General public forms of prayer may not always be adapted to the peculiar exigencies of every mind; the compilers of this work have therefore striven to supply in some measure this spiritual need, by meditations and prayers suited to every situation and occasion in life; and it has been the humble yet anxious endeavour of the translator to preserve the spirit of the original in its English garb. . . .

This is an abridged translation by Hester Rothschild in 1855 titled אמרי לב Prayers and Meditations, adapted from Prières d’un Cœur Israelite published by the “Société Consistoriale de Bons Livres” (1848). The original work by Rabbi Arnaud Aron and Jonas Ennery contains tkhines translated into French, prayers by German reformers in French translation, and many additional liturgical translations and paraliturgical prayers. Rothschild’s work presents several prayers in English unique to her compilation by Anglo-Jewish writers. This second edition (1859) contains revisions and corrections (“there are some additions and many improvements”). This second edition was also later republished without permission in the United States by Isaac Leeser containing additional corrections. . . .

This is one of three opening prayers offered by the guest chaplain, Rabbi Dr. Isaac Mayer Wise, for the week commencing 11 April 1853. The prayer was published in “The Israelite Chaplain in the N.Y. Legislature,” The Asmonean (15 April 1853), p. 5. It is the only prayer we have from this week that he officiated in 1853. . . .

This prayer in support of the Crimean War was offered by Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire on the National Day of Humiliation and Prayer, 26 April 1854, and published in The Asmonian (19 May 1854), on page 6. . . .

“Heaven” by Rosa Emma Collins née Salaman was published in her bound collections of poetry, Poems (1853), pp. 72-76. . . .

“Angels’ Heads” by Rosa Emma Collins née Salaman was published in her bound collections of poetry, Poems (1853), p. 56-58. . . .

This Thanksgiving Day prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais was offered at the conclusion of a “Thanksgiving Discourse. An Address. Delivered by a member of the order on the 24th of November, it being the Thanksgiving Day appointed by the Governor of the State of Pennsylvania.” and recorded in The Masonic Mirror and Keystone on 7 December 1853. It was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (page 3b-c, clipping 002), 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.) . . .

“Thought: A Vision” by Rosa Emma Collins née Salaman was published in her bound collections of poetry, Poems (1853), p. 57-64. . . .

“Future Happiness” by Rosa Emma Collins née Salaman was published in her bound collections of poetry, Poems (1853), p. 35-39. . . .

“Prayer for the First Days of Passover (פסח)” by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau was first published in his תחנות בנות ישראל Devotions for the Daughters of Israel (1852), pp. 20-21. . . .

“A Wish” by Rosa Emma Collins née Salaman was published in her bound collections of poetry, Poems (1853), pp. 66-68. . . .

“Song” by Rosa Emma Collins née Salaman was published in her bound collections of poetry, Poems (1853), p. 65. . . .

This prayer for the government of a Republic (in contradistinction to a Kingdom) was offered in a Letter to the Editor by Abraham Prince (as “A. Prince”), an optician representing their Boston congregation, Ohabei Shalom.[foot]For more on Abraham Prince, Ohabei Shalom, and Boston’s early Jewish community, find “Boston: A Close Community” by Robert P. Swierenga in The Forerunners: Dutch Jewry in the North American Diaspora (2018).[/foot] The prayer appeared in The Asmonean (26 November 1852), on page 5. At the time, reformist minded rabbis and congregations in the United States were interested in liturgical alternatives to the form of the prayer for the government found in Hanotén Teshu’ah, to more pointedly or appropriately signal their approval of the representative government that guaranteed their minority rights and equal representation under the Constitution. . . .

This is one of three opening prayers offered by the guest chaplain, Rabbi Dr. Isaac Mayer Wise, before the Legislature of the State of New York, in the State Assembly (on Tuesday, the 13th of January or Thursday the 15th of January 1852), and in the State Senate (on Monday the 12th, Wednesday the 14th, or Friday the 16th). The prayer was published in The Asmonean (30 January 1852), in a letter dated 20 January from a correspondent identified only under the pseudonym “Bassist.” This prayer is one of two prayers offered in the letter. . . .

This is one of three opening prayers offered by the guest chaplain, Rabbi Dr. Isaac Mayer Wise, before the Legislature of the State of New York, in the State Assembly (on Tuesday, the 13th of January or Thursday the 15th of January 1852), and in the State Senate (on Monday the 12th, Wednesday the 14th, or Friday the 16th). The prayer was published in The Asmonean (30 January 1852), in a letter dated 20 January from a correspondent identified only under the pseudonym “Bassist.” This prayer is one of two prayers offered in the letter. . . .

“Prayer of Thanksgiving for the Last Days of Passover” by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau was first published in his תחנות בנות ישראל Devotions for the Daughters of Israel (1852), pp. 21-22. . . .

This prayer is found in conclusion to “A Sermon Delivered on Thanksgiving Day (November 25, 1852) Before the Congregation Mikvé Israel at their Synagogue in Cherry Street by the Rev. S. Morais, Reader of the Congregation,” pp. 10-11. . . .

A paraliturgical prayer for the New Month offered on Shabbat Mevorkhim. . . .

A prayer for the 9th of Av, the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem. . . .

A prayer of a sister mourning at the grave of her brother. . . .