At my synagogue Saturday, we marked Independence Day by omitting Conservative Judaism's rather anodyne prayer for the United States, which begins, "Our God and God of our ancestors: We ask Your blessings for our country—for its government, for its leaders and advisors, and for all who exercise just and rightful authority."
Instead, we read the edgier prayer that Reform Jews say, starting with, "O Guardian of life and liberty, may our nation always merit Your protection."
Then we recited the first of a new series of psalms by writer Alden Solovy: "A psalm of protest/ When children are stripped from their parents' arms,/ When refugees are jailed as criminals. How long, God of justice?/ How long will arrogance strike with impunity,/ Attacking the heart of innocence?"
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