This is an archive of prayers composed in response to, or in anxious anticipation of, war. Click here to contribute a prayer you have written, or a transcription and translation of a historical prayer. Filter resources by Collaborator Name Filter resources by Tag Filter resources by Category Filter resources by Language Filter resources by Date Range
This is a transcription, vocalization, and translation of a manuscript of a prayer for peace in Europe held in the collection of the Columbia University Library. The prayer is undated but the language of the prayer and the use of Italian indicate to me that this was a prayer made by an Italian Jewish community during either the first Italian War of Independence 1848-9, or one of the two succeeding wars in 1860 and 1870. . . . This prayer in support of the Crimean War was offered by Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire on the National Day of Humiliation and Prayer, 26 April 1854, and published in The Asmonian (19 May 1854), on page 6. . . . This prayer for the peace of the United States was offered by Rabbi M.J. Michelbacher at Congregation Beit Ahabah (Richmond, Virginia) on the occasion of a national day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer proclaimed by President James Buchanan for January 4th, 1861. The prayer was published in the Richmond Daily Gazette and reprinted as “Another Prayer for the Union” in The Occident and American Jewish Advocate (17 January 1861), page 4. . . . This “Prayer of the C.S. Soldiers” was written by Max Michelbacher of Congregation Beth Ahabah, Richmond, Virginia, and distributed to Jewish soldiers in the Confederate armed forces during the Slaveholders’ Rebellion (1861-1865). While this prayer is undated, we have tentatively given the date ca. 1861 given the proximity of Richmond, Virginia to the First Battle of Bull Run. . . . This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais was offered on Shemini Atseret, the day decreed by President Abraham Lincoln for “public humiliation, prayer and fasting” (26 September 1861) as recorded in an “Address. Delivered by the Rev. S. Morais, Minister of the Congregation Mikveh Israel, Philadelphia, on the National ‘Fast Day.'” published in The Jewish Messenger on 4 October 1861. It was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (page 21, clipping 022), an archive of newsclippings recording material he contributed to the press, among other announcements. The annotation accompanying the clipping reads, “at the breaking out of the unfortunate Civil War.” (Many thanks to the Library of the University of Pennsylvania for helping to make this resource accessible.) . . . This Thanksgiving Day Prayer for 28 November 1861 was reprinted in The Jewish Messenger (vol. 10, no. 12, p. 91), on 13 December 1861. It was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (page 22, clipping 023), an archive of newsclippings recording material he contributed to the press, among other announcements. (Many thanks to the Library of the University of Pennsylvania for helping to make this resource accessible.) Unfortunately, that bit of clipping containing the prayer had disintegrated enough to make much of the prayer illegible. But thankfully, a microfilm copy of the The Jewish Messenger for the date of printing was available at the HUC-JIR Klau Library, Cincinnati. . . . This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais (1828-1897), of Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, was initially delivered on 15 April 1862 (the first day of Passover) at the conclusion of a sermon later printed in The Philadelphia Inquirer on 23 April 1862. A copy of that sermon was preserved in the Sabato Morais Ledger (p. 22, clip no. 23). (The prayer was also read by President Abraham Lincoln, who sent Rabbi Morais an acknowledgment). The letter was read into the congressional record on 29 February 1944 by Arthur G. Klein (1904-1968, D-NY) after it was brought to light by Moshe Davis at the 44th annual meeting of the American Jewish Historical Society on 12-13 February 1944 (Lincoln’s Birthday). . . . This prayer by Rabbi Max Michelbacher was offered on 27 March 1863, a day appointed by Jefferson Davis for fasting and prayer, and published together with a sermon. . . . This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais was offered on 30 April 1863 at the conclusion of a “A Sermon. Delivered in accordance with the Proclamation of the President of the United States, at the Synagogue in Seventh Street, above Arch, on the National Fast-day, by the Rev. S. Morais, Minister of the Congregation”, that was published in The Philadelphia Inquirer on 2 May 1863. It was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (page 23, clipping 026), an archive of newsclippings recording material he contributed to the press, among other announcements. (Many thanks to the Library of the University of Pennsylvania for helping to make this resource accessible.) . . . This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais was offered on US Independence Day (4 July 1863) at the conclusion of a sermon reguested by the “Philadelphia Union League” and delivered before Congregation Mikveh Israel, that was published in The Jewish Messenger on 10 July 1863. July 4th, 1863, was the day following the Battle of Gettysburg, and hand’t yet been recognized as the crucial turning point in the defeat of the Confederacy during the Slaveholder’s Revolt. It