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Chaveirim y'karim ~ dear friends,
Tomorrow marks Veteran's Day, which originated as Armistice Day - the day which formally ended World War One (11am on 11/11/1918).
Recently I was listening to an excellent show in which the presenters discussed how and why history repeats itself ... or at least rhymes with itself. One speaker noted that we know, at best, the story of three generations. In other words, we may heed what our grandparents tell us but much beyond that, we remain aloof, indifferent, and often ignorant.
And so, history repeats or rhymes.
Woe to the generation though that fails to listen to their great- and great-great-grandparents.
Remembering our veterans of today and of yesteryear is a way to honor those who have served and to make sure we march carefully into the future. Though far fewer of us have active serving family members in the military, in previous generations (particularly WW2), Jewish families were filled with veterans. My father was ROTC in college and served in the USArmy from 1957-1959. He was always proud of his service and we were fortunate that he was never sent overseas. We were lucky and not every family can claim such good fortune.
To those who have served and those families who have supported their loved ones in defense of this great nation, may this nation show its humility and gratitude for your family members and for you. Thank you.
Jewish Poet Alden Solovy offers three loving prayer-poems for this day here to help us find words with which to reflect and direct our hearts.
With gratitude for the contributions of the service men and women who serve in the air, on the land, and at sea, may they go forward with strength and pride.
Rabbi Mark Cohn
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ON-LINE RESOURCES FOR READING AND LEARNING:
Two well-defined and articulated statements from Jewish leaders in New York City following the mayoral election last week: "Zioness Statement on 2025 Election Results" (4 Nov 2025) from Zionness.org AND "Statement from UJA-Federation of New York, JCRC-NY, ADL New York/New Jersey, AJC New York and New York Board of Rabbis on the Election of Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani" (4 Nov 2025).
An essay that appeared last week about the Election of NYC's newest mayor sets up a fascinating and chillingly lesson in history, related to an election in Vienna in 1900. You may want to see "An Israeli 'chef' reflects on Herzl and Mamdani" which was included in Rabbi Daniel Gordis' Substack, Israel from the Inside. Rabbi Gordis closes the column with an interesting article from the NYTimes in 1934 that is worth reviewing as well.
"Deborah Lipstadt, Soviet Jewry, and Antisemitism" (4 Nov 2025) on the Jewish Review of Books Podcast. Read her article on this topic here, "Our Great Cause" from the Fall 2025 Volume.
"Protesters fire flares, cause chaos at Israel Philharmonic concert in Paris; 4 arrested" (7 Nov 2025) by TOI Staff in Times of Israel. The key to this awful event was how the crowd responded and the show "went on."
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