Prayer for the United States and President Abraham Lincoln, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (15 April 1862)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Sabato Morais

Shared on:

11 July 2022 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Lincoln's Birthday (February 12th), War, United States of America

Tags:

Prayers for leaders, Slaveholders' Rebellion (1861-1865), 19th century C.E., United States, 57th century A.M., Abraham Lincoln, English vernacular prayer

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Author of all good! We implore Thy almighty protection on behalf of the American Republic of the North. Let Thine eyes, which never slumber, be open upon her, that she may not be erased from among the family of nations. Be with her in this struggle for life, that she may survive it, and wax greater and happier.
	Speak to the hearts of her disaffected children, and let them again throb with undying affection.
	Let both the weapon of aggression and that of defense be buried into the bottomless ocean, and cast Thou with it the spirit of acrimony that has sharpened its edge.
	Direct the hands into which the temporal welfare of this people is entrusted. Sustain them that their strength may never flag. Bless the President of the United States: bless him for his sterling honesty. Bless him for his firmness and moderation. Rekindle with joy his domestic heart; pour on him the balm of divine consolation. Grant that the issues of his momentous obligations be a united and prosperous country. Grant that the end of his career be the maintenance of this Government, unimpaired and unsullied as bequeathed by our illustrious ancestors.
	So may it be. Amen.

This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais (1828-1897), of Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, was initially delivered on 15 April 1862 (the first day of Passover) at the conclusion of a sermon later printed in The Philadelphia Inquirer on 23 April 1862. A copy of that sermon was preserved in the Sabato Morais Ledger (p. 22, clip no. 23). (The prayer was also read by President Abraham Lincoln, who sent Rabbi Morais an acknowledgment). The letter was read into the congressional record on 29 February 1944 by Arthur G. Klein (1904-1968, D-NY) after it was brought to light by Moshe Davis at the 44th annual meeting of the American Jewish Historical Society on 12-13 February 1944 (Lincoln’s Birthday).

Source(s)

Page A993 from Appendix to the Congressional Record (29 February 1944)

Page A994 from Appendix to the Congressional Record (29 February 1944)

Prayer on the 1st day of Passover [15 April 1862] (Sabato Morais Ledger p. 22, clip no. 023)

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“Prayer for the United States and President Abraham Lincoln, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (15 April 1862)” is shared by the living contributor(s) 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.)

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.

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=45580

Associated Image:

United States National 34-star flag. “The United States National 34-Star flag was adopted with the admission of Kansas as the 34th state in January 1861. It was used until 1863 when West Virginia became a state. At no time did the national flag lose stars. Since the United States believed that secession from the Union was illegal, the flag continued to bear the stars of all the states of the Union, even the Southern states. Flag makers had several designs for the 34-star flag; this is a later one.”

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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