When the News Will Not Stop
The headlines keep coming. Sirens, casualties, cities under fire. You refresh, you check, you refresh again. Everything feels uncertain right now. Yet we know Hashem is with His people, as He has been since He took us out of Mitzrayim.
Whether you are in Eretz Yisrael or in chutz la’aretz, your heart is in the same place. You want to help, and you want Hashem to step in.
There is a kapitel for exactly this moment. Kapitel 83 of Tehillim, written by Asaph, is the prayer of a nation surrounded by enemies who want to destroy it. He calls out to Hashem with urgency: do not be silent, rise up, and fight for us.
Before You Say This Kapitel
Before saying this kapitel, take a moment to step away from the news. Here is a personal prayer to say before the kapitel, for when the danger is real and the nation is fighting for its survival:
Master of the Universe, God do not be silent, do not be still and do not be quiet — for behold Your enemies rage. They want to wipe us out, to destroy us. Rise up Hashem — fight our enemies, protect Your people, and grant victory to Israel. God of Meir, answer me.
If giving tzedakah, add:
In the merit of the tzedakah I give in the merit of Rabbi Meir — who stood by his people — so may You stand by our side. Ribbono Shel Olam, I care for Your children — please care for Your people.
Kapitel 83: The Full Prayer
לַמְנַצֵּחַ לִבְנֵי־קֹרַח עַל־עֲלָמוֹת שִׁיר׃
אֱלֹהִים לָנוּ מַחֲסֶה וָעֹז עֶזְרָה בְצָרוֹת נִמְצָא מְאֹד׃
עַל־כֵּן לֹא־נִירָא בְּהָמִיר אָרֶץ וּבְמוֹט הָרִים בְּלֵב יַמִּים׃
יֶהֱמוּ יֶחְמְרוּ מֵימָיו יִרְעֲשׁוּ־הָרִים בְּגַאֲוָתוֹ סֶלָה׃
נָהָר פְּלָגָיו יְשַׂמְּחוּ עִיר־אֱלֹהִים קְדֹשׁ מִשְׁכְּנֵי עֶלְיוֹן׃
אֱלֹהִים בְּקִרְבָּהּ בַּל־תִּמּוֹט יַעְזְרֶהָ אֱלֹהִים לִפְנוֹת בֹּקֶר׃
הָמוּ גוֹיִם מָטוּ מַמְלָכוֹת נָתַן בְּקוֹלוֹ תָּמוּג אָרֶץ׃
יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת עִמָּנוּ מִשְׂגָּב־לָנוּ אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב סֶלָה׃
לְכוּ־חֲזוּ מִפְעֲלוֹת יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר־שָׂם שַׁמּוֹת בָּאָרֶץ׃
מַשְׁבִּית מִלְחָמוֹת עַד־קְצֵה הָאָרֶץ קֶשֶׁת יְשַׁבֵּר וְקִצֵּץ חֲנִית עֲגָלוֹת יִשְׂרֹף בָּאֵשׁ׃
הַרְפּוּ וּדְעוּ כִּי־אָנֹכִי אֱלֹהִים אָרוּם בַּגּוֹיִם אָרוּם בָּאָרֶץ׃
יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת עִמָּנוּ מִשְׂגָּב־לָנוּ אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב סֶלָה׃
Lamnatzeiach livnei-Koirach al-alomois shir.
Eloihim lonu machaseh vo’oiz ezro v’tzorois nimtzo m’oid.
Al-kein loi-niro b’homir oretz uv’moit horim b’leiv yamim.
Yehemu yechm’ru meimov yir’ashu-horim b’ga’avoisoi selo.
Nohor p’logov y’samchu ir-Eloihim k’doish mishk’nei elyoin.
Eloihim b’kirboh bal-timoit ya’z’reho Eloihim lifnois boiker.
Homu goiyim motu mamlachois nosan b’koiloi tomug oretz.
Hashem Tz’vo’ois imonu misgov-lonu Eloihei Ya’akoiv selo.
L’chu-chazu mif’alois Hashem asher-som shamois bo’oretz.
Mashbis milchomois ad-k’tzeih ho’oretz keshes y’shabeir v’kitzeitz chanis agolois yisroif bo’eish.
Harpu ud’u ki-onoichi Eloihim orum b’goiyim orum bo’oretz.
