Israeli synagogues will remain closed this Shabbat for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic as the IDF Home Front Command implements emergency restrictions following Israel’s strikes on Iran, with leading rabbis providing guidance for prayer during the crisis.
Early Friday morning, the Home Front Command announced an immediate shift in national defense posture. The directive moves all Israeli regions from full operational status to essential services only. These restrictions prohibit educational activities, public gatherings and nonessential work operations.
“The people of Israel face an emergency situation, and we pray while strengthening our IDF soldiers and national leadership in their war to eliminate the existential threat against Israel,” Rabbi David Stav, who chairs the Tzohar rabbinical organization, said.
According to Israel’s military Friday morning, “Air Force fighter jets, guided by precise intelligence from the Military Intelligence Directorate, in recent hours carried out a wide-scale strike targeting the Iranian regime’s air defenses in western Iran,” it stated.
“Dozens” of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers were destroyed, the IDF added, noting that the strikes were aimed at improving the IAF’s operational freedom in Iranian airspace.
“Throughout the war, the IDF has systematically targeted the air defense systems of the Iranian regime and its proxies across the Middle East,” it said.
More than 200 Israeli jets attacked dozens of targets, including military and nuclear sites, in a “preemptive, precise, combined offensive” opening strike against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program early on Friday.
The IDF said the attack was based on “high-quality intelligence” and “in response to the Iranian regime’s ongoing aggression against Israel.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation, dubbed “Rising Lion,” would “continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” vowing to stop “the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz said “The precise strike on top commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, the Iranian army and nuclear scientists — all of whom involved in advancing the plan to destroy Israel — sends a strong and clear message: Whoever works toward Israel’s destruction will be eliminated.”
The IDF said that four top Iranian military leaders were killed in the strikes.
Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami and the commander of Tehran’s Emergency Command were killed in the strikes across the country “by more than 200 fighter jets,” the IDF said on Friday morning.
The commander of the IRGC’s Air Force & Senior Chain of Command of the Air Force was also killed.
Two more junior commanders were also killed, the head of the UAV Force of the IRGC’s Air Force, identified by the IDF as Taher-pour, and the commander of the Aerial Command of the IRGC’s Air Force, Davoud Shaykhian.
The slain air force officers “had assembled in an underground command center to prepare for an attack on the State of Israel” when Israeli fighter jets struck the center, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit wrote on X.
Additional top Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists are also believed to have been eliminated, according to reports in regime-controlled media and from the Associated Press.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quick to announce replacements for two of the slain men.
State TV said he tapped Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi as the head of the armed forces, replacing Bagheri. Mousavi was previously the top army commander. Khamenei chose Brig. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour to lead the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corps, replacing Salami.
This crisis demands complete adherence to Home Front Command directives. Should gathering restrictions remain in effect, this necessarily includes synagogue prayers. While communal prayer represents an ideal, preserving life takes precedence over Shabbat observance,” Tzohar’s Stav said.
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, serving as Safed’s chief rabbi, advocates neighborhood-based prayer services similar to coronavirus-era arrangements.
“Community prayer groups can function near [rocket-]protected areas when necessary. Should synagogue worship become feasible, congregants must carry firearms, given uncertainty about Israeli-Arab intentions. The synagogue sexton [gabbai] should also maintain telephone access,” Eliyahu said.
Both rabbis emphasize the importance of monitoring emergency broadcasts through silent radio frequencies that will go live in case of emergency, while prohibiting regular media consumption. “Keep radios tuned to silent emergency channels for critical updates. Television, standard radio programming, and internet browsing for news remain forbidden,” both men instructed.
Western Wall prayers will operate under severe limitations to ensure worshipper and visitor safety. Current guidelines restrict services until further notice to protected prayer chambers within the Western Wall tunnel complex, with strict capacity controls and official oversight.
“We emphasize the critical importance of following Home Front Command and security force instructions. Compliance with these guidelines saves lives. All site prayers will focus on the welfare and success of IDF personnel, security operatives and Israeli Air Force pilots defending Israel and its people with unwavering resolve,” Western Wall Heritage Foundation representatives stated.
From a Security Cabinet session, Netanyahu said: “We have delivered a highly successful initial strike, and with divine assistance, we will achieve substantial strategic gains.”
Addressing Israeli civilians, Netanyahu warned, “Extended periods in protected facilities may prove necessary.”
