Prayer for Music Service, by Rabbi Morrison David Bial (1962)
Contributed on: 07 Sep 2022 by
❧“Prayer for Music Service” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 61, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . .
Prayer for National Holiday, by Rabbi Morrison David Bial (1962)
Contributed on: 08 Sep 2022 by
❧“Prayer for National Holiday” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 71, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . .
Prayer on the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the State of Israel for North American Jews, by Rabbi Ayelet Cohen (T’ruah 2023)
Contributed on: 21 Apr 2023 by
❧The “Prayer for North American Jews on the 75th Anniversary of Israel’s Founding” was first published and disseminated from the website of T’ruah, via PDF here. . . .
[Prayer for] Our Contemners, by Rabbi Abraham Cronbach (1924)
Contributed on: 12 Mar 2024 by
❧Titled, “Our Contemners ,” this prayer from Rabbi Abraham Cronbach is the second in his collection of prayer, Prayers of the Jewish Advance (1924), on pages 8 through 11. . . .
Prayer for Our Country, a lament on the necessity of war by Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick (1917)
Contributed on: 19 Jan 2023 by
❧“Prayer for Our Country” by Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick was selected by Rabbi Morris S. Lazaron for inclusion in his World War Ⅰ era prayerbook, Side Arms: Readings, Prayers and Meditations for Soldiers and Sailors (1918), on pages 27-28. The prayer is printed unchanged from its original publication in The Challenge of the Present Crisis (H.E. Fosdick 1917), pp. 46-47. . . .
Oración por nuestra tierra | תְּפִילָת הָאָרֶץ | A Prayer for Our Earth, an ecumenical prayer by Pope Francis, translated and adapted by Rabbi David Seidenberg (neohasid.org)
Contributed on: 11 Sep 2015 by
❧An ecumenical prayer by Pope Francis from his encyclical, Laudato Si (praise be to you) from May 24th, 2015. Here’s my draft of a Hebrew translation of Pope Francis’ prayer for our earth. It turns out no one had translated it yet. The translation includes sparks from the High Holiday liturgy. I thought we should have it available for Rosh Hashanah, even though I’m sure the translation could use more work and more feedback. . . .
A Prayer for Our Teachers, by Rabbi Albert G. Baum (ca. 1930s)
Contributed on: 02 Sep 2022 by
❧“A Prayer for Our Teachers” by Rabbi Albert G. Baum was written sometime before 1962. Unfortunately, no more information was provided by Rabbi David Bial in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 64, from where this prayer was transcribed. Possibly, the prayer was written while Baum served as principal of the Park Avenue Synagogue Hebrew School in the late 1920s or as rabbi for Congregation Gemiluth Chassodim in Alexandria, Louisiana during the 1930s. If you know more, please leave a comment or contact us. . . .
Prayer for Parents, by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)
Contributed on: 11 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer by a daughter on behalf of her parents. . . .
Prayer for Patience and Strength in Adversity, by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 22 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer of a woman experiencing desperation under difficult circumstances. . . .
[Prayer] for Peace Among the Nations, by Rabbi Morrison David Bial (1962)
Contributed on: 04 Sep 2022 by
❧“[Prayer] For Peace Among the Nations” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 59, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . .
A Prayer for Peace After War, by Norman Corwin (1945)
Contributed on: 14 May 2021 by
❧A prayer for peace from the end of World War II. . . .
תְּפִלָה לְשָׁלוֹם | Prayer for Peace, by Samuel Avital (March 1984)
Contributed on: 16 Aug 2024 by
❧This Prayer for Peace by Samuel Avital was composed in January 1984 for a gathering of spiritual teachers from all over the world at Mt. Sinai in March 1984. A month later, the State of Israel would return the Sinai to Egyptian sovereignty. While that event was not documented in any media, the prayer was first published in Four Worlds Journal vol. 2 no. 4, (January 1985), pp. 16-17. Of the event itself, Samuel Avital adds, “I performed there some of my mime performances like Jacob & Angel, Black & White and others.” The prayer for peace is included in Samuel Avital’s Passover Haggadah (2021). . . .
