תְּפִלָּה בְּעַד שְׁלוֹם הַמְּדִינָה | Prayer for the Wellbeing of the United States of America and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, by Rabbi Yosef Yitsḥaq Schneersohn (12 September 1941)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Aharon N. Varady (translation) and Yosef Yitsḥaq Schneersohn

Shared on:

9 April 2026 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

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Tags:

20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., anti-fascist, anti-racist, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, חבּ״ד ḤaBaD Lubavitch, Prayers for leaders, World War Ⅱ

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
לאמרה בראש השנה וביום הכפורים אחר קריאת התורה בכל בתי הכנסת בארצות הברית של צפון אמריקה	To be recited on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur after the Torah reading in all synagogues in the United States of North America.
אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ הָאֵל הַגָּדוֹל הַגִּבּוֹר וְהַנּוֹרָא, אָנָּא הָשֵׁב בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים סֵדֶר עוֹלָם עַל מְכוֹנוֹ תַּחַת מַלְכוּת וְשָׂרִים אֲשֶׁר יִמְלְכוּ לְצֶדֶק וּלְישָר מִבְּלִי הָבְדֵּל בֵּין עַם לְעַם וּבֵין גֶּזַע לְגֶזַע.	Our God and God of our forefathers, God, great, mighty, and awesome, In your abundant mercy, please restore the order of the world to its proper place, under a kingdom and rulers who will reign with justice and righteousness, without distinction between one people and another, or between one racial group and another.
אָנָּא אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן, הֱיֵה־נָא עִם רוּם הוֹד נְשִיאֵנוּ הַדָּגוּל מַרְבָבָה פְרֶנְקְלִין דֶּלַנָא רוּזְוֶלְטְ, אֲשֶׁר בָּחַרְתָּ בּוֹ לִהְיוֹת מְנַהֵל מְדִינַת אַרְצוֹת הַבְּרִית.	Please, God, merciful and gracious, please be with our illustrious and highly esteemed President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whom you have chosen to be the leader of the government of the United States.
חַזְּקוֹ וְאַמְּצוֹ וְאֶת כְּבוֹד שָׂרָיו יוֹעֲצֵי הַמַּלְכוּת, וּכְבוֹד בָּאֵי כֹחַ הָאֶזְרָחִים בְּבָתֵּי הַמּוֹעֲצוֹת וְהַמְחוֹקְקִים, וּבָרֵךְ אֶת פָּעֳלָם לְהַצִּיל מְדִינָה זוֹ וְהַסְּמוּכוֹת אֵלֶיהָ מִמִּלְחָמָה וְהֶרֶס, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם,	Strengthen and uphold the honor of his ministers and advisors, and the honor of the representatives in the Houses of Congress and [the Justices] in the Judiciary and bless their efforts to save this country and its dependencies from war and destruction, ḥas v’shalom.
וּבְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִפְנוּ לְטוֹבַת הָאֱנוֹשִׁיּוֹת, לְטוֹבַת מְדִינָה זוֹ וּלְטוֹבַת עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל, הִנֵּה מַלְאֲכֵי בְרָכָה וְהַצְלָחָה יִקַדְּמוּ פְנֵיהֶם, וּבִימֵיהֶם וּבְיָמֵינוּ תִּכְלָה הַמִּלְחָמָה וְקִלְלוֹתֶיהָ וְתָחֵל תְּקוּפַת שָׁלוֹם וְיֹשֶׁר וּבִרְכוֹתֶיהָ.	And in all that they do for the good of humanity, for the good of this nation, and for the good of your people Israel, behold, angels of blessing and success will go before them, and in their days and in our days the war and its curses will come to an end, and an era of peace, righteousness, and its blessings will begin.
אָנָּא אֱלֹהֵי הָרַחֲמִים! כְּתוֹב וַחֲתוֹם אֶת הוֹד רוּם נְשִׂיאֵנוּ פְרֶנְקְלִין דֶּלַנָא רוּזְוֶלְטְ, אֶת שָׂרָיו, יוֹעֲצָיו וְאֶת אֶזְרְחֵי מְדִינָה זוֹ וְאֶזְרְחֵי מְדִינוֹת הַקְּרוֹבוֹת וְהָרְחוֹקוֹת הַלּוֹחֲמִים וּמְגִנִּים בְּעַד הַיֹּשֶׁר וְהַצֶּדֶק לְשָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְבֹרֶכֶת בְּרֹב אֹשֶׁר וְהַצְלָחֲה, אָמֵן וְאָמֵן.	Please God of mercy! Bless and protect our esteemed President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, his ministers, advisors, and the citizens of this nation and the citizens of nations near and far who fight and defend for righteousness and justice for a good and blessed year, filled with happiness and success, amen and amen.

This is the prayer for the welfare of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the United States offered by the sixth rebbe of ḤaBaD, Yosef Yitsḥaq Schneersohn (“נתקנה ע״י כ״ק אדמו״ר שליט״א מליובאװיטש“), in advance of Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur in 5701 (1941). While disseminated in both Hebrew and English, we only have the text of the prayer in Hebew, thanks to copies of the archival documant and a facsimile published at Chabadpedia and in a 2023 post at ChabadLive. Lacking the original English translation, we have made our own and set it side-by-side with the Hebrew.

