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a community-grown, libre Open Access archive of Jewish prayer and liturgical resources
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🆕 Prayer for the Recovery of President James A. Garfield, by Rabbi Leopold Rosenstraus (9 July 1881) Contributor(s):A prayer for the recovery of President James A. Garfield was offered at Beth El Hebrew Congregation (Alexandria, Virginia) by Rabbi Leopold Rosenstraus in a public service on 9 July 1881 after the president was mortally wounded earlier that month (2 July) in an ultimately successful assassination attempt. The prayer was published on the front page of The Hebrew Leader (15 July 1881). . . . Prayer for the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ, by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK & the Commonwealth 2022) Contributor(s):This Prayer for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee was shared by the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, Ephraim Mirvis, on 25 May 2022, via their website. . . . Contributor(s):Jews around the world fast on the day after Rosh haShanah to commemorate the murder of Gedalyahu son of Aḥiqam, the officer appointed over Judah who sought to make peace and rebuild before being murdered by a religious extremist and officially bringing an end to the first commonwealth era. The tragedy of Gedalyahu is not just that he was assassinated, but that he was assassinated by a Jew who was using religion (specifically his claim to the line of David) as an excuse. This narrative bears striking similarities to the murder of Prime Minister Yitzḥaq Rabin on 12 Marḥeshvan 5756. On account of this, some Jews have taken it upon themselves to memorialize Rabin on Tzom Gedalyahu as well. This piyyut could be added to the seliḥot for Tzom Gedalyahu, or part of a new seliḥot service for 12 Marḥeshvan. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer for the recovery of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg after a dangerous fall she endured in her office on 8 November 2018. . . . הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | Prayer in honour of the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ, by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK & the Commonwealth 2016) Contributor(s):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. . . . Contributor(s):A prayer upon the inauguration of President Obama in January 2009. . . . Contributor(s):A ḳinah (lamentation) for Israeli Prime Minister Yitzḥak Rabin, assassinated on 4 November 1995, the yahrzeit of which is י״א בְּמַרחֶשְׁוָן (11 Marḥeshvan). . . . Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Kurt L. Metzger on 5 June 1968 Contributor(s):The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 5 June 1968. . . . Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Harold P. Smith on 4 December 1963 Contributor(s):The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 4 December 1963. . . . Contributor(s):The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 19 February 1959. . . . Children’s Prayer for the Recovery of our President [Dwight D. Eisenhower], by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (1955) Contributor(s):A prayer for the recovery of President Dwight D. Eisenhower following a severe heart attack in late September 1955. . . . תפלה למספד על המלך גארג | Prayer for the Memorial Service of King George Ⅵ (Office of the Chief Rabbi of the UK & the Commonwealth, 15 February 1952) Contributor(s):This is the prayer offered at the “Memorial Service on Friday, 15th February, 1952 (Eve of Sabbath, 19th Shebat, 5712) at the New West End Synagogue (London, W. 2) for His Late Majesty King George (VI)” as given by the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (officiated by Dayan Dr. I. Grunfeld and Rabbi Dr. A. Altmann, M.A. [Joint Deputies for the Chief Rabbi], the Rev. Ephraim Levine, M.A., the Rev. R.H. Levy, M.A.). Many thanks to Jeffrey Maynard for providing the page images of the service containing this prayer at his blog, Jewish Miscellanies. . . . Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Dr. Leo Baeck on 12 February 1948 Contributor(s):The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on Lincoln’s Birthday, 12 February 1948. . . . Prayer on the 100th Anniversary of the Death of George Washington, by Rabbi Edward N. Calisch (1899) Contributor(s):This “Washington Anniversary Prayer” was offered by Rabbi Edward Nathan Calisch during the Masonic ceremonies at Mt. Vernon, 18 December 1899, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of George Washington’s death. Rabbi Calisch published it in his autobiography, Three Score and Twenty (1945), pp. 47-48. . . . Contributor(s):The proclamation and prayer of chief rabbi Yaakov Yosef, on the centennial of President George Washington’s Inauguration . . . Contributor(s):A prayer for the well-being, health and recovery of Emperor Frederick Ⅲ by Rabbi Kaufmann Kohler (Temple Beth-El, New York) published in “In Town: Praying for the Emperor,” The Jewish Messenger (4 May 1888), page 2. . . . Prayer on the Jubilee of Her Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, by Rabbi Dr. Nathan Marcus Adler (21 