[Prayer on] the Birthday of the United Nations, by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (1947)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Avraham Samuel Soltes

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25 August 2019 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

United Nations, United Nations Day (October 24th)

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Universal Peace, universalist prayers, 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., North American Jewry, English vernacular prayer

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Father of all Men: Since time immemorial Thy children have sought to find Thee in the realm of nature and in the varied experiences of their lives: In the roar of thunder have they heard Thy stirring voice; in the golden glory of the sun have they seen Thy radiance. Where the mountains tower above the plain, they have built Thee their altars, and in the forest’s cooling shade have they heard Thy still, small voice.
	But deepest of all has been the resonance of Thy spirit that has echoed to man from the heart of his fellow. He has longed through the ages for the day When the swords of battle Would be beaten into ploughs of peace, when the spears of conquest would be bent into hooks of harvest.
	And he has prayed unto Thee for the coming of a day when nation would not lift up sword against nation, nor learn war any more.
	We thank Thee, O Master of the Universe, that in our lifetime the agonies of war have at last been converted to the birth-pangs of peace, and out of countless centuries of bloodshed there has emerged the soft-skinned babe of brotherhood.
	We are grateful for this child of the Nations United ‘though his legs be still unsteady and the fingers of his mastery Weak.
	For in his heart he bears the talisman of our future, and upon his head rests the crown of human aspiration.
	Help us, O Heavenly Father, to be patient with him as he wanders and stumbles along the paths of growth; teach us to cherish him as a priceless treasure tho’ he fulfill but slowly and imperfectly the high promise of his advent.
	Endow with wisdom and vision, we pray Thee, those who are charged with guiding the destinies of this heir of human hope, that they may lead us to that era, when every man shall sit under his vine and fig tree, beside his own house and garden, and none shall make him afraid. Amen.

“Birthday of the United Nations” was first published in Rabbi Avraham Soltes’ collection of prayers, תפלה Invocation: Sheaf of Prayers (Bloch 1959). No date was given for its composition but sometime between 1948 and 1958 is certain. In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, as which “shall be devoted to making known to the people of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations and to gaining their support for” its work.^[1] United Nations General Assembly Session 2 Resolution 168. United Nations Day A/RES/168(II) 31 October 1947.

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Notes[+]

Notes
1	United Nations General Assembly Session 2 Resolution 168. United Nations Day A/RES/168(II) 31 October 1947.

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“[Prayer on] the Birthday of the United Nations, by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (1947)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Avraham Samuel Soltes

Rabbi Avraham Soltes (1917-1983) was a Reform Jewish rabbi, the Jewish chaplain at the United States Military Academy in West Point, an author and a leading figure in Jewish cultural affairs. He was born in New York City. He graduated from the City College of New York in 1937 and received a master's degree from Columbia University in 1938. After being ordained in 1942 by the Jewish Institute of Religion (now HUC-JIR), he served as chaplain at Cornell and McGill Universities and then was assistant rabbi at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Manhattan from 1946 to 1949. He subsequently served as rabbi at Temple Sharey Tefilo in East Orange and Temple Emanuel in Great Neck. He began his service at West Point as a voluntary chaplain in 1963 and was made a permanent member of the staff in 1981. His interests also took him into commerce, and from 1969 to 1974, he was vice president for community affairs of the Glen Alden Corporation, which in 1972 was merged into the Rapid America Corporation. From 1974 to 1977, he was assistant to the president of Tel Aviv University. He was credited with a key role in the establishment of the New York medical division at the university. In 1981, Rabbi Soltes received the Jabotinsky Award from Prime Minister Menachim Begin for his service to Israel. From 1977 until his death Rabbi Soltes had been the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Chavairuth of Bergen County, in Tenafly, N.J. He participated in many cultural and educational activities that interpreted Jewish art, music and literature. He was chairman of the National Jewish Music Council from 1963 to 1969 and a member of the board of the National Jewish Book Council from 1967 to 1972. Rabbi Soltes, a commentator on Jewish music for American listeners, was the host of a radio program, ''The Music of Israel,'' on WQXR from 1974-1983. Among his writings were Palestine in Poetry and Song of the Jewish Diaspora (Master's thesis HUC-JIR 1942) and Off The Willows: The Rebirth of Modern Jewish Music (1970).

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17