תפלת הים | Prayer for a Seaship Voyage, or During a Storm at Sea (1837)
Contributed on: 13 Feb 2021 by
❧A prayer for those traveling over water on a sea or ocean voyage. . . .
Prayer for a Service of Intercession [for European Jewry during the Holocaust], by Lilian Helen Montagu (ca. 1940)
Contributed on: 26 Aug 2022 by
❧This undated “Special prayer for Service of Intercession” by the Hon. Lily H. Montagu (1873-1963) from the archives of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London, was published in, Lily Montagu: Sermons, Addresses, Letters, and Prayers (ed. Ellen M. Umansky, 1985), pp. 356-357. From the contents, it reads as if it was composed in response to the terrifying news of the tortuous treatment of European Jews during the Holocaust. In 1940, other “intercession” services were offered with comparative prayers; for example, this one by the chief rabbi J.H. Hertz included in the Prayer Book for H.M. Forces. . . .
Prayer for a Sick Child, by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 22 Jun 2020 by
❧A mother’s prayer for an ill infant or child. . . .
Prayer for a Synagogue Consecration, by Lilian Helen Montagu
Contributed on: 25 Aug 2022 by
❧This “Synagogue Consecration Prayer ” by the Hon. Lily H. Montagu (1873-1963) was included by Rabbi Morrison David Bial in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 50. Although the context is not provided by Rabbi Bial, we would like to imagine that the consecration was for the establishment of the West Central Liberal Jewish Synagogue in 1928 (destroyed by Nazi German bombardment of London in 1941). . . .
[Prayer for a] Teachers’ Commencement, by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (1951)
Contributed on: 26 Jan 2020 by
❧A prayer offered at a ceremony honoring the graduated of the New Jersey State Teachers’ College in Newark in 1951. . . .
Prayer for a Thanksgiving Day Shabbat Service in Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of Jewish Settlement in the United States (1905)
Contributed on: 06 Jul 2024 by
❧This prayer was prepared for use in a special service on the Sabbath before Thanksgiving Day, 1905, in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the settlement of Jews in the United States. It was published in The two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of the Jews in the United States, 1655-1905 (New York Co-operative Society: 1906), pp. 253-256. (The prayer also appears in the 14th volume of Proceedings of the American Jewish Historical Society (1906).) It was prepared by a committee consisting of a seven-starred constellation of prominent Reform and early Conservative movement rabbis: Rabbi Dr. Henry Pereira Mendes (chair), Rabbi Dr. M.H. Harris, Rabbi Dr. Philip Klein, Rabbi Dr. Kaufmann Kohler, Rabbi Dr. Solomon Schechter, Rabbi Dr. Samuel Schulman, and Rabbi Dr. Joseph Silverman. . . .
[Prayer for a] Tree Planting, by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (1952)
Contributed on: 25 Aug 2019 by
❧A prayer for planting a tree or trees. . . .
תְּפִילַּת הַנּוֹטֵעַ | Prayer for a Tree Planting in Israel, by Rav Ben-Tsiyon Meir Ḥai Uziel (before 1942)
Contributed on: 26 Mar 2018 by
❧This is the תפילת הנוטע (Prayer for Planting [trees]) by Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Ḥai Uziel. . . .
Prayer for a Widow at the Grave of Her Husband, by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)
Contributed on: 15 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer of a wife grieving over the death of her husband. . . .
Prayer for a young maiden, by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 22 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer of a “young maiden” — a girl before her bat mitsvah. . . .
Prayer for all Jewish Communities in Germany for the Eve of the Day of Atonement, by Rabbi Dr. Leo Baeck (10 October 1935)
Contributed on: 05 Feb 2024 by
❧This is the prayer which Rabbi Dr. Leo Baeck had disseminated to Jewish communities throughout Germany to recite on Yom Kippur, 10 October 1935. The German text here is as found in the archival notes of Helmut Grünewald, Ein Judenjunge durfte kein Deutscher sein (Bristol, 1998), pp. 20-21 in the collection of the Leo Baeck Institute. The English translation is as published by Dr. Michael Meyer in Rabbi Leo Baeck: Living a Religious Imperative in Troubled Times (2020), pp. 106-107. . . .
