Special Seder prayer for kidnapped soldiers prepared

The prayer is to be read after the "Avadim Hayinu" ("We were slaves") passage in the Haggada.

By HAVIV RETTIG GUR
regev goldwasser 298 (photo credit: Channel 10)
regev goldwasser 298
(photo credit: Channel 10)
A new prayer calling for the "immediate rescue and return" of kidnapped IDF soldiers Gilad Schalit, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, along with the rest of Israel's MIAs, should be read by every Jewish family around the world during the Seder on Monday evening, Jewish Agency chairman Ze'ev Bielski said on Wednesday. The prayer, composed by Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, recalls "our sons who are being held in captivity by evil oppressors" and asks "for their immediate rescue and return to their homes and families, in good health and peace." The prayer is a joint initiative by the Jewish Agency and the Keren Maor Foundation, also known as Amutat Habanim, which represents the families of the abducted soldiers. Agency emissaries around the world will bring copies of the prayer to their communities. The prayer, to be read after the "Avadim Hayinu" ("We were slaves") passage in the Haggada, also includes: "May He who hears all prayers, favorably hear our prayer at this time, leading to good tidings soon and in our day, Amen." The Jewish Agency also released the general prayer for the release of the kidnapped soldiers, also composed by Amar. The chief rabbi's prayer is meant to be recited following a reading of Psalms 121 and 124: "May it be your will, Hashem, our God and God of our ancestors, that these Psalms that we have read, will find favor before You, as if King David, your servant, had recited them himself. "For the sake of Your Holy Name, may our prayer and request be accepted with mercy and favor, and may our supplication come before You, to show mercy and loving kindness for our captives and missing soldiers: Ehud ben Malka Goldwasser; Eldad ben Tova Regev; Gilad ben Aviva Schalit; Guy ben Rina Hever; Zecharia Shlomo ben Miriam Baumel; Yekutiel Yehudah Nachman ben Sarah Katz; Zvi ben Pnina Feldman; Ron ben Batya Arad. "Mercifully save them, together with all the captives and prisoners of your people Israel. He who redeems prisoners shall save them from captivity and take them out of slavery to freedom, and from oppression to redemption, and from darkness to light, and He shall heal them fully in soul and body, and grant them strength, happiness and joy, so they shall be strong, healthy and content. "May the merit and cries of prayer of the many, who beseech You on their behalf, from all corners of the earth, serve as a mighty shield and annul any evil decree, and may their merits and deeds for the sake of our people and homeland, be presented before You. "May the following verse be realized for them: "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."