, Sweden, תחינות teḥinot, threat

Contributor(s): R' Hillel Ḥayyim Lavery-Yisraëli

תפילה לזכר הנערים | Prayer in the memory of Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaer, and Naftali Fraenkel — by Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum (Masorti Movement in Israel, 4 July 2014)

This prayer in lament for three Jewish youths taken captive and killed by Hamas in 2014, was written by Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum and published by the Masorti Movement in Israel through their Facebook page on 4 July 2014. English translation by Shoshana Michael Zucker. . . .

Categories: Mourning, Terror

Tags: 2014 Gush Etzion kidnapping and murder, 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., civilian non-combatants

Contributor(s): Shoshana Michael Zucker (translation), Tamar Elad-Appelbaum and Masorti Movement in Israel

מי שברך למיני פשעי שנאה | Mi sheBerakh for Hate Crimes and Bigotry, by Isaac Gantwerk-Mayer (2017)

From resurgent neo-fascist movements to religious extremist attacks, hate crimes are on the rise all over the world right now. At times like this many people live in fear – fear of being attacked or maligned, physical, mental or emotional. Hatred is not new to the Jewish people, but traditionally it was considered “just the way it is.” As Americans, we should believe better. The midrash (Devarim Rabbah 5:10) says that hateful speech kills three – the speaker, the listener, and the subject. This Mi Sheberakh was written as a prayer for all those of every people and nation that are affected by hatred and bigotry. . . .

Categories: After the Aliyot, Terror

Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Hate Crimes, מי שברך mi sheberakh, North America

Contributor(s): Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

A Prayer for Pittsburgh [after the Tree of Life synagogue massacre], by Rabbi Menachem Creditor (2018)

“A Prayer for Pittsburgh” was first published by Rabbi Menachem Creditor at his website, and shared with the Open Siddur Project via our Facebook discussion group. . . .

Categories: Mass Shootings & Gun Violence, Terror

Tags: 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, mass murder inside a synagogue, prayers for municipalities

Contributor(s): Menachem Creditor

תפילה לארצות הברית לאחר הטבח בפּיטסבּורג | Prayer for the United States after the Pittsburgh Massacre, by Rabbi Stephen Belsky (2018)

A prayer composed in the aftermath of the mass murder of the Dor Ḥadash community at the Ets Ḥayyim (Tree of Life) Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh on Shabbat morning 27 October 2018. . . .

Categories: Hateful Intolerance, Prejudice, and Bigotry, Mass Shootings & Gun Violence, Terror, 🇺🇸 United States of America

Tags: 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., mass murder inside a synagogue, Prayers after acts of terrible violence, prayers for municipalities, United States

Contributor(s): Stephen Belsky

תפילה מאת הרב עדין שטײנזלץ | A Prayer [in Response to Terror] by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz

This is an undated prayer written attributed to Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz (1937-2020) and shared via the Facebook page of Merkaz Steinsaltz (the Steinsaltz Center). The English translation (possibly also made by Rabbi Steinsaltz) was shared by the Center in a separate document. . . .

Categories: Terror, War

Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Needing Vocalization

Contributor(s): Adin Steinsaltz

אֵלֶּה אֶזְכְּרָה, נוּסַח פִּיטְסְבּוּרְג | Eileh Ezkarah for Pittsburgh, by Rabbi Jonathan Perlman with Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum & Rabbi Martin Cohen (2019)

A ḳinah for the martyrs of the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Boston in 2018. . . .

Categories: Hateful Intolerance, Prejudice, and Bigotry, Mass Shootings & Gun Violence, Terror

Tags: 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., martyrdom, mass murder inside a synagogue, Prayers after acts of terrible violence, קינות Ḳinōt

Contributor(s): Jonathan Perlman, Tamar Elad-Appelbaum and Martin Samuel Cohen

Gratitude Prayer, by Rabbi Menachem Creditor on the first anniversary of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life massacre (2019)

A prayer on the first anniversary of the Tree of Life massacre in Pittsburgh. . . .