Prayer for Peace Celebration, by Lilian Helen Montagu
Contributed on: 26 Aug 2022 by
❧This undated “Prayer for Peace Celebration” 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), p. 356. . . .
Prayer for Peace in Israel, by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK & the Commonwealth, 2003)
Contributed on: 09 Apr 2022 by
❧According to the Rabbi Sacks Legacy Trust (RSLT), “A Prayer for Peace in Israel” was composed by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks following terror attacks in Israel in 2003 (i.e., during the Second Intifada). The text of the prayer appearing here was shared by the RSLT via their Facebook page in the context of the 2022 Tel Aviv Shooting. . . .
תְּפִילַּת הַנּוֹטֵעַ | Prayer for a Tree Planting in Israel, by Zeev Kainan (2018)
Contributed on: 08 Apr 2018 by
❧This prayer for planting was composed by Zeev Kainan for Tu biShvat (2018) for the Masorti Movement for Conservative Judaism in Israel. . . .
A Prayer for Protection from Oppression and Persecution (CCAR 1924)
Contributed on: 27 Apr 2022 by
❧This is an untitled prayer offered in the Evening Service for the Sabbath from the Union Prayer Book Newly Revised (CCAR 1924), pp. 68-69, as a reading between the Shema and the Amidah. As a prayer for protection it fits as a paraliturgical haskivenu, and in New York City, it makes sense in the context of the terrifying news of mass-murder, rape, and genocide being reported from Ukraine at the time. (Find Nokhem Shtif’s “פּאָגראָמען אין אוקראַיִנע : די צײַט פֿון דער פֿרײַװיליקער אַרמײ (The Pogroms in Ukraine: the Period of the Volunteer Army)” (1923) offered in Yiddish and in English translation at In Geveb.) The Ukrainian context of this prayer is further underscored in that the prayer is not found in the 1918 revised Union Prayer Book, but in the later 1924 edition. It may have been unique to Congregation Emanu-El in New York City, who compiled this version of the Union Prayer Book for radio listeners joining their service. . . .
[Prayer] for purity, by Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (1916)
Contributed on: 06 Feb 2023 by
❧Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayer “For Purity” 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 96. . . .
[Prayer for] Rebirth, by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (ca. 1950s)
Contributed on: 26 Jan 2020 by
❧A prayer anticipating the spring as a metaphor for liberation, mental wellness, and spiritual rebirth. . . .
[Prayer] for Reconciliation, by Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (1916)
Contributed on: 06 Apr 2023 by
❧Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayer “For reconciliation” 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 99. . . .
Prayer for Resignation Under Injuries, by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)
Contributed on: 15 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer of a person suffering under grievous injuries and dying. . . .
Prayer for Rosh haShanah, by Rabbi Morrison David Bial (1962)
Contributed on: 07 Sep 2022 by
❧“New Years Prayer” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 66, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . .
תחינה פון ראש חודש בענטשן | Prayer for Blessing the New Moon on the Shabbat Mevorkhim, by Sarah bat Tovim from the Tkhine of Three Gates (ca. early 18th c.)
Contributed on: 28 Dec 2019 by
❧The Prayer for Rosh Ḥodesh from the Teḥinah of the Three Gates by Sarah bat Tovim (18th century). . . .
Prayer for Sailors and Soldiers on Active Service, by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire 1914)
Contributed on: 22 Jun 2022 by
❧“Prayer for Sailors and Soldiers on Active Service,” was likely written by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz and published at the outset of the Prayer Book for Jewish Sailors and Soldiers [of H.M. Forces] (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1914), p. 5. . . .
Prayer for Salvation in the Future State (Olam haBa), by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)
Contributed on: 15 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer of a person dying and imagining their possible afterlife. . . .
[Prayer for] Saturday night, by Grace Aguilar (14 January 1837)
Contributed on: 18 May 2023 by
❧“Meditations—Saturday night, Jan. 14, 1837” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 200-202. In the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853) the prayer appears with small variations of spelling and punctuation on pages 123-124. . . .
