As we prepare for Rosh Hashanah on Sunday night, we feel an added urgency this year to share with our readers a prayer for our country. For centuries, a prayer for the country has been included in prayer books in Jewish communities around the world. The prayer is recited right after the morning Torah service in synagogues, on the Sabbath and on Holy Days. The following prayer is taken from the Rosh Hashanah Mishkan Hanefesh Mahzor for the Days of Awe:

“God of holiness, we hear Your message: Justice, Justice you shall pursue. God of freedom, we hear Your charge: Proclaim liberty throughout the land. Inspire us through Your teachings and commandments to love and uphold our precious democracy. Let every citizen take responsibility for the rights and freedoms we cherish. Let each of us be an advocate for justice, an activist for liberty, a defender of dignity. And let us champion the values that make our nation a haven for the persecuted, a beacon of hope among the nations.

We pray for courage and conscience. May our actions reflect compassion for all people, within our borders and abroad. Now and forever.”

THE JEWISH PLURALIST WISHES YOU

SHANAH TOVAH

A YEAR OF LIFE, LIBERTY AND PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS