בָּאנוּ חֹשֶׁךְ לְגָרֵשׁ | Banu Ḥoshekh l’Garesh (We come to chase the dark away), by Sara Levi-Tanai (1960)
Contributed on: 08 Dec 2010 by
❧In 1960, the Publishing House of the Composers’ League in cooperation with the Center for Culture and Education (בית הוצאה של איגוד הקומפוזיטורים בשיתוף עם המרכז לתרבות ולחינוך), published the songbook זמר־חן (Zemer Ḥén), containing the now popular Ḥanukkah song and melody “Banu Ḥoshekh l’Garesh” (p. 49), originally simply titled “Ḥanukkah” by Sara Levi-Tanaiׁ (1910-2005). . . .
Prayer on the Anniversary of Temple Israel, by Rabbi Roland Gittlesohn (ca. 1960)
Contributed on: 02 Sep 2022 by
❧“Temple Anniversary Prayer” by Rabbi Roland Gittelsohn was written sometime between 1953 and 1962, likely for Temple Israel (Boston, Massachusetts), where he served from 1953 until 1977. Unfortunately, no more information was provided by Rabbi David Bial in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 52, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arthur Schneier on 3 June 1959
Contributed on: 20 Jun 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 3 June 1959. . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Norman Gerstenfeld on 2 June 1959
Contributed on: 20 Jun 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 2 June 1959. . . .
📖 סדר הגדה של פסח עברי-כּורדי | Seder Haggadah shel Pesaḥ (Ivri-Kurdi), a Passover seder haggadah for Kurdish Jews in Hebrew and Aramaic (1959)
Contributed on: 30 Jul 2019 by
❧A Passover Seder Haggadah in Hebrew and Aramaic (or Kurdish, as stated on the title page) published in Israel for the wave of Kurdish-Jewish immigrants from Iraq and other eastern countries. . . .
💬 Excerpts from the Speeches and Letters of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1958-1968) from an ecumenical MLK Day service by Temple Emanu-El & Abyssinian Baptist Church
Contributed on: 14 Jan 2017 by
❧Selections from speeches and letters by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. read in ecumenical services for Martin Luther King Day in the United States. . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Chaim U. Lipschitz on 16 June 1958
Contributed on: 20 Jun 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 16 June 1958. . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arthur Schneier on 16 June 1958
Contributed on: 20 Jun 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 16 June 1958. . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Israel Goldstein on 23 April 1958
Contributed on: 23 Apr 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 23 April 1958 on the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel. . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Philip S. Bernstein on 23 April 1958
Contributed on: 23 Apr 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 23 April 1958 on the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel. . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Charles M. Rubel on 21 April 1958
Contributed on: 21 Apr 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 21 April 1958. . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Morton M. Berman on 1 July 1957
Contributed on: 18 Jun 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 1 July 1957. . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Mordecai L. Brill on 28 May 1957
Contributed on: 19 May 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 28 May 1957. . . .
Prayer on the Anniversary of Brighton & Hove Liberal Synagogue, by Lilian Helen Montagu (27 May 1956)
Contributed on: 27 Aug 2022 by
❧This “Brighton 21st Anniversary” prayer (27 May 1956) 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. 353-354. Brighton & Hove Liberal (now, Progressive) Synagogue, also known as Adat Shalom Verei’ut (Congregation of Peace and Friendship), is a Liberal synagogue in Hove, Sussex, England. It was established in 1935. . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arthur Schneier on 10 May 1956
Contributed on: 05 May 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 10 May 1956. . . .
תְּפִלָּה לִשְׁלוֹם הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה | Prayer for the Wellbeing of the Government of the USSR, by Rabbi Solomon Shleifer (Choral Synagogue, Moscow 1956)
Contributed on: 27 Oct 2021 by
❧The prayer for peace and prayer for the government of the Choral Synagogue in Moscow in 1956. . . .
מי שברך לחיילי צה״ל | Mi sheBerakh for the Welfare of Israel Defense Forces Soldiers, by Rabbi Shlomo Goren (1956)
Contributed on: 02 Aug 2024 by
❧The mi sheberakh for the IDF composed by Rabbi Shlomo Goren in the context of the Suez Crisis and Israel-Egypt conflict of 1956. . . .
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. . . .
📖 המדריך | Ha-Madrikh: The Rabbi’s Guide by R’ Hyman E. Goldin (1939, rev. 1956)
Contributed on: 05 Feb 2017 by
❧This manual has been devised for the express purpose of giving the Rabbi, or anyone officiating at a Jewish ceremonial or ritual, a concise and practical aid that will facilitate the task of officiating , and will obviate the necessity of resorting to the voluminous literature pertaining thereto. . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Selig S. Auerbach on 20 July 1955
Contributed on: 17 Jun 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 20 July 1955. . . .
Prayer for the Success of the Four-Power Conference at Geneva, by Rabbi Israel Brodie (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK & the Commonwealth, 16 July 1955)
Contributed on: 17 Jun 2022 by
❧This “Prayer for the Success of the Four-Power Conference at Geneva, Switzerland (18 July 1955)” was composed in 1955 by the Office of the Chief Rabbi (of the United Hebrew Congregations of the UK and the Commonwealth) for the success of a meeting of the “Big Four” (President Dwight D. Eisenhower of the United States, Prime Minister Anthony Eden of Britain, Premier Nikolai A. Bulganin of the Soviet Union, and Prime Minister Edgar Faure of France), ostensibly to promote international trade, but hopefully as well, to reduce international tensions and make some progress towards ending the Cold War. . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi David de Sola Pool on 28 June 1955
Contributed on: 20 Jun 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 28 June 1955. . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Norman Gerstenfeld on 18 April 1955
Contributed on: 14 Apr 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 18 April 1955. . . .
הַנָּאוָה בַּבָּנוֹת | Hana’avah Babanōt, a song by Amitai Ne’eman (1955)
Contributed on: 30 Jun 2021 by
❧The popular Israeli song from the 1950s. . . .
Children’s Prayer for the Recovery of our President [Dwight D. Eisenhower], by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (1955)
Contributed on: 26 Sep 2019 by
❧A prayer for the recovery of President Dwight D. Eisenhower following a severe heart attack in late September 1955. . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Amos M. Bunim on 1 June 1954
Contributed on: 23 Jun 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 1 June 1954. . . .
[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. . . .
תפילת הודיה לחברה למניעת אכזריות לילדים | Prayer of Thanksgiving for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (1954)
Contributed on: 03 Jan 2019 by
❧Prayer of Thanksgiving on the Occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, to Be Recited on Sabbath 22nd May 1954 / 19th Iyyar 5714 after the Prayer of the Queen and the Royal Family (London: 1954, Office of the Chief Rabbi) . . .
Thanksgiving Day Prayer, by Rabbi Max Klein (1954)
Contributed on: 25 May 2020 by
❧A prayer of gratitude to be recited on Thanksgiving Day (or the Shabbat prior). . . .
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Jacob Agus on 20 July 1953
Contributed on: 19 Jun 2024 by
❧The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 20 July 1953. . . .
In Celebration of the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ (1953)
Contributed on: 28 Dec 2018 by
❧The service in 1953 by the S&P Synagogue (Bevis Marks, London) in celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth. . . .
תפלה למספד על המלך גארג | Prayer for the Memorial Service of King George Ⅵ (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK & the Commonwealth, 15 February 1952)
Contributed on: 10 Sep 2022 by
❧This is the prayer offered at the “Memorial Service on Friday, 15th February, 1952 (Eve of Sabbath, 19th Shebat, 5712) at the New West End Synagogue (London, W. 2) for His Late Majesty King George (VI)” as given by the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (officiated by Dayan Dr. I. Grunfeld and Rabbi Dr. A. Altmann, M.A. [Joint Deputies for the Chief Rabbi], the Rev. Ephraim Levine, M.A., the Rev. R.H. Levy, M.A.). Many thanks to Jeffrey Maynard for providing the page images of the service containing this prayer at his blog, Jewish Miscellanies. . . .
[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. . . .
רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם | Untitled Prayer, by Isaac Bashevis Singer (ca. 1952)
Contributed on: 19 Jul 2022 by
❧This untitled prayer written by Isaac Bashevis Singer on the back of a receipt (dated 1 March 1952) was discovered by David Stromberg in 2014 in the archives at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas, and published online by Tablet (1, 2) with permission of the Susan Schulman Literary Agency. . . .
[Prayer on the] Retirement of a Civic Servant (Mayor Charles Henry Martens), by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (1952)
Contributed on: 26 Jan 2020 by
❧A prayer composed for a ceremony honoring the tenure of Charles Henry Martens, mayor of East Orange, New Jersey on his retirement from three decades of civic service. . . .
