Gilad Shalit is now twenty-five years old. The last line in the video says: “Don’t let this be the last picture in the album.”
Below is a prayer for the safe return of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. It was composed by Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Shlomo Amar.
Psalm readings:
Psalm 70, 13, 142, and 126 .
May it be Your will, Adonai our God and God of our fathers, that the verses of these psalms which we have read before You today will find favor and will be accepted before you as if spoken by King David, Your servant and annointed one.
May You do this for the sake of Your Holy Names that is written in them, alluded to and included within them. Accept mercifully and graciously our prayer and request. May our supplication come before You that You shall take pity, forgive and have mercy upon Your servant, the son of Your handmaiden,
Gilad, son of Aviva (Shalit)
And save him through both physical salvation and compassion, together with all the hostages and prisoners of Israel, Your People.
God, who liberates prisoners in good health, may You redeem him (Gilad) from his captors;
Bring him forth from captivity to freedom, from slavery to redemption, from darkness into light;
Restore him to complete health, both in mind and body;
Fortify his spirit and increase his strength, spreading happiness and joy;
So that he may be strengthened and healed, and know eternal happiness.
May the proliferation of public prayer, protest and grief on his behalf, far and wide, act on his behalf to protect, shield and redeem him from the house of his imprisonment.
And God will cast asunder his evil sentence that has been decreed, his good deeds shall be enumerated before the Almighty, blessed be God, including all that he has done and accomplished on behalf of our people and our inheritance. So shall God cast asunder his evil sentence through the Holy Name that is alluded to in the initials of the words “קבל רנת עמך שגבנו טהרנו נורא”; accept the delight of Your People, exalt us and purify us exceedingly.
May God fulfill for him the Biblical declaration, as it is written: And those redeemed by Adonai shall return and come to Zion in gladness, with eternal happiness on their heads; they shall know rejoicing and happiness; sorrow and grief shall fade. May this come to pass speedily in our days. Amen.”
