PREFACE

“Just as a man must ever find new sources of meaning and comprehension in the Torah, so in the Service of the Heart, which is prayer, must a man find new sources of love and devotion every day.” –Rabbi Menaḥem Mendel of Kosov

The traditional prayerbook is the bastion of Jewish living. Through the centuries the Jew would turn to it many times every dav at home and in the synagogue. To the Ḥasid, finding new sources of love and devotion in the Siddur was a labor of joy.

We who are not Ḥasidim still find in our prayerbooks the heart of our Service. Yet in our search for meaning in prayer we would turn from time to time to other books.

The purpose of An Offering of Prayer is to supplement the prayerbooks, to provide prayers on subjects that are not dealt with in traditional material or that reflect more exactly the temper of our day.

The great majority of the prayers included here are of Jewish origin, but I have included some work of non-Jews that seemed in consonance with the spirit of our religion.

To all of those who have allowed me to use their prayers, to all those who aided in the collecting and arranging of this material, or who assisted in its publication, I offer my gratitude.

Especially do I thank the members of Temple Sinai of Summit, whose Tenth Anniversary was the occasion of this publication. It has been a privilege for me to accompany them over the years to this milestone in our religious journey. To them An Offering of Prayer is dedicated.

Morrison David Bial

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title	Author (note)	Page Number
Our Temple’s Prayer	Talmud Bavli Berakhot 12a	1
Preface	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	7
Private Prayer and Meditation		9
A Meditation on Prayer	Rabbi Alvin I. Fine	10
Man Is Here for the Sake of Others (excerpt)	Albert Einstein	11
Prayer — Where Can We Find God?	Rabindranath Tagore (adapted)	12
Meditation	S. Michael Gelber	14
Meditation	S. Michael Gelber	16
For Knowledge and Understanding	Rabbi Louis M. Epstein	18
With All My Strength and Spirit	Judah haLevi (translated by Olga Marx)	19
A Meditation on Man and the World	Jacob Kahan	20
I Must Praise God	Epictetus	21
Prayer — On Seeking for God	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	22
May the Will Come from Thee	Rebbi Nahman of Bratzlav (translated by Jacob Sloan)	23
From a Yemenite Prayer Book	(translated by Herbert Weiner)	24
A Prayer to the Great Spirit	Black Elk	26
Petition for Prayer	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	27
Sabbath Eve (In the Home)	Rabbi Ely E. Pilchik	28
A Song for the Sabbath	Rebbi Aharon haGadol of Karlin (translated by Rabbi Morrison David Bial)	29
Apologia on the Sabbath	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	31
A Mother’s Prayer at the Close of the Sabbath	from the Yiddish (translated by Rabbi Morrison David Bial)	32
Meeting with God	Moses of Evreus (13th century)	33
A Meditation on Charity	various authors	34
A Prayer of Thanks	Rev. A. Powell Davies	35
Teach Us to Be Thankful	Rabbi Louis M. Epstein	36
From the Dead Sea Scrolls, The Psalms of Thanksgiving	(Millar Burroughs)	37
Prayer Before a Journey	Talmud Bavli Berakhot 29b	38
Prayer for One Far from Home	Rabbi David de Sola Pool	39
An Early Greek Prayer	Attributed to Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea (260?-340? CE)	40
On Prayer	Rav Abraham Isaac Kuk	42
The Open Door of the Heart	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	43
A Prayer for the Despondent	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	45
A Prayer for the Ill	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	46
Public Prayer		47
Benediction at the Inauguration of President John F. Kennedy	Rabbi Nelson Glueck	48
Synagogue Consecration Prayer	The Hon. Lily H. Montagu	50
Installation Prayer	Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut	51
Temple Anniversary Prayer	Rabbi Roland Gittelsohn	52
Sabbath Meditation	Rabbi Alvin I. Fine	53
Thou Who Art Spirit	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	54
Interdependence	Dorothy Canfield Fisher	55
We Pause in Reverence	Rev. Jacob Trapp	56
Memorial Prayer (for those lost through human strife)	Rabbi Alexander Goode	57
For the Freedom of Mankind (excerpt)	Stephen Vincent Benet	58
For Peace Among the Nations	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	59
The Music of Humanity	Rev. Jacob Trapp	60
O Holy and Eternal Spirit	Rev. A. Powell Davies	60
Prayer for Music Service	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	61
For Largeness of Spirit	Temple Sinai of Summit Youth Group	62
Learning	Rabbi Ely E. Pilchik	63
A Prayer for Our Teachers	Rabbi Albert G. Baum	64
Invocation for Women’s Group	Rabbi Louis J. Swichkow	65
New Year’s Prayer	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	66
Prayer for Dedication of Hospital Chapel	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	67
Invocation for Temple Meeting	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	69
Invocation for United Jewish Appeal	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	70
Prayer for National Holiday	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	71
Prayer for High School Graduation	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	72
Benediction for Charity Meeting	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	74
Meeting Invocation	Rabbi Morrison David Bial	75
“Do not I fill heaven and earth?” (Liqutei Tefilot I:7 part)	Rebbi Nahman of Bratzlav (translated by Rabbi Morrison David Bial)	76
Childrens Prayers and Meditations		77
Morning Prayer for Children	Moshe ibn Machir and unknown	78
Night Prayer	Psalms 4	78
Children’s Morning Prayer	Dr. Norman Schanin (“Prayers and Holidays for the Student”)	79
Children’s Nighttime Prayer	Dr. Norman Schanin (“Prayers and Holidays for the Student”)	80
It Is Not Enough Only to Pray	Rabbi Daniel L. Davis	81
When Things Go Wrong	Rabbi Daniel L. Davis	82
A Student’s Prayer	Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav (translated by Rabbi Morrison David Bial)	83
The Father and the Mother	Henri Frederic Amiel	84
Analecta of Prayer		85