This coming Wednesday, March 13, Erev Rosh Chodesh Nissan, has been declared a day of fasting and prayer for Jews all around the world, and will include a central prayer service at the Western Wall. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the Council of Torah Sages, and Orthodox Union/Rabbinical Council of America and others have all endorsed the call to make this Wednesday a day of unity and repentance in light of the grave situation facing the State of Israel. Those in Israel and abroad who cannot come to the Western Wall for the special prayer service are asked to gather in their own synagogues for the same purpose, and to recite special Yom Kippur Katan prayers, especially Psalms 83, 130, and 142. The Chief Rabbinate statement reads,
\"In light of the difficult situation in which the Nation of Israel is given, in which the blood of our brothers the Sons of Israel is spilled, and we have none on whom to rely except our Father in Heaven...\"
The Council of Torah Sages (associated with the United Torah Judaism party) has released an \"Urgent Call to All Jews,\" beginning,
\"Nation of G-d! Awaken, arouse yourselves and call out to G-d! ... Let large numbers of those who fear G-d and cherish His name gather together to pour out their prayers before the Creator of all, in all the synagogues and study halls wherever they live, throughout the world, on Wednesday... Let us return to G-d with full force, let us better our ways both in matters between man and G-d and those between man and his fellow. Let us distance ourselves from evil speech and gossip, and increase our love for others. Let each of us perceive the positive in others and not their shortcomings. Let us strengthen ourselves in Torah and fear of Heaven and in the fulfillment of commandments... \"
The OU and RCA released a joint statement to the same effect:
\"The Matzav [situation] in Medinat Yisrael [the State of Israel] is truly bewildering, discouraging and even depressing not only for our brothers and sisters who reside there, but also for Kol Beit Yisrael [the entire House of Israel]. More than ever, a fact in which we of the Orthodox community always believed is also being recognized by others, \"we have no one on whom to rely except our Father in Heaven.\" ...