Today, actually beginning at 6 pm yesterday, is the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. Here is a note about the day from the web site, Religion and Ethics Newsweekly
(http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/index_flash.html)

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is the year's holiest day and a day of fasting. To re-establish oneness with God, Jews ask forgiveness and forgive others. Then they can confess their sins and ask God's forgiveness. Yom Kippur begins at sundown the previous day.

A friend of mine, a retired minister who served most of his ministry in the metro New York area, has a Jewish friend who shared this prayer:
Please, oh Lord, hear my prayer. Give us the grace and clarity to remember who we are. Help us to bear in mind that a handful of the most courageous and practical men of their generation designed this republic not just to survive but to get stronger in times like these...Lord, in this time of trepidation, help us to stay true to the wisdom of Jefferson, Adams and all the others who gave u s this gift of republic on this blessed soil. Only by keeping her strong, free and aware will we continue to offer a sanctuary in which the needy may, by their efforts rise to prosperity and an arsenal and protector for other democracies around the world.