A Prayer at the Dedication Ceremony for the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center, by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak (1926)

Contributor(s): Jacob Bosniak and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Shared on: 8 April 2023 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Conservative Jewry, dedications and consecrations, synagogue consecration

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	Almighty God! We have assembled here to dedicate this house of worship. We pray that Thou mayest look with favor upon this, Thy habitation. We acknowledge the truth of the words of the Psalmist: “Except the Lord built the house; They labor in vain that build it.” (Psalms 127:1) Not unto us, but unto Thee be the glory. What we have accomplished, and what we are, we owe to Thee.
	Thou hast chosen Israel to proclaim Thy truth. Goodly is our portion, glorious is our heritage. And may this house be the means for the transmission and perpetuation of our heritage.
	We know full well that neither the heaven, nor the heaven of heavens can contain Thy glory; yet, we have built this sanctuary, so that we may feel that Thou dwellest in our midst when we come here for prayer and meditation.
	May the worship offered within these walls, bring joy and comfort to the sorrowing; light to those who walk in darkness; and happiness to all troubled souls. May Thy spirit abide with us in this hour.
	Send Thy blessing upon the members and leaders of this Congregation, who gave of their means, their time and energy for the building of this, Thy house.
	In the words of our great teacher, Moses: “Let the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; Establish Thou also upon us the work of our hands; Yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it.” (Psalms 90:17) Amen.

“Dedication of a Synagogue” was written and delivered by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak on 23 October 1926, at the dedication of the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center. The prayer was first published in Rabbi Bosniak’s לקוטי תפלות Liḳutei Tefilot: Pulpit and Public Prayers (1927), pp. 106-107.

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“A Prayer at the Dedication Ceremony for the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center, by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak (1926)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Jacob Bosniak

Yitsḥaḳ Yaakov (Jacob) Bosniak (also Bosnyak, 1887–1963) was an American Conservative rabbi. Bosniak was born in Russia, immigrated to the U.S. in 1903, and completed his rabbinical studies at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Yeshivah, an Orthodox seminary, in 1907. In 1917, he was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he earned a Doctor of Hebrew Letters in 1933. In 1921, after having served Congregation Shearith Israel in Dallas, Texas, he became rabbi of the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center in Brooklyn, n.y., a congregation he was to serve for 28 years. He was president of the Brooklyn Board of Rabbis (1938–40), chairman of the *Rabbinical Assembly's Rabbinic Ethics Committee (1945–48) and a judge (dayyan) and member of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Conciliation Board of America. Believing in the need for a uniform prayer book (siddur) with modern English translations, Bosniak published several prayer books that gained wide acceptance in Conservative synagogues. He edited Prayers of Israel (1925, 1937), Likutei Tefilot: Public and Pulpit Prayers (1927) and Anthology of Prayer (1958), prayer books that included English translations of Sabbath and Holiday prayers, English hymns, responsive readings, and instructions related to worship in English. In 1944, he published Interpreting Jewish Life: The Sermons and Addresses of Jacob Bosniak. Upon his retirement in 1949, Bosniak was elected rabbi emeritus and devoted his time to Jewish scholarship, publishing a critical edition of The Commentary of David Kimhi on the Fifth Book of Psalms (1954).

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.)

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=49922

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East Midwood Jewish Center building (credit: David Shankbone, license: CC BY-SA)

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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

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