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John L. Rosove
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A Prayer in Memory of the Victims of September 11

Note: I wrote this prayer on the first anniversary of 9/11, posted it again on the 10th anniversary, and yet again on the 20th anniversary. The sentiments are still current, and I offer it again this year.

Eternal God, / Source and Creator of Life; / From the depths we have called to you / and we call to you again for courage, strength, and wisdom on this anniversary of our nation’s tragedy.

Grant us courage to confront our enemies. / Comfort those who stand alone without spouse, parent, brother, sister, or friend. / Open our hearts to them and to the children orphaned. / Enable us to love more deeply all children who suffer. / Accept with mercy our prayers of healing on behalf of the families of the victims / and on behalf of the first responders who became ill at Ground Zero and who eventually died as a consequence.

Despite the horror and tragedy of 9/11, / our country remains a shelter of peace, / a symbol of freedom / a beacon light of compassion and justice / to the downtrodden and oppressed of the world.

Strengthen the hands of our people to defend this country, our constitutional democracy / and our common values of freedom and justice. / Inspire our leaders and diplomats / to act wisely and to pursue peace everywhere in the world.

May we teach our children to learn and to think, / to consider and to reason, / to be courageous in thought and in deed, / and to nurture hearts of wisdom / that they may do battle against fear, hatred and bigotry / using weapons of the spirit and loving hearts.

We offer our prayers / on behalf of our country and government, our President and judiciary, / our officials and institutions,  / our soldiers and citizens, / upon all who faithfully toil for the good of our country, / to preserve democracy in our land, / to advocate for civility between adversaries, / and to treat every human being as infinitely worthy and dignified / by virtue of being created b’Tzelem Elohim, in the Divine image.

Bestow upon us all the blessings of peace, / and may we live to see the day / when swords will be converted into plowshares / and nations will not learn war anymore. / Amen!

About the Author
John L. Rosove is Senior Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Israel of Hollywood in Los Angeles. He is a national co-Chair of the Rabbinic and Cantorial Cabinet of J Street and immediate past National Chairman of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA). He serves as a member of the newly created Union for Reform Judaism's Israel and Reform Zionism Committee (IRZC). John was the 2002 Recipient of the World Union for Progressive Judaism International Humanitarian Award and has received special commendation from the State of Israel Bonds. In 2013 he was honored by J Street at its Fifth Anniversary Celebration in Los Angeles. John is the author of two books - “Why Judaism Matters – Letters of a Liberal Rabbi to his Children and the Millennial Generation with an Afterword by Daniel and David Rosove” (Nashville: Jewish Lights Publishing, a division of Turner Publishing Company, 2017) and "Why Israel [and its Future] Matters - Letters of a Liberal Rabbi to his Children and the Millennial Generation with an Afterword by Daniel and David Rosove" (New Jersey: Ben Yehuda Press, 2019). Both are available at Amazon.com. John translated and edited the Hebrew biography of his Great Granduncle – "Avraham Shapira – Veteran of the Haganah and Hebrew Guard" by Getzel Kressel (publ. by the Municipality of Petach Tikvah, 1955). The translation was privately published (2021). John is married to Barbara. They are the parents of two sons - Daniel (married to Marina) and David. He has two grandchildren.
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