📜 פָּרָשַׁת וַיִּשְׁלַח | Parashat Vayishlaḥ (Genesis 32:4-36:43), color-coded according to its narrative layers
Contributed on: 12 Nov 2018 by
❧The text of parashat Vayishlaḥ, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis. . . .
📜 פָּרָשַׁת וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה | Parashat v’Zōt haBrakhah (Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12), color-coded according to its narrative layers
Contributed on: 10 Sep 2019 by
❧The text of parashat v’Zot haBrakhah, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis. . . .
📜 פָּרָשַׁת יִתְרוֹ | Parashat Yitro (Exodus 18:1-20:22), color-coded according to its narrative layers
Contributed on: 20 Jan 2019 by
❧The text of parashat Yitro, distinguished according to the stratigraphic layers of its composition according to the Supplementary Hypothesis. . . .
זאָג ניט קײן מאָל | Partisaner Lid (the Partisan Song), by Hirsh Glik (Vilna Ghetto, 1943)
Contributed on: 25 Nov 2017 by
❧The Yiddish resistance song, “Partisaner Lid” (The Partisan Song) was composed by Hirsh Glick in the Vilna Ghetto in 1943. . . .
A Passover Prayer [for Jews in the United States], by Rabbi Norman Salit (ca. 1920s)
Contributed on: 08 Apr 2023 by
❧“A Passover Prayer” was written by Rabbi Norman Salit and published in Rabbi Jacob Bosniak’s לקוטי תפלות Liḳutei Tefilot: Pulpit and Public Prayers (1927), pp. 46-47. . . .
The Peace of Pity — three stanzas adapted from “Worship,” a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier (1848)
Contributed on: 11 Nov 2019 by
❧A hymn for peace and the end of war. . . .
Peas on Earth, a song by the Jewish environmental educators of the Teva Learning Center (Fall 2010)
Contributed on: 28 Sep 2011 by
❧A pun filled ditty by the Fall 2010 Jewish environmental educators of the Teva Learning Center. . . .
A Penitential Prayer, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (October 1867)
Contributed on: 20 Aug 2022 by
❧This penitential prayer dated “Tishri 5628 [October 1867]” was offered in conclusion to “A Penitential Sermon” reprinted in The Jewish Messenger on 25 November 1867. It was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (page 34, clipping 041), an archive of newsclippings recording material he contributed to the press, among other announcements. (Many thanks to the Library of the University of Pennsylvania for helping to make this resource accessible.) . . .
Petition for Prayer, by Rabbi Morrison David Bial (1962)
Contributed on: 05 Sep 2022 by
❧“Petition for Prayer” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 27, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . .
The Pilgrim March, a hymn for Sukkot by Angie Irma Cohon (1921)
Contributed on: 24 Jun 2022 by
❧“The Pilgrim March” by Angie Irma Cohon is a hymn for Sukkot published in her תפלת ישראל (Tefilat Yisrael) A Brief Jewish Ritual (Women of Miẓpah 1921), p. 22. . . .
💬 פרקי אבות פרק ה׳ | Pirqei Avot: Chapter Five, cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
Contributed on: 23 Jun 2020 by
❧Chapter 5 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation. . . .
💬 פרקי אבות פרק ד׳ | Pirqei Avot: Chapter Four, cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
Contributed on: 23 Jun 2020 by
❧Chapter 4 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation. . . .
💬 פרקי אבות פרק א׳ | Pirqei Avot: Chapter One, cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
Contributed on: 03 Feb 2019 by
❧Chapter 1 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation. . . .
💬 פרקי אבות פרק ו׳ | Pirqei Avot: Chapter Six, cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
Contributed on: 23 Jun 2020 by
❧Chapter 6 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation. . . .
💬 פרקי אבות פרק ג׳ | Pirqei Avot: Chapter Three, cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
Contributed on: 23 Jun 2020 by
❧Chapter 3 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation. . . .
💬 פרקי אבות פרק ב׳ | Pirqei Avot: Chapter Two, cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer
Contributed on: 23 Jun 2020 by
❧Chapter 2 of Pirqei Avot (Fundamental Principles [of Rabbinic Judaism]) with cantillation and English translation. . . .
Pledge of Allegiance to the Family of Earth, by Bella Abzug & Mim Kelber (Women’s Foreign Policy Council, 1989)
Contributed on: 10 Nov 2023 by
❧The “Pledge of Allegiance to the Family of Earth” was offered by the Women’s Foreign Policy Council (co-chaired by Bella Abzug and Mim Kelber). The earliest publiclation of the pledge that we were able to located is as found in the article, “Earthlings Unite” by Nina Combs in Ms. Magazine, vol. 18:1&2 (July/August 1989), p. 19. . . .
Praise Ye the Lord! For it is Good (Psalms 150), a hymn on “Praise and Thanksgiving” by Penina Moïse (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim 1842)
Contributed on: 28 Oct 2021 by
❧“Praise ye the Lord! for it is good (Psalms CL),” by Penina Moïse, published in 1842, appears under the subject “Praise and Thanksgiving” as Hymn 43 in Hymns Written for the Service of the Hebrew Congregation Beth Elohim, South Carolina (Penina Moïse et al., Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, 1842), pp. 46-47. . . .
Prayer After Safe Delivery [in Childbirth], by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 22 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer of a woman following the birth of her infant child. . . .
Prayer after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by Rabbi Sabato Morais (18 April 1865)
Contributed on: 18 Aug 2022 by
❧This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais was offered in conclusion to a sermon delivered at some point days after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on 15 April 1865, and reprinted in The Philadelphia Inquirer on 20 November 1865. The time of the assassination corresponded to motsei shabbat and the beginning of the 6th day of Passover 5625, and so we can imagine this prayer having been delivered at some point over the remaining two festival days of Pesaḥ, on April 17th or 18th. The prayer was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (page 24, clipping 029), an archive of newsclippings recording material he contributed to the press, among other announcements. (Many thanks to the Library of the University of Pennsylvania for helping to make this resource accessible.) Next to the clipping, Rabbi Sabato has written, “Andrew Johnson proved anything but a worthy successor to the sainted Abraham Lincoln.” . . .
Prayer after the death of President Ulysses S. Grant, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (8 August 1885)
Contributed on: 28 Dec 2023 by
❧This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais after the death of President Ulysses S. Grant (April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) concludes a eulogy published in the The Jewish Record on 14 August 1885, “General Grant: Substance of a Discourse Delivered Last Sabbath by the Rev. S. Morais.” A note in the preface to the article dates the eulogy to the preceding Sabbath, 8 August 1885. The article was preserved in a newspaper clipping found on page 338 of the Sabato Morais Ledger. . . .
[Prayer] After the Epidemic, by Rabbi Abraham Cronbach (ca. 1920)
Contributed on: 15 Mar 2024 by
❧This prayer for “After the Epidemic [of 1918]” by Rabbi Abraham Cronbach is found in his, Prayers of the Jewish Advance (1924), on page 127. . . .
תפלת אחר הקמת המצבה, מנהג ק״ק פרעסבורג יצ״ו | Prayer after the Unveiling of a Tombstone, according to the custom of the Jewish community of Pressburg
Contributed on: 17 Aug 2018 by
❧A prayer for unveiling a tombstone, according to the custom of the Jews of Pressburg. . . .
Prayer and Thanksgiving on Going to the Synagogue for the First Time After Confinement, by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)
Contributed on: 24 Nov 2021 by
❧“Prayer and Thanksgiving, On Going to the Synagogue for the First Time After Confinement” by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau was first published in his תחנות בנות ישראל Devotions for the Daughters of Israel (1852), p. 59-61. . . .
[Prayer] at a Mother’s Grave, by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 22 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer for a daughter mounrning at the grave of her mother. . . .
A Prayer at the Ceremony of Breaking Ground for the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center, by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak (1924)
Contributed on: 08 Apr 2023 by
❧“A Prayer at the Ceremony of Breaking Ground for the Building of a Synagogue” was written and delivered by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak on 19 October 1924, at the breaking of ground for the building 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. 101-102. . . .