[Prayer for] Saturday night, by Grace Aguilar (24 December 1836)
Contributed on: 17 May 2023 by
❧“Saturday night, Dec. 24, 1836” (17th of Tevet, 5597) by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 192-195. In the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853) the prayer appears with small variations of spelling and punctuation on pages 110-112. . . .
[Prayer for] Saturday night [on New Year’s Eve], by Grace Aguilar (31 December 1836)
Contributed on: 18 May 2023 by
❧“Saturday night, Dec. 31, 1836” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 196-199. In the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853) the prayer appears with small variations of spelling and punctuation on pages 112-115. . . .
Prayer for Self-knowledge, by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)
Contributed on: 06 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer for self-knowledge” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Sabbath Thoughts and Sacred Communings (1853), pp. 99-100. In the section “Sacred Communings” (1852) in Essays and Miscellanies (1853) the prayer appears on pages 170-171. . . .
Prayer for Shmini Atseret (שמיני עצרת), by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 22 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer for a woman celebrating Shmini Atseret. . . .
[Prayer] for sincerity, by Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (1916)
Contributed on: 06 Feb 2023 by
❧Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayer “For Sincerity” 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 93. . . .
Prayer for Strength Under Bodily Affliction, by Grace Aguilar (1837)
Contributed on: 06 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer for strength under bodily affliction” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Sabbath Thoughts and Sacred Communings (1853), and included in the section “Prayers in Illness,” pp. 121-123. The prayer appears between one dated 31 December 1836 and another dated 14 January 1837, along with several other undated prayers. . . .
Prayer for Submission to the Divine Will, by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)
Contributed on: 13 May 2023 by
❧“Prayer for submission to the divine Will” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 176-177. . . .
Prayer for Sustenance (Parnasah), by Rabbi Simon Glazer (1930)
Contributed on: 25 Jan 2020 by
❧A prayer for lifegiving sustenance. . . .
Prayer for the 7th Day of Sukkot (הושענא רבה), by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)
Contributed on: 27 Nov 2021 by
❧“Prayer for the Seventh Day of Tabernacles (הושענה רבה)” by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau was first published in his תחנות בנות ישראל Devotions for the Daughters of Israel (1852), p. 37. . . .
Prayer for the Anniversary of the Destruction of the Temple (תשעה באב), by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 22 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer for Tisha b’Av. . . .
Prayer for the Centennial of Ḳ.Ḳ. Miḳveh Israel (Philadelphia), by Rabbi Sabato Morais (30 March 1883)
Contributed on: 28 Nov 2023 by
❧This prayer appears in conclusion to “A Summary of the Centenary History of the Mikve Israel Congregation, by Rev. S. Morais” published in the The Jewish Record on 30 March 1883, a clipping of which is found on page 200in the Sobato Morais Scrapbook (a/k/a, the Morais Ledger). . . .
Prayer for the Centennial of the Inauguration of George Washington, by Rabbi Yaakov Yosef (1889)
Contributed on: 25 Dec 2017 by
❧The proclamation and prayer of chief rabbi Yaakov Yosef, on the centennial of President George Washington’s Inauguration . . .
Prayer for the cessation of a cattle plague and for protection from cholera, by Chief Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler (1865)
Contributed on: 14 Jul 2024 by
❧This is a prayer for cattle afflicted by an epizootic contagion (in this case, Rinderpest, a/k/a cattle plague), and for the protection of human beings from cholera, prescribed by the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain, Nathan Marcus Adler, and published in The Hebrew Leader (24 November 1865), p. 1. . . .
