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Needed Prophets for Our Day, a prayer-poem by Mordecai Kaplan (1942) adapted from “The Divinity School Address” by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1838)

This prayer by Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, first penned in his diary for 23 August 1942, was first published in The Radical American Judaism of Mordecai M. Kaplan, by Mel Scult (1990). Although the prayer was not included in Kaplan’s Sabbath Prayer Book (New York: The Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation, 1945), it was added to the loose-leaf prayerbook he kept at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism synagogue. . . .

📖 As Noites de Hanukah ou Da Festa dos Macabeus, compiled by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto (1943)

A guide and reader for use on the Festival of Ḥanukkah in Portuguese translation, according to Portuguese Jewish custom, prepared by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto under the auspices of the Insituto Teológico Israelita (Yeshiba Rosh-Pinah) in 1943. . . .

[Children’s] Prayer for a Youth Service during World War Ⅱ, by Lilian Helen Montagu (11 April 1942)

This “Special Prayer” for a Youth Service (11 April 1942) 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. 351. April 11th that year would have corresponded to the 24th of Nissan, i.e., a day following Passover 5702. . . .

A Kavvanah on Praying, Singing, and Listening to Torah Readings, by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan (1942)

A prayer on praying, singing, and Torah learning by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan. . . .

הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | Prayer for the Royal Family of King George Ⅵ (1942)

The text of the prayer, haNoten Teshuah, as adapted for King George VI. . . .

The Pious Man, a prayer-poem by Mordecai Kaplan adapted from the essay “An Analysis of Piety” by Abraham Joshua Heschel (1942)

“The Pious Man” is a prayer-poem from Mordecai Kaplan’s diary entry, September 19, 1942, on the virtue of piety as expressed in an essay published earlier that year by Abraham Joshua Heschel. Piety was a Roman virtue, but in this essay, A.J. Heschel appears to be describing an idealization of Ḥasidut. . . .

הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | A Prayer for the Welfare of the Government of Franklin D. Roosevelt during WWII (from A Naye Shas Tkhine Rav Pninim, ca. 1942)

A prayer for the welfare of the government in Yiddish from A Naye Shas Tkhine Rav Pninim (after 1933). . . .

תְּפִילַּת הַנּוֹטֵעַ | Prayer for a Tree Planting in Israel, by Rav Ben-Tsiyon Meir Ḥai Uziel (before 1942)

This is the תפילת הנוטע (Prayer for Planting [trees]) by Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Ḥai Uziel. . . .

📖 Ministering to the Jews in the Armed Forces of the United States: Prayers for the Sick, Military Funeral Service, and Memorial Service (National Jewish Welfare Board 1942)

A pamphlet for for United States military chaplains prepared by Chaplain Aryeh Lev under the direction of Rabbi David de Sola Pool for the Jewish Welfare Board during World War II. compiled for the use of United States personnel in the Armed Services. . . .

📖 סדר תפלות כל השנה (אשכנז)‏ | Seder Tefilot Kol haShanah :: the Authorised Daily Prayer Book of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire, revised edition with commentary by Rabbi Joseph Herman Hertz (1942-1945)

A bilingual Hebrew-English prayerbook for weekdays and shabbat, compiled by Joseph H. (Yosef Tsvi) Hertz, chief rabbi of the British Empire, and published in wartime Britain in 1942, the first of three volumes. . . .

[Children’s] Prayer for Shabbat Teshuvah, by Lilian Helen Montagu (27 September 1941)

This “Prayer for Service” on Shabbat Teshuvah (27 September 1941) 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. 350-351. . . .

Prayer [for Military Personnel] in Temptation (National Jewish Welfare Board 1941)

This “Prayer in Temptation” can be found in the Abridged Prayer Book for the Jews in the Armed Forces of the United States (Jewish Welfare Board 1941), p. 120. As far as we know, this prayer is unique to this prayerbook, although the text recalls the waking prayer “Elohai Neshama.” . . .

💬 The Four Freedoms, as articulated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (6 January 1941)

The four freedoms as articulated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his address before the 77th Congress of the United States. . . .

📖 Birkath ha-Mazon, a birkon compiled by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto (1941)

A birkon containing the Birkat haMazon in Portuguese translation by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto under the auspices of the Insituto Teológico Israelita (Yeshiba Rosh-Pinah) in 1941. . . .

Prayer [of Military Personnel] for Home (National Jewish Welfare Board 1941)

This “Prayer for Home” can be found in the Abridged Prayer Book for the Jews in the Armed Forces of the United States (Jewish Welfare Board 1941), p. 119. . . .

