⤷ You are here:   Contributors (A→Z)  🪜   Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations   —⟶   Page 2
Avatar photo

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.)

https://chiefrabbi.org
Filter resources by Category
Filter resources by Tag

112th Congress | 1863–1875 cholera pandemic | 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak | 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Europe | 2020 coronavirus pandemic | 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United Kingdom | 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine | 2023-2025 Israel–Hamas war | abduction | animal protection | anti-fascist | anti-Nazi | Arabic translation | assassination | British Commonwealth | British East India Company | British Empire | British Jewry | British Monarchy | civic prayers | Cold War (1953–1962) | Colonialism | Constitutional Monarchy | COVID-19 coronavirus | Death of Elizabeth Ⅱ | dedications and consecrations | domesticated animals | Egyptian Jewry | elegies | English vernacular prayer | epizootic contagion | First French Empire | German Empire | German Jewry | Great Britain | Great French Revolution | הנותן תשועה haNotén Teshuah | Hindustan | Horatio Nelson | Indian Rebellion of 1857 | Israeli–Palestinian conflict | Jews of India | King Charles Ⅲ | King George Ⅲ | King George Ⅵ | London Conference of 1939 | London Corresponding Society | Mahdist War | Manchester synagogue attack | Mandatory Palestine | Maskil | Memorial prayers | מי שברך mi sheberakh | military | Mughal Empire | Napoleon Bonaparte | Napoleonic Wars | Needing Translation (into Arabic) | Needing Proofreading | Operation London Bridge | peace | pluralism | Prayers after an attempted assassination | prayers concerning children | Prayers for leaders | Prayers of Guest Chaplains | Prayers of Primary Caregivers | Psalms 142 | Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ | Queen Victoria | Queens | גאולה geūlah (redemption) | Religious Zionism | Second Intifada | Second Reich | U.S. Senate | synagogue consecration | תחינות teḥinot | thanksgiving | the Holocaust | Third Reich | United Kingdom | United Kingdom in the Napoleonic Wars | Washington Naval Conference | World War Ⅰ | World War Ⅱ | ישראל Yisrael | 18th century C.E. | 19th century C.E. | 20th century C.E. | 21st century C.E. | 56th century A.M. | 57th century A.M. | 58th century A.M.

Filter resources by Name
Filter resources by Language
Filter resources by Date Range

Enter a start year and an end year. BCE years are preceded by a hyphen (e.g., -1000).

Sorted Chronologically (new to old). Sort oldest first?

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.


📖 [Abridged] Prayer Book for Jewish Sailors and Soldiers [in H.M. Forces] (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations 1914)

Contributed by: Michael Adler, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations

A bilingual Hebrew-English prayerbook for soldiers and sailors in the service of His Majesty’s army and navy during World War One


Prayer on the Jubilee of Her Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, by Rabbi Dr. Nathan Marcus Adler (21 June 1887)

Contributed by: Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Nathan Marcus Adler, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations

This prayer by chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire Nathan Marcus Adler is found in an order of service prepared for the celebration of Queen Victoria’s jubilee in 1887.


תְּפִלָּה לְהַצְלָחַת חַיִל הַמַּלְכָּה בְּאֶרֶץ כּוּשׁ | A Prayer for Her Majesty’s Forces in the Sudan, by Rabbi Dr. Nathan Marcus Adler (1885)

Contributed by: Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Nathan Marcus Adler, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations

This prayer for the well-being of Her Majesty’s military forces in the Sudan, was offered by chief rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler for use by the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire in the context of British involvement in the Mahdist War, and specifically after news reached Britain of the Battle of Abu Klea in January 1885.


Prayer at the Consecration of the Central Synagogue by chief Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler (7 April 1870)

Contributed by: Nathan Marcus Adler, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

The prayer at the consecration of the Central Synagogue (in London) offered by the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire, Nathan Marcus Adler, on 7 April 1870. The prayer was reprinted in “A Sermon By the Chief Rabbi,” The Israelite, vol. 117 part 14 (29 April 1870), page 9.


