JWB Jewish Chaplains Council was founded more than 100 years, and over that time, in times of peace and war, JWB’s mission has been to serve Jewish men and women who serve in the United States military. We ensure that every Jewish member of the U.S. armed forces has the opportunity to practice Judaism in a meaningful and fulfilling way no matter where they are stationed, and serve as the officially designated representatives of the American Jewish community to the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs.
Prior to this year, the American Jewish community did not have a singular chanted prayer for members of the U.S. military. With the publication of the JWB Jewish Chaplains Council Prayer Book for Personnel in the Armed Forces, seeks to change that. This year, JWB held a contest, inviting cantors, rabbis, musicians and others to submit entries, putting to music the words of the Prayer for the Armed Forces that appears in the siddur. Earlier this year, a composition by noted New York musician Danny Mendelsohn was chosen as the official Jewish prayer for the U.S. armed forces.
JWB Jewish Chaplains Council has chosen the Shabbat immediately prior to Veteran’s Day 2018 to debut A Song of Service: A Prayer for the US Armed Forces. On that Shabbat we would like to invite you and your congregation to join synagogues of all denominations and Jewish communities across the United States in adding this moving prayer, set to Danny’s soaring music, for the first time to your Shabbat services as a weekly addition.
Please click here for the prayer, the sheet music and a link to the digital audio file of the prayer. With this act of unity and faith, we will demonstrate once again, the great support the American Jewish community gives to our men and women of all faiths serving in our U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at ielson@jcca.org
Shalom and thank you!
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Rabbi Irv Elson, CAPT, USN (Ret) serves as the Director of the JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.
Music and text © Jewish Welfare Board/Jewish Chaplains Council, published by American Conference of Cantors/Transcontinental Music Publications. Used by permission.