📖 סדר התפילות (מנהג הספרדים)‏ | Seder haTefilot, a bilingual Hebrew-English prayerbook translated and arranged by Rabbi David de Sola Pool (1941)

Rabbi David de Sola Pool’s bilingual Hebrew-English prayerbook for Sepharadi Jews. . . .

📖 Prayer Book [for] New Year and Day of Atonement, Abridged for Jews in the Armed Forces of the United States (National Jewish Welfare Board 1941)

An abridged maḥzor prepared for use of Jewish military personnel serving in the armed forces of the United States in advance of World War II, and printed by the Jewish Publication Society. . . .

📖 Abridged Prayer Book for Jews in the Armed Forces of the United States (National Jewish Welfare Board 1941)

An abridged siddur prepared for use of Jewish military personnel serving in the armed forces of the United States in advance of World War II, and printed by the Jewish Publication Society. . . .

Prayer for the United States of America on the eve of Election Day, ecumenical adaptation by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (4 November 1940)

This prayer for the United States of America was offered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his Radio Campaign Address at Hyde Park, New York on 4 November 1940. The prayer was adapted by Roosevelt from one he referred to it in his speech as “an old prayer.” That prayer was originally offered by Rev. Anson Phelps Stoke, canon of the Washington Cathedral (Washington DC), a guest chaplain before the Senate on 25 April 1932. Roosevelt, or a speech write, adapted the text of the prayer by removing the final line, thereby making the prayer a more inclusive and ecumenical civic prayer. . . .

Prayer for a Service of Intercession [for European Jewry during the Holocaust], by Lilian Helen Montagu (ca. 1940)

This undated “Special prayer for Service of Intercession” 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. 356-357. From the contents, it reads as if it was composed in response to the terrifying news of the tortuous treatment of European Jews during the Holocaust. In 1940, other “intercession” services were offered with comparative prayers; for example, this one by the chief rabbi J.H. Hertz included in the Prayer Book for H.M. Forces. . . .

Prayer of Intercession [for Britain in the War against Nazi Germany], by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1940)

“Prayer for Intercession,” almost certainly written by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz, was published in the Prayer Book of Jewish Members of H.M. Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1940), pp. 18-19. . . .

שִׁיר הַגְאוּלָה (החיינו אל) | Shir ha-Ge’ulah (Song of Redemption, ca. 1940)

This is a vocalized transcription and translation of the World War Ⅱ era song, “Shir haGe’ulah (Song of Redemption)” from the source images shared in A Tribute to Rabbi Mordechai Meir Hakohen Bryski v”g Bryski (Rabbi Mordechai A. Katz, 2017), pp. 19-20. The song is also known by its incipit, “Heḥayyeinu El.” . . .

Prayer Before a Battle (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1940)

“Prayer Before a Battle” appears at the start of Prayer Book of Jewish Members of H.M. Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1940), p. 5. . . .

Prayer on the Declaration of War [against Nazi Germany], by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1940)

This prayer for victory and deliverance in the war against Nazi Germany, simply titled “War Prayer,” appears in the Prayer Book of Jewish Members of H.M. Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1940), pp. 16-17. Sections of the prayer were adapted from the prayer on the declaration of war by Rabbi Hertz in 1914 at the outset of World War I. In the preface to the payer book, Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz specifically mentions this prayer, among others, as having been newly revised for this publication. The initial version of the prayer, likely to have been written by Rabbi Hertz, was published by the Office of the Chief Rabbi for a 17 Tammuz service in July 1938. A revision was disseminated after Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938). This is the third version of the prayer. . . .

Prayer for Military Personnel on Active Service (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1940)

“Prayer for Men on Active Service” is the opening prayer in the Prayer Book of Jewish Members of H.M. Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1940), p. 4. . . .

📖 Hallel, a prayer-pamphlet compiled by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto (1940)

A prayer pamphlet containing a Hallel service in Portuguese translation by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto under the auspices of the Insituto Teológico Israelita (Yeshiba Rosh-Pinah) in 1940. . . .

📖 Oração Antes de Deitar (Prayers before Bedtime), a prayer-pamphlet compiled by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto (1940)

A prayer-pamphlet containing the bedtime prayer service in Portuguese translation by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto under the auspices of the Insituto Teológico Israelita (Yeshiba Rosh-Pinah) in 1940. . . .