Categories: Hateful Intolerance, Prejudice, and Bigotry, Mass Shootings & Gun Violence, Terror

Tags: 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Gratitude

Contributor(s): Menachem Creditor

תפילת השעה | Prayer of the Moment [after the Neve Yaakov synagogue shooting], by Rabbi Avi Novis-Deutsch (Knesset haRabanim l’Yisrael 2023)

“Tefilah haSha’ah” (Prayer of the Moment) was offered by Rav Avi Novis-Deutsch and shared by the Knesset haRabbanim l’Yisrael via their Facebook page on 29 January 2023. The English translation was shared by the Rabbinical Assembly via their Facebook page a few hours later. We have transcribed the prayer from the source image and set the Hebrew side-by-side with its translation in English. . . .

Categories: Mass Shootings & Gun Violence, Terror

Tags: 2023 East Jerusalem synagogue shooting, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Contributor(s): the Rabbinical Assembly of America, Knesset haRabanim b'Yisrael, Avi Novis-Deutsch and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

תפילה לנוכח המלחמה שפרצה בבוקר שמיני עצרת, תשפ”ד | Prayer in response to the war that broke out on the morning of Shemini Atseret 5784, by Rabbi Gil Nativ (Masorti Movement 2023)

A prayer offered by Rabbi Gil Nativ for the Masorti Movement in Israel and the Knesset haRabanim b’Yisrael in response to the invasion from Gaza on Shemini Atseret 5784 (2023), and disseminated via their Facebook page. . . .

Categories: Conflicts over Sovereignty and Dispossession, Terror, War

Tags: 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Needing Vocalization

Contributor(s): Gil Nativ, Masorti Movement in Israel, Knesset haRabanim b'Yisrael, Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Shoshana Michael Zucker (translation)

A Prayer from a Traumatized Jewish Heart, by Rabbi Menachem Creditor (10 October 2023)

“A Prayer from a Traumatized Jewish Heart” was written by Rabbi Menachem Creditor and shared by the author via the Open Siddur Project discussion group on Facebook, 10 October 2023. . . .

Categories: Conflicts over Sovereignty and Dispossession, Terror, War

Tags: 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Contributor(s): Menachem Creditor

הושע נא | Hosha-na [after the war begun on Shemini Atseret 5784], by Rabbi Annie Lewis (10 October 2023)

This litany of Hoshana’ot was written by Rabbi Annie Lewis. Hebrew translation by Shoshana Michael Zucker. . . .

Categories: Conflicts over Sovereignty and Dispossession, Terror, War

Tags: 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Hebrew translation, הושענות hoshanot, Needing Vocalization

Contributor(s): Annie Lewis and Shoshana Michael Zucker (translation)

Prayer for Israel at Temple Micah’s Lunch & Learn, by Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff (11 October 2023)

This prayer by Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff was offered at the Temple Micah, Lunch and Learn, on 11 Oct 2023. . . .

Categories: Terror, War

Tags: 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer

Contributor(s): Arnold E. Resnicoff

Prayer for Israel, Tishrei 5784 by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK & the Commonwealth, 12 October 2023)

A prayer for Israel offered by the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, Efraim Mirvis on 12 October 2023, in the aftermath of the massacres perpetrated by HAMA”S and their allies in Gaza on the residents and citizens of the State of Israel on Shemini Atseret 5784. The prayer was originally published on the website of the Office of the Chief Rabbi and disseminated via its social media accounts. . . .

Categories: Conflicts over Sovereignty and Dispossession, 🇮🇱 Medinat Yisra'el (the State of Israel), Terror

Tags: 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M.

Contributor(s): Ephraim Mirvis and Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth

דָּם זְכַרְיָה מְבַכֶּה | The blood of Zekhariah cries out, a qinah by Aryeh Baruch

As I was in NYC, I first heard the news of the pogrom with which Hamas opened the war between Hallel and the Torah reading on Shemini Atseret. The beginnings of what is now the final stanza of this… I am unsure whether to refer to it as a qinah or a piyut first stirred in my soul during Tefillat Geshem, and the refrain of that stanza during Hakafot that evening. Prayer and song, no matter how joyous, has taken on a somber, cutting, desperate edge for me in this new world where the safety I had once taken for granted was revealed to be an illusion, which is reflected in taking from the phrases taken from the liturgy of the Yomim Nora’im. . . .