Besides being disseminated to ḤaBaD affiliated synagogues, the prayer was also communicated to FDR with an accompanying letter (held in the collection of the FDR Presidential library). Here is the content of the letter in Hebrew (via ChabadLive) set side-by-side with its English translation as transcribed from the original document.

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
ברוך השם, כ׳ אלול תש״א,	By the Grace of G-d, Elul 20, 5701. (Sept. 12, 1941.)
אל רום הוד נשיא ארצות הברית, פראנקלין דעלאנא רוזוועלט, הבית הלבן, װאשינגטאן, ד.ק.	His Excellency, The President of the United States of America, Honorable Franklin Delano Roosevelt, The White House, Washington, D.C.
שלום וברכה,	Peace and Greetings!
בשם חסידי חב״ד – ליובאוויטש – אשר בכל מרחבי תבל, שהנני מורם ומנהיגם, ממלא מקום אבותי נשיאי חב״ד, נשמתם עדן, זה ששה דורות,	In the name of the Chabad-Lubavitz adherents throughout the wide world, whose teacher and spiritual leader I have been destined to be, following in the path of my forefathers, the Heads of Chabad for six generations, and
בשם אגודת חסידי חב״ד דארצות הברית וקאנאדא ואיזה מאות בתי כנסיות בארצות הברית המאגדים כמאה וחמישים אלף חברים חסידי חב״ד אזרחי ודיירי מדינה זו,	In behalf of the Agudas Chasidei Chabad of the United States and Canada, with several hundreds of Congregations in the United States, comprising some 150,000 members, Chabad adheretns, citizens and legal residents of this country,
הנני פונה לרום הודו בהבעת רגשי תודתנו העמוקה בעד כל אשר עשה ועושה בהוה בחיזוק הצדק והיושר במדינתו ובמדינות אחרות, ובהגנה על כל הקדוש והיקר לכל בני אדם הולכי תום.	I wish to convey to your Excellency our profound gratitude for all you have done and are doing in the cause of Justice and righteousness in this land and other lands, and for the protection of all that is sacred and dear to all right thinking human beings.
רבבות אלפי ישראל בכל מרחבי תבל וקצווי ארץ, נוסף על כל היהודים אזרחי מדינה זו, מובטחים בחסדי אל עליון אשר הוד רום כבוד מעלתו אשר הוקם מאת אל עולם למנהל ארצות הברית תחת דגל החופש אהבת איש לרעהו והצדק, הנה בטוהר לבבו ויושר שכלו מכיר הוא במעלת עם ישראל, וחשב מחשבות, ובעזרת השם יתברך גם יגשימם בחיים, להבטיח טובתם של עם ישראל בכל המדינות בגשם וברוח.	Millions of Jews throughout the world, in addition to all Jewish subjects of this land, feel certain that your Excellency who has been invested by the grace of Almighty G-d with the leadership of the United States under the banner of freedom, justice and equality, recognise with the purity and wisdom of your hear, the worthy traits of the People of Israel, and have given thought, which with the help of G-d you will also materialize, to measure lasting benefit, both spiritually and materially, to the people of Israel in all lands.
ואתכבד להסגיר בזה נוסח תפילה אשר ערכתי לימי ראש השנה ויום הכיפורים, ימי דין ומשפט לאלוקי האלוקים את כל באי עולם, אשר יתפללו תפילה זו בבתי כנסיות עמנו בימים הקדושים האלו, להצלחת ואושר מדינה זו, לנצחון היושר והאמת בכל המדינות ואשר יברך ד’ האלוקים את הוד רום כבוד מעלתו באורך ימים ושנים טובות וינהל נתיניו בצדק במישור ובשלום.	I have the honor of enclosing herewith the text of the special Prayer which I have composed for Rosh Hashana (New Year) and Yom Hakipurim (Day of Atonement), the Days of Judgement when the Lord of the Universe takes to account all human beings; this Prayer to be recited in all the Synagogues throughout the land where our people shall congregate during these Solemn Days, a prayer for the success and welfare of this land, for the triump of justice and truth in all lands and that the Almighty bless your Excellency with long life and many happy years, that you may lead your subjects in the path of justice, equity and peace.
בכבוד רב ובברכה, יוסף יצחק שניאורסאהן	With heartfely blessings, Respectfully yours, Rabbi J. Schneersohn

Source(s)

Letter from I. Schneersohn of Lubawitz to FDR (12 September 1941)

Prayer for the Welfare of the President and Country – Yosef Yitshaq Schneersohn to FDR (12 September 1941)

Prayer for the Welfare of the President and Country – Yosef Yitshaq Schneersohn to FDR (12 September 1941) – facsimile

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.)

Aharon N. Varady (translation)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer translator for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his translations, 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 transcribes prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes for the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Yosef Yitsḥaq Schneersohn

Yosef Yitzchak (Joseph Isaac) Schneersohn (יוסף יצחק שניאורסאהן; 1880–1950), born in Lyubavichi, Mogilev Governorate, Russian Empire, was the sixth Rebbe of the ḤaBaD Lubavitch movement of Ḥasidim. After many years of fighting to keep rabbinic Judaism alive from within the Soviet Union, he was forced to leave. He continued to conduct the struggle from Latvia, and then Poland. At the outset of the Holocaust he fled with his family to the United States, where he spent the last ten years of his life in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn in New York City.

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=67124

Associated Image:

Yosef Yitshaq Schneersohn at the home of R’ Nissan Waxman in Lakewood, New Jersey (1940)

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו׃ (תהלים צ:יז) · "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)