FOREWORD

The public service in the synagog is not planned so as to satisfy the whole need for prayer. The synagog ritual contains, primarily, the prayers of the people of Israel as a community. It addresses itself to the whole people: Hear, O Israel. Its vision is historical, and when it contemplates the future, it concerns itself with the task of Israel in the divine plan for world salvation. Although the public prayer offers considerable opportunity for private devotion, it can never provide for all the spiritual needs of the individual. The individual has many difficulties which are his alone and are not related directly to the problems of his people. For the needs of individuals there must always be private prayer.

Public prayer can hardly be fervent if there is not a background of private devotion. If the week has been prayerless, the Sabbath will be spiritless and its prayer mechanical. Unless the faith to praise the Lord be bred in the discipline of daily thanksgiving, the psalms chanted in the synagog will be meaningless. Unless man, in his private meditations, find the way to God, his public petitions will be mechanical. The worshiper must seek the Lord at all times, so that the synagog may derive devotional power from the ardor of private prayer.

The practice of private prayer was always cultivated in Israel. Jewish literature has preserved many beautiful prayers uttered by sages and seers. Tehinnot—books of private devotion— have always been used in Jewish homes in the past. To this literature we add this book, in the hope that it may bring strength to many hearts, and help many to find again that the Lord is near to those who call upon Him, who call upon Him in truth.

This book contains fifty themes, which express, in a general way, all the more frequent religious ideas. Each one of the fifty themes contains four distinct elements: a Scriptural reading; a selection from post-biblical literature; a meditation, and a prayer. It is not intended that the themes be read, necessarily, in rotation. An index is provided, so that the reader may select the theme closest to his need. However, for the sake of those who wish to read the book consecutively, the holiday themes are placed in the order in which they occur in the calendar, and the other themes are grouped around the festival theme with which they approximately agree in spirit.

The poems in the themes, God’s Love, The Sabbath, God our Eternal Home, are reprinted from The Standard Book of Jewish Verse, by Joseph Friedlander, with the kind permission of the heirs of the author.

Poems from The Service of the Synagogue are used by permission of the publishers, Mess. Geo. Routledge & Sons, Ltd.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword

1. Meditation
2. Morning Prayer
3. Starting Anew
4. Daily Revelation
5. The Sabbath
6. Rejoice in the Lord
7. Sincerity
8. Rosh Hashanah—the New Year
9. Justice
10. God our Refuge
11. Out of the Depths
12. God’s Love
13. Ignorance and Evil
14. Conciliation
15. God is Near
16. Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement
17. God’s Bounty
18. Succoth—the Feast of Tabernacle
19. From Strength to Strength
20. Light Divine
21. Reliance
22. Hanukkah—the Feast of Light
23. Envy
24. Tolerance
25. Compensation
26. Purim—the Feast of Joy
27. Prayer for Others
28. Israel’s Unity
29. Righteousness
30. Hospitality
31. Our Enemies
32. Pesaḥ—the Feast of Freedom
33. Immortality
34. God our Sustainer
35. Suffering
36. Holy Places
37. Presence of God
38. Courageous Faith
39. Reverence
40. Duty
41. Shaḇuoth—the Feast of Weeks
42. Vision and Hope
43. Accepting the Burden
44. God our Eternal Home
45. Tisha be-Aḇ—the Ninth of Aḇ
46. Humility
47. Co-operation
48. Alike Before God
49. Man’s Place in Nature
50. Night Prayer

Index

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON BOOK OF MEDITATIONS AND PRAYERS [1923]^[4] in Central Conference of American Rabbis, 34th Annual Convention, June 27th to July 2nd 1923, Cape May, New Jersey, vol. 33, (Rabbi Isaac E. Marcuson, ed.), pp. 36-38. 

To the Central Conference of American Rabbis,

GENTLEMEN: The Committee on Book of Meditations and Prayers begs to report that in accordance with the decision of the Conference of last year a book containing fifty themes has been completed. Manuscript copies of the book had been sent to the members of the Conference during the past year with the result that a number of valuable suggestions were received by the Committee.

The book has now been printed and measures have been adopted by the Publications Committee for its distribution.

The Committee wishes to thank all members of the Conference who have been kind enough to give it their help and encouragement.

Solomon B. Freehof, Chairman,
Israel Bettan,
Abraham Cronbach,
Morris S. Lazaron,
Abram Simon.

The report was received and adopted and a vote of thanks of the Conference was tendered to the Committee and it was moved that a special de luxe edition of the prayer book be prepared by the Publications Committee and a copy presented to each member of the Committee.

Rabbi Ettelson: Has it definitely been decided that the book of Meditations and Prayers shall have as its title, “Blessing and Praise”?

