The Religious Zionists of America-Mizrahi will lead a movement in which hundreds of synagogues around North America will recite a special prayer on Yom Kippur and Sukkot for the return of the bodies of Lt. Hadar Goldin and St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul, two fallen soldiers of the IDF.
Aside from the prayer, RZA also started an online petition to learn more about the soldiers so that they can advocate on their behalf.
RZA recently went on a rabbinic mission to Israel and met with Goldin's parents, Drs. Leah and Simha Goldin, who have attended many meetings with government authorities abroad to plead for their son's case before the COVID-19 pandemic began. The pandemic has limited their ability to attend regular meetings.
"No parent or family should ever have to experience the loss of a child," said RZA co-president Rabbi Leonard Matanky. "All the more so, no parent should ever have to live a life in limbo, hoping and praying for the return of their child's body for the ability to bury them. We hope to join together on our most holy of days to storm the heavens in prayer to ask Hashem to bring them home."
The prayer that will be recited by hundreds of communities was written by the Goldins. Roughly translated, it means "Merciful Father who dwells on high; may He in His great mercy remember with compassion the holy and pure soldiers who laid down their lives for the sanctification of His Name."
The prayer then goes on to describe that "they were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions in carrying out the will of their Maker, and the wish of their steadfast God, with courage and humility."
The prayer ends with a plea to God, asking him to deliver the soldiers back to Israel.
"After meeting with the parents of Hadar Goldin, we returned from the trip inspired to take action," said RZA Executive Vice President Rabbi Ari Rockoff. "We immediately set up a petition to help raise the profile and awareness of the situation across our congregations and have since expanded those efforts to other congregations and communities of all Jewish denominations. It was only natural to look to our tradition and prayer as the high holidays approach and even more natural to remember and pray for our brethren on our most holy of days."
The petition was written by RZA rabbis together with the Goldin family and addresses US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. It demands that the US increase the pressure on Hamas to return the two bodies and release Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, two civilians who are still being held captive by the group. The petition further places the responsibility for this on the US and the UN because Goldin was killed and taken after a US and UN-mandated ceasefire was already in effect.