Tefillah leSha’at Tzarah uMilchamah — Prayer in a Time of Distress and War
This is a remarkable traditional Jewish prayer composed for moments of acute danger, war, and communal distress. It is structured around Psalm 20, recited twelve times with intention, followed by a supplication invoking the Divine Names, the merit of the patriarchs, and God's ancient covenant with Israel. It is said both by those in immediate danger and by fellow Jews praying on behalf of their brethren in peril. The composer is not definitively identified, but the prayer reflects the kabbalistic liturgical tradition. Whoever you are, you are welcome to read, reflect, and pray alongside these words.
A remarkable prayer for a time of distress and a time of war — to be said by those who are present in a place and time of danger, and by the people of Israel, who are bound to one another, to say it on behalf of their brethren who are in distress, to implore and beseech the Omnipresent that He have mercy upon them and bring them out from darkness to light and from bondage to redemption, and guard and deliver them from every trouble and affliction. May it be so.
First, recite Psalm 20 twelve times with full intention:
For the conductor, a psalm of David:
May Adonai answer you on a day of distress; may the name of the God of Jacob set you on high.
May He send your help from the sanctuary, and from Zion sustain you.
May He remember all your offerings, and receive your burnt offerings with favor. Selah.
May He give you the desire of your heart, and fulfill your every plan.
We will sing for joy at your deliverance, and in the name of our God raise our banner — may Adonai fulfill all your requests.
Now I know that Adonai has delivered His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heavens, with the mighty acts of His saving right hand.
These trust in chariots and those in horses, but we invoke the name of Adonai our God.
They have stumbled and fallen, but we have risen and stand firm. Adonai, deliver! May the King answer us on the day we call.
After reciting the psalm, say:
May it be Your will, Adonai our God and God of our forefathers, Mighty One of Jacob, Holy One of Israel,
that by the virtue of reciting this psalm,
You be filled with compassion for all Israel dwelling in this city — [say the name of the city] —
and guard us from the hand of our enemies and all who rise against us.
Deliver us from evil, from famine, from captivity, from plunder, from every fear and every sorrow,
and subdue and bring low all our enemies.
Let dread and terror fall upon them — [direct the mind to the Name: Ta'avu] —
by the greatness of Your arm, may they be still as stone.
Just as You answered Jacob at Bethel, when he said: I will make there an altar to the God who answers me in my day of distress,
and just as King David, peace be upon him, would pray when Joab went out to battle:
May Adonai answer you on a day of distress, may the name of the God of Jacob set you on high —
this is the Name that Jacob our forefather, peace be upon him, called upon: the God who answers me in my day of distress —
in this Name I call to You — [direct the mind: Ehyeh, YHVH, Adonai] —
may He answer us on the day we call.
And may the merit of the Divine Names that emerge from this psalm, its vowel-points and its words and its letters and its cantillation,
shield us and all Israel dwelling in this city — [say the name of the city] —
to cut down all the thorns and thistles that surround the supernal rose.
Please, merciful and gracious King,
redeem the children of Jacob from fury,
and utterly annul the counsel of all who rise against us.
Let our troubles be before Your face; behold our affliction and champion our cause,
and let all the nations know that You are the Holy One of Israel.
Remember, please, Your children — poor and destitute — who await Your salvation all their days.
Our Father, our King, let Your compassion overcome Your anger, and let Your mercy roll over Your attributes of judgment.
You who live and endure: work for us miracles and wonders in the name of Adonai Tzeva'ot, to vanquish Your enemies,
and in the name of Elohim Tzeva'ot, and in the name of El Shadai, the Righteous One, Foundation of the World,
to guard all Israel, and especially those dwelling in this city — [say the name of the city].
In the name of Ehyeh, the Crown, and in the name of Havayah, the Glory, and in the name of Adonai, the palace of Your holiness,
exalt us and deliver us,
and may the advocates of righteousness arise to bring our prayer before You, for the sake of Your abundant compassion,
as it is written: For Adonai your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon you or destroy you, and He will not forget the covenant with your forefathers that He swore to them.
Act for the sake of Your name; act for the sake of Your right hand; act for the sake of Your Torah; act for the sake of Your holiness,
so that Your beloved may be rescued — save with Your right hand and answer me.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before You, Adonai, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Tefillah nifla'ah leSha'at tzarah veliZman milchamah, le'omrah laShovim baMakom uveZman haSakanah, uveLe'am Yisrael, ha'arevim zeh lazeh, le'omram al achehem haNtunin beTzarah, levakesh veHitchanen laMakom sheYerachem aleihem veYotzi'am me'afelah le'orah umiShibud liGe'ulah, veYishmerem veYatzilam mikol tzurah veTzukah, achein kein yehi ratzon.
Yomar techilah Perek Kaf beTehillim yod-bet pe'amim beKavanah:
Lamnatze'ach mizmor leDavid:
Ya'anecha Adonai beyom tzarah, yesaggevcha shem Elohei Ya'akov.
Yishlach ezrecha miKodesh, umiTzion yis'adecha.
Yizkor kol minchoteha, ve'olateha yedashnenah selah.
Yiten lecha chilvavecha, vechol atzatecha yemaleh.
Neranenah biShu'atecha, uveShem Eloheinu nidgol, yemaleh Adonai kol mish'alotecha.
Atah yada'ti ki hoshi'a Adonai meshicho, ya'anehu miShemei kodsho, biGevurot yesha yemino.
Eleh vaRechev ve'eleh vaSusim, va'anachnu beShem Adonai Eloheinu nazkir.
Hemah kar'u venafalu, va'anachnu kamnu vanitatodad, Adonai hoshi'ah, haMelech ya'aneinu beyom kore'enu.
