People across Israel have come together to pray for the recovery of Border Police officer St.-Sgt. Barel Shmueli, who was critically injured after being shot by a Gazan terrorist on Saturday during violent riots along the border.
An online project has been set up in his name which allows people to recite chapters of Tehilim (psalms), as per Jewish custom.
Jewish tradition believes that reciting the entire book of Tehilim can be particularly powerful during times of difficulty such as poverty, sickness, or physical danger. In many religious communities, it is also recited every day after Shacharit (the morning prayers) for the security of the State of Israel.
The project set up to pray for the recovery of the Border Police officer asks that each person reads one chapter of the book in order to pray "for the healing of Barel Ben Nitza (Shmueli's Hebrew name), the soldier who was wounded on the southern border."
Since news of his injury was publicized on Saturday night, the book of Tehilim has been completed 345 times, and 52,394 chapters have been recited. The number of people who have participated in the project amounts to 19,650 thus far.
Barel's mother has asked that people continue to pray for her son, who underwent several surgeries on Sunday.
For those who wish to take part, the chapters of Tehilim and real-time live count can be found here.