The Union Home Prayer Book (1951) is an anthology of prayers for family and personal use following in the tradition of the Seder Teḥinot and many earlier anthologies of private (non-communal) prayer practice. In the largest section, “Meditations,” the collection re-published 36 of the prayers from CCAR’s ברכה ותהלה Blessing and Praise: A Book of Meditations and Prayers for Individual and Home Devotion (1923), omitting 15. To these, three new prayers were added, along with some new sections: “Family Worship,” “Personal Prayers for Special Occassions,” “Prayers for Night and Morning,” and “Prayers in Time of Sickness and Death.” Besides the additional prayers found in these sections, the main difference between this and Blessing and Praise is the arrangement. Where the themes of the prayers arranged in Blessing and Praise loosely matched the progression of themes in the seasons and festivals of the Jewish calendar, this arrangement has mostly dispensed with that. But taken as a whole, the entire collection fits well inside the seder teḥinot genre of collections long associated with domestic, private, and women’s prayer.


This work is in the Public Domain due to the lack of a copyright renewal by the copyright holder listed in the copyright notice (a condition required for works published in the United States between January 1st 1924 and January 1st 1964).
CONTENTS
FAMILY WORSHIP
- Dedication of a Home
- Grace Before and After Meals
- Kiddush: Sabbath, Passover, Shaḇuoth, Succoth and Rosh Hashonah
- Hanukkah
- Thanksgiving Day
- Birthdays
- Wedding Anniversaries
a. Anniversary of those recently married
b. Silver or Golden Wedding Anniversary- In House of Mourning
- Dedication of Tombstone
- Yahrẓeit
PERSONAL PRAYERS FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS
- Before Starting on a Journey[1] Separately titled, “On Taking a Journey”
- Release from Danger[2] Separately titled, “Prayer After Passing Through Danger”
- Beginning a new Enterprise
- Prayer for a Bridegroom
- Prayer for a Bride
- Before Marriage of a Son
- Before Marriage of a Daughter
- Prayer on Behalf of One in Childbirth
- Prayer on Birth of a Son
- Prayer on Birth of a Daughter
- Circumcision
- On Naming a Child
- On Entering a Child in Religious School
- Before Confirmation
PRAYERS FOR NIGHT AND MORNING
- Night Prayers for Children
- Two Other Children’s Prayers
- Morning Prayer for Adults
- Night Prayer for Adults
- Morning Prayer for Children
PRAYERS IN TIME OF SICKNESS AND DEATH
- Prayer in Time of Trouble
- Prayers in Time of Sickness
- Prayer on Recovery
- Prayers in Behalf of the Sick
- On Visiting a Cemetery
- At the Graves of Various Relatives
- Kaddish
INDEX TO MEDITATIONS
[*asterisks indicate a prayer originally found in ברכה ותהלה Blessing and Praise: A Book of Meditations and Prayers for Individual and Home Devotion (1923)]
- *Morning Prayer
- *The Changing World[3] Formerly titled, “Starting Anew”
- *The Soul of the World[4] Formerly titled, “Daily Revelation”
- *Wholeness of Character[5] Formerly titled, “Sincerity”
- *The Just Life[6] Formerly titled, “Justice”
- *Ignorance and Evil
- *Conciliation
- *Out of the Depths
- *God our Refuge
- *God is Near
- *God’s Love
- *God’s Bounty
- *Rejoice in the Lord
- *Reliance
- *Envy
- *Human Brotherhood[7] Formerly titled, “Tolerance”
- *Compensation
- *Prayer for Others
- *Righteousness
- *Hospitality
- *Our Enemies
- *God our Sustainer
- *Suffering
- *Courageous Faith
- *Reverence
- *Holy Places
- *The Presence of God
- *Vision and Hope
- *Duty
- *Accepting the Burden
- *God our Eternal Home
- *Humility
- *Alike Before God
- *Cooperation
- *Man’s Place in Nature
- Rededication[8] Separately titled, “A Prayer for Rededication”
- Repentance
- God’s Guidance[9] Separately titled, “Lead us, Lord”
- *Night Prayer
Notes
| 1 | Separately titled, “On Taking a Journey” |
|---|---|
| 2 | Separately titled, “Prayer After Passing Through Danger” |
| 3 | Formerly titled, “Starting Anew” |
| 4 | Formerly titled, “Daily Revelation” |
| 5 | Formerly titled, “Sincerity” |
| 6 | Formerly titled, “Justice” |
| 7 | Formerly titled, “Tolerance” |
| 8 | Separately titled, “A Prayer for Rededication” |
| 9 | Separately titled, “Lead us, Lord” |













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