דאָנאַ, דאָנאַ | Dona, Dona — a song by Aaron Zeitlin for the Yiddish play Esterke (1940), with Ladino and Aramaic translations by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Originally written by Aaron Zeitlin for the Yiddish play “Esterke” in 1940, ‘Dona Dona’ is a popular song the world over, having been adapted to many languages — often not preserving the original, deeply Jewish context. The gist of the original lyrics, which never state their metaphor outright, is: a calf is bound to a wagon being dragged to the slaughterhouse. It looks up and sees a swallow flying around. The farmer shouts at it, saying “it’s your own fault for being a calf and not a bird!” The implication being: the people telling the Jews it’s our own fault we’re persecuted are the ones driving the wagon. Gentiles will murder Jews, the song implies to us, and then say Jews are to blame because of how murderable our Jewish face is, so maybe we should get a less murderable and more goyish face. But the whole time they’re the one with the knife. Here included is the original Yiddish text (in the Ukrainish theatre dialect), as well as new translations into Ladino and Aramaic. . . .

📖 Orações para a Vespera de Shabbath, compiled by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto (1940)

A Friday night Sabbath evening prayer guide by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto under the auspices of the Insituto Teológico Israelita (Yeshiba Rosh-Pinah) in 1940. . . .

📖 [Abridged] Prayer Book for Jewish Members of His Majesty’s Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1940)

An abridged prayer book for Jewish personnel in the service of the British armed forces in 1940, prepared by the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire, Joseph H. Hertz, based upon the 1917 prayer book offered during the first World War. . . .

הַל״ב מִצְוֺת הַתְלוּיוֹת בַּלֵּב | Thirty-two Mitsvot One Can Do With Consciousness Alone, by Reb Ahrele Roth (trans. Rabbbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi & Hillel Goelman)

A good preparation and a bridge for the next phase of prayer, as you enter into the world of B’riyah,[foot]i.e., the Shaḥarit service beginning with the blessings prededing the Shema[/foot] is Reb Ahrele Roth’s list of Mitsvot One Can Do With Consciousness Alone. Reb Ahrele Roth, a”h, wrote a list of 32 mitsvot whose fulfillment is completed in the brain, the heart and the mouth. (The Hebrew alphabetical equivalent of 32 is ל”ב, the letters of which spell the Hebrew word LEV for Heart.) –Reb Zalman . . .

On the Good of Prayer, an essay by Lilian Helen Montagu (March 1939)

An essay on the praxis of prayer as contained in “Club Letter №3” (March 1939) written by the Hon. Lily H. Montagu (1873-1963) and found in the Private Collection of Hannah Feldman, London. The essay was published in, Lily Montagu: Sermons, Addresses, Letters, and Prayers (ed. Ellen M. Umansky, 1985), pp. 51-54. . . .

Das Gebet Als Äußerung Und Einfühlung | Prayer as Expression and Empathy, by Abraham Joshua Heschel (1939)

Abraham Joshua Heschel’s essay “Das Gebet Als Äußerung Und Einfühlung” published in Monatsschrift Für Geschichte Und Wissenschaft Des Judenthums, vol. 83 (1939). . . .

Prayer for the Success of the Conference on Palestine Convened by His Majesty’s Government (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, 19 February 1939)

A prayer for the success of the London Conference of 1939 which ultimately resulted in the publication of the 1939 White Paper. . . .

הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | Oração Pelos Governantes, translated by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto (1939)

This is the Hanoten Teshua formula of the Prayer for the Wellbeing of the Government as translated by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto in Portuguese on page 34 of his Shabbat morning prayer-pamphlet Oração Matinal de Shabbath (1939). I have set Barros Basto’s Portuguese translation side-by-side with the Hebrew text of Hanoten Teshua (the variation of the prayer corresponding to Barros Basto’s translation). . . .

תפילה לעזרת היהודים תושבי גרמניה | Prayer for German Jewry under Nazi oppression before and after Kristallnacht (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1938)

An untitled prayer on behalf of German Jewry under Nazi oppression disseminated in Bombay, likely after Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938). . . .

מי שברך לשבויים | Mi sheBerakh for the Captives, after Kristallnacht (Hamburg, November 1938)

This is a prayer for captives, written in November 1938 in Hamburg, following Kristallnacht (my translation following the Hebrew). “May each and every one of them return to their family…who are worrying about them.” . . .

גאָט בענטש אַמעריקע | God Bless America, for Armistice Day by Irving Berlin (1918/1938) with Yiddish translation

The words of the prayer for Armistice Day 1938, “God Bless America” by Irving Berlin, in English and Yiddish. . . .

📖 Oração Matinal de Shabbath, compiled by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto (1939)

A Saturday morning Shabbat shaḥarit/Torah reading/musaf prayer guide by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto under the auspices of the Insituto Teológico Israelita (Yeshiba Rosh-Pinah) in 1939. . . .

📖 תפלות ליום כיפור (מנהג הספרדים)‏ | Tefilot l’Yom Kippur, arranged and translated by Rabbi David de Sola Pool (1939)

A bilingual Hebrew-English maḥzor for Yom Kippur in the Sepharadic tradition compiled by David de Sola Pool in 1939. . . .