Prayer for the cessation of a cattle plague and for protection from cholera, by Chief Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler (1865)

Contributed by: Nathan Marcus Adler, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

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.


Prayer for a Day of Prayer and Humiliation on Account of the Revolt in India, by the Synagogues of the United Congregations of the British Empire (6 November 1857)

Contributed by: Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Nathan Marcus Adler, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations

This “Prayer for a day of prayer and humiliation on account of the revolt in India” is the first of two prayers appearing in an article titled, “Humiliation” appearing in The Asmonean (6 November 1857), on page 5. As an introduction, the article begins: “The British nation have been holding a day of humiliation on account of the revolt in India. The following are copies of the prayers specially composed for the occasion.” The prayer is attributed simply to the Synagogues of the United Congregations of the British Empire but the author was likely its chief rabbi, Nathan Marcus Adler.


A Prayer Service in Thanksgiving for the military success of British over French Napoleonic forces, by Rabbi Moses Myers and David Levi (29 November 1798)

Contributed by: Aharon N. Varady (transcription), David Levi (translation), Moses Myers, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations

This is a full transcription of a patriotic and civic prayer service offered on 29 November 1798 at the German Jews’ Synagogue in London, composed by chief Rabbi Moses Myers and translated into English by David Levi. The unique prayers by Rabbi Myers are openly anti-French and anti-Napoleonic, in alignment with British sentiment in the war against the forces of Napoleon and thrilled with the naval defeat of Napoleonic forces at the Battle of the Nile in August of that year by rear admiral Horatio Nelson.


In the aftermath of an attempted assassination, a Prayer Service of Thanksgiving for the wellbeing of King George Ⅲ — by Rabbi Moses Myers and David Levi (29 October 1795)

Contributed by: Aharon N. Varady (transcription), David Levi (translation), Moses Myers, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations

This is a full transcription of a patriotic and civic prayer service offered on 29 October 1795 at the German Jews’ Synagogue in London, composed by chief Rabbi Moses Myers and translated into English by David Levi. The prayers on behalf of King George Ⅲ came in the aftermath of the unraveling of the “Popgun Plot,” an alleged 1794 conspiracy by three members of the London Corresponding Society to assassinate the kning by means of a poison dart fired from an airgun. Three members, Paul Thomas LeMaitre, John Smith, and George Higgins, were arrested in late 1794, and Robert Thomas Crossfield in December 1795. Ultimately, all four were acquitted of treason in May 1796, on the grounds that the chief witness against them was dead.


הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | Prayer for the Royal Family and Armed Forces of King Charles Ⅲ (2022)

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

This is the formula of the prayer for the government established by chief rabbi Joseph H. Hertz as introduced in 1935 for King George IV at the Royal Jubilee Service and included in his revised Authorised Prayer Book, vol. II (1942/3), p. 506-507. In 2014, this formula was amended by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis of the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK and the Commonwealth, to include a short passage in recognition of the United Kingdom’s armed forces.


הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | Prayer in honour of the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ, by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations 2016)

Contributed by: Ephraim Mirvis, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

This “Prayer in honour of the Queen’s 90th birthday,” was first delivered by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis for the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth on Shabbat 11th June 2016, and shared via their website in English. Side-by-side with the English we have set the Hebrew text from the formula of the traditional prayer “haNoten Teshua” as used by the Office of the Chief Rabbi as amended in 2014.


הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | Prayer for the Royal Family and Armed Forces of Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ (2014)

Contributed by: Ephraim Mirvis, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Unknown

In 2014, the formula of “haNoten Teshua” suggested by the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK and the Commonwealth, was amended by the chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, to include a short passage in recognition of the United Kingdom’s armed forces.


תהלים קמ״ב | Psalms 142, a maskil with translations in English and Arabic

Contributed by: Ephraim Mirvis, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, David ben Yishai (traditional attribution)

Psalms 142, traditionally attributed to King David, with translations in English and Arabic.



the Open Siddur Project  //  Main Menu

 

Categories Index: