Jewish Life

How does one pray for a country? Do we lift up all the ways a country lives up to its ideals, or delineate all the ways it’s falling short? Do we pray to support its leaders, or to topple them if they are corrupt? Do we include a special prayer for its armed forces, even if we believe they are fighting unjust wars?

As long as there has been a diaspora, there have been Jewish prayers for the welfare of our country. On the first week after the election, Rabbi Shira will teach some of them, and begin to craft a contemporary prayer for America.