תְּפִלַּת מַשְׁבִּית מִלְחָמוֹת וְהַדֶּבֶר מִן הַבְּהֵמוֹת | Prayer for the cessation of war and pestilence afflicting domesticated animals (ca. 1800)
Contributed on: 14 Aug 2022 by
❧This is a prayer for the welfare of domesticated animals (behemot), specifically cattle. “Tefilat mashbit milḥamot v’ha-dever min ha-behemot” (HUC MS 465) was composed by an unknown author, sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century, and possibly in a Jewish community in Italy. The text contains the following clues: 1) a prayer for a local Duke (instead of the Emperor Napoleon), 2) mention of warfare, and 3) mention of some variety of epizootic contagious disease among cattle. Rinderpest, known since ancient times, is the most likely candidate for the latter, especially in Italy in the 18th century (where it was first described by early veterinary science) but it was also in Europe following the defeat of Napoleon. While typhus and hoof-and-mouth disease are also possible, Dr. Susan Einbinder, who brought our attention to this prayer via a lecture on epidemic prayers for the HUC Klau Library, notes that the biblical reference to the “bellowing of the cattle” evokes the actual tortuous lived experience of the afflicted animals, and the suffering of their human minders, helpless to relieve them. The tragedy of rinderpest only ended in the 20th century after a concerted multi-national effort to eradicate the disease — one of the earliest modern multinational initiatives to improve the world. (A related disease, Ovine Rinderpest, first described in the 20th century, has not yet been eradicated and affects goats and sheep as well as cattle.) . . .
Prayer for the Close of the Sabbath, by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 09 Jun 2020 by
❧“Prayer for the Close of the Sabbath” is one of thirty prayers appearing in Rabbi Moritz Mayer’s collection of tehinot, Hours of Devotion (1866), of uncertain provenance and which he may have written. . . .
Prayer for the Congregation and the Government, by the Central Conference of American Rabbis (1895)
Contributed on: 07 Sep 2020 by
❧A prayer for the government composed by the Central Conference of American Rabbis and included in their Union Prayer Book. . . .
[Prayer] for the Day of Atonement, by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 22 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer for a woman pleading for atonement on Yom Kippurim. . . .
Prayer for the Day of Solemn Assembly (שמיני עצרת), by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)
Contributed on: 27 Nov 2021 by
❧“Prayer for the Eighth Day of Tabernacles, the Day of Solemn Assembly שמיני עצרת (8th Day of Tabernacles)” by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau was first published in his תחנות בנות ישראל Devotions for the Daughters of Israel (1852), p. 39. . . .
[Prayer for the] Dedication of a Medical Research Clinic, by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (ca. 1950s)
Contributed on: 18 Sep 2019 by
❧“Dedication of Medical Research Clinic” was first published in Rabbi Avraham Soltes’ collection of prayers, תפלה Invocation: Sheaf of Prayers (Bloch 1959). . . .
Prayer on the Occasion of the Dedication of Ḳahl Montgomery Synagogue, by Rabbi James Koppel Gutheim (16 May 1862)
Contributed on: 08 Jul 2022 by
❧This civic prayer, recorded by an unknown Montgomery, Alabama newspaper on 16 May 1862, was offered at the dedication of the new Ḳahl Montgomery synagogue building, by Rabbi James Koppel Gutheim. The newspaper clipping, found in the I. Solomon Collection in the manuscript department of Duke University Library, was transcribed by Dr. Bertram W. Korn for his article, “The Jews of the Confederacy,” American Jewish Archives vol. 13, no. 1 (Apr 1961), on pages 40-42. . . .
Prayer for the Departed (הזכרת נשמות), by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 22 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer for one’s parent or parents during Yizkor. . . .
A Prayer for the Despondent, by Rabbi Morrison David Bial (1962)
Contributed on: 03 Sep 2022 by
❧“A Prayer for the Despondent” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 45, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . .
הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | Gebed voor het Koninklijk Huis | Prayer for the Royal Family of Queen Juliana and the city council of Amsterdam (ca. 1950)
Contributed on: 27 Nov 2021 by
❧A prayer for the government for the royal family of the Netherlands and the city council of Amsterdam copied in the late 19th and mid-20th century from earlier sources. . . .
[Prayer During] the Epidemic of 1918, by Rabbi Abraham Cronbach
Contributed on: 15 Mar 2024 by
❧This prayer for “The Epidemic of 1918” by Rabbi Abraham Cronbach is found in his, Prayers of the Jewish Advance (1924), on pages 126-127. . . .
[Prayer] for the Eve of the New Year, by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)
Contributed on: 22 Jun 2020 by
❧A prayer for a woman preparing herself on Erev Rosh haShanah. . . .