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🖖︎ Prayers & Praxes // 🌍︎ Collective Welfare // Congregation & Community 📁 Congregation & Community
Contributor(s): This prayer for rabbis, cantors, educators, and other congregational workers was offered by Rabbi Menachem Creditor and shared by the author through the Open Siddur Project discussion group on Facebook, 20 October 2023. . . . A prayer for a country poised between demise and rebirth, by Rabbi Daniel Raphael Silverstein (Applied Jewish Spirituality 2023) Contributor(s): Written on 6 Nisan 5783, 27 March 2023 (after nightfall), in response to the Israeli people’s spontaneous demonstrations against the government’s attempts to amass virtually unchecked power. . . . תְּפִלָּה עַל הָעַרְבוּת בְּעַד כׇּל יוֹשְׁבֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל | Prayer on Erev Shabbat for the Sake of All Residents of Israel, by Rebbitsen Hadassah Froman & Rabbah Tamar Elad-Appelbaum (2023) Contributor(s): A prayer for peace amidst civil disagreement, difference, and strife before the lighting of Shabbat candles on Erev Shabbat. . . . Contributor(s): A global and inclusive prayer for the well-being of the diverse congregation of the people of Yisrael. . . . תפילה לשלום התפוצה היהודית | A Prayer for the Welfare of Diaspora Jewry, by Rabbi Amitai Fraiman (2018) Contributor(s): We have a prayer for the State of Israel, its army, government etc. but we do not have a non-judgmental, non-aliyah focused prayer for the welfare of Diaspora Jewry. This prayer offers a remedy for this absence. . . . Contributor(s): Garlic is typically the last crop planted on a farm, it is planted in the fall and harvested the following summer. So you are leaving a legacy for next years farmers (which might be you). We begin by separating the garlic bulbs from the cloves, similar to separating people from their community. Then, once the individual (garlic cloves) are planted, they form new communities in the ground. Similar to the process that we are all going through. Leaving our community here on the farm and going out into the world to create new communities. . . . Contributor(s): “Meeting Invocation” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 75, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . . Contributor(s): “Benediction for Charity Meeting” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 74, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . . Contributor(s): “Invocation for Temple Meeting” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 69, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . . Contributor(s): “Invocation for United Jewish Appeal” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 70, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . . Contributor(s): “Installation Prayer” by Rabbi Wolf Gunther Plaut was first published in Rabbi Morrison David Bial’s anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 51, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . . Contributor(s): This undated prayer offered at one of the World Union of Progressive Judaism Conferences by the Hon. Lily H. Montagu (1873-1963) from the archives of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London, was published in, Lily Montagu: Sermons, Addresses, Letters, and Prayers (ed. Ellen M. Umansky, 1985), p. 355. . . . Contributor(s): “Temple Anniversary Prayer” by Rabbi Roland Gittelsohn was written sometime between 1953 and 1962, likely for Temple Israel (Boston, Massachusetts), where he served from 1953 until 1977. Unfortunately, no more information was provided by Rabbi David Bial in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 52, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . . Prayer on the Anniversary of Brighton & Hove Liberal Synagogue, by Lilian Helen Montagu (27 May 1956) Contributor(s): This “Brighton 21st Anniversary” prayer (27 May 1956) by the Hon. Lily H. Montagu (1873-1963) from the archives of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London, was published in, Lily Montagu: Sermons, Addresses, Letters, and Prayers (ed. Ellen M. Umansky, 1985), pp. 353-354. Brighton & Hove Liberal (now, Progressive) Synagogue, also known as Adat Shalom Verei’ut (Congregation of Peace and Friendship), is a Liberal synagogue in Hove, Sussex, England. It was established in 1935. . . . Contributor(s): This untitled prayer written by Isaac Bashevis Singer on the back of a receipt (dated 1 March 1952) was discovered by David Stromberg in 2014 in the archives at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas, and published online by Tablet (1, 2) with permission of the Susan Schulman Literary Agency. . . . Contributor(s): A prayer on behalf of one’s congregation and the worldwide community of Israelites. . . . A Prayer at the Installation of Congregation Officers for the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center, by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak (ca. 1924) Contributor(s): “Installation of Congregation Officers” was written by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak sometime before 1924 when the congregation celebrated the breaking of ground in the construction of the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center. The prayer was first published in Rabbi Bosniak’s לקוטי תפלות Liḳutei Tefilot: Pulpit and Public Prayers (1927), pp. 115-116. . . . Contributor(s): This is an untitled prayer offered in the Evening Service for the Sabbath from the Union Prayer Book Newly Revised (CCAR 1924), pp. 68-69, as a reading between the Shema and the Amidah. As a prayer for protection it fits as a paraliturgical haskivenu, and in New York City, it makes sense in the context of the terrifying news of mass-murder, rape, and genocide being reported from Ukraine at the time. (Find Nokhem Shtif’s “פּאָגראָמען אין אוקראַיִנע : די צײַט פֿון דער פֿרײַװיליקער אַרמײ (The Pogroms in Ukraine: the Period of the Volunteer Army)” (1923) offered in Yiddish and in English translation at In Geveb.) The Ukrainian context of this prayer is further underscored in that the prayer is not found in the 1918 revised Union Prayer Book, but in the later 1924 edition. It may have been unique to Congregation Emanu-El in New York City, who compiled this version of the Union Prayer Book for radio listeners joining their service. . . . Contributor(s): This prayer for “The Ninth of Ab” by Rabbi Abraham Cronbach is found in his, Prayers of the Jewish Advance (1924), on pages 60-65. . . . Contributor(s): Titled, “The Decline of Religious Observance,” this prayer from Rabbi Abraham Cronbach open’s his collection of prayer, Prayers