Hashem Tz’vo’ois imonu misgov-lonu Eloihei Ya’akoiv selo.
Lamnatzeach livnei-Korach al-alamot shir.
Elohim lanu machaseh va’oz ezrah v’tzarot nimtza me’od.
Al-ken lo-nira b’hamir aretz uv’mot harim b’lev yamim.
Yehemu yechm’ru meimav yir’ashu-harim b’ga’avato selah.
Nahar p’lagav y’samchu ir-Elohim k’dosh mishk’nei elyon.
Elohim b’kirbah bal-timot ya’z’reha Elohim lifnot boker.
Hamu goyim matu mamlachot natan b’kolo tamug aretz.
Hashem Tz’va’ot imanu misgav-lanu Elohei Ya’akov selah.
L’chu-chazu mif’alot Hashem asher-sam shamot ba’aretz.
Mashbit milchamot ad-k’tzeh ha’aretz keshet y’shaber v’kitzetz chanit agalot yisrof ba’esh.
Harpu ud’u ki-anochi Elohim arum bagoyim arum ba’aretz.
Hashem Tz’va’ot imanu misgav-lanu Elohei Ya’akov selah.
For the leader. Of the Korahites; alamoth. A song.
God is our refuge and stronghold, a help in trouble, very near.
Therefore we are not afraid though the earth reels, though mountains topple into the sea —
its waters rage and foam; in its swell mountains quake. Selah.
There is a river whose streams gladden God’s city, the holy dwelling-place of the Most High.
God is in its midst, it will not be toppled; by daybreak God will come to its aid.
Nations rage, kingdoms topple; at the sound of God’s thunder the earth dissolves.
GOD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our haven. Selah.
Come and see what GOD has done, how devastation has been wrought on the earth.
God puts a stop to wars throughout the earth, breaking the bow, snapping the spear, consigning wagons to the flames.
“Desist! Realize that I am God! I dominate the nations; I dominate the earth.”
GOD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our haven. Selah.
Asaph wrote this kapitel at a time when the enemies of Klal Yisrael had formed an alliance with one goal: to wipe the Jewish people off the map. The names change from generation to generation, but the hatred and the tefillah remain the same. When we say these words during a time of war, these pesukim composed b’ruach hakodesh lift us to the place where Klal Yisrael has always stood: turning to Hashem with the unshakable trust that He will answer.
Understanding Key Verses
Al domi lach “Do not be silent.”
The Malbim explains that Asaph uses three separate words in this passuk: domi (silence), techerash (inaction), and tishkot (stillness).
Each one names a different layer of Hashem’s apparent absence. When war breaks out, you feel all three. The silence when you beg for news. The inaction when the world stands by. The stillness when the danger keeps growing. Asaph’s opening cry is the raw tefillah of someone who cannot bear another moment of waiting. Hashem, we need You to act. Now. A related tefillah that speaks to this same yearning is the Prayer for Jewish Unity. Oiy’vecho yehemoyun “Your enemies rage.”
This shoresh carries the sound of turbulence, a roar that will not quiet down. Asaph does not call them “our enemies.” He calls them Yours.
That shift changes everything. When nations rise up against Yisrael, they are rising up against Hashem Himself. The hatred is not rational and it has never been rational. It is a hatred of kedushah. Knowing that gives you something to hold onto in the middle of the noise: this war is not just ours. It is His. V’nachchideim migoiy “Let us wipe them out as a nation.”
This passuk is chilling because it has been said in every generation. Not “let us defeat them.” Not “let us conquer their land.” Let us erase them entirely. Nachchideim. Total annihilation.
Complete erasure. There is no negotiation with that kind of hatred. And that is precisely why Asaph brings it to Hashem: because only Hashem can defeat an enemy whose goal is our complete destruction. When you say this passuk, you are placing the whole weight of that threat into Hashem’s hands. V’yeid’u ki atta shimcho Hashem l’vaddecho elyoin al kol ha’aretz “May they know that You alone, whose Name is Hashem, are the Most High over all the earth.”
The kapitel closes not with a request for destruction, but for something greater.
He closes with a prayer for the world to finally recognize Hashem’s sovereignty. The word elyoin, the Most High, tells us what we are truly davening for. Not just safety. Not just the end of rocket fire. We are davening for the moment when every nation on earth sees that Hashem alone rules. That is the ultimate peace. That is what this tefillah is building toward.