Gebet für das Vaterland | A Prayer for the Fatherland (Siddur Sephat Emeth, Rödelheim, 1938)

This prayer for the country is found in the Siddur Sephat Emeth, which was published by the venerable Rödelheim publishing house in Frankfurt in 1938. This was probably the last siddur ever published in pre-Holocaust Germany. This prayer is full of pathos and yearning, and in a time of rising government-sponsored antisemitism worldwide it’s worth keeping in mind. . . .

📖 תפלות ושירים | Prayers & Readings, selected and arranged by Rabbi Solomon Goldman (1938)

The experimental siddur, Prayers & Readings Selected and Arranged by Rabbi Solomon Goldman can be found appended to Harry Coopersmith’s songbook, Songs of My People (1938). The work, I believe, is an excellent reflection of the creative spirit of the nascent Reconstructionist movement. Goldman’s prayerbook is both traditional and expansive, seeking to bring into its pages both familiar liturgy along with additional works from all over Jewish literary history. The work represents what Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan would call a “Binder Siddur” — the siddur as a container of inspired works for collective reading and reflection in the synagogue. Perhaps even for personal use. With its good number of authors and translators expressing different voices appealing to Goldman, Prayers & Readings is also a kind of proto-Open Siddur. However, unlike the Open Siddur, Goldman only provides acknowledgement of the various authors and translators in his preface, and we are left uncertain as to which works should actually be attributed to each contributor. If you can tell which of the listed authors and translators contributed what, please leave a comment or contact us. . . .

Ohne dich | Without you, a prayer for Natalie Baeck by Rabbi Dr. Leo Baeck (7 March 1937)

This is Rabbi Dr. Leo Beack’s prayer for his wife Natalie Baeck née Hamburger (1878-1937), dated 7 March 1937. Natalie had died two days prior on 5 March. . . .

📖 תפלות ושירים | Songs of My People, compiled and edited by Harry Coopersmith (1938)

A songster in Hebrew and English with musical notation compiled by Harry Coopersmith. . . .

כׇּל נִדְרֵי | Alternative Kol Nidre from Synagogen-Gemeinde Hannover (1937)

This is the Kol Nidrei as offered by the Hannover Synagogue on Yom Kippur in 1937 according to the text provided in a poster, “Agende für Kol-nidre und Seelenfeier in der Synaogen-Gemeinde Hannover” (10 September 1937). Thank you to David Selis for providing digital images of the poster. . . .

📖 Liberal Jewish Prayer Book vol. Ⅰ: Services for Weekdays, Sabbaths, etc. (Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London 1937)

Liberal Jewish Prayer Book vol. Ⅰ: Services for Weekdays, Sabbaths, etc. (1937) is the revised “new” edition edition of the communal prayerbook of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue (London) first published in 1926. . . .

📖 תפלות לראש השנה (מנהג הספרדים)‏ | Tefilot l’Rosh haShanah, arranged and translated by Rabbi David de Sola Pool (1937)

A bilingual Hebrew-English maḥzor for Rosh haShanah in the Sepharadic tradition compiled by David de Sola Pool in 1937. . . .

תְּפִלָּה בְּעַד שְׁלוֹם הַמַּמְלָכָה | Modlitwa za Rzeczpospolitą | Prayer for the Second Polish Republic, by Mojżesz Schorr (1936)

“Modlitwa za Rzeczpospolitą” by Rabbi Moses Schorr was published in his סדר תפלה Modlitewnik na wszystkie dni w roku oraz modlitwę za Rzeczpospolitą (1936), recto of p. 232. . . .

📖 תפלות ישראל לימי חול (אשכנז)‏ | Tefilot Yisrael Limei Ḥol — Prayers of Israel vol.1: For Weekdays and Special Occasions, a bilingual Hebrew-English prayerbook edited by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak (1937)

A bilingual Hebrew-English prayerbook for weekdays and special occasions, compiled and edited by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak. This volume complements a second for Shabbat and the Shalosh Regalim (festivals). . . .

Prayer for all Jewish Communities in Germany for the Eve of the Day of Atonement, by Rabbi Dr. Leo Baeck (10 October 1935)

This is the prayer which Rabbi Dr. Leo Baeck had disseminated to Jewish communities throughout Germany to recite on Yom Kippur, 10 October 1935. The German text here is as found in the archival notes of Helmut Grünewald, Ein Judenjunge durfte kein Deutscher sein (Bristol, 1998), pp. 20-21 in the collection of the Leo Baeck Institute. The English translation is as published by Dr. Michael Meyer in Rabbi Leo Baeck: Living a Religious Imperative in Troubled Times (2020), pp. 106-107. . . .