A Prayer at the Dedication of a Monument for War Veterans, by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak (1924)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Jacob Bosniak

Shared on:

8 April 2023 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

War, Veterans Day

Tags:

20th century C.E., peace, 57th century A.M., dedications and consecrations, World War Ⅰ, Americanism, Spanish–American War

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Source (English)

Almighty God!
We have dedicated this monument
in memory of our sons and brothers
who made the supreme sacrifice,
for their country.
Do Thou shelter their souls
in the shadow of Thy wings.
Soothe the hearts of their kinsfolk
with the blissful knowledge that,
even as the souls of their beloved ones
live in Heaven,
so the memory of their heroism
will not be forgotten,
will not perish from among us.
May this monument to their loyalty and patriotism,
stimulate all of us
to do our duty in every sphere of life,
always mindful of our responsibilities
as citizens of this great republic.

Thou, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe,
in whose hand are the destinies of nations,
we beseech Thee to remove
the evil, which befalls the world,
when people rise against people,
and humanity suffers the horrors of war.
May it please Thee, O God,
to cause the light of peace to shine forever.
And help us abolish wars from the earth,
and to unitedly strive for the coming of the time,
which the Prophet of Israel saw in his vision,
“when nation shall no more lift up sword against nation,” (Isaiah 2:4)
when they will work together,
for righteousness, justice,
mercy and truth.
Amen.

“Dedication of Monument for War Heroes” was written and delivered by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak at the dedication of a war memorial at Ocean Parkway, “near Fort Hamilton Parkway,” Brooklyn, in 1924. The prayer was first published in Rabbi Bosniak’s לקוטי תפלות Liḳutei Tefilot: Pulpit and Public Prayers (1927), pp. 108-109. We are not familiar with any war memorials in the vicinity of Ocean Parkway near Fort Hamilton Parkway that were dedicated in 1924. (The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial dedicated by veterans of the Spanish-American War in 1924 can be found just off of Ocean Parkway on the southern edge of Asser Levy Park, but that is a far distance from Fort Hamilton Parkway. Perhaps it had been relocated at some point?) If you know the exact location of this memorial, please leave a comment, or contact us.

Source(s)

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“A Prayer at the Dedication of a Monument for War Veterans, by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak (1924)” is shared by the living contributor(s) with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Jacob Bosniak

Yitsḥaḳ Yaakov (Jacob) Bosniak (also Bosnyak, 1887–1963) was an American Conservative rabbi. Bosniak was born in Russia, immigrated to the U.S. in 1903, and completed his rabbinical studies at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Yeshivah, an Orthodox seminary, in 1907. In 1917, he was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he earned a Doctor of Hebrew Letters in 1933. In 1921, after having served Congregation Shearith Israel in Dallas, Texas, he became rabbi of the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center in Brooklyn, n.y., a congregation he was to serve for 28 years. He was president of the Brooklyn Board of Rabbis (1938–40), chairman of the *Rabbinical Assembly's Rabbinic Ethics Committee (1945–48) and a judge (dayyan) and member of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Conciliation Board of America. Believing in the need for a uniform prayer book (siddur) with modern English translations, Bosniak published several prayer books that gained wide acceptance in Conservative synagogues. He edited Prayers of Israel (1925, 1937), Likutei Tefilot: Public and Pulpit Prayers (1927) and Anthology of Prayer (1958), prayer books that included English translations of Sabbath and Holiday prayers, English hymns, responsive readings, and instructions related to worship in English. In 1944, he published Interpreting Jewish Life: The Sermons and Addresses of Jacob Bosniak. Upon his retirement in 1949, Bosniak was elected rabbi emeritus and devoted his time to Jewish scholarship, publishing a critical edition of The Commentary of David Kimhi on the Fifth Book of Psalms (1954).

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Theodore Roosevelt Memorial (credit: Andrew Ruppenstein)

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17