הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | Prayer for the Government of the United States of America, presented by Gershom Seixas on Thanksgiving Day 1789

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Gershom Mendes Seixas

Shared on:

27 November 2018 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

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

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הנותן תשועה haNotén Teshuah, American Jewry of the United States, United States, 56th century A.M., 18th Century C.E., K.K. Shearith Israel, American War of Independence, George Washington

This “Prayer for the Government, etc. etc.” by K.K. Shearith Israel can be found in A Religious Discourse Delivered in the Synagogue in this City, on Thursday the 26th November, 1789. Agreeable to the Proclamation of the President of the United States of America, to be Observed as a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer. By the Reverend Mr. Gershom Seixas. The pamphlet explains that the special service was, “performed in the synagogue…conformable to a recommendation of Congress, passed the 3rd October last, to be observed as a day of public Thanksgiving and Prayer.” (Thank you to Robert Kaiser for bringing our attention to this pamphlet.) The Thanksgiving Proclamation of President George Washington to which this Prayer for the Government was adapted in response, was declared as follows:

Thanksgiving Proclamation
[New York, 3 October 1789]
By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions—to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually—to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed—to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord—To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us—and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

The order of services included the recitation of special psalms for the day. The order of the service, which must have also included Shaḥarit, is listed as follows:

Psalms 95:1-3
The entirety of Psalms 30, Psalms 33, Psalms 46, Psalms 54, and Psalms 121
The “Discourse” (i.e., the sermon)
Psalms 124
A Prayer for the Rulers of the United States, etc. (i.e. the Prayer for the Government)
A Prayer for the Congregation, etc. (not included in the pamphlet)
Psalms 116, Psalms 117, Psalms 118, Psalms 138, and Psalms 67
“The conclusion of a Festival Morning Service, from Kol Israel to the end of Adon Olam.”
A Prayer, by the Ḥazzan.

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Partial Reconstructed Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
הַנּוֺתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה לַמְּלָכִים וּמֶמְשָׁלָה לַנְּסִיכִים מַלְכוּתְךָ וּמֶמְשֶׁלְתְּךָ כָּל־עוֹלָמִים הַפּוֹצֶה אֶת דָּוִד עַבְדּוֹ מֵחֶרֶב רָעָה הַנּוֹתֵן בַּיַם דֶרֶךְ וּבְמַיִם עַזִּים נְתִיבָה	May he that dispenseth salvation unto Kings, and dominion unto princes; whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; that delivered his servant David from the destructive sword;^[1] Find 1 Chronicles 21:15. that maketh a way in the sea,^[2] i.e., for the Israelites through the Sea of Reeds. and a path through the mighty waters:^[3] again, for the Israelites, through the River Jordan.
הוּא יְבָרֵךְ וְיִשְׁמוֺר וְיַעֲזוֺר וִיגַדֵּל וִינַשֵּׂא לְמַֽעְלָה לְמַֽעְלָה	Bless, preserve, guard, assist, and supremely exalt to the highest degree, the President and Vice-President of the Union, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America; the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the People of this State represented in Senate and Assembly, with the Judges and Magistrates of this city; and all Kings and Potentates in alliance with these States.
הַמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְלָכִים בְּרַחֲמָיו יִשְׁמְרֶהוּ וִיחַיֵיהוּ וּמִכָּל צָרָה וָנֶזֶק יַצִילֵהוּ׃	May the Supreme King of Kings, through his infinite mercies, preserve them, and grant them life, and deliver them from all manner of trouble and danger. May he fix and establish them in their several departments in peace and tranquility. May the Supreme King of Kings implant among them amity, brotherly love and Peace. Let not their lips speak evil, nor their tongues utter deceit.^[4] Cf. Job 27:4
	May the Supreme King of Kings, through his infinite mercies, impart his divine wisdom to the Rulers of these States; and grant them a spirit of just counsel, so that they may be enabled to support their determinations with wisdom and judgment; and may peace ever subsist between them and the Kings and Potentates in alliance with them; and establish to them a covenant of peace until time shall be no more, so that nation shall not lift up their sword against nation, neither shall they make war any more.^[5] Cf. Isaiah 2:4, Micah 4:3 Amen.
	Grant it thus, O Lord! for the sake of thy great and ineffable name and for the sake of thy people, and thine inheritance, who offereth up their supplications to thee whose seat is in heaven, invoking thee to hasten and let thy tender mercies anticipate our prayers, for we are greatly deficient and undeserving; incline thine ear and hearken, and do not despise our unworthiness nor our cry unto thee.
	We beseech thee, O most gracious father and merciful King, to whom peace pertaineth, that thou wilt long cause us to enjoy a firm peace and tranquility; and as thou hast been pleased to establish us in peace, to spread over us thy tabernacle of peace everlasting,^[6] from the Arvit (evening) Shabbat prayer השכיבנו (Hashkivenu) and speedily effectuate, that among us may be heard “the voice of him who bringeth glad tidings,”^[7] Isaiah 52:7. announcing that “the redeemer cometh to Zion.”^[8] Isaiah 59:20. So be it thy will, and we will say Amen.

Transcription, annotation, and partial Hebrew reconstruction of the Hebrew from which the English was derived was made by Aharon Varady from A Religious Discource Delivered in the Synagogue in this City by Gershom Seixas (Ḳ.Ḳ. Shearith Israel, 1789).

Source(s)

George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Day Proclamation

Notes[+]

Notes
1	Find 1 Chronicles 21:15.
2	i.e., for the Israelites through the Sea of Reeds.
3	again, for the Israelites, through the River Jordan.
4	Cf. Job 27:4
5	Cf. Isaiah 2:4, Micah 4:3
6	from the Arvit (evening) Shabbat prayer השכיבנו (Hashkivenu)
7	Isaiah 52:7.
8	Isaiah 59:20.

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“הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | Prayer for the Government of the United States of America, presented by Gershom Seixas on Thanksgiving Day 1789” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

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.)

Gershom Mendes Seixas

Gershom Mendes Seixas (1745–1816) led the Sepharadi Congregation Shearith Israel in New York from 1768 to 1776 and again from 1784 to 1816. Although not an ordained Rabbi, he served as Ḥazzan and was among the first Jewish communal leaders who was born and educated in the United States. He was also the first American Jewish synagogue leader to give a d'var torah (sermon) in English. Seixas was an ardent patriot during the American Revolution. He moved the congregation to Philadelphia's Congregation Mikveh Israel and was the Ḥazzan there for the duration of the war. In 1783, he successfully sought revisions in a constitutional clause newly adopted by the Pennsylvania State Legislature, which required a religious examination for seekers of public office. Seixas was one of the fourteen recognized ministers in New York in 1789 who participated in George Washington's first inauguration at Federal Hall in New York City. He delivered the first Thanksgiving address in an American synagogue following the adoption of the United States Constitution. (via his article in wikipedia)

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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