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Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations

The Office of the Chief Rabbi is the institutional identity for the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth [UK]. Unlike in other European countries, individuals serving as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations are not formally designated by an authoritative state or civic body. Rather, the "office" is occupied by the senior rabbi of the United Synagogue, the umbrella institution for its affiliated Orthodox and Ashkenazi synagogues in the United Kingdom. The position of Chief Rabbi in the UK grew out of an 18th century desire among British Jewry for a respected representative figure comparable to the Archbishop of Canterbury for Anglican Christians. Rabbi Aaron Hart (1670–1756), rabbi of the Great Synagogue in London since 1704, was thus regarded by the 1750s as the first of the British chief rabbis. Over the next century and as British Jewry continued to grow, by the tenure of Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler (from 1845-1890) the communal leadership and halakhic authority of the position had become firmly established. When in 1870, the Great Synagogue joined with four other synagogues, and was formally recognized as the United Synagogue by an Act of Parliament, the Chief Rabbi was legally established as its head. The current chief rabbi of the UHC and senior rabbi of the United Synagogue is Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis. (The Office of the Chief Rabbi should not be mistaken for the London Beit Din, the Court of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations.)

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Prayer of Intercession [for Britain in the War against Nazi Germany], by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations 1940)

Contributed by: Joseph Herman Hertz, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

“Prayer for Intercession,” almost certainly written by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz, was published in the Prayer Book of Jewish Members of H.M. Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1940), pp. 18-19.


Prayer Before a Battle (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations 1940)

Contributed by: Joseph Herman Hertz, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

“Prayer Before a Battle” appears at the start of Prayer Book of Jewish Members of H.M. Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1940), p. 5.


Prayer on the Declaration of War [against Nazi Germany], by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations 1940)

Contributed by: Joseph Herman Hertz, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

This prayer for victory and deliverance in the war against Nazi Germany, simply titled “War Prayer,” appears in the Prayer Book of Jewish Members of H.M. Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1940), pp. 16-17. Sections of the prayer were adapted from the prayer on the declaration of war by Rabbi Hertz in 1914 at the outset of World War I. In the preface to the payer book, Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz specifically mentions this prayer, among others, as having been newly revised for this publication. The initial version of the prayer, likely to have been written by Rabbi Hertz, was published by the Office of the Chief Rabbi for a 17 Tammuz service in July 1938. A revision was disseminated after Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938). This is the third version of the prayer.


Prayer for Military Personnel on Active Service (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations 1940)

Contributed by: Joseph Herman Hertz, Mark Gollop, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

“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.


📖 [Abridged] Prayer Book for Jewish Members of His Majesty’s Forces (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations 1940)

Contributed by: Joseph Herman Hertz, Mark Gollop, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Aharon N. Varady (digital imaging and document preparation)

An abridged prayer book for Jewish personnel in the service of the British armed forces in 1940, prepared by the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire, Joseph H. Hertz, based upon the 1917 prayer book offered during the first World War.


Prayer for the Success of the Conference on Palestine Convened by His Majesty’s Government (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, 19 February 1939)

Contributed by: Joseph Herman Hertz, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

A prayer for the success of the London Conference of 1939 which ultimately resulted in the publication of the 1939 White Paper.


תפילה לעזרת היהודים תושבי גרמניה | Prayer for German Jewry under Nazi oppression before and after Kristallnacht (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations 1938)

Contributed by: Joseph Herman Hertz, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

An untitled prayer on behalf of German Jewry under Nazi oppression disseminated in Bombay, likely after Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938).


Armistice Day Prayer, by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations 1923)

Contributed by: Joseph Herman Hertz, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

This “Armistice Day Prayer” was composed in 1923 by the Office of the Chief Rabbi on the Anniversary of the cessation of conflict on November 11th marking the end of the Great War (later known as World War I).


תפלה להצלחת ועד השלום בװאשינגטון | Prayer for the Success of the Disarmament Conference at Washington, by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, 12 November 1921)

Contributed by: Joseph Herman Hertz, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

This “Prayer for the Success of the Disarmament Conference at Washington [D.C.]” (12 November 1921) was prepared by the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire, Joseph Herman Hertz. The prayer was recited on Shabbat after the prayer for the British royal family.


Prayer on the Declaration of War [against Imperial Germany], by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations 1914)

Contributed by: Joseph Herman Hertz, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

“Prayer Composed by the Chief Rabbi on the Declaration of War. (August 1914.),” by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz, was published in the Prayer Book for Jewish Sailors and Soldiers [of H.M. Forces] (Office of the Chief Rabbi 1914), p. 32.


Prayer for Sailors and Soldiers on Active Service, by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations 1914)

Contributed by: Joseph Herman Hertz, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

“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.



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