This is an archive of prayers composed in the event of an epidemic or pandemic. If you have composed a prayer in such an event, please share it here. Filter resources by Name Filter resources by Tag Filter resources by Category
This seliḥah, “Moshel ba-Elyonim Atah Yadata,” was written by Rabbi Mosheh ben Yeshayah Menaḥem Bachrach during an epidemic. It is included in the Seliḥot of Posen, Krakow, Prague, Worms, and Alsace. The text here was transcribed from the Siddur Kol Bo, vol. 3 (1923), p. 33. . . . This is a prayer for the welfare of domesticated animals (behemot), specifically cattle. “Tefilat mashbit milḥamot v’ha-dever min ha-behemot” (HUC MS 465) was composed by an unknown author, sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century, and possibly in a Jewish community in Italy. The text contains the following clues: 1) a prayer for a local Duke (instead of the Emperor Napoleon), 2) mention of warfare, and 3) mention of some variety of epizootic contagious disease among cattle. Rinderpest, known since ancient times, is the most likely candidate for the latter, especially in Italy in the 18th century (where it was first described by early veterinary science) but it was also in Europe following the defeat of Napoleon. While typhus and hoof-and-mouth disease are also possible, Dr. Susan Einbinder, who brought our attention to this prayer via a lecture on epidemic prayers for the HUC Klau Library, notes that the biblical reference to the “bellowing of the cattle” evokes the actual tortuous lived experience of the afflicted animals, and the suffering of their human minders, helpless to relieve them. The tragedy of rinderpest only ended in the 20th century after a concerted multi-national effort to eradicate the disease — one of the earliest modern multinational initiatives to improve the world. (A related disease, Ovine Rinderpest, first described in the 20th century, has not yet been eradicated and affects goats and sheep as well as cattle.) . . . “Composed for the Day of Atonement during the Prevalence of the Yellow Fever in New York in 1803,” this prayer was likely composed by Abraham Mears Isaacks (1765-1815). It was published in the Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society number 20 (1911), p. 158, as submitted by Rebecca E. Mitchell, one of Isaacks descendants. . . . This is a faithful transcription of a prayer appearing at the end of a sermon delivered by Rabbi Abraham de Sola in K.K. Shearith Yisrael (Montreal), “during the prevalence of asiatic cholera,” and subsequently published in the Occident and American Jewish Advocate (7:7, Tishrei 5610/October 1849). The English translation is a “free translation” made by Rabbi Abraham de Sola. . . . A popular prophylactic amulet in the event of an epidemic. . . . 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. . . . A prayer for the end of a cholera epidemic written by Rabbi Dr. Moses Gaster in 1892. . . . A prayer for protection against noxious gases and people. . . . A tkhine in the event of an epidemic. . . . A song in Yiddish bemoaning the suffering brought about in an epidemic. . . . This prayer for “After the Epidemic [of 1918]” by Rabbi Abraham Cronbach is found in his, Prayers of the Jewish Advance (1924), on page 127. . . . A liturgy of symbolic foods exclusively for the eve of the Hebrew new year 5781. A traditional egalitarian Hebrew text being a newly revised liturgy with contemporary text and additional prayers suitable to our perilous and worrisome state at the beginning of this second year of the pandemic and including a modern English translation together with learned annotations and guidance for observance in the home. . . . A Passover supplement created for recitation at Passover seders in the context of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. . . . A prayer offered in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus, by Rav Shmuly Yanklowitz (Valley Beit Midrash) . . . A prayer for workers and worker needs amid the 2020 COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. . . . A kavvanah before a vaccination offered by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried of Ḳ.Ḳ. Beit Tefilah Yisraeli in Tel Aviv. . . . A Viddui written for Jews who are losing a beloved to a plague, and who may not be able to be physically present or close to their loved one. . . . A prayer for those receiving vaccinations. . . . A prayer from the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom amidst the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. . . . A prayer disseminated by the Assemblea Dei Rabbini D’Italia in response to the Coronavirus outbreak in Italy and around the world. . . . A prayer for the medical workers and researchers on the front lines of treating the afflicted and finding a cure for the COVID19 coronavirus pandemic. . . . A private prayer for those dwelling in quarantine and are unable to fulfill any mitzvot that require public action. Can be recited as part of the “Shomea Tefilah” section of the amidah, or independently. . . . A prayer for health and safety in public, communal prayer during the time of the coronavirus pandemic. . . . A prayer for those administering vaccinations. . . . Yizkor and other prayers for Shemini Atsertet during the coronavirus pandemic in 5781 (2020). . . . A prayer in response to the suffering of the coronavirus and the danger posed by its global spread. . . . Tags: 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak, 2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Israel, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., COVID-19 coronavirus, Epidemic, Masorti Movement, מי שברך mi sheberakh, Needing Vocalization, Pandemic, ישראל Yisrael A Mi Sheberakh prayer offered on behalf of those battling, suffering from, and imperiled by the 2019-2020 Coronavirus Outbreak and pandemic. . . . An adaptation of the kinnah, “Eli Tsiyon v’Ar’eha,” Composed for Tisha B’Av 5780 in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. . . . A prayer disseminated by the Masorti Movement in Israel in response to the Coronavirus outbreak in Israel and around the world. . . . A Hoshana prayer supplement for Hoshana Rabbah during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in 2020. . . . A prayer-poem by Rabbi Arthur Waskow reflecting on our difficulty breathing, as a society, as humanity, and as a interconnected, interbreathing biosphere. . . . A prayer-poem by Rabbi Arthur Waskow in 2021 reflecting on our difficulty breathing, as a society, as humanity, and as a interconnected, interbreathing biosphere. . . . Tags: 2020 coronavirus pandemic, 2020 United States racial reckoning, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., אלהי נשמה Elohai neshamah, English vernacular prayer, paraliturgical elohai neshamah, paraliturgical nishmat kol ḥai, Prayers as poems, September 2020 Western United States wildfires, State v. Chauvin A prayer of gratitude upon receiving a COVID vaccination. . . . A prayer upon receiving a vaccination for COVID. . . . This prayer for a parent (or primary caregiver) on the vaccination of their children by Cantor Hinda Labovitz was first shared via their Facebook page on 5 November 2021, . . . Liturgy for a motsei shabbat havdallah ritual centering the experience of those with long-COVID. . . . “A Prayer for Removing the Mask,” was composed by Rabbi Dr. Dalia Marx and Rabbi Inbar Bluzer Shalem in June 2021. The English translation was made by Alex Cicelsky. . . . This prayer for World AIDS Day was first offered by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami sometime before May 2024. . . . This prayer for relief from the COVID-19 epidemic was first offered by Rabbi Lior Bar-Ami sometime before May 2024, likely in 2020. . . . |
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