Question: I’d like to know how I am to pray regarding the new President of the USA. What are your views on this?

Answer: This is a very good question. In terms of what our prayers should be for the president there is a prayer that is said in the synagogue every week for the safety and success of our government.

As far as the philosophy surrounding the issue goes we understand from our Talmud that presidents, kings, and rulers are in the hands of G-d. Only He can rule the world and He uses these people as a means to His will. With that said even if we do not understand why the president does something or if we disagree with Him we are surely permitted to speak our minds, rally, lobby, etc, but we still pray for the safety and security of our country and its leaders. We live in a democracy and Judaism teaches us that the laws of the land are the laws that we have to follow as well as long as they do not conflict with Torah law. We may disagree with policy decisions, but the way that we deal with that is through the legal means established by our country. The USA has been very good to the Jewish people and all of our rabbinic leaders of the past few generations have said that we must show our appreciation even if we disagree with a specific decision of an individual or administration. The bottom line is that we have to pray and hope that our leaders will be G-d fearing individuals and that they will continue to offer the Jewish people and all of the citizens of the USA the same freedoms and rights that we have been offered in the past.

Here is a copy of the prayer that we say in synagogue each week for the government, the Israeli government, soldiers, etc. Scroll down the page to see all of the prayers.

Be Well,
Rabbi Litt