June 1887) Contributor(s):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. . . . Contributor(s):This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais after the death of President Ulysses S. Grant (April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) concludes a eulogy published in the The Jewish Record on 14 August 1885, “General Grant: Substance of a Discourse Delivered Last Sabbath by the Rev. S. Morais.” A note in the preface to the article dates the eulogy to the preceding Sabbath, 8 August 1885. The article was preserved in a newspaper clipping found on page 338 of the Sabato Morais Ledger. . . . Thanksgiving Day prayer in honor of King Umberto Ⅰ of Italy upon the passing of a cholera epidemic, by Rabbi Sobato Morais (28 November 1884) Contributor(s):This prayer in admiration of King Umberto Ⅰ of Italy after the passing of a cholera epidemic was preserved on page 246 of the Sobato Morais Scrapbook (a/k/a, the Morais Ledger) in a clipping from the Philadelphia Inquirer on 28 November 1884, “The Church and Its Duty: Rev. S. Morais on the Limits of Politics in the Pulpit.” . . . Prayer upon the death of President James A. Garfield, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (after 19 September 1881) Contributor(s):This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais after the death of President James Garfield is recorded in an undated newspaper clipping preserved on page 176 of the Sabato Morais Ledger. The clipping appears next to one printed in the Jewish Record on 30 September 1881, a few days prior to Yom Kippur that year. From the column borders similar to both clippings, the prayer appears to also have been published in the Jewish Record, possibly as part of a service in eulogy for the fallen president sometime soon after 19 September. . . . Prayer for the Recovery of President James A. Garfield in the merit of the Founding Fathers, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (before 19 September 1881) Contributor(s):This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais during the lingering death of President James Garfield is recorded in an undated and unsourced newspaper clipping, “A Petition in the Synagogue. Rabbi Morais’ Fervent Petition Before the Mickve Israel Congregation” preserved on page 237 of the Sabato Morais Ledger. The prayer is unique in appealing in the merit of four of the Founding Fathers of the United States (the first three presidents: George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, along with Benjamin Franklin). . . . Contributor(s):This prayer for the recovery of President James A. Garfield after he had been shot and his wound infected was offered by Rabbi Sabato Morais and recorded in The Sunday Dispatch, “The Suspense of a Nation. A Thought and a Prayer” on 4 September 1881. It was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (p. 175, clipping 297), 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.) . . . Contributor(s):This prayer for the recovery of President James A. Garfield after he had been shot and his wound infected was offered by Rabbi Sabato Morais and recorded in the Jewish Record, “Prayers for Our Sick President. Synagogue Mickvé Israel” on 26 August 1881. It was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (p. 174, clipping 296), 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.) . . . Contributor(s):This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais for the recovery of President James Garfield after his being shot on 2 July 1881 is recorded in a newspaper clipping preserved on page 236 of the Sabato Morais Ledger, “‘A Nation Wounded.’ Opinions as Expressed in the Synagogue by a Prominent Rabbi.” The origin and date of the clipping is not indicated, however, the prayer was offered during the dedication of a synagogue in the then newly built Philadelphia Jewish Foster Home and Orphan Asylum on 12 June 1881 in Germantown. If you know the date of this synagogue dedication or the newspaper from which this clipping was taken, please leave a comment or contact us. We know a handful of prayers for President Garfield offered by Rabbi Morais over the course of the former’s lingering death, and this prayer seems to us to be the earliest of them, probably given sometime in July following the assassination, and recorded in the Philadelphia Inquirer or another newspaper. . . . Prayer before the Tomb of George Washington at Mount Vernon by Rabbi Dr. Max Lilienthal (13 July 1876) Contributor(s):A prayer of Rabbi Lilienthal offered at a tree planting ceremony at the grave of George Washington attended by the delegates to the Council of Hebrew Congregations (the predecessor to the Union for Reformed Judaism) and published in the The Critic and Record, 13 July 1876, on the fourth page. . . . Contributor(s):This prayer in eulogy for Vice President Henry Wilson was preserved on page 78 of the Sobato Morais Scrapbook (a/k/a, the Morais Ledger) in a clipping from the Evening Telegraph on 1 December 1875, “The Late Vice-President: A Eulogy by Rev. S. Morais, of the Seventh Street Synagogue.” . . . תפלה לשלום המלכות | Prière pour l’empereur | Prayer for the Well-being of Louis Napoleon Ⅲ, Emperor of France (1869) Contributor(s):A prayer for