Rabbi Marcuson: The book is out.

Rabbi Ettelson: That name doesn’t carry upon its face anything that suggests its content, and if the title itself had been a particularly happy one instead of a forbidding one, then one might find a justification for it, but for me “Blessing and Praise” is altogether abstract and I think unfortunate and I hope the next edition, even though we may lose some of the value of the first edition, may have the title changed.

Rabbi Freehof: Mr. Chairman, the title “Blessing and Praise” has this advantage: it is based upon the verse, “Every day I will bless Thee and praise Thy name forever and ever” [(Psalms 145:2)]. We carefully selected the title to carry out that idea because it is a book, parts of which we hope will be read every day. We hada lot of difficulty about getting a proper title. We tried a half dozen. We have, however, as a sub-title, “A Book of Meditations and Prayers for Home and Private Devotion.” We wanted to have the title characteristic. The old books of devotion used to be called Tehinnoth. That was generally descriptive but wouldn’t mean anything to us today. People get used to a title. I suppose when the Union Prayer Book was first so named, people wondered at that, too. I don’t see anything wrong with that title. All I can say is, we didn’t take it hastily; we thought about it and studied it.

Rabbi Ettelson: I did not at all imply that the Committee had acted without giving the matter careful thought, but none the less I feel that some of the objections may be not only natural but justifiable. The fact that it is based on biblical phrases is certainly nothing against it, but does not necessarily as such justify it when you have to give an explanation. Many of us find it difficult, occasionally, to preach to congregations that haven’t the background of Midrash, which in itself requires so much explanation that half of your sermon goes into preparing for your illustration.

It seems to me that no matter what the religious views may be, other than those in the minds of scholars and rabbis, it defeats its own purpose when you are appealing to the laity, and I feel that since it is to be a book of meditations and prayers for our people, it ought to have a title that in itself suggests that fact and we do not want any literary felicitousness about it. 1 feel that the Committee ought to be actuated by purpose, rather than by tradition and biblical quotation.

Rabbi Marcuson: I wish to explain to Dr. Ettelson that when the manuscript was first sent in the same objection was raised. As soon as I notified our selling agent that the book was to be called “Book of Meditations and Prayers,” he wrote back and said that there is already a book with that exact title on the market and it would cause endless confusion. So we compromised. We put “Blessing and Praise” and right under it “A Book of Meditations and Prayers.” It would have caused confusion to have two books on the market with exactly the same title and so this will at least be a distinctive feature in the title.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON BOOK OF PRAYERS AND MEDITATIONS [1922]^[5] in Central Conference of American Rabbis, 33rd Annual Convention, June 28th to July 2nd 1922, Cape May, New Jersey, vol. 32, (Rabbi Isaac E. Marcuson, ed.), pp. 38-39. 

To the Central Conference of American Rabbis,

GENTLEMEN: The Committee on Book of Prayers and Meditations reports fairly satisfactory progress. The work is necessarily slow, since the book is to be composed entirely of original prayers and homilies. Quite a good deal of material has already been contributed. The work will be expedited if the members of the Conference will co-operate. The Committee, therefore, urges those who wish to write prayers and meditations for this book, to communicate with the Chairman.

In order to make clear the nature and the progress of the work, the Committee plans to present to the Conference after the coming Fall Holy Days, a mimeographed booklet containing about fifty prayers and meditations. If this booklet meets with the general approval of the members of the Conference, the Committee will continue its task. We expect to complete the entire book of three hundred themes within the next two years.

Respectfully submitted,
Sol B. Freehof, Chairman.

Rabbi Frisch: It seems to me that whatever fine work has been done by this Committee will be lost if this book is delayed for two years more. As a member of the Revision Committee of the Prayer Book, I know the difficulty which I experienced in securing the material. However I believe the material on hand should be made available to the people who are eagerly waiting for such a book. Therefore I believe that the fifty or one hundred prayers which are ready should be published and the larger book can be gotten out at some later date.

It was moved and adopted that the Chairman of the Committee be asked to send out to the members of the Conference the fifty or more prayers, which are completed in manuscript form; and after the criticisms and corrections have been considered by the Committee, that a small book containing these prayers shall be published. Should this booklet meet with favor, a second and larger edition containing from three to four hundred services can be issued in a few years.

The report of the Committee on Book of Meditations and Prayers was read by Rabbi Felix A. Levy.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON BOOK OF MEDITATIONS AND PRAYERS [1921]^[6] in Central Conference of American Rabbis, 32nd Annual Convention, April 13th to 17th 1921, Washington DC, vol. 31, (Rabbi Isaac E. Marcuson, ed.), pp. 45-46. 

