How the Prayers of Thousands of Jewish Children Are Protecting Israel

A group of thousands of Jewish school-age children gather virtually, five days a week, to pour their precious hearts out in prayer for the protection of their Jewish brothers and sisters in Israel.

These children are part of a spiritual army called The Inkredible Kids Tehillim (Psalms) Army. They are innocent, wise beyond their years, and a powerful force aiding in the success of this war.

At the start of the war, Tziri Preis, the “General” of the Tehillim (Psalms) Army, had the idea to use her existing platform, the successful Inkredible Kids podcast for children, to gather her troops for a nightly prayer Zoom. Her idea took off, with an astounding number of children tuning in night after night.

Tziri Preis

Zoom only allows 1,000 participants at a time, but Jewish kids across the United States were filling up the slots 30 minutes before the Zoom room opened. Preis found a way to stream the program live for the overflow of thousands of children who wanted to tune in. With 5,000 to 10,000 children participating nightly, Preis kept up with the demand by opening her own streaming website TehillimArmy.org, which can be watched live at 6 pm EST Sunday through Thursday.

Morah Tziri (morah means “teacher” in Hebrew) galvanizes the children, encouraging them every day and showing them how powerful and beloved they are to the Jewish nation.

Every night, a different speaker, singer, performer, rabbi, or soldier engages with the children. Then a child leads the nightly prayer, with Morah Tziri and the thousands of children repeating the words. The children sing, dance, laugh, and listen raptly through soul-stirring speeches that often leave Tziri in tears.

It’s been four months and the children’s interest in joining every night has not waned. With raffles, performances, magic tricks, and songs, thousands of children are kept at attention and thanked for their contribution to winning this war. The children know they are creating miracles through their words and that their energy and presence is needed for the survival of the Jewish people.

And they have seen, in real time, the miracles that they’re generating.

One amazing story is that of young Emma Platt, a 10-year-old "Inkredible Kid” from Florida, who, alongside her community, wrote and sent a letter thanking and encouraging the soldiers of the IDF. Emma signed her name at the bottom of her fateful letter and it was sent off across the Atlantic to be distributed amongst the soldiers.

Emma Platt

Dr. Eitan, the soldier who received her letter, was very moved by her simple, sweet, innocent words, and kept the letter with him as he entered Gaza. He was injured in battle, but willed himself to stay alive so he could thank Emma Platt in person one day.

While recovering from his extensive injuries in an Israeli hospital, Dr. Eitan was visited by a group of Americans who came to cheer him up and thank him for his service. Dr. Eitan shared with his visitors that a little girl from America named Emma Platt had written a letter saying she was praying for the soldiers of the IDF. He explained how impactful this letter had been to his very survival.

The visitors took out their phones and recorded a heartfelt plea from Dr. Eitan, who called out from his hospital bed, bruised and injured, directly to Emma Platt:

“I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, but I got your letter. And it was with me when I was injured. And maybe your davening (praying) for me saved me from what waited for me. I want to say thank you, Emma. You’re a lovely little girl,” Dr. Eitan said in gratitude. “I wish I could find you someday, and meet you and your parents, and thank you very much.”

Dr. Eitan then pointed his injured, casted arm at the camera and asked the international Jewish community for a favor: “If someone could find little Emma Platt for me, it’s going to be amazing. Thank you very much.”

Dr. Eitan, IDF soldier

His American visitors sent the video abroad and within an hour Morah Tziri had not only heard Eitan’s story, but used her role as “General” to rouse her soldiers through a group WhatsApp chat to call every Platt living in America anyone could think of.

In record-time, and with the help of a friend working for the Meaningful Minute podcast, Morah Tziri had Emma Platt’s mother’s phone number in hand. That evening, she showed all the children Dr. Eitan’s video and during the the Zoom meeting called Emma’s mother directly. The children got to hear from Emma and see that their prayers are saving lives. It was beyond moving to witness.

The next day, the children of the Tehillim (Psalms) Army witnessed the miracle come full circle. Emma Platt and Eitan met each other virtually and the children watched the recording of the meeting together on the nightly Zoom call. While still broken and bruised, Eitan had wasted no time to find and thank those who prayed for his safety. That evening, thousands of children learned firsthand a powerful lesson in hakarat hatov, showing gratitude.

This army of beautiful Jewish children is demonstrating that while oceans divide us, the Jewish people are united and full of love for one another. The parents are witnessing the power of the Inkredible Kids to move mountains and save lives – all stemming from the purity of their hearts and the undeniable power of their words.