Opening prayer at the 250th Anniversary of Jewish Settlement in the United States — by Rabbi Joseph Silverman (1905)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Joseph Silverman

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3 July 2024 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday of November), United States of America

Tags:

American Jewry of the United States, 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., North American Jewry, English vernacular prayer

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Almighty Father, source of light and life, we revere Thee as the Providence that guides the affairs of man and the destinies of nations. Thou sendest forth Thy ministers to destroy what is false and evil and to plant what is true and good.
	Throughout the ages Thou hast been the Guardian of Israel, who sleepest not, nor slumberest— a pillar of cloud to lead them by day and a pillar of fire to show them the way at night. In the dark days of bondage, of wanderings and exile, of servitude under foreign masters, Thou hast ever been Israel’s comfort, prop and hope.
	Our forefathers labored and struggled for conviction and faith. We have received the heritage of Israel and shall bravely bear all trials in the service of truth and justice. But not unto us is the glory; Thine, O Lord, are the power, the glory, and the majesty.
	We thank Thee with deep-felt gratitude, that Thou hast cast our lot in pleasant places, that Thou didst guide our ancestors to this land of liberty, and didst prosper them in the days of yore.
	We thank Thee for America, this haven of refuge for the oppressed of the world. We thank Thee for the blessings of a permanent home in this country, its opportunities for development of life and advancement of mind and heart, for its independence and unity, its free institutions, the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We reverently bow before Thy decree, which has taught us to find enduring peace and security in the sure foundation of this blessed land.
	Here we have established our habitations and tabernacles, here we have erected our synagogues and homes for the needy, the orphans and widows, the sick and forlorn, and we fervently pray that we may be permitted to abide here forever in prosperity and in amity with all the people of the land.
	Mindful of all the blessings we enjoy in this land, we are grateful unto Thee for the contrast presented to-day between the country of freedom and the country of Russian slavery— between this nation of justice and peace and the Eastern land of tyranny and destruction.
	We pray unto Thee, the Ruler of nations, to spread Thy wings of protection over our common country. Bless the President and his counselors and the magistrates and legislators of the nation, and of every state and city in the Union. Keep far from our beloved land the ravages of sword, fire, flood, and pestilence. May no foe from within or without threaten its peace and integrity.
	May this land advance toward ever higher planes of truth and justice to the end that America may become the bearer of peace to all the nations of the world.
	We pray also for our suffering brethren who, in a distant land, are passing through the fire that consumeth and the water that overwhelmeth. Stay the hand of the oppressor, dull the edge of the sword, and divert the course of the deadly weapon. Send forth Thy ministering angels to heal the afflicted and bind up the broken-hearted. And let all men learn and practice the wise teaching, to love the Lord their God with all their heart and soul and might, and to love their fellow-men as themselves. Speed the time, O God, when all men shall believe the truth and shall practice what they profess. Amen.

This is the opening prayer offered by Rabbi Joseph Silverman for “the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of the Jews in the United States, 1655-1905,” at Carnegie Hall, New York City, Thanksgiving Day, 30 November 1905. The prayer was published in the 14th issue of the Publications Of The American Jewish Historical Society (1906) and in a book The two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of the Jews in the United States, 1655-1905, also published that same year by the AJHS.

On 22 August 22 1654, Jacob Barsimson arrived in New Amsterdam after having left the Netherlands on July 8. Barsimson had been sent out by the Jewish leaders of Amsterdam, Dutch Republic to determine the possibilities of an extensive Jewish immigration to New Amsterdam. He is the first known Jewish immigrant to America. Jewish settlement in New Amsterdam began in September 1654.

In September 1654, 23 Jews arrived in New Amsterdam aboard the St Cathrien. The Jews had come from Recife in Northeast Brazil, where they lived under Dutch rule. The Portuguese captured Recife from the Dutch and expelled the Jews. When the Jews arrived the captain of the ship sued them for the money to pay for their passage. The local court sold their belonging and imprisoned two of the party.
Peter Stuyvesant the governor of the colony was not happy to receive the Jews. He described the Jews as “deceitful” and very “repugnant”. Stuyvesant asked permission from the Dutch East India Company, who the colony belonged to remove the Jews from the settlement. The board, which included several Jewish investors, refused and instructed the governor to allow the new Jewish settlers to remain in New Amsterdam.
The 23 Jews who arrived were not the first Jews to arrive in North America, but [this is] the first record we have of a group of men women and children arriving to make it their permanent home.

Source(s)

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“Opening prayer at the 250th Anniversary of Jewish Settlement in the United States — by Rabbi Joseph Silverman (1905)” 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.)

Joseph Silverman

Rabbi Joseph Silverman (1860 – 1930), born in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a prominent Reform movement rabbi and author in the United States. He attended the University of Cincinnati and received a Doctor of Divinity from the Hebrew Union College in 1887, from which he received his rabbinic ordination three years earlier. He was Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, Dallas, Texas, September 1884 to June 1885; rabbi of Congregation B'nai Israel, Galveston, Texas July, 1885 to February 20, 1888. While in Texas he was a circuit preacher to the Jewish communities in the vicinity of Dallas and Galveston, and aided in organizing many Sabbath schools and congregations. At the beginning of 1888, Silverman received an offer from Temple Emanu-El in New York City to serve as a rabbi of the leading Reform congregation in America. Silverman started at Temple Emanu-El on March 1, 1888, succeeding rabbi Gustav Gottheil. He was the first American born rabbi to serve in New York City. During the years of his career in New York, 1888-1922 he was also president (1900–1903) of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Eastern Council 1918- and was founder and president of the Emanu-El Brotherhood. He helped organize the Religious Congress of the World's Fair in Chicago, 1893, where his address on this occasion was titled, "The Popular Errors About the Jews." Silverman published many articles and books, including A Catechism on Judaism (1886) and The Renaissance of Judaism (1918). He was consulting editor of the Jewish Encyclopedia (Funk & Wagnalls). An article from The New York Times on April 21, 1912, quoted Silverman at a memorial service for victims of the RMS Titanic disaster as saying "Not God was responsible for this great disaster but the imperfection of human knowledge and judgment."

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Works of related interest:

Medal commemorating the 250th Anniversary of Jewish Settlement in the United States (Isidore Konti, 1905)

Prayer for a Thanksgiving Day Shabbat Service in Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of Jewish Settlement in the United States (1905)

James A. Garfield Republican candidate for president - Chester A. Arthur Republican candidate for vice president / Vic Arnold

Prayer for the United States on Thanksgiving Day after the Assassination of President James A. Garfield, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (24 November 1881)

Thanksgiving Day [1851] (Sabato Morais Ledger, p. 2, clipping 001)

Prayer for the United States on Thanksgiving Day, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (27 November 1851)

Thanksgiving Day Prayer [1866-11-29] (Sabato Morais Ledger, p. 25, clipping 031)

Prayer for the United States on Thanksgiving Day, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (29 November 1866)

Prayer for the United States on Thanksgiving Day, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (27 November 1868)

Prayer for the United States on Thanksgiving Day, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (24 November 1870)

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Prayer for the United States on Thanksgiving Day, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (25 November 1852)

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Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=57163

Associated Image:

Manischewitz matza box cover issued in honor of the Tercentenary depicting 1654 arrival of 23 souls big and little to New Amsterdam. (unknown artist, 1954) in the collection of the American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, Mass. and New York, N.Y., American Jewish Tercentenary Celebration Collection, I – 11 : Series IV, Box 7, Folder 5

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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