was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (page 22, clipping 023), an archive of newsclippings recording material he contributed to the press, among other announcements. (Many thanks to the Library of the University of Pennsylvania for helping to make this resource accessible.) . . . This prayer by Rabbi David Einhorn was offered at the conclusion of his “Sermon delivered on Thanksgiving Day, November 26th, 1863,” (page 13). . . . This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais was offered on Thanksgiving Day at the conclusion of a sermon reprinted the following day in The Philadelphia Inquirer on 25 November 1864. It was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (page 23, clipping 028), an archive of newsclippings recording material he contributed to the press, among other announcements. (Many thanks to the Library of the University of Pennsylvania for helping to make this resource accessible.) . . . This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais was offered in conclusion to a sermon delivered at some point days after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on 15 April 1865, and reprinted in The Philadelphia Inquirer on 20 November 1865. The time of the assassination corresponded to motsei shabbat and the beginning of the 6th day of Passover 5625, and so we can imagine this prayer having been delivered at some point over the remaining two festival days of Pesaḥ, on April 17th or 18th. The prayer was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (page 24, clipping 029), an archive of newsclippings recording material he contributed to the press, among other announcements. (Many thanks to the Library of the University of Pennsylvania for helping to make this resource accessible.) Next to the clipping, Rabbi Sabato has written, “Andrew Johnson proved anything but a worthy successor to the sainted Abraham Lincoln.” . . . This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais was offered (possibly for Thanksgiving Day) in conclusion to a sermon delivered at some point prior to its printing in The Philadelphia Inquirer on 8 December 1865. It was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (page 24, clipping 030), an archive of newsclippings recording material he contributed to the press, among other announcements. (Many thanks to the Library of the University of Pennsylvania for helping to make this resource accessible.) Above the clipping, Rabbi Sabato has written, “Andrew Johnson proved anything but a worthy successor to the sainted Abraham Lincoln.” . . . This prayer by Rabbi Arnold Kiss for the kingdom of Hungary in a time of national crisis, “Országos bánat, közös baj idején,” was first published in his anthology of prayers for Jewish women, Mirjam (1897) on p.289-291. . . . A Prayer for American Victory in the Spanish-American War by Rabbi Joshua Seigel (1846-1910), New York: Eliakum Zunser, [1898]. . . . This prayer appears to have been issued for Jewish soldiers serving in the German army at the start of World War Ⅰ and was recited in the synagogues in Fürth, Germany in 1914. The prayer was printed as a single leaflet by the printer Druck von Lehrberger & Co. in Frankfurt am Main. A leaflet ended up in the Central Chabad Lubavitch Library in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY (Card #87119), although no explanation has been offered how a Chasidic group based in Russia came to acquire this work. The original leaflet was digitized and made accessible via the Chabad library website. . . . “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. . . . “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 Our Country” by Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick was selected by Rabbi Morris S. Lazaron for inclusion in his World War Ⅰ era prayerbook, Side Arms: Readings, Prayers and Meditations for Soldiers and Sailors (1918), on pages 27-28. The prayer is printed unchanged from its original publication in The Challenge of the Present Crisis (H.E. Fosdick 1917), pp. 46-47. . . . “[Prayer] for those at home,” a variation of a prayer by Rev. Howard A. Bridgman (1860-1929), is found adapted (without Christian god-language) by Rabbi Morris S. Lazaron in his World War Ⅰ era prayerbook, Side Arms: Readings, Prayers and Meditations for Soldiers and Sailors (1918), on page 25. The original version of the prayer was first published in The Service Song Book (Young Men’s Christian Associations 1917), pp. 86 in the abridged edition. . . . “Dedication of Monument for War Heroes” was written and delivered by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak at the dedication of a war memorial at Ocean Parkway, “near Fort Hamilton Parkway,” Brooklyn, in 1924. The prayer was first published in Rabbi Bosniak’s לקוטי תפלות Liḳutei Tefilot: Pulpit and Public Prayers (1927), pp. 108-109. We are not familiar with any war memorials in the vicinity of Ocean Parkway near Fort Hamilton Parkway that were dedicated in 1924. (The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial dedicated by veterans of the Spanish-American War in 1924 can be found just off of Ocean Parkway on the southern edge of Asser Levy Park, but that is a far distance from Fort Hamilton Parkway. Perhaps it had been relocated at some point?) If you know the exact location of this memorial, please leave a comment, or contact us. . . . A hymn for the end of war by Rabbi Max D. Klein. . . . |
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