Military Personnel & Veterans • the Open Siddur Project ✍ פְּרוֺיֶּקט הַסִּדּוּר הַפָּתוּחַ

This is an archive of prayers composed for the well-being and safety of active and veteran military personnel.

If you have composed a prayer for military personnel, please share it here.

Looking for something else?

For prayers composed for, or relevant to, Armistice/Veterans Day in the United States, go here.

For an archive of special readings for the Armistice/Veterans Day, go here.

For prayers composed for or relevant to Memorial Day in the United States, please visit here.

For public readings selected for Memorial Day in the United States, please visit here.

תְּפִלַּת הַדֶּרֶךְ לְטַיָּס | Traveler’s Prayer of a Fighter Pilot, by Rabbi Shlomo Goren (IDF, 1963)

Contributor(s):	Abe Katz (translation), Aharon N. Varady (translation), Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Shlomo Goren
Categories:	Travel, Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	airplane travel, תפילת הדרך tefilat haderekh, 20th century C.E., צה״ל IDF, מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, 58th century A.M.
	“Tefilat haDerekh l’Tayas,” a prayer for sorties by military aviators in the service of the IDF by Rabbi Shlomo Goren was first published in his Siddur Tefilot l’Ḥayyal. . . .

תְּפִלַּת הַדֶּרֶךְ לְצַנְחָן | Traveler’s Prayer of a Paratrooper, by Rabbi Shlomo Goren (IDF, 1963)

Contributor(s):	Abe Katz (translation), Aharon N. Varady (translation), Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Shlomo Goren
Categories:	Travel, Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, 58th century A.M., airplane travel, תפילת הדרך tefilat haderekh, 20th century C.E., צה״ל IDF
	“Tefilat haDerekh l’Tsanḥan,” a prayer by Rabbi Shlomo Goren for missions of paratroopers in the service of the IDF was first published in his Siddur Tefilot l’Ḥayyal (p. 75 in the 1963 printing). . . .

תְּפִלַּת הַדֶּרֶךְ לְצֶוֶת הַצּוֹלְלוֹת | Traveler’s Prayer for a Submarine Crew, by Rabbi Shlomo Goren (IDF, 1963)

Contributor(s):	Abe Katz (translation), Aharon N. Varady (translation), Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Shlomo Goren
Categories:	Travel, Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	58th century A.M., תפילת הדרך tefilat haderekh, prayers on ships, 20th century C.E., צה״ל IDF, מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, ocean
	“Tefilat haDerekh l’Tsevet haTsolelot,” a prayer by Rabbi Shlomo Goren for missions of submariners in the service of the IDF was first published in his Siddur Tefilot l’Ḥayyal (p. 76 in the 1963 printing). . . .

ברכה לשלום החיילים | Prayer for the Well-being of IDF Soldiers, by Yaacov Maoz (2014)

Contributor(s):	Simon Montagu (translation) and Yaacov Maoz
Categories:	Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	צה״ל IDF, מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, Progressive Zionism, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict
	A prayer for the well-being of IDF Soldiers written during the 2014 Israel-Gaza Conflict. . . .

תפילת לשלום החיילים | Prayer on Behalf of the Jewish Soldier Going into Battle by Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo (2014)

Contributor(s):	Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Categories:	Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, צה״ל IDF, מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, military, Religious Zionism
	Bring our soldiers home from the battlefields, alive and unharmed in their own merit and in the merit of their wives, children and parents, so that they can sanctify Your name Let the blessing which You gave to Avraham come true “And through you all the families of the Earth will be blessed” For this is our hope . . .

מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ | Mi sheBerakh for United States Military War Veterans, by Hinda Tzivia Eisen

Contributor(s):	Cantor Hinda Labovitz
Categories:	After the Aliyot, Armistice Day, November 11 (Veterans Day, US), Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	מי שברך mi sheberakh, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., United States, military
	A “mi sheberakh” prayer for U.S. war veterans on the shabbat preceding Veterans Day (November 11). . . .

מי שברך לחיילי צה״ל | Mi sheBerakh for the Welfare of Israel Defense Forces Soldiers, by Rabbi Shlomo Goren (1956); amended by Dr. Alex Sinclair (2012)

Contributor(s):	Aharon N. Varady (translation), Alex Sinclair and Shlomo Goren
Categories:	After the Aliyot, Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, military, Progressive Zionism, מי שברך mi sheberakh, Religious Zionism, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., צה״ל IDF
	The prayer for the welfare of IDF soldiers by Rabbi Shlomo Goren, with additional text as added by Dr. Alex Sinclair emphasizing our desire for soldiers to engage in righteous and ethical conduct in accord with the IDF code of conduct. . . .

Prayer at the Presidential Signing Ceremony for the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act, by Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff on 22 December 2010

Contributor(s):	Arnold E. Resnicoff
Categories:	United States of America, Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, Don't ask don't tell (1993-2011)
	A prayer offered by Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff at the Presidential signing ceremony for the repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) law on December 22, 2010, in Washington, D.C. . . .

תפילה לשלום צוות אח״י אילת | Prayer for the Welfare of the Navy Personnel of the “INS Eilat,” by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau (1993)

Contributor(s):	Aharon N. Varady (translation), Arnold E. Resnicoff and Yisrael Meir Lau
Categories:	Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	58th century A.M., prayers for dedications and commissioning, 20th century C.E., צה״ל IDF
	A prayer for the well-being of the Navy personnel assigned to the newly built Sa’ar 5 corvette, INS Eilat, in 1993. . . .

