“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. It was likely authored by either Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz or Rabbi Dayan Mark Gollop. If you know for certain, please leave a comment or contact us. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

“Prayer for Military Personnel on Active Service (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1940)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Joseph Herman Hertz

Joseph Herman Hertz (25 September 1872 – 14 January 1946) was a Jewish Hungarian-born rabbi and biblical scholar. He is most notable for holding the position of Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1913 until his death in 1946, in a period encompassing both world wars and the Holocaust. Hertz edited a notable commentary on the Torah (1929–36, one volume edition 1937). Popularly known as the Hertz Chumash, this classic Hebrew-English edition of the Five Books of Moses, with corresponding Haftorahs, is used in synagogues and classrooms throughout the English-speaking world. He also edited a Hebrew-English edition of the Jewish Prayer Book or Siddur (1946), and contributed to the Jewish Encyclopedia and the Encyclopædia Britannica.

Mark Gollop

Rabbi Dayan Mark Gollop (d. 1950) was the Senior Jewish Chaplain to H. M. Forces in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Dayan Gollop was born in Russia and came to England at the age of 13. After attending the Beth Hamedrash for Rabbinical studies he was appointed, in his 18th year, a member of the teaching staff of the Great Garden Street Talmud Torah, a post he resigned on entering Jews’ College and University College, London. From 1906 until 1913 he devoted himself to several social, educational, and Zionist movements in the London. He was one of the founders of the Jewish National Institute, conducting a Talmudic Circle there for some time; founded the Young Hebrew Association, and took a leading part in the study circles of this organisation and of the London University Zionist Society; was on the committee of the Union of Talmud Torah Teachers; and was Hon. Financial and Joint Secretary of the Association of East London Zionists. In 1913 came an appointment—as minister to the Southend and Westcliff Congregation, and during the 1914-18 war the young minister was a Chaplain to the Forces, serving in Salonika, Palestine, Egypt and Greece. He was the only Jewish Chaplain with the British Salonika Forces and was Mentioned in Dispatches as a result of his work in this war zone. He was appointed senior Jewish Chaplain in 1926 and was also appointed by the Army Council to serve on the Inter-Denominational Advisory Committee on Chaplaincy services at the War Office. In 1921 Reverend Gollop was chosen by the Bayswater Synagogue to succeed Rabbi Sir Hermann Gollancz as minister. He gained his Rabbinical Diploma in 1924 and in 1929 was appointed as assistant Dayan on the London Beth Din. The following year he succeeded the Rev. A.A. Green as Rabbi of the Hampstead Synagogue. Dayan Gollop’s duties as Senior Chaplain became more arduous with the outbreak of the Second world War. After a visit to France early in 1940 he arranged for the appointment of Jewish chaplains for the British Expeditionary Force and later for troops in other war zones. He edited the new edition of the Prayer book for Jewish Members of H.M. Forces. His health broke down in October, 1943 and early in the following year he resigned from all his duties both as minister and senior Jewish Chaplain. He died in August 1950. (via Jeffrey Maynard's Jewish Miscellanies)

Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth

The Office of the Chief Rabbi is the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth and is the senior rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations. The present incumbent is Ephraim Mirvis who leads the Office of the Chief Rabbi (OCR).

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.)

Works of related interest:

 

Prayer for Sailors and Soldiers on Active Service, by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1914)

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

Kavvanah before eating or drinking on Yom Kippur for military personnel on active service (IDF 2017)

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

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)

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

📖 Prayers for Trench and Base, by Lt. Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1918)

prev next