Prayer for American Enterprise [at the opening of a Kresge’s department store], by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (1956)
Contributed on: 25 Jan 2020 by
❧A prayer offered at the opening of a department store during the post-WWII economic expansion in the United States. . . .
תפלה לבני ישראל בעד הצלחת יושבי ארצנו בּמלחמתם עם השׂפּנים | Prayer for the success of the United States in its war with Spain, by Rabbi Joshua Seigel (1898)
Contributed on: 12 Jun 2022 by
❧A Prayer for American Victory in the Spanish-American War by Rabbi Joshua Seigel (1846-1910), New York: Eliakum Zunser, [1898]. . . .
Prayer for an Orphan, by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 22 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer of an orphan after the death of one or both of her parents. . . .
Prayer for Armed Forces in Combat, by Rabbi Dr. David de Sola Pool (1951)
Contributed on: 08 Jun 2022 by
❧This prayer by Rabbi Dr. David de Sola Pool was included in the anthology, The Prayer Book of the Armed Forces (ed. Daniel A. Poling, 1951), pp. 72-73. . . .
Prayer for Armed Forces in Combat, by Rabbi Dr. Edgar Magnin (1951)
Contributed on: 08 Jun 2022 by
❧This prayer by Rabbi Dr. Edgar Magnin, then serving as rabbi of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, was included in the anthology, The Prayer Book of the Armed Forces (ed. Daniel A. Poling, 1951), p. 51. . . .
Prayer for Armed Forces in Combat, by Rabbi Dr. Philip S. Bernstein (1951)
Contributed on: 08 Jun 2022 by
❧This prayer by Rabbi Philip S. Bernstein, then President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, was included in the anthology, The Prayer Book of the Armed Forces (ed. Daniel A. Poling, 1951), p. 11. . . .
Prayer for Brotherhood, by Stephen Vincent Benét on United Nations Flag Day (14 June 1942)
Contributed on: 24 Dec 2020 by
❧This prayer by Stephen Vincent Benét (1898-1943) was first publicly read in 1942 in the course of a United Nations Day speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. . . .
[Prayer for] Brotherhood Week, by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (1951)
Contributed on: 17 Sep 2019 by
❧A prayer for Brotherhood Week, written in 1951. . . .
תפלה על המגפה שתעצר | Prayer for Cessation of the Disease Now Raging, by Rabbi Dr. Moses Gaster (1892)
Contributed on: 12 Apr 2020 by
❧A prayer for the end of a cholera epidemic written by Rabbi Dr. Moses Gaster in 1892. . . .
Prayer for Communal Prayer, by the Jewish Religious Union of London (1902)
Contributed on: 14 Sep 2023 by
❧This prayer for communal prayer first appears in A Selection of Prayers, Psalms, and Other Scriptural Passages, and Hymns for Use at the Services of the Jewish Religious Union (1902), where it is №5 on page 6. . . .
Prayer for Confirmation, by Rabbi Dr. Max Lilienthal (20 April 1881)
Contributed on: 25 Aug 2022 by
❧This “Prayer for Confirmation” was offered by Rabbi Dr. Max Lilienthal on Shavuot (20 April 1881), a manuscript copy of which it found its way into the collection of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio. Many thanks to the Jewish Women’s Archive for providing a copy of the manuscript through their website. . . .
A Prayer for Daily Guidance, a poem by Rosa Emma Salaman (1851)
Contributed on: 02 Aug 2017 by
❧Rosa Emma Salaman’s “Prayer for Daily Guidance” was written December 20, 1851 and published in the Occident 10:2, Iyar 5612/May 1852, p. 85. 226. . . .
Prayer for Dedication of Hospital Chapel, by Rabbi Morrison David Bial (1962)
Contributed on: 07 Sep 2022 by
❧“Prayer for Dedication of Hospital Chapel” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 68, from where this prayer was transcribed. No contextual information was provided with the prayer, so we cannot say when the prayer was offered or even for which hospital chapel it was dedicated. If you know, please leave a comment or contact us. . . .
