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

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=22493

open_content_license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license date_src_start: 2018-11-03 date_src_end: 2018-11-03 languages_meta: [{"name":"English","code":"eng","standard":"ISO 639-3"},{"name":"Hebrew","code":"heb","standard":"ISO 639-3"}] scripts_meta: [{"name":"Latin","code":"Latn","standard":"ISO 15924"},{"name":"Hebrew (Ktav Ashuri)","code":"Hebr","standard":"ISO 15924"}]

Date: 2018-11-03

Last Updated: 2025-04-11

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

Excerpt: 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. . . .

Content:
Hebrew English
הַנּוֹתֵן מֶמְשָׁלָה לְמַנְהִיגִים וְאַחְרָיוּת לְאֶזְרָחִים,
מַלְכוּתוֹ כָּל עוֹלָמִים –
שׁוֹמֵר יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָנוּם וְלֹא יִישָׁן, (תהלים קכא:ד)
שֶׁהוֹשִׁיעַ אֶת יַעֲקֹב מִיַּד לָבָן,
וּבְכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר מַצִּילֵנוּ מִיַּד רוֹדְפֵינוּ –
הוּא יְבָרֵךְ אֶת הַמְּדִינוֹת הַמְּאוּחָדוֹת הָאֵלּוּ,
מַלְכוּת הַחֶסֶד אֲשֶׁר מָצָאנוּ בָהּ מָנוֹחַ,
וְיַשְׁרֶה אַהֲבָה וְאַחֲוָה בֵין כָּל תּוֹשָׁבֶיהָ.
May Gd who grants dominion to rulers and responsibility to citizens,
whose kingdom is all eternities –
the guardian of Israel who neither slumbers nor sleeps,[1] Psalms 121:4 
who rescued Jacob from the hands of Lavan,
and in every generation saves us from our persecutors –
bless these United States,
the compassionate country in which we have found rest,
and inspire all its inhabitants with love and brotherhood.
בְּרַחֲמָיו הָרַבִּים
יְעַקֵּר וִישַׁבֵּר אֶת תַּרְבוּת הָאַכְזָרִיּוּת וְהַשִּׂנְאָה
מֵעָלֵינוּ, וּמִבֵּינֵינוּ, וּמִתּוֹכֵנוּ,
וְיִתֵּן בְּלֶב כָּל מַנְהִיגֵינוּ
לְקַיֵּם שְׁלוֹם הָאָרֶץ וְחֵירוּתָהּ,
עַד בִּיאַת יוֹם חֲזוֹן נְבִיאֵינוּ,
בּוֹ יְנַחֵם כְּאֵם גּוֹלִים
וּמָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ דֵּעָה אֶת יי
כַּמַּיִם לַיָּם מְכַסִּים. (ישעיהו יא:ט, חבקוק ב:יד)
In Gd’s great mercies,
uproot and destroy the culture of cruelty and hatred
from upon us, among us, and within us,
and place in the hearts of all our leaders
to preserve the peace and freedom of the land,
until the coming of the day of our prophets’ vision
when Gd consoles exiles like a mother
and the world is full of the knowledge of God
as water covers the seas.[2] Cf. Isaiah 11:9, Habakkuk 2:14 
כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן,
וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן.
Let this be Gd’s will,
and let us say amein.

This “Prayer for the United States after the Pittsburgh Massacre,” by Rabbi Stephen Belsky, was written to be recited this Shabbos (3 November 2018), following Av haRaḥamim, an El Malei for the martyrs, and a prayer for the injured victims and police officers.

Notes

Notes
1 Psalms 121:4
2 Cf. Isaiah 11:9, Habakkuk 2:14

Contributor: Stephen Belsky

Co-authors:

Featured Image:
1024px-Pittsburgh_synagogue_shooting_Governor_Wolf_Gives_Remarks_Regarding_Pittsburgh_Shooting_and_Participates_in_Vigil_(31719813618)
Title: 1024px-Pittsburgh_synagogue_shooting_Governor_Wolf_Gives_Remarks_Regarding_Pittsburgh_Shooting_and_Participates_in_Vigil_(31719813618)
Caption: Governor Wolf Gives Remarks Regarding Pittsburgh Shooting and Participates in Vigil [for] Pittsburgh synagogue shooting (credit: Governor Tom Wolf, license: CC BY)