of the Jewish Advance (1924), on pages 2 through 5. . . . Be it ours to shed sunshine — a selection from “A Free Man’s Religious Worship” by Bertrand Russell (1910) Contributor(s): The well known philosopher Bertrand Russell had little use for organized religion and in general was quite skeptical in his religious beliefs. I am not a regular reader of Russell but apparently Mordecai Kaplan read him from time to time. In the early 1940s he came across a short essay which Russell wrote many years before entitled “A Free Man’s Religious Worship” (1910). Kaplan mentions the essay a number of times in the diary and I am struck by the fact that Kaplan quotes and focuses on what he considers to be some positive statements in this essay. As a consequence I have been reading Russell and here offer some inspiring statements from this essay. I have taken the liberty of selecting my own statements from this essay. Russell is referring here to all our fellow human beings and our obligations to all others. It is obvious that in true reconstructionist fashion we could use these statements as a prayer. To pray from Russell would be an inspiration from Kaplan. . . . Contributor(s): This prayer for the wellbeing of the Jewish people first appears in A Selection of Prayers, Psalms, and Other Scriptural Passages, and Hymns for Use at the Services of the Jewish Religious Union (1902), where it is №6 on page 6. (In the revised 1903 edition of the prayerbook, it is №19 on page 19.) . . . Contributor(s): This prayer for communal prayer first appears in A Selection of Prayers, Psalms, and Other Scriptural Passages, and Hymns for Use at the Services of the Jewish Religious Union (1902), where it is №5 on page 6. . . . Contributor(s): A prayer for the government composed by the Central Conference of American Rabbis and included in their Union Prayer Book. . . . Contributor(s): “The Tabernacle” by Rosa Emma Collins née Salaman was published in The Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star vol. 56, p. 688. . . . Prayer for the Centennial of Ḳ.Ḳ. Miḳveh Israel (Philadelphia), by Rabbi Sabato Morais (30 March 1883) Contributor(s): This prayer appears in conclusion to “A Summary of the Centenary History of the Mikve Israel Congregation, by Rev. S. Morais” published in the The Jewish Record on 30 March 1883, a clipping of which is found on page 200in the Sobato Morais Scrapbook (a/k/a, the Morais Ledger). . . . Prayer at the Consecration of the Central Synagogue by chief Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler (7 April 1870) Contributor(s): The prayer at the consecration of the Central Synagogue (in London) offered by the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire, Nathan Marcus Adler, on 7 April 1870. The prayer was reprinted in “A Sermon By the Chief Rabbi,” The Israelite, vol. 117 part 14 (29 April 1870), page 9. . . . Contributor(s): A “mi sheberakh” prayer on behalf of the persons attending the prayer and/or Torah reading service. . . . When Faith Too Young for a Sublimer Creed, a hymn by Penina Moïse for the consecration of her synagogue (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim 1842) Contributor(s): This hymn for the 1842/5601 consecration of Congregation Beth Elohim by Penina Moïse, and was published that year as Hymn 1 in Hymns Written for the Service of the Hebrew Congregation Beth Elohim, South Carolina (Penina Moïse et al., Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, 1842), pp. 5-6. . . . Lord! What is Man That Thou Should’st Take (Psalms 144), a hymn on “Religious Education of Israel’s Youth” by Penina Moïse (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim 1842) Contributor(s): “Lord! what is man, that thou should’st take (Psalm CXLIV),” by Penina Moïse, published in 1842, appears under the subject “Religious Education of Israel’s Youth” as Hymn 19 in Hymns Written for the Service of the Hebrew Congregation Beth Elohim, South Carolina (Penina Moïse et al., Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, 1842), p. 23. . . . Contributor(s): This undated 18th century prayer (before 1756) by an unknown author for “the opening of [a] lodge, etc., and used by Jewish Freemasons” was published in “Old Forms of Lodge Prayers,” The Hebrew Leader (31 December 1889), p. 4. (The Hebrew Leader regularly included news of interest to Jewish member of masonic fraternities.) The provenance of the prayer is offered in the lede: “Appended to a copy of the Constitutions of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of F. and A. Masons, published in 1801, by Bro. D. Longworth, at the Shakespeare Gallery, New York City (kindly loaned to us by R.W. Henry C. Banks), we find a number of forms which at the present day appear unique. These forms are spoken of as having been in use for a long period during the last century; and from them we extract two or three Prayers, one or the other of which it was customary to repeat, according to the religious faith of the members of the lodge’ which had assembled. We give them for the benefit of our readers.” The source for the prayer in its re-printed form is a 1756 work, Ahiman Rezon: or, a help to a brother; shewing the excellency of secrecy, … Together with Solomon’s temple an oratorio, as it was performed for the benefit of free-masons by Laurence Dermott (1756). . . . Contributor(s): The mi sheberakh read for the well-being of Jewish congregations worldwide. . . . Contributor(s): The mi sheberakh read for the well-being of one’s own congregation. . . . Contributor(s): “Aḥeinu” is the final prayer in a set of supplications recited on Mondays and Thursdays as the Torah scroll is being prepared to be returned to the Aron. The prayer is first found with variations in wording in the surviving manuscripts of the Seder Rav Amram Gaon (ca. 9th c.). . . . Contributor(s): Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s translation of Psalms 26 was first published in Psalms in a Translation for Praying (Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Philadelphia: 2014), p. 41. . . .
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Separating Garlic Bulbs at the Adva Reunion, 2015, Isabella Freedman Retreat Center (credit: Steven Wynbrandt, license: CC BY-SA)(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in category pages and in shared links on social media.)
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The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-commercial, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture.
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
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