Prayer in Memory of Departed Souls (הזכרת נשמות), by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)
Contributed on: 21 Nov 2021 by
❧“Prayer for Departed Souls (הזכרת נשמות)” by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau was first published in his תחנות בנות ישראל Devotions for the Daughters of Israel (1852), p. 40-42. . . .
Prayer for Dwelling in the Sukkah of the Leviyatan, as taught in the name of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (ca. 13th c.)
Contributed on: 26 Sep 2023 by
❧This formula for recitation in the Sukkah at the conclusion of Sukkot (on the night of Shemini Atseret) is given in the name of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (1215-1293) and found in two sources: Siman 148 of the Teshuvot of Shimshon bar Tsadoq (a/k/a the Tashbets), and Siman 71.50 of the Sefer Kol Bo. . . .
[Prayer] for enlightenment, by Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (1916)
Contributed on: 06 Feb 2023 by
❧Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayer “For Enlightenment” was first published in The Fratres Book of Prayer for the Oxford and St. George’s Synagogue Jewish Lads Club in 1916, and later reprinted in the Prayer Book of the St. George’s Settlement Synagogue (1929), “Special Prayers” section, pages 93-94. . . .
Prayer for Every Night, by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)
Contributed on: 15 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer for every night” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 223-224. In the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853) the prayer appears with small variations of spelling and punctuation on page 136. . . .
[Prayer] for Forgiveness, by Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (1916)
Contributed on: 06 Apr 2023 by
❧Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayer “For forgiveness” was first published in The Fratres Book of Prayer for the Oxford and St. George’s Synagogue Jewish Lads Club in 1916, and later reprinted in the Prayer Book of the St. George’s Settlement Synagogue (1929), “Special Prayers” section, pages 99-100. . . .
Prayer for Friday Night, by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)
Contributed on: 13 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer for Friday night” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 169-170. In the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853) the prayer appears with small variations of spelling and punctuation on pages 75-76. The UK edition also includes the detail that this prayer was written when the family lived in Teignmouth, Devon (1828-1840). . . .
Prayer [for Friends] (Oh, Gracious and Almighty God), by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)
Contributed on: 13 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer (Oh, Gracious and Almighty God…)” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 168-169. . . .
Prayer [for friends] (Father in Heaven), by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)
Contributed on: 19 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer (Father in Heaven),” a prayer for the well-being of friends by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in the UK edition of Sacred Communings, pp. 71-72. . . .
Prayer for the Government in honor of George Washington, First President of the United States of America by Ḳ.Ḳ. Beit Shalome (1789)
Contributed on: 19 Feb 2012 by
❧The following prayer for the government was composed by Congregation Beth Shalome in Richmond, Virginia in 1789. Please note the acrostic portion of the prayer in which the initial letters of the succeeding lines form the name: Washington. . . .
תפילה לעזרת היהודים תושבי גרמניה | Prayer for German Jewry under Nazi oppression before and after Kristallnacht (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1938)
Contributed on: 10 Jun 2022 by
❧An untitled prayer on behalf of German Jewry under Nazi oppression disseminated in Bombay, likely after Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938). . . .
A Prayer for Girls entering Domestic Service, by Lilian Helen Montagu (1895)
Contributed on: 07 May 2023 by
❧“A Prayer for Girls entering Domestic Service” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), page 24. . . .
Prayer for Grace, by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)
Contributed on: 13 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer for grace” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 229-230. . . .
Prayer for Guidance in Times of Indecision, by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)
Contributed on: 06 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer for guidance in times of indecision” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Sabbath Thoughts and Sacred Communings (1853), pp. 126-128. . . .
Prayer for High School Graduation, by Rabbi Morrison David Bial (1962)
Contributed on: 08 Sep 2022 by
❧“Prayer for High School Graduation” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 73, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . .
[Prayer] for home, by Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (1916)
Contributed on: 06 Feb 2023 by
❧Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayer “For Home” was first published in The Fratres Book of Prayer for the Oxford and St. George’s Synagogue Jewish Lads Club in 1916, and later reprinted in the Prayer Book of the St. George’s Settlement Synagogue (1929), “Special Prayers” section, pages 95-96. . . .
[Prayer] for hope, by Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (1916)
Contributed on: 06 Feb 2023 by
❧Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayer “For Hope” was first published in The Fratres Book of Prayer for the Oxford and St. George’s Synagogue Jewish Lads Club in 1916, and later reprinted in the Prayer Book of the St. George’s Settlement Synagogue (1929), “Special Prayers” section, page 94. . . .
Veterans Day Prayer for Jewish War Veterans, by Rabbi Simeon Kobrinetz, Chaplain, USAF (Ret.)
Contributed on: 26 Feb 2024 by
❧This prayer for Jewish War Veterans was offered by Rabbi Simeon Kobrinetz, Chaplain USAF (Ret.), on Veterans Day 1996 during the Veterans’ Day Memorial Service presided by President Bill Clinton at Arlington National Cemetery. . . .
הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | Prayer for the Prosperity of his Royal Majesty, delivered by Rabbi Jacob Jehudah Leon Templo to King Charles Ⅱ (1675)
Contributed on: 06 Oct 2015 by
❧Rabbi Jacob Judah Leon’s Prayer for King Charles II, from his 1675 booklet, was the first Jewish prayer in English for an English king (Mocatta Library, University College London). . . .
הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | Prayer for King George Ⅲ (1766)
Contributed on: 14 Apr 2021 by
❧The prayer for King George III in the English colonies before the Revolutionary War. . . .
[Prayer] for Knowledge and Understanding, by Rabbi Louis M. Epstein
Contributed on: 04 Sep 2022 by
❧“[Prayer] For Knowledge and Understanding” by Rabbi Louis M. Epstein was published in Rabbi Morrison David Bial’s anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 18, from where this prayer was transcribed. When exactly this prayer was first written is not known to us, but it had to be before Rabbi Epstein’s death in 1949. If you know more, please leave a comment or contact us. . . .
A Prayer for Knowledge of the Messiah, a poem by Rosa Emma Salaman (1851)
Contributed on: 02 Aug 2017 by
❧This prayer and “A Prayer for the Love of God” were published as “Two Short Prayers” with a lengthy introduction probably penned by Isaac Leeser in the Occident 9:5, Ab 5611/August 1851, p.253-255. . . .
Prayer for Lajos Kossuth, by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise (5 June 1852)
Contributed on: 19 Jul 2024 by
❧This is an opening prayer offered by Rabbi Dr. Isaac Mayer Wise, before an address by Lajos Kossuth (1802-1894) sponsored by the Young Men’s Hungarian Liberty Association in Albany, New York on 5 June 1852. The prayer was published as part of the “Programme of Exercises,” in The Asmonean (12 June 1852). . . .
[Prayer for] Little League [Baseball], by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (ca. 1950s)
Contributed on: 26 Jan 2020 by
❧A prayer for American democracy as enshrined in Little League Baseball. . . .
[Prayer for] Memorial Day, by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (1954)
Contributed on: 26 Aug 2019 by
❧A prayer for Memorial Day in the United States, composed in 1954. . . .
Prayer for Military Personnel on Active Service (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1940)
Contributed on: 20 Jun 2022 by
❧“Prayer for Men on Active Service” is the opening prayer in the Prayer Book of Jewish Members of H.M. Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1940), p. 4. . . .
Prayer [for Military Personnel] in Temptation (National Jewish Welfare Board 1941)
Contributed on: 19 Apr 2022 by
❧This “Prayer in Temptation” can be found in the Abridged Prayer Book for the Jews in the Armed Forces of the United States (Jewish Welfare Board 1941), p. 120. As far as we know, this prayer is unique to this prayerbook, although the text recalls the waking prayer “Elohai Neshama.” . . .