Prayer for the United States after the Civil War, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (8 December 1865)

Contributor(s):

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

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18 August 2022 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories:

War, United States of America

Tags:

Slaveholders' Rebellion (1861-1865), Ḳ.Ḳ. Miḳveh Israel (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), capital punishment, 19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Philadelphia, English vernacular prayer

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Merciful Creator! How dreary the vastness of the universe would appear to us without the light Thou sheddest upon it. How soon, at the hiding of Thy countenance, would all that charms our vision wither and all flesh decay; but Thou art beneficent, and carest for the beings to whom Thou hast given existence. For their sake Thou daily renewest Thy work, and, so wisely directest it, that it transcends not the limits Thou hast assigned thereto.
	The refulgent luminaries and the dew-drop equally benefit the earth and its inhabitants. The surging billows and the piercing wind influence alike the abode of man. Therefore have the creatures of Thy love come before Thee for thanksgiving; for under Thy paternal guidance was this country gladdened with exuberance of food. Thou didst cover us under Thy protecting wings, and at thy rebuke pestilence hied away. Thus providentially shielded, we found energy to apply the mind to high callings. The vast fields of science were tended, and they rewarded human endeavors. General knowledge was diffused, and the institutions of public education received adequate support.
	Thou hast also, O God! vouchsafed to bless the precious inheritance of our fathers. Thou hast enlarged, strengthened and greatly enhanced its value in the eyes of the world. Oh, may we every revolving year exult over the attainment of the same blessings; over the health and plenty we enjoyed; over the freedom granted to all men of North America, and over the peace of the Union.
	And now we beseech Thee, O Lord! to inspire us with brotherly love, that we may be drawn together into one indissoluble bond. Uphold the counsel of our rulers, that it may be directed to the work of human civilization. Endow our Chief Executive with wisdom to frustrate the schemes of evil doers, and with capacity to fulfill the longings of the good. And may the boon of civil and religious liberty hasten the day when Thou shalt be acknowledged the only King and Lord in heaven and upon earth. Amen.

This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais was offered (possibly for Thanksgiving Day) in conclusion to a sermon delivered at some point prior to its printing in The Philadelphia Inquirer on 8 December 1865. It was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (page 24, clipping 030), an archive of newsclippings recording material he contributed to the press, among other announcements. (Many thanks to the Library of the University of Pennsylvania for helping to make this resource accessible.) Above the clipping, Rabbi Sabato has written, “Andrew Johnson proved anything but a worthy successor to the sainted Abraham Lincoln.”

Source(s)

Prayer [1865-12-08] (Sabato Morais Ledger, p. 24, clipping 030) – a

Prayer [1865-12-08] (Sabato Morais Ledger, p. 24, clipping 030) – b

. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike . 4.0 . International .

“Prayer for the United States after the Civil War, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (8 December 1865)” 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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Prayer for the United States on a Civic Fast Day to avert Civil War, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (26 September 1861)

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Prayer after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by Rabbi Sabato Morais (18 April 1865)

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Prayer [1865-12-08] (Sabato Morais Ledger, p. 24, clipping 030) – a

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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