Courageous Faith, a prayer in the face of challenges known and unknown (CCAR 1923)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Unknown and Central Conference of American Rabbis [CCAR]

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6 April 2026 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

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20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., במדבר Bamidbar, ביתחון bitaḥon, אמונה emunah, English vernacular prayer, teḥinot in English

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	And the Lord said: I will send thee unto Pharaoh that thou mayest bring forth My people, the Children of Israel, out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God: Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And He said: Certainly I will be with thee. (Exodus 3:10-12)
	And the Lord turned towards him and said: Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian; have not I sent thee? And he said unto Him: Oh, my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is the poorest in Menasseh and I am the least in my father’s house. And the Lord said: Surely I will be with thee. (Judges 6:14-16)
	Say not: I am a child; for to whomsoever I shall send thee thou shalt go, and whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of them; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 1:6-8)
	Behold I have made thee this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls. (Jeremiah 1:18)
	Be as strong as a leopard, as swift as an eagle, as fleet as a stag, and as mighty as a lion in doing the will of Thy Father in heaven. (Mishnah Avot 5.20)
	Let each man take on the strength of a lion, as he arises each morning to the service of his Creator. (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 1.1)
	Like a swift moving fire which ceases not nor rests, until it has accomplished its purpose, so must man’s energy be in the service of God. (Mesilat Yesharim 7.19)
	Venturesomeness is commonly associated with the career of the soldier, the explorer and the merchant. But there is also in religion a place for venturesomeness. There may be ventures for God and for the soul. The saints and the martyrs of history were God’s adventurers.
	The word “faith” in its worthy sense can mean naught else than an adventuring in God’s name. Faith, properly understood, is not belief contrary to reason but conduct conformable to reason. In a world of impulses and passions, there is no conduct more venturesome and more holy than loyalty to the principles which our calmer moments have discerned. One who keeps his composure though a whole world rages, who is gracious even to injurers and detractors, who observes rigid honesty though destitution be risked, who cherishes his well reasoned convictions though a whole world persecutes, he who labors for peace amid a world at war, who speaks the truth though all others prevaricate, who is pure and candid though a whole world jeers— such a one is, of all adventurers, the bravest and the noblest.
	Our sages say that we must be as swift as eagles and as strong as lions if we would serve our heavenly Father. All of our powers must unite at their best to succeed in life’s greatest adventure, the pilgrimage to God’s holy mountain where we may learn His ways. For we need a mighty faith to praise Him when we walk among men who mock at His word; we need endless trust to be patient in the vale of tears and we must find the strength to answer Him when He calls us to His work.
	Happy is he who ventures thus. He shall dwell in the goodly tabernacles of the Lord of Hosts.
	O Omnipotent Source of all Power, Thou hast put Thy spirit in Thy children and granted strength to the weak and courage to the despairing. With Thy help tyranny has been overthrown, peoples redeemed from bondage and the light of hope kept kindled in days of darkness. With Thee to aid, no task is too difficult; without Thee our strength fails and the slightest obstacles grow insurmountable.
	Teach us, therefore, O Father, to seek Thee and Thy strength, that we may truly live. O strengthen us to venture everything for Thee. Fortify our souls to task themselves to the utmost in order to enter Thy presence.
	Teach us that the untried and untrod ways of life are not too perilous when it is Thy kingdom that we seek. O rebuke Thou our cowardice. Overcome our hesitation. Dispel our timidity. Spur our souls to venture all things for ever, all things for Thee. Amen.

“Courageous Faith” is the thirty-eighth prayer found in ברכה ותהלה Blessing and Praise: A Book of Meditations and Prayers for Individual and Home Devotion (CCAR 1923), pp. 127-129. Unfortunately, we do not yet know of a resource providing clear attribution of authorship for any of the prayers in this volume.

Source(s)

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.)

Unknown

Sometimes the best we can do in attributing a historical work is to indicate the period and place it was written, the first prayer book it may have been printed in, or the archival collection in which the manuscript was found. We invite the public to help to attribute all works to their original composers. If you know something not mentioned in the commentary offered, please leave a comment or contact us.

Central Conference of American Rabbis [CCAR]

The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada.

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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)

Courageous Faith, a prayer in the face of challenges known and unknown (CCAR 1923)

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