A Prayer at the Ceremony of the Corner Stone Laying for the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center, by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak (1925)
Contributed on: 08 Apr 2023 by
❧“A Prayer at the Ceremony of the Corner Stone Laying of a Synagogue” was written and delivered by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak on 19 April 1925, at the laying of the cornerstone 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. 103-104. . . .
Prayer [at the commencement of a writing project] (Father of mercies), by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)
Contributed on: 15 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer (Father of mercies)” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 219-221. In the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853) the prayer appears with small variations of spelling and punctuation on pages 132-134. This prayer at the commencement of an as yet unidentified writing project seems to me to be possibly related to her “Hymn of Praise,” a prayer of gratitude at the culmination of a writing project. . . .
Prayer at the Consecration of the Central Synagogue by chief Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler (7 April 1870)
Contributed on: 29 Jun 2024 by
❧The prayer at the consecration of the Central Synagogue (in London) offered by the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire, Nathan Marcus Adler, on 7 April 1870. The prayer was reprinted in “A Sermon By the Chief Rabbi,” The Israelite, vol. 117 part 14 (29 April 1870), page 9. . . .
A Prayer at the Dedication Ceremony for the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center, by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak (1926)
Contributed on: 08 Apr 2023 by
❧“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. . . .
A Prayer at the Dedication of a Monument for War Veterans, by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak (1924)
Contributed on: 08 Apr 2023 by
❧“Dedication of Monument for War Heroes” was written and delivered by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak at the dedication of a war memorial at Ocean Parkway, “near Fort Hamilton Parkway,” Brooklyn, in 1924. The prayer was first published in Rabbi Bosniak’s לקוטי תפלות Liḳutei Tefilot: Pulpit and Public Prayers (1927), pp. 108-109. We are not familiar with any war memorials in the vicinity of Ocean Parkway near Fort Hamilton Parkway that were dedicated in 1924. (The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial dedicated by veterans of the Spanish-American War in 1924 can be found just off of Ocean Parkway on the southern edge of Asser Levy Park, but that is a far distance from Fort Hamilton Parkway. Perhaps it had been relocated at some point?) If you know the exact location of this memorial, please leave a comment, or contact us. . . .
[Prayer] at the Grave of a Brother or Sister, by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 10 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer for a woman visiting the grave of her brother or sister. . . .
[Prayer] at the Grave of a Child, by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 21 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer for a woman mounrning at the grave of her child. . . .
A Prayer at the Installation of Congregation Officers for the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center, by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak (ca. 1924)
Contributed on: 08 Apr 2023 by
❧“Installation of Congregation Officers” was written by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak sometime before 1924 when the congregation celebrated the breaking of ground in the construction 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. 115-116. . . .
Prayer at the Opening of a Masonic Lodge by Jewish Freemasons (before 1756)
Contributed on: 16 Jul 2024 by
❧This undated 18th century prayer (before 1756) by an unknown author for “the opening of [a] lodge, etc., and used by Jewish Freemasons” was published in “Old Forms of Lodge Prayers,” The Hebrew Leader (31 December 1889), p. 4. (The Hebrew Leader regularly included news of interest to Jewish member of masonic fraternities.) The provenance of the prayer is offered in the lede: “Appended to a copy of the Constitutions of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of F. and A. Masons, published in 1801, by Bro. D. Longworth, at the Shakespeare Gallery, New York City (kindly loaned to us by R.W. Henry C. Banks), we find a number of forms which at the present day appear unique. These forms are spoken of as having been in use for a long period during the last century; and from them we extract two or three Prayers, one or the other of which it was customary to repeat, according to the religious faith of the members of the lodge’ which had assembled. We give them for the benefit of our readers.” The source for the prayer in its re-printed form is a 1756 work, Ahiman Rezon: or, a help to a brother; shewing the excellency of secrecy, … Together with Solomon’s temple an oratorio, as it was performed for the benefit of free-masons by Laurence Dermott (1756). . . .
