[A Prayer for] Our Country [the United States of America], by Otto Irving Wise at the Golden Jubilee of the B’nai B’rith (13 August 1905)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Otto Irving Wise

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4 May 2026 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

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Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Spanish–American War, Slaveholders' Rebellion (1861-1865)

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	To the greatness of the nation we bow our heads in homage; for its continued growth we pray God’s speed.
	May its troth to humanity, religious freedom and civic virtue never be forgotten; its flag never trailed in defeat, as it never will be lowered in dishonor!
	The United States of America, the harbor of the oppressed, the protector of the downtrodden, the emancipator of the enslaved, its mission is not ended. Its mission will not be ended until all humanity be converted to the religion of brotherly love, striving for the mental and moral elevation of mankind, until the slumbering conscience of all nations has been awakened to recognize the godliness of man, until the spirit of freedom and toleration has been breathed into every nation’s life, until peace and fraternity shall reign upon earth, and strife shall be no more then, and then only, will the mission of this nation be ended.
	Our country, the United States of America, sanctified in the blood of free men in 1776, consecrated to the principle of equality and humanity in the fraternal strife of 1861, the blood of its best sons spilled to vindicate that principle on behalf of a downtrodden people in 1898 — our country, may it go on peacefully, that the lessons of its sanctification and consecration shall not have been lost; may its greatness teach eternal righteousness; may it always be the harbinger of peace and goodwill to all the peoples that inhabit the earth!
	Our country — the country of God — God’s chosen country, to carry out His will until time shall be no more. Our country! We say unto it even as it was said unto Joshua: “Be strong and of good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest!” (Joshua 1:9)

This patriotic prayer for the United States by Otto Irving Wise concluded a public address delivered at the Alhambra Theatre, San Francisco, 13 August 1905, at the Golden Jubilee of the B’nai B’rith. The complete address and prayer were published as “Our Country” in the San Francisco Jewish newspaper, Emanu-El (v. 20, n. 16, 25 August 1905), pp. 7-8.

Source(s)

Our Country (Otto Mayer Wise in Emanu-El, 13 August 1905), pp. 7-8

Aharon N. Varady (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.)

Otto Irving Wise

Otto Irving Wise (1871-1919), born in Budapest, Hungary, was a prominent lawyer of San Francisco. He came to America in 1874, the son of Rabbi Dr. Aaron and Sabine Wise. He was a student at the College of the City of New York in 1885-7, and the following two years he studied at the New York University. He was admitted to the bar in New York City, where he practiced for some time before removing to San Francisco. When he was 22 years old he ran for the Assembly in the old Twenty-first New York District, but was defeated by a small majority. For twenty years he practiced law in San Francisco, a member of the firm of Wise & O'Connor. He was Vice President and general counsel of the Western States Life Insurance Company, Pacific Sanitary Manufacturing Company, Pacific Porcelain Ware Company, and member of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Federation of Jewish Charities. He was also a trustee of the Temple of Rodelph Sholem, of this city. His father, Rabbi Dr. Aaron Wise, was rabbi of Temple Rodeph Shalom (New York City). His paternal grandfather, Rabbi Dr. Joseph Wise, was chief Rabbi of Austria and Hungary. His brother was Rabbi Stephen Samuel Wise of the Free Synagogue.

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America Forever postcard (1905)

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו׃ (תהלים צ:יז) · "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)