📖 סְלִיחוֹת לַיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן | Seliḥot for the First Day, translated and annotated by Philip Birnbaum (1952)
Contributed on: 07 Aug 2019 by
❧A seder seliḥot (a penitential prayer service) for the first day of seliḥot, in the week prior to Rosh ha-Shanah, as prepared and translated by Philip Paltiel Birnbaum and published by Hebrew Publishing Co., in 1952. . . .
Closing Ceremony for Flag Day, by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, J. Paul Williams, and Eugene Kohn (1951)
Contributed on: 14 Jun 2023 by
❧This closing ceremony for Flag Day was first published in The Faith of America: Readings, Songs, and Prayers for the Celebration of American Holidays (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1951), pp. 133-135. . . .
Opening Prayer on the Significance of Flag Day, by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, J. Paul Williams, and Eugene Kohn (1951)
Contributed on: 14 Jun 2023 by
❧This opening prayer for Flag Day, “The Significance of the Day,” was first published in The Faith of America: Readings, Songs, and Prayers for the Celebration of American Holidays (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1951), p. 117 . . .
Closing Prayer for Labor Day, by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, J. Paul Williams, and Eugene Kohn (1951)
Contributed on: 11 Apr 2021 by
❧“Closing Prayer [for Labor Day]” was first published in The Faith of America: Readings, Songs, and Prayers for the Celebration of American Holidays (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1951), p.165. . . .
Opening Prayer on the Significance of Arbor Day, by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, J. Paul Williams, and Eugene Kohn (1951)
Contributed on: 11 Jan 2021 by
❧This opening prayer for Arbor Day, “The Significance of the Day,” was first published in The Faith of America: Readings, Songs, and Prayers for the Celebration of American Holidays (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1951), p. 3-4 — as preface to a number of readings selected by Mordecai Kaplan, Eugene Kohn, and J. Paul Williams for the day. . . .
Closing Prayer for Arbor Day, by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, J. Paul Williams, and Eugene Kohn (1951)
Contributed on: 11 Jan 2021 by
❧This closing prayer for Arbor Day, “The Significance of the Day,” was first published in The Faith of America: Readings, Songs, and Prayers for the Celebration of American Holidays (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1951), p. 86. . . .
Closing Prayer for United Nations Day, by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, J. Paul Williams, and Eugene Kohn (1951)
Contributed on: 16 Oct 2021 by
❧This closing prayer for United Nations Day was first published in The Faith of America: Readings, Songs, and Prayers for the Celebration of American Holidays (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1951), p. 272-273. . . .
Opening Prayer on the Significance of Thanksgiving Day, by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, J. Paul Williams, and Eugene Kohn (1951)
Contributed on: 22 Dec 2020 by
❧This opening prayer for Thanksgiving Day, “The Significance of the Day,” was first published in The Faith of America: Readings, Songs, and Prayers for the Celebration of American Holidays (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1951), p. 304 — as preface to a number of readings selected by Mordecai Kaplan, Eugene Kohn, and J. Paul Williams for the day. . . .
Closing Prayer for Thanksgiving Day, by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, J. Paul Williams, and Eugene Kohn (1951)
Contributed on: 22 Dec 2020 by
❧This closing prayer for Thanksgiving Day was first published in The Faith of America: Readings, Songs, and Prayers for the Celebration of American Holidays (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1951), p. 327-328 — following at the end of a number of readings selected by Mordecai Kaplan, Eugene Kohn, and J. Paul Williams for the day. . . .
Opening Prayer on the Significance of Lincoln’s Birthday, by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, J. Paul Williams, and Eugene Kohn (1951)
Contributed on: 10 Feb 2021 by
❧This opening prayer-essay for Lincoln’s Birthday, “The Significance of the Day,” was first published in The Faith of America: Readings, Songs, and Prayers for the Celebration of American Holidays (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1951) — as preface to a number of readings selected by Mordecai Kaplan, Eugene Kohn, and J. Paul Williams for the day. . . .
Prayer of Parents for a Son or Daughter in the Armed Forces, by Rabbi Max Klein (1951)
Contributed on: 08 Nov 2019 by
❧A prayer offered for parents praying for the safety and welfare of their adult children entering the armed forces. . . .
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 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. . . .