When the Lord brought back the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers…
Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev…
A beloved land, good and spacious, covenant and Torah, life and sustenance…
You shall eat, be satisfied, and bless the Lord your God for the good land He has given you…
When one reads Birkat HaMazon (Grace After Meals) attentively, one can hear within it the echoes of Yom Ha'atzmaut — Israel's Independence Day — a day when we connect to the miracle of receiving our precious, challenging land, a land that tells a story of covenant and faith.
Spontaneously and organically, the people of Israel developed the tradition of celebrating Yom Ha'atzmaut with family meals, often outdoors, close to the soil. This creates a model of a holiday where food and land are intertwined — where the grand national story meets the simple song of bread. There is no blessing more fitting than Birkat HaMazon to express this connection: a union of body and spirit that happens authentically and meaningfully on Independence Day.
Today, during the long and difficult war we are enduring, Yom Ha'atzmaut becomes an even more significant and challenging day. It brings together Israeli society, in all its diversity, with the profound national meaning of our lives, in intense contact with the grief of Memorial Day and with the deep layers of our identity. It is a fitting day for a creation that expresses hope, prayer, belonging, and gratitude to our soldiers.
Thus, we have created "Al HaAretz HaTovah" ("For the Good Land") — a special Birkat HaMazon booklet for Yom Ha'atzmaut, illustrated by diverse Israeli artists.
Clicking on an illustration leads to a page about the work and the artist.
The booklet contains the special "Al HaNissim" prayer for Yom Ha'atzmaut, composed by the rabbis of Beit Hillel. It includes both Ashkenazi and Sephardi versions, presented equally, honoring the diverse traditions of Israeli society. The design is professional and meticulous, reflecting a spirit of prayer and hope rising from hardship and sorrow.
To create the booklet, a learning and creative process was held with the artists, led by artist Bashmet Hazan and Rabbi Shlomit Piamenta. The process included a session of inspiration and creativity centered around Birkat HaMazon, Shir HaMa'alot, and Al HaNissim, which then launched the artists into their work.
Press image to read about each drawing:
Text of "Al HaNissim" for Yom Ha'atzmaut
For the miracles, and the salvation, and the mighty deeds, and the victories, and the battles, and the comforts which You have wrought for our ancestors in those days, at this time.
In the days of the ingathering of exiles and the beginning of the nation's rebirth, when Arab nations rose against Your people Israel to kill and to destroy them from Your land — among them the remnants of the sword, embers snatched from the fire — You, in Your great mercy, strengthened their hands and inspired their valor. You fought among them and fought their battles, delivering their enemies before them, redeeming them from stronger hands.
Then Your children gathered and established the State of Israel in Your land. They built homes and planted vineyards, increased the study of Your Torah, dwelled securely as You had promised, and established this Independence Day as a time to give thanks and praise for the redemption and rebirth.
(Written by Beit Hillel based on a text originally composed by Itai Cagan.)
