Prayer for forgiveness after confession and renunciation of seeking deliverance from U.S. and foreign militaries

Eternal God, Lord of Hosts, we confess that we and our ancestors and rabbis have sinned before you, by seeking from foreign governments and militaries, the salvation that only you can bring. We renounce the Orthodox Union's prayer for the victory of the American military, which assigned them the messianic role of "abolishing every rule of evil" in order to accomplish salvation from terror and "protect all of creation". We now admit that the secular military is not capable of this, nor is it their job responsibility. We renounce the suggestion that America is the promised land, the "city on a hill which cannot be hidden", and "light of the world" that will bring about the world peace prophesied in Isaiah 2:4, as taught by John Winthrop to the Boston Puritans, and as used in American political discourse ever since. Forgive us for affirming this apostasy of christian dominionism, progressive liberalism, American exceptionalism, anti-Jewish supercessionism and replacement theology. Forgive us for the many other times we and our ancestors have neglected or abdicated our role as "kingdom of priests", and instead looked to Egypt, to Sparta, to Rome, to the Spanish Empire, the British Empire, the USSR, the USA. Forgive us for trying to imitate the nations that surrounding by appointing Saul to be our King and by modelling our "State" of Israel after theirs.

We humbly offer our remorse and repentance [and present these new prayers for the welfare of the government, and this new prayer for Israel, as partial rectifications, and ask that you patiently consider them.]

(added 8 Tishrei 2024. added 9 Tishrei): We concede that in 2021 the America retreated before the Taliban, and that after leaving Afghanistan in disgrace, has been in decline throughout the world. We recognize this as a sign that you have rejected the Orthodox Union's prayer for an American ultimate victory and quasi-messianic kingdom. Having retracted the erroneous and rejected prayer, we now ask that you merely assign the government and military the limited role of protecting America and its interests and allies, and helping them defeat Al-Qaeda, and other foreign states and terrorist organizations who have declared and undertaken acts of war and intifada against America, [including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Hezbollah, the Houthi Ansar Allah, the Islamic republic of Iran (added Adar 2025]

We now understand that you reserve to yourself the role of "protecting all of creation", and only through your chosen messiah will you "abolish every rule of evil", ruling from the throne of David his father to judge between the nations and arbitrate between the peoples (ps 96, 98), for "from Zion will go forth the law, and the word of God from Jerusalem". (Isaiah 2:2-4)

But by asking the military to perform that messianic role, we contributed to the false messianism and idolatry of power that is inherent within American empire, and instead of edifying the gentiles among whom we live according to the Noahide covenant of the rainbow which you made with all humankind, as we ought to have done, we incited them to repeat the errors of the midieval crusades. We pray that you limit and contain the left-wing and alt-right anti-semitism that is likely to result from this stupid and ignorant conspiracy we undertook, in defiance of the Hebrew prophets, to support the neo-conservative neo-Roman foreign adventurism of the Bush-Cheney administration.

(added 9 Tishrei) We now understand that even when militancy is necessary, it is not sufficient to defeat an ideology or a religious creed. Even when war is just, it is not a substitute for coherent strategy.

We regret our cowardice in neglecting to move the US embassy to Jerusalem in 1996 when a bipartisan supermajority of congress voted to move it. Citing "fear of the Arab street" but probably due to ignorant anti-Jewish bias, our presidents found it easier to go to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They didn't even have a coherent strategy for victory, other than persuading all of Asia to convert and assimilate to American culture, which is preposterous.

Forgive us for abdicating moral and intellectual leadership, and attempting to defeat an ideology with mere weapons of war, while refusing to speak or acknowledge the truths that have been on public record for thousands of years.

We pray that you show mercy on Afghanistan and work to deliver them from Taliban, and move their hearts to abandon militant Islam and instead establish diplomatic relations with Israel, that they will benefit from religious, educational, scientific, and commercial and cultural interchange, and liberalization of their societies.

Edify the people and government of Israel to accomplish their stated war goal of eradicating Hamas, de-radicalizing Gaza and de-programming its residents from the death cult in which they have been entrained, and teaching them to live at peace with Israel instead. Edify us and all God-fearers to quell the campus intifada in America by sharing the light of your holy law, and refuting the lies of imperial christianity, militant Islam, and Marxist-Leninist atheism, and progressive neo-liberal capitalist consumerism. Help us to defeat Islamic jihad, by fighting an even holier war: that of dispelling delusions by speaking the truth in love, teaching the holy Torah and performing the mitzvot, becoming fruitful and effective in good deeds, refusing to be terrified or deterred, but instead offering our lives for the sanctification of your holy Name, and coming of your kingdom on earth as it is heaven. May we succeed in making disciples of all nations by teaching them the seven laws of the Noahide covenant, inviting them to become members of the commonwealth of Israel, so that Jerusalem will once again be acknowledged as the "city on a hill that cannot be hidden", and the "light of the world From the rising of the sun, to the going down of the same, praised be your name. (psalm 113). Praise the Eternal One, all you nations! (psalm 117).

Blessed art thou, Eternal one, God of Abraham, King of the Universe, who sanctifies his name among the multitudes, and who hears prayer.