Securing the Plot, Standing the Watch
Parashat Chayei Sarah opens with an encounter that feels strikingly grounded in practical, gritty reality. Sarah passes away in Kiryat Arba, and Abraham is suddenly confronted with the raw finality of loss. He stands up from before his dead and addresses the local Hittite leaders with a famous declaration: “Ger v’toshav anochi immachem”—I am a stranger and a resident among you (Genesis 23:4).
He needs a burial plot, the Cave of Machpelah. The Hittites offer it freely as a courtesy, almost waving away the formality. But Abraham refuses the handout. He insists on paying the full market price—four hundred shekels of silver, weighed out in standard merchant coin—in front of witnesses at the city gate.
Why was Abraham so adamant about paying full price when a gift was on the table? Because you cannot build an enduring future on borrowed goodwill. Abraham understood that if a community is going to take root, if an inheritance is to be passed down through generations, someone has to pay the full price of ownership. You have to put your stake in the ground, honor those who came before, and take unequivocal responsibility for the soil beneath your feet.
That lesson hits home with special force as we read Chayei Sarah while heading into Veterans Day.
For more than two and a half centuries, Jewish Americans have answered that exact call of full-price citizenship. We have never been passive spectators in the American story. From the Revolutionary War through the hedgerows of Europe, the jungles of Vietnam, and the mountains and deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, Jewish service members have stepped forward, worn the uniform, and paid the full price of freedom alongside their fellow citizens.
Yet if you walk through many mainstream Jewish communal spaces today, that rich legacy is often treated like an invisible footnote. There is a widespread, mistaken impression that military service is something other communities do—that Jewish life and military life exist in two separate, non-overlapping universes.
To bridge that gap and reclaim that critical part of our heritage, a brand-new initiative has recently launched: the American Jewish Military Service Initiative (AJMSI), online at GIJew.org.
AJMSI was founded as a coalition to do something straightforward and long overdue: tell the authentic story of American Jewish military service to the broader community, connect Jewish veterans and active-duty troops with congregations and schools, and introduce the next generation of American Jews to the noble calling of serving our nation in uniform. It reminds our broader community that defending democracy and upholding our values is a fundamental expression of who we are.
This vital effort exists because of serious, battle-tested leadership. Leaders like Major General Jeff Jacobs (USA, Ret.) and Rear Admiral Paul Becker (USN, Ret.) are driving this mission forward.
General Jacobs, who graduated from West Point in 1979 and served thirty-five years across the infantry and civil affairs—eventually commanding the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) at Fort Bragg—embodies what it means to be unapologetically a soldier and a Jew. Admiral Becker, a 1983 Naval Academy graduate who served three decades in naval intelligence and ultimately as the Director for Intelligence (J2) on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has lived leadership under intense fire and operational pressure. When leaders of their caliber—men who have operated at the highest echelons of military command while remaining deeply anchored in their faith and community—step forward to champion AJMSI, it sends an unmistakable message across our community.
Out in the outposts—on sprawling military installations far from traditional Jewish infrastructure, and in small congregations located near military posts—this connection isn’t theoretical. It’s lived out daily. Every day, young Jewish men and women lace up combat boots, report to their units, and balance the demands of the mission with the conscious choice to maintain their heritage. They are living out Abraham’s ethos of full ownership and dedication.
Abraham bought the field of Machpelah because he knew that honoring the sacrifices of yesterday is the only way to build a foundation for tomorrow.
As Veterans Day approaches, let’s make sure we do the same. Take the time to visit GIJew.org, learn about the work AJMSI is doing, and bring these vital stories into your synagogues, schools, and homes. To our veterans and to the service members currently holding the perimeter across the globe: thank you for paying the full price, for securing the ground we walk on, and for showing us what it means to stand the watch with honor.