Categories: Terror, War

Tags: 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Hebrew translation, קינות Ḳinōt

Contributor(s): Aryeh Baruch

אל מלא רחמים לזכר הנרצחים | El Malé Raḥamim Prayer for the Victims of Terrorism in the Land of Israel

An El Malé Raḥamim prayer for Victims of Terror in Erets Yisrael, with an English translation by Rabbi Hillel Ḥayyim Lavery-Yisraeli from Prayers for Israel, for Protection from Terror Attacks, and In Memory of the Victims (15 October 2023), page 6. . . .

Categories: 🇮🇱 Yom haZikaron, Mourning, After the Aliyot, Terror

Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., אל מלא רחמים El Malé Raḥamim, ארץ ישראל Erets Yisrael

Contributor(s): R' Hillel Ḥayyim Lavery-Yisraëli and Unknown Author(s)

אֵל מָלֵא רַחֲמִים לְנִשְׁמוֹת תּוֹשָׁבֵי מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל מֶהַיִשּׁוּבֵי עוֹטֵף עַזָּה | El Malé Raḥamim for the residents of the State of Israel from the communities on the Gaza Border, by Cantor Amnon Seelig

This is an El Malé Raḥamim prayer by Cantor Amnon Seelig for the victims of the invasion of HAMA”S from Gaza on Shemini Atseret 5784, with an English translation by Rabbi Oren Steinitz. . . .

Categories: After the Aliyot, Mourning, Terror

Tags: 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., אל מלא רחמים El Malé Raḥamim

Contributor(s): Oren Steinitz and Amnon Seelig

Prayer [after the massacres on Shemini Atseret 5784], by Dr. Melila Hellner-Eshed

This prayer was offered by Dr. Melila Hellner-Eshed in the days following the attacks of Ḥamas and its allies from Gaza on southern Israel beginning Shemini Atseret 5784 (7 October 2023). The English translation was made Rabbi Zac Kamenetz and Rabbi Marc Margolius. . . .

Categories: Terror, War

Tags: 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Contributor(s): Zac Kamenetz (translation), Marc Margolius (translation) and Melila Hellner-Eshed

Upon My Heart, a prayer-poem by Rabbi Menachem Creditor

“Upon My Heart” was offered by Rabbi Menachem Creditor and shared via the Open Siddur Project discussion group on 20 November 2023. The added hashtag “#bringthemhomenow” helps to contextualize the prayer-poem, as written to express the yearning for the return of the captives taken hostage during the 7 October massacres by HAMA”S and its allies. . . .

Categories: Slavery & Captivity, Terror

Tags: 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., captives, English vernacular prayer, North American Jewry, Prayers as poems

Contributor(s): Menachem Creditor

זָכוֹר אֵת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה לְךָ חָמָאס | Remember That Which Hamas Did, an adaptation on the liturgical reminder to obliterate Amaleq by Aryeh Barukh (2024)

A riff on the mitsvah to obliterate Amaleq in Parashat Zakhor, adapted to the horrors committed by HAMA”S and its allies on 7 October 2023. . . .

Categories: Pogroms & Genocide, Slavery & Captivity, Terror

Tags: זכירות zekhirot, 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., addenda, vengeance

Contributor(s): Aryeh Baruch

קינה על מאורעות חרבות ברזל | Qinah al Me’or’ot Ḥarvot Barzel, by Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon (World Mizrachi Movement)

This qinah for the horrors of October 7th was written by Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon, president of World Mizrachi and first published to their website for the Nine Days (Rosh Ḥodesh Av to Tishah b’Av). . . .