How to Say This Kapitel
There is no wrong time to say this kapitel. Say it in the morning, at night, or whenever you feel overwhelmed by the news.
Before you begin, set your kavanah. Hashem, my heart is heavy with the danger surrounding Your people and the hatred of our enemies. I am saying this kapitel to beg for Your protection over Yisrael and all those in harm’s way. Shield us from those who want to destroy us. Grant us a swift and clear victory. I trust completely in Your power to save.
Stand or sit. Read the Hebrew or use the transliteration. Even if you can barely get the words out, Hashem hears every tefillah.
Tefillah and tzedakah together carry a special weight. When you say this kapitel and give tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, you are combining your tefillah with an act of chesed for the poor and the talmidei chachamim of Eretz Yisrael. Your prayer rises and your hand reaches out at the same moment. After the kapitel, say: Elokah d’Meir aneni! You may find additional comfort in the Prayer During National Instability, a tefillah that speaks from the same place.
Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness
The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 18a-18b) tells how Bruria asked Rabbi Meir to rescue her sister, who had been imprisoned by the Romans. Rabbi Meir approached the guard, offering him money and teaching him to say “Eloka d’Meir aneni!” — “God of Meir, answer me!” — if he was ever in danger. When the guard asked for proof, Rabbi Meir threw a clod of earth at nearby man-eating dogs. They lunged to devour him, and when he called out the words, the dogs turned away. The guard was convinced and released her, later on using these powerful words to miraculously save his life when he was caught.
That story feels deeply relevant today, with Jewish lives in the hands of enemies who want to destroy them. Giving tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness is not davening to Rabbi Meir. It is asking Hashem to hear our tefillah in the combined zechus of this great tzaddik and our own act of chesed. Rabbi Meir stood by his people. We are asking Hashem to stand by us.
Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities, founded in 1799, supports talmidei chachamim and the poor in Eretz Yisrael. The talmidei chachamim at the grave of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias daven by name for those who ask. When you give tzedakah for the people of Eretz Yisrael in a time of war, your chesed and your tefillah rise together.
Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Kapitel 83 of Tehillim, written by Asaph, is the prayer of a nation surrounded by enemies bent on its destruction. It calls out to Hashem to act openly, to fight for His people, and to bring the war to an end with the recognition of His sovereignty over the entire world. For a related tefillah, see the Prayer for Displaced Families . Yes. Klal Yisrael is one body. When part of the body is in pain, the whole body feels it. Asaph’s cry in Kapitel 83 is the tefillah of the entire Jewish nation, wherever they are. Your tefillah from chutz la’aretz reaches the same Shamayim and can help Klal Yisroel. Rabbi Meir was one of the greatest Tannaim. When Bruria’s sister was condemned by the Romans to a house of shame, he taught the guard to say ‘Eloka d’Meir aneni!’ and she was freed ( Avodah Zarah 18a-18b) . Giving tzedakah in his zechus is asking Hashem to hear our own prayer in the combined merit of this great tzaddik and our own act of chesed. Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities supports talmidei chachamim and families in Eretz Yisrael. Whenever the fear is heavy on your heart. Many say it in the morning before checking the news, or at night before sleep. Some say it when they hear difficult updates. There is no wrong time. Hashem is listening at every hour. God of Meir, answer me.” Rabbi Meir said these words to the guard when Bruria’s sister was condemned by the Romans to a house of shame and there seemed to be no way out. Saying them alongside Kapitel 83 and giving tzedakah is a tefillah to Hashem, asking for salvation in the merit of Rabbi Meir.
A Prayer for This Time
Hashem sees every Yid who cannot sleep at night because of what is happening to His people.
May Hashem protect every soldier, every family, every child in Eretz Yisrael. May He fight for His people as He fought at Yam Suf, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. May the enemies of Yisrael be scattered and their plans come to nothing. And may you, who carry this burden from wherever you stand, find the strength to keep davening, keep giving, and keep trusting that Hashem has never abandoned His people and never will.
You can submit a prayer request to the scholars at t he grave of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias at no cost. They will daven for the safety and protection of those you name through Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities. And if you would like to give tzedakah in Rabbi Meir’s zechus as well, your kindness will rise together with your prayer.
