Almighty God, on this day in 1918, —11th day, 11th month, 11th hour of that day— we signed the armistice to end the war: “the war to end all wars,” we prayed.
But other wars would come and many more would serve. So Armistice Day—renamed, reborn—now Veterans Day to recognize, salute, all who answered duty’s call.
We know too well there have been times we did not honor those who honored us through sacrifice and service during times of deadly war and all-too-fragile peace.
Today we hope, we pray, that we have learned to offer thanks, to show support, respect, and gratitude to veterans, their families, to those who serve today.
May we welcome home all those who serve, with open arms, with grateful hearts, and caring, healing hands; taking time to hear their stories, giving time to ease their pain, knowing that some wounds of war will never fully heal. Grant us strength, we pray, to keep our faith that thanks to those we honor with our words and prayers today, one day we’ll beat our swords to plowshares and war will be no more.
…and let us say, amen.
-Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, Chaplain, USN
This past Wednesday, we honored the veterans of our country. For me, Veterans Day is a reminder that all year we have a responsibility to offer gratitude to our veterans for their sacrifice in serving our country.
I’ve been asking myself what it means to show this type of gratitude. How do we, as individuals and as a society, adequately remember those who have served? How do we not simply take their service, and our freedom, for granted? This poem reminds me that Veterans Day is not just about thanks and gratitude. And it’s actually not just about respect or honor.
I am reminded that God, in the Torah, remembers in a way that is paired with action. For God, memory is not a mental exercise that exists solely in the intellectual realm. Remembering inspires God to act. When we remember those that have served our country, when we acknowledge those that sacrifice their lives and their time with family and their safety, it has to be paired with action.
There are sacrifices we know and there are sacrifices we’ll never understand. There are wounds that we can see and that hopefully heal, and there are wounds that we will never see and may never heal. There are stories that we will never be able to comprehend and journeys we cannot fathom. All of this is for our country, for our freedom, for democracy.
I pray that everyday, not just on Veterans Day, we create a world and a society that takes care of those that have sacrificed their own lives. That we hear their stories and we tend to their wounds. I pray that we work to create opportunities for them, as they protected ours. I pray that we don’t simply remember, but that we act on their behalf and in their honor. I pray that their heroic actions lead us to a world with no more war.
With tremendous gratitude to all who have served, Rabbi Sarit
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