Growing up, my rabbi always ended every sermon with kein yehi ratzon—“so may it be God’s will.” These words, full of optimism, wisdom, and potential, have stayed with me throughout my life and Jewish learning. Recently, I came across a prayer from the Shalom Hartman Institute, adapted for the recently returned hostages, wisely titled “May It Be.”
May it be that all of our hostages return swiftly to their loved ones, beginning the long journey of healing. May it be that they come home safely, soon, and whole. May it be that the horrors of this past time recede into the distance. And may it be that our community continues to find strength and solace in the enduring wisdom of our treasured tradition.
–Cantor Emma Lutz
May It Be: A Prayer for Return of the Hostages
From the Shalom Hartman Institute
May it be, our brothers and sisters, that just as you showed strength and courage in the terrible inferno, so may you find strength to heal upon your return and as you walk the path of recovery. May you be embraced by the tens of thousands of loving hearts that never stopped worrying, hoping, acting, and working for your sake.
May it be that we know how to serve as a support and a source of strength for you and your families. May we together weave the thread of the hope of salvation, so that your return will proclaim peace and herald good.
May it be that we preserve this shared home. May we honor the light revealed in the actions of all those who never stopped striving and crying out for your return.
May it be that the memory of those we could not bring back safely, and those who fell in battle, remain with us forever–an eternal flame of pain and hope, of sorrow and consolation.
May it be that all the captives return: the living to their homes and the dead to their resting places on earth. We will not rest, nor will we be silent, until they find rest and peace.
May the verse be fulfilled through us: “To bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives” (Isaiah 61:1).