I don’t have any original thoughts to share in this essay. It is not a Torah thought, or a social commentary or a rant. It is just a thought that may help others in the prayers we are all saying.
I am quite sure that everyone is adding to their prayers since Simchas Torah, each in his or her own way. I try to have some more concentration (kavanah) in the prayers for healing the sick, and releasing those in bondage, and silencing the slanderers, and in general in hearing our prayers. In addition, I have been saying the daily T’hilim, such that one finishes the whole book once a month. A very small effort on my part, I should be doing much more, but (unlike my holy wife), that is where I am at.
Reciting the whole book of T’hilim has made me reflect. In the many public prayers that I have seen, it seems that they always recite certain famous ones. Psalms 20, 121, 130, and 142 are always the ones on the menu, and they are all beautiful and inspiring. However, when reading through the whole sefer, certain chapters particularly touch you and seem so extremely relevant to current events.
There are two that would seem to me to be exactly on point, that should be better known. I hope that you will consider adding them to your daily t’filah, and perhaps suggest them for the congregation with whom you daven.
Here they are in the original and in English translation (adapted from the wonderful translation of the Jerusalem Bible).
Psalm 140 – A Prayer to Save Us from the Monsters of Hamas
For the leader. A psalm of David.
Rescue me, Hashem, from the men of Hamas (mei’ish chamasim – evil men). Save me from the lawless, whose minds are full of evil schemes, who plot war every day. They sharpen their tongues like serpents; spiders’ poison is on their lips. Selah.
Hashem, keep me out of the clutches of the wicked. Save me from the men of Hamas (mei’ish chamasim – evil men) who scheme to make me fall. Arrogant men laid traps with ropes for me: They spread out a net along the way; they set snares for me. Selah.
I said to Hashem: You are my G-d; give ear, Hashem, to my pleas for mercy. Hashem, my Lord, the strength of my deliverance, You protected my head on the day of battle. Hashem, do not grant the desires of the wicked; do not let their plan succeed, else they be exalted. Selah.
May the heads of those who beset me be covered with the mischief of their lips. May coals of fire drop down upon them, and they be cast into pits, never to rise again. Let slanderers have no place in the land; let the evil men of Hamas (mei’ish chamasim – the lawless man) be trapped in pressurized places.
I know that Hashem will champion the cause of the poor, the rights of the needy. Righteous men shall surely praise Your name; the upright shall dwell in Your presence.
Psalm 88 – A Prayer for the Hostages
I find myself tearing up when reading this one while thinking about the hostages, the terrible holes they are being kept in, the hopelessness they and their families face, and what they are going through, particularly the women.
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A song. A psalm of the sons of Korach. For the leader; on machalas l’anos. A maskil of Heiman the Ezrachi.
Hashem, G-d of my deliverance, when I cry out in the night before You, let my prayer reach You; incline Your ear to my cry. For I am sated with misfortune; I am at the brink of Sh’ol (the grave). I am numbered with those who go down to the Pit; I am a helpless man, abandoned among the dead, like bodies lying in the grave of whom You are mindful no more, and who are cut off from Your care.
You have put me at the bottom of the Pit, in the darkest places, in the depths. Your fury lies heavy upon me; You afflict me with all Your breakers. Selah.
You make my companions shun me; You make me abhorrent to them; I am shut in and do not go out. My eyes pine away from affliction; I call to You, Hashem, each day; I stretch out my hands to You.
Will You work wonders only after I am dead? Do the ghosts rise to praise You? Selah.
Are your faithful care be recounted in the grave, Your faithfulness in the place of perdition? Can your wonders be made known in the netherworld, Your beneficent deeds in the land of oblivion?
As for me, I cry out to You, Hashem; each morning my prayer greets You.
Why, Hashem, do You reject me, do You hide Your face from me? From my youth, I have been afflicted and near death; I suffer Your terrors wherever I turn.
Your fury overwhelms me; Your terrors destroy me. They swirl about me like water all day long; they encircle me on every side. You have put friend and neighbor far from me and my companions out of my sight.
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May Hashem’s will be that we see the full victory over our enemies and the safe return of our loved ones very soon!
Rabbi Yehuda L. Oppenheimer is a writer and licensed tour guide living in Israel. Before aliyah, he served as the rabbi of several congregations, including the Young Israel of Forest Hills. He would love to show you our homeland on your next visit; he can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (+972) 53-624-1802.