Prayer Before a Battle (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1940)
Contributed on: 20 Jun 2022 by
❧“Prayer Before a Battle” appears at the start of Prayer Book of Jewish Members of H.M. Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1940), p. 5. . . .
Prayer Before Mingling with the World, by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)
Contributed on: 06 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer before mingling with the world” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Sabbath Thoughts and Sacred Communings (1853), pp. 73-74. . . .
Prayer before reading the Bible, by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)
Contributed on: 16 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer before reading the Bible” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 155-156. In the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853) the prayer appears with small variations of spelling and punctuation on page 166. . . .
Prayer before retiring to rest, by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)
Contributed on: 13 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer before retiring to rest” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 202-203. In the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853) the prayer appears with small variations of spelling and punctuation on pages 91-92. . . .
תְּפִלָּה לִפְנֵי יְצִיאָה לַקְרָב | Prayer Before Setting Off to Battle, by Rabbi Shlomo Goren (IDF, 1963)
Contributed on: 26 Mar 2022 by
❧Rabbi Shlomo Goren’s “Tefilah Lifnei Yetsiah laQrav,” a prayer for IDF soldiers before embarking on a combat mission was first published in his Siddur Tefilot l’Ḥayyal (pp. 72-73 in the 1963 printing). . . .
[Prayer] Before Sleeping (for Very Young Children) by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy (1927)
Contributed on: 19 Apr 2023 by
❧“For Very Young Children Before Sleeping” by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy is found in The Helpful Manual (Centre of Jewish Science, 1927), p. 26. . . .
[Prayer before] the Chamber of Commerce and Civics [of the Oranges & Maplewood, New Jersey], a Cold War prayer by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (1950)
Contributed on: 25 Jan 2020 by
❧A prayer for the continuance of “the American way of life” offered during the Cold War (1947-1953) in northern New Jersey. . . .
תפילה לפני חלוקת תרופות | Prayer before the dispensation of medication, by Dafna Meir, z”l
Contributed on: 18 Jan 2016 by
❧This prayer was originally published April 13th, 2013 on Dafna Meir’s blog, Derekh Nashim (Women’s Ways), here, writing “את התפילה זכיתי לחבר תוך כדי למידה למבחן תרופות במחלקה הנוירוכירורגית בסורוקה, בה אני עובדת.” (The prayer I composed for a friend while studying for a test at the Neurosurgery department at Soroka Hospital, which I work.) English translation by Moshe F. via Israellycool. More about Dafna Meir, here and here. . . .
Prayer before the Sabbath service, by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)
Contributed on: 20 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer before the Sabbath service” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in the UK edition of Sacred Communings, pp. 98-99. It is not found in the US edition. . . .
Prayer before the Tomb of George Washington at Mount Vernon by Rabbi Dr. Max Lilienthal (13 July 1876)
Contributed on: 18 Jun 2024 by
❧A prayer of Rabbi Lilienthal offered at a tree planting ceremony at the grave of George Washington attended by the delegates to the Council of Hebrew Congregations (the predecessor to the Union for Reformed Judaism) and published in the The Critic and Record, 13 July 1876, on the fourth page. . . .
Prayer During a Storm at Sea, by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 19 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer for when traveling conditions become perilous on an ocean voyage. . . .
Prayer for a Blessing on Daily Pursuits, by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)
Contributed on: 12 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer for a Blessing on Daily Pursuits” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 227-228. . . .
תחנה פיר אין כלה פאר דער חופה | Prayer for a Bride before her Wedding (19th c.)
Contributed on: 04 Nov 2019 by
❧A tkhine (supplication) for a bride to say before their wedding, transcribed and translated from the Siddur Qorban Minḥah (1897). . . .
Prayer for a Dear Relation or Friend Who is Ill, by Lilian Helen Montagu (1895)
Contributed on: 07 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer for a Dear Relation or Friend Who is Ill” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 26-27. . . .
[Prayer for a] Nurses’ Commencement, by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (1951)
Contributed on: 18 Sep 2019 by
❧A prayer for a Nurse’s Commencement ceremony at Beth Israel Hospital on 19 September 1951. . . .