The Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel (Hebrew: תפילה לשלום המדינה) (lit.'Prayer for the peace of the state'), also known as Avinu Shebashamayim (lit.'Our father who art in heaven'), is a prayer said in most Jewish denominations in Israel and a lot of denominations in the Jewish Diaspora as part of the prayer service on Shabbat and Jewish holy days. The prayer requests divine providence for the State of Israel and its leaders, and that the exiled Jewish people be gathered in to the Land of Israel.
After its composition in 1948, the prayer quickly became an important part of Jewish and Israeli liturgy. Scholar Yoel Rappel has called its a "religious Declaration of Independence for the State of Israel".
Background
Since as early as the 6th century BCE, Jews have prayed for the welfare of the sovereign and government of the country or state where they lived. The first instance of Jews being instructed to pray for their government is from the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29:4-7,[1] and it is also mentioned in Pirkei Avot in the Mishnah.[2]
After the Six Day War in 1967, Israel became an integral part of the organized American Jewish community and the Jewish diaspora. This was reflected by greater incorporation of Israel into the prayer service of the major American Jewish denominations in the form of a prayer for the welfare of Israel.[5]
American cantor Sol Zim composed commonly used rendition of the prayer in 1988, which was popularized by chief cantor of the Israeli Defense Forces Shai Abramson as a tribute to fallen soldiers.[6]
Authorship debate
Immediately after the prayer's publication, there was debate over whether Herzog or Agnon was the true author. Herzog was generally considered the author until a 1983 article in Ma'ariv by scholar David Tamar raised the possibility of Agnon's authorship. However, findings by scholar Yoel Rappel and corroborated by the National Library of Israel in 2018 confirmed Herzog's authorship.[3]
Shield her beneath the wings of your lovingkindness; spread over her the shelter of your peace; send your light and your truth to its leaders, officers, and counselors, and correct them with your good counsel.
Strengthen the defenders of our Holy Land; grant them, our G-d, salvation, and crown them with victory, give the land peace, and everlasting joy for her inhabitants.
Remember our brethren, the whole house of Israel, in all the lands of their dispersion, and bring them speedily to Zion, your city, and to Jerusalem, where your name lives, as it is written in the Torah of your servant Moses (Deuteronomy 30:4–6): "Even if you are dispersed in the uttermost parts of the world, from there HaShem, your G-d, will gather and fetch you, and HaShem, your G-d will bring you to the land which your ancestors possessed, and you shall possess her; and HaShem will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. (Then HaShem your G-d will open your and your children's hearts, to love HaShem your G-d with all your heart and soul, so that you may live.)[8]"
Unite our hearts to love and revere your name, and to observe all the precepts of your Torah, and speedily send us your righteous messiah of the House of David, to redeem those waiting for your salvation. Shine forth with the glory and pride of your strength over all the inhabitants of your world, and let everything that breathes proclaim: "HaShem, G-d of Israel is King; whose majesty reigns over all!" Amen Selah.
The prayer calls for Jews in the diaspora to return to Israel and commemorates Israel's founding as the beginning of the redemption.[3] The Prayer for the State of Israel has a tune which is often used, and some synagogues sing a different, festive tune on holidays. The congregation stands while the leader reads the prayer, and in some synagogues everyone reads it aloud.[citation needed]
In the prayer, the State of Israel is called "the beginning of the emergence of our redemption". This phrase, and reservations about the secular governance of Israel, are among the reasons that mainstream Haredi Jews do not say this prayer. In practice, the recitation of this prayer, and to a lesser extent the Prayer for the Welfare of the Soldiers of the IDF, has become one of the differences delineating the Haredim from the Religious Zionists.[citation needed]
Cantorial historian Jeremiah Lockwood described the prayer as having "the stylistic feel of musical theater". The prayer is highly sentimental and divided into sections that build in dramatic tension. It is both an appeal to the emotions and a nationalistic Zionist piece. Lockwood writes that Zim's full-length soloist composition is rare among pulpit cantors due to reduced interest by attendees in hearing lengthy cantorial recitatives during services.[6]
Gift of Isaac Herzog, President of Israel, presented to Israeli astronaut Eytan Stibbe, with the Prayer for the Welfare for the State of Israel engraved
Liturgy
Major American Jewish denominations include the Prayer for Israel in their most recent prayer books.[9] The official siddur of the Union for Reform Judaism, Sha'arei Tefillah, first published in 1975, included the prayer for Israel as part of its weekly and holiday services. In 1985, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism's Siddur Sim Shalom included the prayer as part of its prayer service. In addition, the Rabbinical Council of America, representing Modern Orthodoxy, includes references to the state of Israel.[5]
Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, however, usually recite it at the time when the Torah scroll(s) are taken out of the Ark. At these respective points, it was common practice throughout the years to add various blessings, including the Blessing for the Ruler of the Country. After the establishment of Israel, some synagogues also read a prayer for the welfare of the President of Israel, but this practice has virtually ceased today.[citation needed]
In the diaspora, it is said after the prayer for the respective national government.[4]
The prayer immediately became an important part of Jewish and Israeli liturgy. According to Rappel of Boston University's Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies, the Prayer for the State of Israel is more important than the Israeli Declaration of Independence for many people, especially religious Jews. Rappel has called the prayer a "religious Declaration of Independence for the State of Israel".[3]
Due to the prayer's political significance, it has been affected by politics. At times when there have been ill relations between the Religious Zionist community and the government of Israel, such as during the Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005 and during the period between the signing of the Oslo Accords until the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, some refrained from reciting this prayer, or inserted changes which expressed their outrage at the State's leadership.[3] One of the most common changes was to replace the words "...and send Your Light and Your Truth to its leaders, its officers and advisers, and set them aright with Your good counsel" with "stand at its head men of valor, God-fearers, men of truth who hate avarice, and send Your Light and Your Truth upon them."[citation needed]
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