To the Central Conference of American Rabbis,

GENTLEMEN: Your Committee on Book of Meditations and Prayers has agreed upon the following plan of work. The book is to consist of three hundred to four hundred themes, one for each day of the year. Each theme (or unit) will be on a specific subject such as “God’s Mercy”, “Rejoice in the Lord”, etc, and will consist of a Scriptural reading, a homily, a rabbinic quotation or a poem, and a prayer.

The Committee has already compiled a list of about two hundred themes with Scriptural readings for about half of them. By the beginning of the summer the Committee expects to have a full list of themes and to begin writing the homilies and prayers by next fall. As there will be comparatively few prayers and homilies quoted from other books, and therefore the bulk of the book will have to be original, it can hardly be completed in less than two years.

If any member of the Conference has any themes to suggest, the Committee will be glad to receive them,

Respectfully submitted,
Solomon B. Freehof, Chairman,
Henry Berkowitz,
Abraham Cronbach,
William H. Fineshriber,
Felix A. Levy,
Samuel Schulman,
Abram Simon.

The report was received and adopted.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON BOOK OF PRAYERS AND MEDITATIONS [1920]

To the Central Conference of American Rabbis,

GENTLEMEN: At the Meeting of the Executive Committee C.C.A.R. held in Boston, Mass., May 19, 1919, a committee of three ladies representing the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods presented a resolution of that organization and made an earnest plea that the C.C.A.R. “prepare a book containing a series of biblical readings, one for every day of the year, these readings to make for hope, cheer, strength and confidence; these readings always to end with a prayer expressive of the best thought of the synagog liturgy”.

Your Board considered this appeal very earnestly and decided to submit it to the members at large. An overwhelming number responded favorably. During the Summer of 1919 your President appointed the undersigned as Chairman and Abram Simon, Harry W. Ettelson, Harry Levi and Henry Fisher to act as a Special Committee to carry out this project.

As a result of his correspondence with the members of the Committee, the Chairman placed before the Executive Board at its meeting in Detroit, Nov. 3, 1919, a number of questions and asked for decisions to guide the Committee in planning the work assigned to it.

Ⅰ. Shall the book be entrusted to one man who shall be given definite instructions as to the nature of the book desired, but entire freedom in its preparation, subject to the judgment of the Special Committee?

The consensus of opinion was that better results could be secured by having several authors collaborate in the production of the book.

Ⅱ. In considering the nature and scope of the book, should these be directed to meeting the appeal of women alone?

It was agreed that the book should aim to meet the religious needs of men no less than of women.

Ⅲ. Should the book aim to cover the whole range of the principles and precepts of the Jewish faith, or only such selections as might be deemed appropriate for inspiration, loyalty and consolation?

This was left to the judgment of the Committee.

Ⅳ. Should the readings and reflections be selected from the Scriptures and from Jewish sources alone?

All literature might be drawn upon, but all Jewish literature, especially the devotional literature, should constitute the principal sources.

Ⅴ. What should be the general form of presentation?

To offset kindred non-Jewish publications which have made an appeal to Jews, it was agreed that there might be a page of readings for each day in the year following the Jewish Calendar in a general way, but not citing a definite date for the reading for each day.

Ⅵ. Of what should the readings consist?

Left to the Committee.

After careful deliberation the general thought formulated by the Chairman is as follows:

1. A Biblical or Rabbinical quotation on the theme of the day.
2. An appropriate poetical verse or two.
3. An original comment or reflection in prose consisting of a brief paragraph.
4. A simple and earnest prayer.
5. At the close of each week the Sabbath reading is to be a more extended original meditation covering the reflections of the daily readings of the previous six days and impressing the Jewish sentiments and principles they embody.

Ⅶ. What should be the method of procedure?

Secure one person to prepare each of the five (5) distinct parts of the work.

The men who were solicited to undertake the several parts of this work met in New York City in March, 1920, and discussed the whole matter in detail, and each one assumed a definite task to be reported on at a meeting to be called by the Chairman.

Unfortunately owing to a critical illness and protracted period of convalescence, this meeting has never been called by the Chairman who has felt compelled to send his resignation to the President.

Respectfully submitted,
Henry Berkowitz, Chairman.

O Thou,
whose light is about me
and within me
and to whom all things are present,
help me this day to keep my life pure in Thy sight.

Suffer me not
by any lawless act of mine
to befoul any innocent life
or add to the shame
and hopelessness
of any erring one
that struggles faintly against sin.

Grant me a steadfast scorn for pleasure bought by human degradation.

May no reckless word or wanton look from me
kindle the slow fires of wayward passion
that will char and consume the divine beauties of any soul.

