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This is an archive of prayers written for or relevant to National Brotherhood Week in the United States.
National Brotherhood Week was established in 1934 by the National Conference for Christians & Jews (NCCJ) and dedicated to emphasizing the value of interdependence — for fostering interracial and interreligious tolerance, egalitarianism, and social welfare in a liberal democracy and multicultural civil society.
In 1943, during World War Ⅱ, President Roosevelt explained its purpose: “We are fighting for the right of men to live together as members of one family rather than as masters and slaves. We are fighting that the spirit of brotherhood which we prize in this country may be practiced here and by free men everywhere. It is our promise to extend such brotherhood earthwide which gives hope to all the world. The war makes the appeal of Brotherhood Week stronger than ever.”
To join the Brotherhood, one was invited to recite the following pledge written by director, David O. Selznick: “I pledge allegiance to this basic ideal of my country—fair play for all. I pledge myself to keep America free from the disease of hate that destroyed Europe. In good heart, I pledge unto my fellow Americans all the rights and the dignities I desire for myself. And to win support for these principles across the land, I join the American Brotherhood.”
The pledge was disseminated in cinemas via a short film, The American Creed (1946), highlighting the approbations of many of Hollywood’s luminaries:
Originally set for the third week of February, in 1943 during World War Ⅱ, President Franklin Roosevelt called for its celebration for ten days, from February 19th till the 28th. After the war, the “week” was either marked as the third week in February, February 17th through the 24th, or as the period between the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln (February 12th) and George Washington (February 22nd).
While the spirit of National Brotherhood Week was diminished to the extent that by the mid-1960s it became a popular subject of satire (famously by Tom Lehrer), nevertheless, the civic values it upholds deserve to be maintained and sustained and strengthened, especially in our times when the multicultural civil society upon which our democracy depends is being weakened. —Aharon N. Varady
Click here to contribute a prayer you have written, translated, or transcribed for National Brotherhood Week.
This “Special Prayer” for a Youth Service (11 April 1942) 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), p. 351. April 11th that year would have corresponded to the 24th of Nissan, i.e., a day following Passover 5702. . . .
This prayer by Stephen Vincent Benét (1898-1943) was first publicly read in 1942 in the course of a United Nations Day speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. . . .
This prayer by Rabbi Dudley Weinberg, National Chaplain of AMVETS after World War II, was included in the anthology, The Prayer Book of the Armed Forces (ed. Daniel A. Poling, 1951), pp. 79-80. The prayer was chosen for publication by the then National Commander of AMVETS, Harold Russell. . . .
The pedagogical song “Hashem is Everywhere!” by Rabbi Yosef Goldstein (1928-2013) can be found in the context of his story, “Where is Hashem?,” the second track on his album מדות טובות Jewish Ethics Through Story and Song (Menorah Records 1972). In the instructions to reciting the lyrics, the singer points first to the six cardinal directions and lastly, by pointing inward towards one’s self. In so doing, one explicitly affirms the idea of the divine within ourselves and implicitly, in each other. . . .
A prayer for universal peace offered by Hillel Yisraeli-Lavery as an opening prayer to a talk given in Hamilton, Canada by 2011 Nobel Prize winner Leymah Gbowee. . . .
A prayer for human solidarity to mitigate the danger that comes when our particular identity as Bnei Yisrael greatly eclipses our universal identity as Bnei Adam. . . .
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