תְּפִלָּה לִפְנֵי יְצִיאָה לַקְרָב | Prayer Before Setting Off to Battle, by Rabbi Shlomo Goren (IDF, 1963)

Contributor(s):	Abe Katz (translation), Aharon N. Varady (translation), Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Shlomo Goren
Categories:	War, Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	20th century C.E., צה״ל IDF, מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, 58th century A.M.
	Rabbi Shlomo Goren’s “Tefilah Lifnei Yetsiah laQrav,” a prayer for IDF soldiers before embarking on a combat mission was first published in his Siddur Tefilot l’Ḥayyal (pp. 72-73 in the 1963 printing). . . .

Prayer for Armed Forces in Combat, by Rabbi Dr. Philip S. Bernstein (1951)

Contributor(s):	Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Philip S. Bernstein
Categories:	War, Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Cold War (1947–1953), United States in the Korean War, 20th century C.E.
	This prayer by Rabbi Philip S. Bernstein, then President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, was included in the anthology, The Prayer Book of the Armed Forces (ed. Daniel A. Poling, 1951), p. 11. . . .

Prayer for Armed Forces in Combat, by Rabbi Dr. Edgar Magnin (1951)

Contributor(s):	Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Edgar Magnin
Categories:	War, Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Cold War (1947–1953), United States in the Korean War
	This prayer by Rabbi Dr. Edgar Magnin, then serving as rabbi of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, was included in the anthology, The Prayer Book of the Armed Forces (ed. Daniel A. Poling, 1951), p. 51. . . .

Prayer of Parents for a Son or Daughter in the Armed Forces, by Rabbi Max Klein (1951)

Contributor(s):	Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Max D. Klein
Categories:	Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	military, Parents blessing children, תחינות teḥinot, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, American Jewry of the United States, teḥinot in English, 20th century C.E.
	A prayer offered for parents praying for the safety and welfare of their adult children entering the armed forces. . . .

Prayer for Armed Forces in Combat, by Rabbi Dr. David de Sola Pool (1951)

Contributor(s):	Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and David de Sola Pool
Categories:	War, Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, paraliturgical elohai neshamah, Cold War (1947–1953), United States in the Korean War
	This prayer by Rabbi Dr. David de Sola Pool was included in the anthology, The Prayer Book of the Armed Forces (ed. Daniel A. Poling, 1951), pp. 72-73. . . .

Prayer [of Military Personnel] for Home (National Jewish Welfare Board 1941)

Contributor(s):	Aharon N. Varady (transcription), David de Sola Pool, Eugene Kohn, Solomon B. Freehof and the National Jewish Welfare Board
Categories:	War, Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, World War II
	This “Prayer for Home” can be found in the Abridged Prayer Book for the Jews in the Armed Forces of the United States (Jewish Welfare Board 1941), p. 119. . . .

Prayer [for Military Personnel] in Temptation (National Jewish Welfare Board 1941)

Contributor(s):	Aharon N. Varady (transcription), David de Sola Pool, Eugene Kohn, Solomon B. Freehof and the National Jewish Welfare Board
Categories:	War, Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	sexual conduct, 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, World War II, אלהי נשמה Elohai neshamah
	This “Prayer in Temptation” can be found in the Abridged Prayer Book for the Jews in the Armed Forces of the United States (Jewish Welfare Board 1941), p. 120. As far as we know, this prayer is unique to this prayerbook, although the text recalls the waking prayer “Elohai Neshama.” . . .

Prayer Before a Battle (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1940)

Contributor(s):	Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Joseph Herman Hertz and Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth
Categories:	Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	World War II, 20th century C.E., military, 58th century A.M., British Jewry, English vernacular prayer
	“Prayer Before a Battle” appears at the start of Prayer Book of Jewish Members of H.M. Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1940), p. 5. . . .

Prayer for Military Personnel on Active Service (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1940)

Contributor(s):	Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Joseph Herman Hertz, Mark Gollop and Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth
Categories:	Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	58th century A.M., British Jewry, English vernacular prayer, World War II, 20th century C.E., military
	“Prayer for Men on Active Service” is the opening prayer in the Prayer Book of Jewish Members of H.M. Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1940), p. 4. . . .

Gebet einer Mutter, deren Sohn In Militärdiensten stehet | Prayer of a mother whose son is in military service, a teḥinah by Fanny Neuda (1855)

Contributor(s):	Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Aharon N. Varady (translation) and Fanny Schmiedl-Neuda
Categories:	Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	Jewish Women's Prayers, Teḥinot in German, German vernacular prayer, Austrian Jewry, Austrian Empire, 19th century C.E., תחינות teḥinot, 57th century A.M.
	“Gebet einer Mutter, deren Sohn In Militärdiensten stehet” by Fanny Neuda was first published in her collection of teḥinot, Stunden der Andacht. ein Gebet⸗ und Erbauungs-buch für Israels Frauen und Jungfrauen (1855), pp. 91-92. In the 1864 Judeo-German edition, it is found on pp. 116-117. . . .

Gebet einer Mutter deren Sohn in Militär⸗Diensten steht | Prayer of a mother whose son is in military service, a teḥinah by Max Emanuel Stern (1841)

Contributor(s):	Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Aharon N. Varady (translation) and Menaḥem Mendel Stern
Categories:	Military Personnel & Veterans
Tags:	תחינות teḥinot, 57th century A.M., Jewish Women's Prayers, German vernacular prayer, Austrian Jewry, Austrian Empire, 19th century C.E.
	“Gebet einer Mutter deren Sohn in Militär⸗Diensten steht” was written by Max Emanuel Stern and published in Die fromme Zionstochter (1841), pp. 159-161. In its 1846 printing, the prayer is found on pp. 178-179. . . .

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