Give me grace to watch over the imaginations of my heart,
lest in the unknown hour of my weakness
my secret thoughts leap into action
and my honor be turned into shame.

Save our nation
from the corruption that breeds corruption.

Save our innocent sons and daughters
from the secret curse
that requites the touch of love
with lingering death.

O our God and father,
Thou master of all who are both strong and pure,
take our weak and passionate hearts under Thy control,
that when the dusk settles upon our life,
we may go to our long rest with no pang of shame,
and may enter into the blessedness of seeing God,
which Thou hast promised only to the pure in heart.

Amen.

O God,
we offer Thee praise and benediction
for the sweet ministries of motherhood in human life.

We bless Thee for our own dear mothers
who built up our lives by theirs;
who bore us in travail and loved us the more for the pain we gave;
who nourished us at their breast and hushed us to sleep in the warm security of their arms.

We thank Thee for their tireless love,
for their voiceless prayers,
for the agony with which they followed us through our sins and won us back,
for the divine power of sacrifice and redemption in mother-love.

We pray Thee to forgive us
if in thoughtless selfishness we have taken their love as our due
without giving the tenderness which they craved as their sole reward.

And if the great treasure of a mother’s life is still spared to us,
may we do for her feebleness what she did for ours.

Amen.

For the Day’s Round in camp

O God,
who hast appointed for us the labor and routine of the day,
help us so to conduct ourselves
that at nightfall
we shall have no sense of failure or regret.

We thank Thee for the challenge of definite tasks,
for the growth in body, mind and soul
that comes as we submit ourselves to discipline
and seek to make ourselves fit in every way
to defend the nation and to serve mankind.

May we not weary of the monotony and limitations of camp life.
Protect us from its peculiar perils.
Make our thoughts clean,
our hearts pure
and our speech free from the language that coarsens our characters
and grieves Thee
or offends our fellowmen.

Alike in labor and in relaxation,
may we be conscientious,
highminded and considerate of one another.

Bless those to whom Thou hast entrusted the duties of leadership,
and bless all in the ranks,
on whose obedience and fidelity to the various tasks assigned them
depend the welfare and the honor of the camp.

Remember all our comrades
in the armies and navies of the United States
in every land and on every sea,
and make us all good soldiers of God and for humanity!
Amen.

AMERICA’S PURPOSE

Let us be very clear, and make clear to all the world what our motives and our objects are….. We are glad to fight for the ultimate peace of the world, and for the liberation of its peoples, the German peoples included; for the rights of nations great and small, and the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life and obedience. The world must be made safe for democracy….. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion….. We fight without rancor…..seeking nothing but what we shall wish to share with all free peoples….. We enter this war only where we are clearly forced into it, because there are no other means of defending our rights…..in armed opposition to an irresponsible government which has thrown aside all considerations of humanity and of right, and is running amuck….. The day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured. God helping her she can do no other.—President Wilson.

PREFACE

Our boys!

This little booklet is intended for all of you.

It does not seek to appeal to you as Catholics, Protestants or as Jews, but as men!

We are all deeply concerned in the spirit in which you go forth to fight, and in the transformation which these trying experiences will effect in your character.

For you will have to fight, not the enemy alone— the enemy visible—the enemy outside!

You will have to fight the enemy inside!

The enemy who may seek to degrade and debauch you; to deaden and kill your better self.

Read these little things when the spirit prompts*

May they help you.

And may God be with you and us for a glorious victory to our righteous cause!

—Morris S. Lazaron.
Camp Merritt, N.J., July, 1918.

 

It may be glorious to write
Thoughts which glad the two or three
High souls like stars that come in sight
Once in a century.

But better far is it to speak
Some simple thought which now or then
May waken their free natures in the weak
And friendless sons of men.
—Lowell.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Acknowledgment must be made for material in these pages taken from A Book of Jewish Thoughts, by Chief Rabbi Hertz of England, a most helpful work and a real contribution to the war.literature; to the Y.M.C.A. Service Song Book, some of the inspiring prayers of which we have included in our collection, and to Mr. Harry Emerson Fosdick for his prayer for our cause.

TO A LAD LEAVING FOR FRANCE

Well, my friend, you’ve started!

You’ve started to do the biggest job that ever man had to do. This is just to shake your hand and say, God bless you!