LeAchar amitat haPerek, yomar:
Yehi ratzon milfanecha, Adonai Eloheinu vElohei avoteinu, Avir Ya'akov, Kedosh Yisrael,
shebisegulat keriat haMizmor hazeh,
titmaleh rachamim al kol Yisrael yoshvei ha'ir hazot — [yomar et shem ha'ir] —
veTishmerenu miyad oyveinu vechol haKamim aleinu.
VeTatzilenu mera'ah umeRa'av umiShevi umiVizah umikol pachad umikol tza'ar,
veTachnia veTashpil et kol oyveinu,
tipol aleihem eimatah vafachad — [yechaven baShem: Ta'avu] —
aBeGodel zero'echa yidemu ke'aven.
UcheShemei Ya'akov beBeit El, keshe'amar: va'e'eseh sham mizbe'ach laEl ha'oneh oti beyom tzarati,
veChen David haMelech alav haShalom hayah mitpallel kesheYoav baMilchamah:
Ya'anecha Adonai beyom tzarah, yesaggevcha shem Elohei Ya'akov —
hu haShem she'amar Ya'akov avinu alav haShalom: laEl ha'oneh oti beyom tzarati —
baShem hazeh ekra elecha — [yechaven beMachshavah: Ehyeh, YHVH, Adonai] —
ya'aneinu beyom kore'enu.
Uzchut haShemot haYotz'im min haMizmor hazeh, uNekudotav veTevotav ve'Otiyotav veTa'amav,
yagen aleinu ve'al kol Yisrael yoshvei ha'ir hazot — [yomar et shem ha'ir] —
lehachrit kol haChochim vehaKotzim haSovevim et haShoshanah haElyonah.
Ana, Melech rachum vechanun,
Pedeh et benei Ya'akov michema,
vehafar tafar atzat kol haKamim aleinu.
Yiheyu neged panecha tzaroteinu, ure'eh be'inyaneinu, verivah riveinu,
veYed'u kol haGoyim ki atah Kedosh Yisrael.
Zechor na vanecha aniyim ve'evyonim metzapim liShu'atecha kol hayamim.
Avinu Malkeinu, yichbeshu rachamecha et ka'asecha, veyigolu rachamecha al midotecha.
Chai veKayam, aseh lanu nisim venifla'ot beShem Adonai Tzeva'ot, lintzoa'ch bo oyevecha,
uveShem Elohim Tzeva'ot uveShem El Shadai, Tzaddik Yesod Olam,
lishmor kol Yisrael uviFrat yoshvei ha'ir hazot — [yomar et shem ha'ir].
BeShem Ehyeh keter, uveShem Havayah tiferet, uveShem Adonai heichal kodshecha,
tesagvenu veToShi'enu,
veyaamdu melitzei yosher lehachnis tefillateinu lefanecha, lema'an rachamim haMerubim,
kedichtiv: ki El rachum Adonai Elohecha, lo yirpecha veLo Yashchitecha veLo Yishkach et brit avotecha asher nishba lahem.
Aseh lema'an shmecha, aseh lema'an yemincha, aseh lema'an Toratecha, aseh lema'an kedushatecha,
lema'an yechaltzun yedidecha, hoshi'ah yemincha va'aneini.
Yiheyu leratzon imrei fi vehegyon libi lefanecha, Adonai tzuri veGo'ali.
Common Questions
In kabbalistic and traditional Jewish practice, repeating a psalm a fixed number of times is understood to intensify its spiritual effect and concentrate the reader's intention (kavanah). The number twelve carries significance in Jewish tradition, evoking the twelve tribes of Israel. Reciting the psalm twelve times is not merely repetition but a deliberate act of deepening focus and invoking collective merit.
The prayer invokes several Names of God — Adonai Tzeva'ot (Lord of Hosts), Elohim Tzeva'ot, El Shadai, Ehyeh, the Tetragrammaton (YHVH), and Adonai — each associated in Jewish mystical thought with a different divine attribute or 'sefirah,' such as mercy, power, and glory. Calling upon these Names in prayer is understood as aligning the petition with specific channels of divine influence. This practice is deeply rooted in kabbalistic tradition, where the precise names used in prayer are considered spiritually significant.
This is a kabbalistic image drawn from the Zohar, the central text of Jewish mysticism. The 'supernal rose' (Shoshanah Elyonah) refers to the Shekhinah, the divine presence associated with the community of Israel. The 'thorns and thistles' surrounding it represent hostile forces, whether physical enemies or spiritual obstacles, that threaten the people. The prayer asks God to cut away these forces and protect the divine-human bond.
The prayer is designed for two groups: those who are themselves in the place of danger — soldiers, civilians under threat, or anyone in immediate peril — and those who are physically safe but wish to pray on behalf of loved ones or fellow Jews who are in harm's way. This dual structure reflects the Jewish value of 'arvut,' mutual responsibility, the idea that all Jews are bound to one another and obligated to pray for each other's welfare.
This prayer is written from within the Jewish covenant — it speaks of 'Israel,' invokes the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and calls for protection of a specific Jewish community. A non-Jewish reader is warmly welcomed to read and meditate on these words; many of its themes — crying out to God in danger, trusting in divine protection, and interceding for others — are universal human experiences shared across faiths. However, someone outside the Jewish tradition may find it more natural to pray alongside this text, drawing inspiration from it, rather than reciting 'we' and 'our people' as their own. The choice is yours, and no sincerity of heart goes unheard.
The instruction to 'say the name of the city' appears three times in this prayer, personalizing what could otherwise be a general supplication. In Jewish legal and liturgical tradition, specificity in prayer is considered important — prayers for particular people or places are more focused and intentional. Naming the city roots the prayer in a real, present crisis rather than an abstract one, and it reflects the tradition that communal prayer is most powerful when it is concrete and directed.