Dennis Prager: Why My Synagogue May Change Its Prayer for America

This is the prayer that my synagogue reads aloud every Shabbat morning (Sabbath).

“Eternal God, we ask Your continued blessings for our country, the United States of America — a beacon of light, liberty, and justice in a darkened world. Keep us safe in times of uncertainty. Guard us against calamity. Give us the strength to face evil and the courage not to give up.

“Protect those who guard our safety — on the land, on the seas, and in the air; on the streets maintaining our infrastructure, and on the frontlines of medical care. Enlighten with Your wisdom those whom the people have set in authority: the president, his counselors and advisors, and those at every level who carry out the public’s trust. May understanding and courage, hope and discernment, peace, prosperity, and goodwill reign among all the inhabitants of our land; and may Your goodness and Your message spread its blessings among us and exalt our nation in righteousness and strength. Amen.”

As one the founders of the synagogue as well as a preacher each week, we will petition our board of directors for a change in the form of this prayer.

Can you guess the change I suggest we make?

Some readers may guess that I would like to delete or modify this part. “the president, his counselors and advisors.” This is understandable considering that we all view the president as an unrivalled in terms of the damage he has done to our country. But this would be incorrect.

Our synagogue prays for all political leaders, Republican or Democratic. Our Shabbat services are not open to political discussion, just like the Rosh Hashana or Yom Kippur services I have led for 15 year. The Left’s politicization of almost all non-Orthodox Jewish synagogues, most mainstream Protestant churches and many Catholic churches has perverted a lot of Jewish and Christian life.

Our congregation consists of people who have left other Los Angeles-area synagogues (and, via Zoom, people who have left synagogues all over the country) because their rabbis abandoned Judaism — and even liberalism — for leftism. Many non-Orthodox religious rabbis will talk more about climate change and American racism, gun control, and the nonbinary natures of human sexuality. They are less likely to discuss how to live a religious lifestyle, how to raise committed Jews or the dangers of a secular society, or support of Israel.

Leftists don’t consider any aspect of life, including religion and sports, to be out of bounds for political discussion.

We will vote to remove the words that describe America in the first sentence from our prayer for the country. “a beacon of light, liberty, and justice in a darkened world.”

The part about the world being darkened remains true — the world is probably more darkened now than any time since World War II. The United States is not what it was in American history for the first time. “a beacon of light, liberty, and justice.”

If we retained that portion of the prayer, it would mean we were involved in deceit before God and the community.

Due to the Left’s acquisition of most public and large-scale private institutions, the United States has become a net exporter for toxic ideas, which is the first time in American history.

Racists are all white people.

Healthy teenage girls should have breasts removed if they believe they are boys.

There are many sexes.

The West is no different from any other civilization.

Women can be represented by men who are female.

This list is growing and becoming longer.

These ideas are spreading all over the world. They came from where? Not France or Germany but America. Our colleges and universities, medical schools, associations, hospitals, media, and one of our major political parties.

As regards being “a beacon of liberty,” never has freedom — including the most important freedom of all, the freedom of speech — been at as low a level in America as it is today.

We believe truth is a value so we will be discussing dropping these words from the Prayer for the United States of America.

This is unimaginable.

This, then is my prayer: That one day we are able to reinsert them.

Dennis Prager, a nationally syndicated radio talk show host and columnist, is an internationally syndicated radio talk show host. His commentary on Deuteronomy (3rd volume) of “The Rational Bible,” His five-volume commentary, which covers the five first five books in the Bible, was published by Prager University in October. He is co-founder of Prager University. Contact him at dennisprager.com.

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