According to the manuscript this prayer was “Part of the Order of Service observed in the Synagogue Congeregation Shearith Israel, on a day of humiliation, fasting & prayer, recommended by Congress in the year 1776.” The prayer was likely composed and read on Iyyar 28, 5536 (17 May, 1776) by Rabbi Gershom Mendes Seixas.^[2] David de Sola Pool, Tamar de Sola Pool, An Old Faith in the New World: Portrait of Shearith Israel, 1654-1954, Columbia University Press, 1995. p. 170. Also see, Jonathan D. Sarna, Benny Kraut, Samuel K. Joseph, Jews and the founding of the Republic, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Center for the Study of the American Jewish Experience, International Center for University Teaching of Jewish Civilization, M. Wiener Pub., Dec 1, 1985, p.36.   The prayer is found in the Jacques Judah Lyons papers; P-15; 1; 4; 234; American Jewish Historical Society, New York, NY, and Boston, MA. An English translation included with the manuscript was published by the American Jewish Historical Society, in The Lyons Papers, “Items Relating to New York Congregation,” 1913. p. 31. The English translation is adapted with minor changes from that made available in that publication. In a footnote, the American Jewish Historical Society adds, “This was before the Declaration of Independence. During the American Revolution the Congregation disbanded for patriotic reasons and closed the doors of the synagogue rather than continue under British auspices.”

Many thanks to Mississippi Fred MacDowell for introducing me to this historic prayer in an article at his On the Main Line blog. He writes:

Then, as now, war was looked upon by many as a great evil, especially between brothers, and many American Colonists only wanted the oppressive measures of King George III to be lifted, bloodshed ended, and peace restored. The nascent American Congress called for a day of “Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer” along these lines for May 17, 1776. It was for this occasion that this prayer was recited in Congregation Shearith Israel in New York.

As you can see, a complete service was arranged for this occasion, meant to invoke the solemnity and seriousness of the occasion; after morning prayer, Taḥanun was to be sung to the tune of a Yom Kippur pizmon; a dozen Psalms recited, and then the Ḥazan would recite this prayer written for the occasion, and of course all were to be fasting. The prayer hopes for a change of heart for King George III and his advisors, that they would rescind their wrath and harsh decrees against “North America,” that the bloodshed should end, and peace and reconciliation should obtain between the Americans and Great Britain once more, in fulfillment of the Messianic verse that Nation shall not lift up sword against nation.

Of course this was not meant to be, and six weeks later the American Congress declared independence from Great Britain, and there was no walking back from the hostilities which had already occurred.

I have transcribed this prayer myself and any imperfections are my own. Shgiyot mi yavin u’nistarot nakeni — please correct me if you see a mistake in my transcription.

Sources

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“A Jewish Prayer for Peace between England and her Colonies on a public day of fasting and prayer, 17 May 1776” is shared through the Open Siddur Project 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.)

Gershom Mendes Seixas

Gershom Mendes Seixas (1745–1816) led the Sepharadi Congregation Shearith Israel in New York from 1768 to 1776 and again from 1784 to 1816. Although not an ordained Rabbi, he served as Ḥazzan and was among the first Jewish communal leaders who was born and educated in the United States. He was also the first American Jewish synagogue leader to give a d'var torah (sermon) in English. Seixas was an ardent patriot during the American Revolution. He moved the congregation to Philadelphia's Congregation Mikveh Israel and was the Ḥazzan there for the duration of the war. In 1783, he successfully sought revisions in a constitutional clause newly adopted by the Pennsylvania State Legislature, which required a religious examination for seekers of public office. Seixas was one of the fourteen recognized ministers in New York in 1789 who participated in George Washington's first inauguration at Federal Hall in New York City. He delivered the first Thanksgiving address in an American synagogue following the adoption of the United States Constitution. (via his article in wikipedia)

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Proclamation in Congress on March 16, 1776 for a Day of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer on May 17, 1776.

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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

Works of related interest:

 

תפילה בין השריפות | Prayer between the Fires (between the 32nd and 42nd days of the Omer, neohasid.org)

💬 The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America (1776) | די דעקלאראציע פון אומאָפּהענגיקײט (Yiddish translation 1954) | הצהרת העצמאות של ארצות־הברית (Hebrew translation 1945)

Gebet an der Jahrzeit des Vaters, während man fastet | Prayer on one’s Father’s Yahrẓeit (יאָרצײַט‎) while fasting, by Yehoshua Heshil Miro (1835)

An der Jahrẓeit einer Mutter, wenn man fastet | On the Yahrẓeit of a mother when one is fasting, a teḥinah by Yehoshua Heshil Miro (1835)

📄 נוסח אנגליה | The Nusaḥ of the Jews of England in 1287, transcribed by British chief Rabbi Israel Brodie (1962)

Kavvanah between Lag ba-Omer and Yom haQeshet (27 Iyyar, the 42nd day of the Omer), by Rabbi David Seidenberg (neohasid.org)

תפילה בין השריפות (קצרה) | Abridged Prayer Between the Fires for Lev and Lag ba-Omer (neohasid.org)

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