You’re leaving all that’s most cherished and loved behind you, and many’s the time when your thoughts will span the distant miles as they do now. You’re probably thinking about yourself, your life, as never before. You’ve laid on your bunk in the barrack at night and some one yelled, “Aw! Put the lights out!” and all was darkness and the silence of sleep. But you were awake with your thoughts and they raced over the years gone by. Or maybe as you lie in your hammock on ship, with the hum and throb of the engines in your ear, or stand on deck and gaze out on the endless expanse of the ever-restless sea, there come into your mind on the wings of memory more serious thoughts than ever before: your tender baby years, watched over so lovingly by your devoted parents; the happy, irresponsible years of your boyhood and school days; your start in life, your opportunities, all the full independence of the past, contrasting strangely, acutely, with the iron discipline of the army; you’re thinking about your friends: you’re thinking about your aspirations, your mistakes, your defeats, your struggles, your successes. . . . And you’re thinking about the things that were to be, your own home perhaps, your place in life, and little children to climb with simple trust upon your knees; and you’re heartsick maybe at this thing which came so suddenly upon you. which pulled you out of these pleasant places and sends you over into the great unknown!

This may be your thought.

Or, maybe you’re filled with the spirt of this fight, and long to be there and doing; to feel yourself a part of this titanic effort to cast out of the world forever the blasphemous, boastful tyrant.

Whether you’re sad or whether you’re glad, there’s a man-sized job ahead of you; a job that will take all you have of courage, of endurance, of faith; a fight that will call into play every potentiality and power you possess; a fight that will show what you are. You’re going to be tested and tried, thrown into the furnace of suffering.

What are you going to do about it?

How are you going to meet it?

There’ll be times when your body will fall from fatigue, when your spirit may wilt in weariness. There’ll be times when the stench and the dread and the terror and the horror and the misery of it all will nearly overwhelm you. There’ll be times when you’ll face a hell of shot, and flame and gas, and look death squarely in the eye.

What are you going to do about it?

Are you going to sniffle and bend and break, or are you going to grit your teeth, set your jaws and say: “I’m going on! I’m going to see this thing through!”?

There’ll be times lad, when, away in that distant land, on furlough from the fight, the siren voices of temptation will call you with alluring charm. They’ll say: “What’s the use? You’re going back to hell after this and you may never come out. Have a big time! Have a fling! and the rest be damned! Besides, who’ll know?”

Lad! No one will ever know but God and you! But there is no wound whose pain and agony burn and sear a man like that of remorse. No cry from human heart so fearful as this: Oh! if I had not done it! Oh! If things could be different! Yes. No one will know but God and you.

But others care! There are your dear ones at home: the little mother who sits and prays, who each night sends over the seas a last loving goodnight thought for her boy; the father whose heart is filled with pride in his son; the sweet, pure sister; or maybe the sweetheart; or the faithful, longing, prayerful, patient wife; the waiting kiddies who talk of daddie. They care! They care! And the countless homes of America to be saved from the desecration of the unclean brute—they care! And the blessed country which nurtured you, which educated you, which gave you opportunity and freedom and a man’s place in the world—America cares! Parents, loved ones, your country, all cry out to you as did Maccabee of old to his son, “Be strong, my lad, be strong, and show yourself the man!”

Keep yourself fit to fight the good fight! We’re all thinking of you. We’re all praying for you. More! We have confidence in you. We have faith in you. We know you will do your job because you can do it.

America expects great things of you. She has the right to ask your all. She does not seek wealth nor power, but simple justice and sweet liberty for all men. Bring back her standard unsullied as she would have you!

And may God bless you and keep you and bring you back in greater strength to enjoy the peace and freedom which your effort will have brought to bless humanity!

Our hand and heart and prayers! And God be with you!

PRAYERS

Morning Prayer
Evening Prayer
Prayer Before Going Into Battle
Prayer When Out on Guard or Any Other Dangerous Duty
For the Day’s Round in Camp
For Those at Home
For All Mothers
Against Impurity
Prayer for Our Country
Prayers on Recovery from Sickness
Prayers for the Sick and Wounded (a prayer of the afflicted, when he fainteth, and poureth out his complaint before the Lord)
Prayer in Times of Affliction

For those at home

O God, Father in Heaven,
who hast set Thy earthly children in families
and given to them the joys of human companionship,
bless, we beseech Thee, those from whom we are separated.

May our mutual love bridge the distance between us.

Assure them
that in absence
our hearts are true
and may the thought of them
restrain and inspire us
day by day.

Relieve them
from undue anxiety in our behalf.

Spare them,
if it be Thy will,
to us
and us to them,
so that in Thine own good time
we may look once more
upon their faces.

Bestow upon them
all that they need
for the body and the soul.

We thank Thee
for those who ministered to us when we were young and weak,
for the friends and kindred of maturer years,
and for all whom we love.
May we be more worthy of their noblest thoughts of us
and may we serve them better in the future than in the past.