By Rabbi Joshua Knobel
Click here if you are a veteran of our armed forces
Jewish tradition teaches that when the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land, Moses assembled them at the banks of the River Jordan and informed them, “All of you today stand before God, from your commanders, your elders, and your governors, to the stranger, the wood-chopper, and the water-drawer, every man woman and child – to enter into a sacred covenant to become God’s people.”
Next Friday evening, we will pay tribute to our veterans, men and women of valor who have answered our nation’s call. We will share their stories. We will see the world from their eyes. And we will discover that, like our forebears, their heroism knows no rank. Their heroism knows no station. Their heroism knows no race, religion, ethnicity, or gender. Their heroism only knows duty, honor, and country.
We need their heroism now more than ever, not just on the field of battle, but right here at home. Some of us may think that Veterans Day is an opportunity to support our veterans, but we’re wrong. Far more than our veterans need us, we need our veterans – to show us how to build the democracy they fought so hard to protect… to teach us what it looks like when every man and woman who raises a right hand, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or gender, enters into a sacred covenant to become comrades in arms.
To that end, we must call upon our veterans to serve us once again. We need your stories, and we need your truths. Please click here to share with us the record of your service and the hard-won lessons you acquired through your duty. And please be our guests next Friday evening, November 10, at 6:15 at a service to honor those who have served this great nation.