Prayer for Rosh haShanah, by Rabbi Morrison David Bial (1962)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Morrison David Bial

Shared on:

7 September 2022 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Rosh haShanah (l’Maaseh Bereshit)

Tags:

20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Prayers for the New Year

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	O Lord, our God: At this time of the New Year, we “remember the days of old, we consider the years of many generations.” (Deuteronomy 32:7) Thou art timeless and changeless. The years pass before Thee in rapid succession; sunrise and sunset, and they are gone.
	But to us they are the measure of our lives, reminders of our impermanence, and goads to build our destinies on the Rock of the universe, on Thee.
	At the approach of the New Year, we ask Thee to bless us, O Lord, with health, with goodness, with understanding. Help us to achieve comprehension of our purpose in life: to be Thy messengers on earth. Help us to be bearers of love in a world that cries for love.
	May our labors be labors of aspiration and accomplishment. May our ideals be Thy Torah’s standards of the dignity of every human being, of justice, of right, of mercy. Give us zeal to make our days of worth, that we may bring goodness into being in our homes and in our communities, “so that the hearts of Thy children may be gladdened by the work of our hands.”^[1] From the Union Prayer Book (Revised Edition, 1918), “Evening Service for the Fifth Sabbath of the Month,” p. 35.
	We pray that this New Year will be for us, for all mankind, a year of peace and fulfillment among men and nations.
	Amen.

“New Year’s Prayer” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 66, from where this prayer was transcribed.

Source(s)

Notes[+]

Notes
1	From the Union Prayer Book (Revised Edition, 1918), “Evening Service for the Fifth Sabbath of the Month,” p. 35.

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“Prayer for Rosh haShanah, by Rabbi Morrison David Bial (1962)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Morrison David Bial

Born in New York in 1917, Morrison David Bial studied at Princeton Theological Seminary, served as a chaplain at Mitchell Field during World War II, and was ordained from the Jewish Institute of Religion in 1945. Rabbi Bial spoke from pulpits in the United States as well as in Dublin, Glasgow, and London. He led a number of tours to Israel, and published thirteen books, including The Rabbi’s Bible: Torah and The Rabbi’s Bible: Prophets (began in 1966, co-authored with Solomon Simon), Liberal Judaism at Home: the Practices of Modern Reform Judaism (1971), and Your Jewish Child (1978). Rabbi Bial spent over thirty years serving Temple Sinai in Summit, New Jersey, from 1953 until he became Rabbi Emeritus in 1985. From 1985–1995, Rabbi Bial joined Temple Beth Shalom in Ocala, Florida, revitalizing its interfaith movement, and served as Rabbi Emeritus until his death in 2004.

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17