The Resonance of Rabbi Goren’s Prayer for Jerusalem (2024)

• By Rabbi Dr. Stuart Halpern
• Published May 30, 2024

Fifty-seven years ago, Rabbi Shlomo Goren slid down the side of a tank that was blocking the entry to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Shofar in hand, the IDF’s Chief Rabbi blew blasts of encouragement, gratitude and disbelief as he shouted to his fellow soldiers battling the Jordanians, “In the name of God, take action and succeed. In the name of God, liberate Jerusalem, go up and be successful!”

Ascending to the area where his ancestors brought sacrifices two millennia prior, he took his position next to Commander Motta Gur. He then offered a prayer.

As Jerusalem Day is celebrated this year, beginning Tuesday evening June 4, Rabbi Goren’s words then are worth revisiting now, as Israel stands once more waging war against those who question our connection to our biblical homeland and seek our destruction.

“Israeli soldiers, beloved of the nation,” the rabbi began, as he recounts in his autobiography, “decorated with courage and victory, may God be with you.” Goren then hearkened to the ancient biblical figure Isaiah, manifesting the moment as the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy.

“I am speaking to you from the plaza of the Kotel, the remnant of our Holy Temple. ‘Comfort my people, comfort them, says your God’ (Isaiah 40:1). This is the day we have waited for … the dream of all generations has come true before our eyes. The city of God, the place of the Temple, the Temple Mount and the Kotel, the symbol of the messianic redemption of the nation, have been redeemed this day by you, the heroes of the Israel Defense Forces. Today you have fulfilled the oath of generations – ‘If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its cunning’ (Psalms 137:5). Indeed, we have not forgotten you, Jerusalem, our holy city, home of our glory, and your right hand, the right hand of God, has made this historic redemption.”

The rabbi then proclaimed his own prophetic vision, in which the “builders and liberators in Israel” would be joined by “Jews throughout the Diaspora who will arise and come to pour out their supplications to God, the Creator of the universe.” So it would be.

In the meantime, his remarks moved to the memory of the exodus from Egypt and the miraculous shelter that shielded the Children of Israel. “The Divine Presence that has never moved from the Kotel now goes before the hosts of Israel like a pillar of fire to light our way to victory, and surrounds us with clouds of glory before the people and the world.”

Anticipating complaints of exclusivity of access for Jewish worshippers, Goren offered a benevolent benediction:

“To the nations of the world we declare — we will respect all the holy places of all the nations that seek peace and faith. Their gates will be open to members of all religions.”

Stringing together sacred verses from Jeremiah, Zechariah and Lamentations, he emphasized once more how the assembled had found themselves in “fulfillment of the prayers of generations and the vision of the prophets.” He finished by reciting the traditional prayer of gratitude, “Blessed are You, our Lord O God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this day.” Tweaking the timeless aspiration expressed at the conclusion of Yom Kippur in the Passover Haggadah, he then ended by declaring: “This year in rebuilt Jerusalem!”

Rabbi Goren’s address serves as a source of reassurance and strength today.

He was, first and foremost — like countless Jews across the globe in our own era — grateful for the self-sacrifice, boldness and bravery of those who battled on behalf of the Jewish nation. Courageous under fire and committed to the mission, they continue to serve with steely determination.

Secondly, Rabbi Goren appreciated what had been granted by God, though victory, and ultimate salvation, was not yet complete. In the ongoing conflict against Hamas and Hezbollah, it is crucial that accomplishments be recognized and acknowledgment expressed for the small miracles that accompany Israel’s ongoing survival in the face of unceasing hatred.

He envisioned a time of peaceful international cooperation and admiration for the Jewish people, when, to quote another prophet, “nation will no longer lift up sword against nation.”

Lastly, he envisioned a time of peaceful international cooperation and admiration for the Jewish people, when, to quote another prophet, “nation will no longer lift up sword against nation.” Though today’s headlines attest to how distant such a dream seems, it can and should remain steadily in our sights.

After recounting his speech in his memoir, Goren adds a humorous but profound postscript. He ordered the soldiers nearby to sing “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem. They, in typical Israeli fashion, disagreed. Instead they sang Naomi Shemer’s “Jerusalem of Gold,” a song Goren admits he did not know at the time. The song begins:

The mountain air is clear as wine
And the scent of pines
Is carried on the breeze of twilight
With the sound of bells.

This Jerusalem Day, let us pray that the scent of pines and peace, the sound of bells and not battles, emerge once more from the streets of God’s city.

Rabbi Dr. Stuart Halpern is Senior Adviser to the Provost of Yeshiva University and Deputy Director of Y.U.’s Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought. His books include “The Promise of Liberty: A Passover Haggada,” which examines the Exodus story’s impact on the United States, “Esther in America,” “Gleanings: Reflections on Ruth” and “Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land: The Hebrew Bible in the United States.”