Categories: Pogroms & Genocide, Terror

Tags: 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., קינות Ḳinōt, religious Zionist prayers

Contributor(s): Yosef Zvi Rimon

אֵיכָה יָשְׁבָה בָּדָד | Eikhah Yashvah Badad (O How She Sat Alone), a qinah by Nurit Hirschfeld-Skupinsky

The author of this qinah is a survivor of the slaughter in Kibbutz Nahal Oz. The qinah was first published in an article by Tamar Biala appearing in The Times of Israel, “O how she sat alone: New laments for a beloved land” on 4 August 2024, appended with the note: “These Lamentations will appear in Dirshuni: Contemporary Women’s Midrash Vol. 2.” . . .

Categories: Tishah b'Av, Pogroms & Genocide, Slavery & Captivity, Terror

Tags: 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Prayers after acts of terrible violence, קינות Ḳinōt

Contributor(s): Yehudah Mirsky (translation) and Nurit Hirschfeld-Skupinsky

קִינָה לְאֶרֶץ אֲהוּבָה | Qinah l’Erets Ahuvah (Lamentation for a Beloved Land), by Liora Eilon

The author of this qinah is a survivor of the slaughter in Kibbutz Kfar Azza. The qinah was first published in an article by Tamar Biala appearing in The Times of Israel, “O how she sat alone: New laments for a beloved land” on 4 August 2024, appended with the note: “These Lamentations will appear in Dirshuni: Contemporary Women’s Midrash Vol. 2.” . . .

Categories: Tishah b'Av, Pogroms & Genocide, Slavery & Captivity, Terror

Tags: 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Prayers after acts of terrible violence, קינות Ḳinōt

Contributor(s): Yehudah Mirsky (translation) and Liora Eilon

אֵלֶּה אֶזְכְּרָה | These I Remember, a seliḥah before the anniversary of October 7th by Ze’ev Kainan

A selïhah piyyut for the massacres of 7 October prepared for Seliḥot services in advance of the first anniversary of 7 October. . . .

Categories: Pogroms & Genocide, Slavery & Captivity, Terror

Tags: 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., פיוטים piyyutim, rhyming translation, סליחות səliḥot

Contributor(s): Ze'ev Kainan

יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָּנֶיךָ | Prayer for an End to Injustice on Earth, by Anonymous

This “Prayer for an end to injustice on Earth” by an anonymous author, was first published in בצרור החיים: A Yizkor Supplement for Palestinian Life (Halachic Left 2024), pages 34-35. . . .

Categories: Pogroms & Genocide, Terror, War

Tags: 2023-2024 Israel–Hamas war, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., anti-predatory, ארץ ישראל Erets Yisrael, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Needing Translation (into Arabic), Universal Peace

Contributor(s): Justin Kerber (translation), Anonymous Author(s) and Halachic Left

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/index.php?cat=777

Associated Image:

"Paris rally in support of the victims of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting, 11 January 2015." A sign in the background saying "Jews, Muslims, atheists, Christians united... Everyone united for liberty/freedom" (credit: sébastien amiet;l, license: CC BY)

(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in category pages and in shared links on social media.)

Terms of Use: Be a mentsch (a conscientious, considerate person) and adhere to the following guidelines:

Properly attribute any information in the description of this archive page to the Open Siddur Project (<https://opensiddur.org>).
Clearly indicate the date you accessed this page and in what ways, if any, you modified it. (If you have adapted the work, let us know so that the contributor might consider endorsing your revision.)
Provide the stable link to this archive: <https://opensiddur.org/index.php?cat=777>.
Indicate that the original page was shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license. (To redistribute or remix this page in any format, modified or unmodified, you must refer to the terms of the CC BY-SA license.)

Additional Notes:

The views expressed on this page and in these shared works represents the views of their creator(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Open Siddur Project's developers, its diverse community of volunteer contributors, or its institutional partners.
We strongly advise against printing sacred texts and art containing divine names as these copies must be regarded with reverence, complicating their casual treatment and disposal.
If you must dispose of a printed sacred text (one containing Divine Names), please locate the closest genizah (often established by a synagogue) and contact its custodians for further instructions. We also recommend using Morah Yehudis Fishman's Prayer for Adding a Work to the Genizah.

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

Pocket Reddit Facebook Bluesky Telegram WhatsApp SMS Email