For example, in addition to what went wrong prior to the accidental shooting of the 3 hostages in Gaza, we see they went free.
For a few moments, they'd escaped and were indeed free.
But they died before returning to their families.
So we need to daven for EVERY aspect of their freedom and well-being.
The Main Points to Hit When Praying for Captives
And there are prayers starting with Yehi ratzon (May it be Your Will) and Mi Sheberach (May He Who blessed our fathers...), but they all contain the following:
- May Hashem please bless, protect, and keep safe (yevarech, yishmor, yinatzor)
- We recall different types: the soldiers missing in action (ne'darei tzava haganah l'Yisrael), the captives/hostages (shvuyim)
- We mention their specific names & add "amid the rest of our brothers of the house of Yisrael, who are also in distress and captivity" (bitoch sha'ar acheinu beit Yisrael hantunim batzarah uvishivyah)
- May Hashem have mercy on them.
- May Hashem take them out of darkness.
- May Hashem release them from their fetters.
- May Hashem rescue them from their distress & suffering.
- May Hashem return them quickly to the bosom of their families.
As you can see, the above pleas are important because:
- We want Hashem to bless, protect, and guard the captives every step of the way.
- We want to include everybody — not just the hostages in Gaza, but missing soldiers, missing people, and Jews whose names & situations we may never know, but nonetheless suffer captivity somewhere in the world.
- We want them to experience Hashem's Tremendous Compassion.
- We want them not to be held underground or in dark places.
- We want them to experience complete freedom of movement — without any kind of fetters, handcuffs, or being tied up, restrained, or gagged in any way.
- We yearn for their physical and emotional well-being.
- In addition to being freed, we want them HOME. And we want it FAST. We do not want them hanging around in some other place or transferred to others; we yearn for their complete freedom.
For example, in the 1980s, my chassidish friend went to Russia to pass out siddurim and tzitzit and encouragement to the Jews there, but the Russian police caught her and her friend. They locked them in an hotel used for foreign prisoners.
It wasn't so bad, but when they released these two devoted Jewesses, the Russians first sent them to Sweden for a day or two, and only then could our heroines return to America.
Again, it wasn't so bad, but the two Jewish ladies needed to subsist on fruit, even in Sweden, due to the unavailability of kosher food.
Another example:
On his way to freedom from Gazan captivity, Gilad Shalit was first forced to detour through Egypt for an obnoxious interview with an interview conducted by Al-Jeerers. (That's how I think of them. You can figure out which deplorable network it really is.) He looked like he was about to keel over, but no one cared (except us).
So we don't want any detours for our captives. We want them HOME NOW.
And we certainly do not want them suffering in captivity.
Regarding the hostages in Gaza, we know they sometimes lacked enough to eat, lived in dire conditions, suffered untreated medical problems and physical abuse, and the terrorists forced at least one 10-year-old child to watch the atrocity videos of what happened WHILE this child remained in the captivity of those same monsters who carried out those atrocities.
And that's probably not even the worst of it.
So all that and more shows why we must daven for all aspects of their well-being and release.
The Basics of Praying for the Well-Being & Release of Captives
he.wikisource.org/wiki/תפילה_לשלום_השבויים_והנעדרים
(They prayer starts at the top of the page, then concludes at the bottom, after all the names.)
But you can plead for their freedom and well-being in your own words, using the basic ideas listed above.
Here are the basics in a nutshell:
- Pray for their emotional and physical well-being.
- Pray for them to survive in the best, most comfortable circumstances possible.
- Ask Hashem to shower them with mercy, blessing, and protection in every way from every bad thing.
- Ask Hashem to save them and free them from captivity.
- Ask Hashem to return them QUICKLY to THEIR FAMILY.
- Even as you name specific captives, remember to include all captives or missing Jews everywhere.