As we prepare to celebrate Rosh Hashanah tonight, we share with all 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 on the Sabbath and on Holy Days. Tonight we hold in our hearts loved ones and recall the holiness of every human being, created in God’s image.

“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 and person living in our country, 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 have in the past made 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 in the world. Now and forever.”

THE JEWISH PLURALIST STANDS WITH

HUMAN RIGHTS

IN OUR COUNTRY, IN ISRAEL AND AROUND THE WORLD

SHANA TOVA

A YEAR OF HEALTH, COMPASSION AND PEACE

The prayer for our country is adapted from Mishkan Hanefesh Reform Judaism Rosh Hashanah Mahzor for the Days of Awe.