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Tags:On March 19, 1993, the first of the three that would be built there — INS Eilat — was commissioned. Speakers at the ceremony included Israeli Rear Admiral Ami Ayalon, the Commander in Chief of the Israeli Navy (what we would call the Chief of Naval Operations, here in the US), and the Honorable Ismar Rabinovich, the Israeli Ambassador to the US. His wife was the “sponsor” of the commissioning, breaking the traditional bottle of champagne against the hull.
I had the honor of delivering the commissioning prayer — but instead of writing my own, I was given a prayer written by the newly appointed Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Israel Lau. The document that included the prayer was the very first document he signed in his new position. In addition to the Hebrew text, I offered an English prayer inspired by the words of Rabbi Lau. –Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff
| Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|
אָבִינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׂמִים אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ הַיָּם וְהוּא עָשָׂהוּ וְיַבֶּשֶׁת יָדָיו יָצָרוּ. (תהלים צה:ה חלק) הַנּוֹתֵן בַּיָּם דָּרֶךְ וּבְמַיִם עַזִּים נְתִיבָה, (ישעיה מג:טז חלק) ה׳ אֱלֹהֵי צְבָאוֹת מִי־כָמוֹךָ חֲסִין יָהּ, (תהלים פט:ט חלק) בְּשׂוֹא גַלָּיו אַתָּה תְשַׁבְּחֵם. (תהלים פט:י חלק) |
Our Guardian that is in Heaven, Elo’ah of Yisrael, [Hashem’s] is the sea, they made it; and the land, which their hands fashioned. (Psalms 95:5 part) [Hashem] made a way through the sea and a path through mighty waters, (Isaiah 43:16 part) YHVH Elohei Tseva’ot who is mighty like you, Yah? (Psalms 89:9 part) When its waves surge, you calm them. (Psalms 89:10 part) |
שְׁמֹר נָא וְצָבוּר אֶת בָּנֵינוּ־צוות לוֹחֲמֵי סְפִינָה זוֹ בְּתוֹךְ שְׁאָר יוֹרְדֵי הַיָּם וּנְתִיבוֹתָיו וִיעַטְרֵם בַּעֲטֶרֶת יְשׁוּעָה וְנִצָּחוֹן וִיקֻיַּם בָּהֶם מַאֲמַר הַכָּתוּב: ”וַיּוֹשִׁיעֵם מִיַּד שׂוֹנֵא וַיִּגְאָלֵם מִיַּד אוֹיֵב וַיְכַסּוּ־מַיִם צָרֵיהֶם אֶחָד מֵהֶם לֹא נוֹתָר“ (תהלים קו:י-יא) |
Please guard and gather close the crew, the officers of this ship [“INS Eilat”] among those who go down to the sea, and throughout their careers and crown them with wreaths of salvation and victory[1] Cf. Prayer for the welfare of the Israeli Defense Forces. and through them let the verse be fulfilled: “[Hashem] delivered them from the foe, redeemed them from the enemy. Water covered their adversaries; not one of them was left.” (Psalms 106:10-11) |
תְּהִי דַּרְכָּם צָלְחָה בַּדֶרֶךְ הַשָּׁלוֹם, יֵלְכוּ מֵחַיִל אֶל־חָיִל (תהלים פד:ח חלק) יָבִיאוּ עֹז וְתִפְאֶרֶת לָמוֹ, פָּרוּשׁ עָלֵינוּ סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמְךָ כִּי אַתָּה הַפּוֹרֵשׂ סֻכַּת הַשָּׁלוֹם וְעוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל וִיקֻיַּם בְּנוֹ מַאֲמָר הַכָּתוּב: ”וְשָׁב יַעֲקֹב וְשָׁקַט וְשַׁאֲנַן וְאֵין מַחֲרִיד“ (ירמיה ל:י) שָׁלוֹם עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ |
May the routes they travel be on the Way of Peace, [and may] they go from strength to strength, (Psalms 84:8 part) bringing them might and splendor. Spread over us a Sukkah of Peace for you are the one-who-spreads-out the Sukkah of Peace. May the one who makes peace from the heights make peace upon us and upon all their people Yisrael, and through their children let the verse be fulfilled: “And Yaaqov shall again have calm and quiet with none to trouble him.” (Jeremiah 30:10) [May there be] peace upon Yisrael. |
My brothers and friends:
To all who walk the deck of “Eilat,” may your welfare be everlasting!
David, King of Israel, in his description of those who come to praise and thank the Creator of the universe, says: “They who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters; they see the work of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep …. He maketh the storm to be calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they are quiet, and He bringeth them unto their desired haven. Let them praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works for the children of men” (Psalms 107:23-31).
You – the warriors of the Navy within the Israel Defense Force – who go through the seas and fierce waters to defend and protect the State of Israel and its inhabitants, fulfill a sacred duty to protect the holiness of the life of both the whole and the individual.
Our prayers are directed to you, the Navy personnel of “Eilat.” In peace shall you go and in peace shall you return. May your Journey be successful and may you bring peace unto Israel.
Blessings from the depths of my heart,
Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, Commander, Chaplain Corps US Navy
[on behalf of] Israel Meir Lau, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel
Adar 26, 5753 [19 March 1993]
This prayer for the well-being of the Navy personnel of the INS Eilat was transcribed from a copy provided by Rabbi Lau to Rabbi Resnicoff. In my translation, I use the singular they/their as a gender-neutral pronoun for the divine. –Aharon Varady
Source(s)
Notes
“תפילה לשלום צוות אח״י אילת | Prayer for the Welfare of the Navy Personnel of the “INS Eilat,” by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau (1993)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
Aharon N. Varady (translation)
Arnold E. Resnicoff
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