Prayer for the Recovery of President James A. Garfield in the merit of the Founding Fathers, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (before 19 September 1881)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Sabato Morais

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2 December 2023 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

United States of America

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Assassination of James A. Garfield, 19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, assassination, Prayers for leaders, Prayers after an attempted assassination, James A. Garfield

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Gracious God! With hearts fluttering between hope and fear we raise our eyes heavenward. Thou alone canst dispel our apprehensions and confirm our abiding trust in Thy miraculous power.
	Through Thy will the mind which was wont to conceive wise thoughts can be restored to its former brightness and devise and carry out plans honorable to this nation and blissful to the dwellers of the earth.
	At Thy bidding the heart that throbbed with tender sentiments will regain its habitual state and joy in its affections.
	By Thy decree the body which moral purity had kept in its natural vigor will rise again in its comely form.
	We long to raise a thanksgiving unto Thee, O Celestial Physician! a praise which will resound from ocean to ocean. It will be the grateful offering of fifty millions of Thy creatures whose Chief Thou shalt have clothed with new flesh, with a buoyant spirit, and shalt have given him back in perfect health to his family and to his country.
	Oh! let the merits of the fathers of the Republic propitiate Thy favor. Because of Washington,^[1] The 1st President of the United States, George Washington (1732-1799), served from 1789-1797. the valiant and the righteous; because of Jefferson,^[2] The 3rd President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) served from 1801-1809. of Adams,^[3] The 2nd President of the United States, John Adams (1735-1826) served from 1797-1801. and of Franklin^[4] Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) served multiple roles after the foundation of the United States including as its first postmaster general and as the 6th president of Pennsylvania. — the early guardians of American liberties— who proved to be men of sterling qualities men of truth who hated bribe, deign to rescue their noble follower and successor from imminent peril.
	Release thy servant, James Abram Garfield, from the tight grasp of the destroyer. May he feel the effects of Thy marvelous power and with the Psalmist exclaim: “Blessed be God who hath not turned away my prayer nor His mercy from me.” (Psalms 66:20) Amen.

This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais during the lingering death of President James Garfield is recorded in an undated and unsourced newspaper clipping, “A Petition in the Synagogue. Rabbi Morais’ Fervent Petition Before the Mickve Israel Congregation” preserved on page 237 of the Sabato Morais Ledger. If you know the origin or date of this clipping, please leave a comment or contact us. The prayer is unique in appealing in the merit of four of the Founding Fathers of the United States (the first three presidents: George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, along with Benjamin Franklin).

Source(s)

Prayer during the lingering demise of Garfield [1881] (Sabato Morais Ledger, p. 237)

Notes[+]

Notes
1	The 1st President of the United States, George Washington (1732-1799), served from 1789-1797.
2	The 3rd President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) served from 1801-1809.
3	The 2nd President of the United States, John Adams (1735-1826) served from 1797-1801.
4	Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) served multiple roles after the foundation of the United States including as its first postmaster general and as the 6th president of Pennsylvania.

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“Prayer for the Recovery of President James A. Garfield in the merit of the Founding Fathers, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (before 19 September 1881)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/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.)

Sabato Morais

Rabbi Sabato Morais (שבתאי מוראיס; April 13, 1823 – November 11, 1897) was an Italian-American rabbi, leader of Mikveh Israel Synagogue in Philadelphia, pioneer of Italian Jewish Studies in America, and in 1886, co-founder (with Henry Pereira Mendes) of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America to preserve the knowledge and practice of traditional, historical rabbinic Judaism in the United States.

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Death of General James A. Garfield: Twentieth President of the United States (Currier & Ives)

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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