Prayer During Terror Attack

When the World Around You Turns to Danger

There are moments when the ground beneath you feels like it has disappeared. Sirens, screaming, the sound of something you never thought would reach your street. In that kind of moment, the heart does not think in sentences. It cries out. It reaches for something bigger than itself.

If you are reading this now, in the middle of fear, or in the raw hours just after, know that Hashem is with you. He has not turned away. He hears every heartbeat, every whispered word, every silent cry that you cannot even put into language. You are not alone, even when it feels like the whole world has gone dark.

Tehillim 83 is a tefillah composed by Asaf (Asaph), one of the great Levi’im (Levites) who sang in the Beis HaMikdash. Asaf stood before Hashem at a time when enemies surrounded Klal Yisrael and plotted to wipe out the Jewish people entirely. His opening words are a raw plea: do not be silent, Hashem. Do not hold back. This prayer during terror attack is your prayer too.

Before You Say This Tefillah

If you can, close your eyes for one moment. Even in the chaos. Even in the fear. Just one breath toward Hashem. He is right there with you. He has always been right there. Speak to Him in whatever words come:

Ribono Shel Olam, I am afraid. My heart is pounding and I do not know what will happen. Please protect me and everyone around me. Shield us with Your hand. Keep the ones I love safe. Give strength to those who are helping. Bring this danger to an end. I have no one to turn to but You. Elokah d’Meir aneni.

If giving tzedakah, add:

In the zechus of the tzedakah I am giving for Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, please let this terror pass and let everyone come home safe. Hashem, I am caring for Your children. Please protect Yours.

Tehillim 83: The Full Prayer

Asaf was a navi as well as a singer, and Chazal teach that he foresaw times when the enemies of Klal Yisrael would rise with a single purpose: to destroy us. He did not write a battle plan. He turned to Hashem and said, “Do not be silent.” The perek names every ancient enemy who conspired against us and calls on Hashem to scatter them as He scattered Midyan and Sisera. In our generation, when terror strikes, these are the words that carry our cry.

What These Words Mean for You

Elokim al domi loch “God, do not be silent”

This is where Asaf begins. Not with praise, not with a request for something specific. Just a raw plea: do not be silent. The root of domi is ד-מ-מ (damam), which carries the meaning of stillness, of quiet, of holding back. When terror strikes, the hardest thing is the feeling that Hashem might be far away, that He might not see. Asaf tells us: say it out loud. Ask Hashem to break through the silence. The very act of calling out to Him is already the beginning of His answer.

Oiv’echo yehemoyun “Your enemies rage”

The word yehemoyun comes from the root ה-מ-ה, meaning to roar, to make a tumult, to be in a frenzy. Asaf does not describe a quiet threat. He describes noise, chaos, a world that feels out of control. If you have ever been near an attack, you know that sound. The sirens, the confusion, the pounding in your chest. Asaf names it for what it is. And he calls them not just enemies of Yisrael but enemies of Hashem Himself. When they attack His children, they are raging against Him.

Al am’cho ya’arimu soid “Against Your people they plot in secret”

The word ya’arimu comes from the root ע-ר-ם, which means to be cunning, to scheme. Terror is not random rage. It is calculated cruelty. Asaf is telling Hashem: they planned this. They sat together and made a decision to hurt Your people. And then he adds al tz’funecho, against “those You shelter.” The Radak explains that tzefunecha refers to Klal Yisrael as Hashem’s hidden treasure, the ones He guards and protects. Even in the darkest moment, you are sheltered by Him.

V’nach’chidem migoi “Let us wipe them out as a nation”

The root of nach’chidem is כ-ח-ד, meaning to cut off, to annihilate, to erase. Asaf heard their real intention: to remove the Jewish people from the earth entirely. Throughout history, from Asaf’s time to our own, this has been the stated goal of those who attack us. Asaf placed their words into Tehillim so that every generation could bring this reality before Hashem and say: You see what they want. Please do not let it happen. And in every generation, Hashem has answered.

How to Say This Tefillah

There is no wrong time to say these pesukim. If you are in the middle of danger, say them standing, sitting, crouched under a table, running. Hashem hears you in every position.

If you cannot read the Hebrew, say it in English. If you cannot read at all because your hands are shaking, just say the words from memory or speak to Hashem in your own language. He already hears you. He heard you before you opened your mouth.

Set your kavanah before you begin: “Hashem, I am standing before You in a moment of real danger. Please hear my voice. Please protect us.” Then say the pesukim. Let the words carry the weight your heart cannot hold alone.

Tefillah and tzedakah strengthen each other. When we cry out to Hashem and also extend our hand to another Yid in need, both rise together. A prayer during terror attack is already powerful. Paired with tzedakah given in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, you are bringing your tefillah and your ma’asim tovim before the Kisei HaKavod as one. You are asking Hashem to hear your cry in the zechus of a great tzaddik and your own act of chesed. After the pesukim, say: Elokah d’Meir aneni!

Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness

The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 18b) recounts that Rabbi Meir rescued his sister-in-law after the Romans had placed her in a brothel. To secure her release, he bribed the guard and told him that if he were ever seized, he should say, “Elokah d’Meir aneni.” Later, when the guard was taken to be hanged, he said those words and was saved. The sugya therefore associates this phrase with divine rescue in the merit connected to Rabbi Meir, through which a Yid trapped in danger was brought to safety by the power of Rabbi Meir’s tefillah and zechus.

When terror strikes, we feel that same desperation. There seems to be no way out, no human answer fast enough. That is exactly the moment to call on Hashem in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness. Not to pray to him, but to ask Hashem to hear us in the combined merit of this great tzaddik and our own act of giving.

Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities was founded in 1799 and supports Torah scholars and the poor in Eretz Yisrael. The talmidei chachamim at the kever of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias daven by name for those who turn to them. Giving tzedakah to this cause in a moment of crisis is an act of emunah. You are saying to Hashem: even now, even afraid, I trust You enough to care for someone else.

Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness

A Blessing for Your Safety

You came here in a moment that no one should have to face. The fear in your heart is real. The danger may still be close. But so is Hashem.

May the One who guarded Klal Yisrael through every generation guard you now. May He silence the plans of those who seek to harm, and bring every person in danger to safety. May the injured be healed, the frightened be calmed, and those who have lost someone be held in Hashem’s infinite compassion. And may you, who reached for Tehillim in the hardest moment, feel His presence beside you. He has not turned away. He will not turn away.

You can submit a prayer request to the scholars at the tomb of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias at no cost. They will daven for your safety and the safety of those you love by 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.

Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness