Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel

Since as early as the 6th century BCE, Jews have prayed for the welfare of the sovereign and government of the country or state where they lived.

Herzog was generally considered the author until a 1983 article in Ma'ariv by scholar David Tamar raised the possibility of Agnon's authorship.

However, findings by scholar Yoel Rappel and corroborated by the National Library of Israel in 2018 confirmed Herzog's authorship.

[citation needed] Cantorial historian Jeremiah Lockwood described the prayer as having "the stylistic feel of musical theater".

Lockwood writes that Zim's full-length soloist composition is rare among pulpit cantors due to reduced interest by attendees in hearing lengthy cantorial recitatives during services.

[9] The official siddur of the Union for Reform Judaism, Sha'arei Tefillah, first published in 1975, included the prayer for Israel as part of its weekly and holiday services.

In addition, the Rabbinical Council of America, representing Modern Orthodoxy, includes references to the state of Israel.

According to Rappel of Boston University's Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies, the Prayer for the State of Israel is more important than the Israeli Declaration of Independence for many people, especially religious Jews.

At times when there have been ill relations between the Religious Zionist community and the government of Israel, such as during the Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005 and during the period between the signing of the Oslo Accords until the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, some refrained from reciting this prayer, or inserted changes which expressed their outrage at the State's leadership.