the French Emperor, Napoleon III, a year before he was captured by the Prussians in the doomed Franco-Prussian War of 1870, including the formula of the prayer, haNoten Teshuah, as adapted for Napoleon III. . . . Contributor(s):Exalted are you Lincoln. Who is like you! You were highly respected among Kings and Princes. All that you accomplished you did with a humble spirit. You are singular and cannot be compared to anyone else. Who among the great are like Lincoln? Who can be praised like you? . . . Contributor(s):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). . . . תפילה לה׳ בעד חיי׳ המלך אדוננו ובעד טובת | Prayer for Alexandru Ioan Ⅰ Cuza, Domnitor of Romania, by Rabbi Meir Leibush (1862) Contributor(s):The life of Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yeḥiel Michel (MALBIM, 1809-1879) as a wandering rabbi and brilliant intellect reflects the changing expectations of Jews and Jewish religious authorities during the period of emancipation in 19th century Eastern Europe. In his capacity as the chief rabbi of Bucharest, Romania, MALBIM composed a prayer for Prince Alexander Ioan I Cuza (1820-1873), Domnitor. The prince had united the Danube principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1862 to form the Kingdom of Romania. During his reign, he managed to bring about a series of important land reforms benefiting the peasantry of Romania, and he did try to improve the situation for Jews under his rule. The emancipation of the Jews of Romania, announced with the Proclamation of Islaz during the Wallachian Revolution of 1848, had never actually gone into effect. In 1865, the prince announced a project which would lead to the “gradual emancipation of the people of Mosaic faith” but this effort was never realized due to Alexandru Ioan’s forced abdication and replacement by a Prussian King in 1866. . . . Prayer of praise for Tsar Alexander II, emancipator of the serfs of the Russian Empire (HaMelitz, 1861) Contributor(s):This prayer of praise of Tsar Alexander II (1818-1881), for largely ending feudalism by emancipating the serfs of the Russian Empire was written by an unknown author and published in HaMelitz on Thursday, 28 March 1861. . . . Am Todestage des Gedaljahu. Ẓom Gedalja | [Prayer] on the Day of the Assassination of Gedalyahu (צוֹם גְּדַלְיָה), by Yehoshua Heshil Miro (1829) Contributor(s):“Am Todestage des Gedaljahu. Zom Gedalja.” was written by Yehoshua Heshil Miro and published in his anthology of teḥinot, בית יעקב (Beit Yaaqov) Allgemeines Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauen mosaischer Religion. In the original 1829 edition, תחנות Teḥinot ein Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauenzimmer mosaischer Religion, it appears as teḥinah №41, on pp. 52-53. In the 1835 and 1842 editions, it appears as teḥinah №40, on pp. 63-64. . . . Discours Prononcé dans le Temple de la rue Sainte-Avoye | Speech on the Anniversary of the coronation of Napoleon Ⅰ, by Rabbi Abraham de Cologna (3 December 1809) Contributor(s):A speech given in honor of Napoleon concluding with a prayer by Abraham de Cologna, chief rabbi of the Central Consistory of Israelites, in 1809 on the anniversary of the emperor’s coronation. . . . הוד מלכות | Preghiera e Benedizione al Sovrano Napoleone Ⅰ | Prayer and Blessing for Napoleon Ⅰ on his birthday, in the Synagogue of the Jews of Livorno (15 August 1808) Contributor(s):A prayer service for the Festival of Napoleon celebrating the Emperor’s birthday in 1808, included a novel prayer by Rabbi Jacob Nunes-Vais (1782-1812) for introducing the traditional prayer for the king, “hanoten teshua,” published in הוד מלכות (Hod Malkhut) Preghiere Recitate, E Cantate Nel Tempio Degli Ebrei Di Livorno, Il di 15. Agosto 1808. Ricorrendo Il Faustissimo Giorno Natalizio Di S. M. I., E R. L’ Augustissimo Napoleone I Imperatore De’Francesi, Re D’Italia, E Protettore Della Confederazione Del Reno. . . . Bénédiction pour Napoléon | Blessing on the Festival of Napoleon Ⅰ, by Rabbi David Sinẓheim (15 August 1806) Contributor(s):A prayer by Rabbi David Sinzheim given during the Festival of Napoleon the Great on 15 August 1806, as recorded in Collection des Actes de l’Assemblée des Israélites de France et du Royaume d’Italie, pp. 218-219, and Raccolta degli atti dell’assemblea degli Israeliti di Francia e del regno d’Italia, p. 221. . . . Prayer for the Government in honor of George Washington, First President of the United States of America by Ḳ.Ḳ. Beit Shalome (1789) Contributor(s):The following prayer for the government was composed by Congregation Beth Shalome in Richmond, Virginia in 1789. Please note the acrostic portion of the prayer in which the initial letters of the succeeding lines form the name: Washington. . . . תְשׁוּאוֹת מִקְהִלַת הָעִבְרִים בְּרוֹמָא | Universitatis Hebreorum urbis Gratiarum actio | Plaudit for Pope Benedict ⅩⅣ, by the Jewish Community of Rome (1751) Contributor(s):A plaudit of gratitude in Latin and Hebrew for Pope Benedict XIV’s interventions after the River Tiber overflowed its banks and flooded the Jewish Ghetto in Rome. . . . Contributor(s):The seliḥot for the day after Rosh haShanah, which is Tsom Gedalyah – the fast of Gedaliah. . . . אבלה נפשי | Avlah Nafshi (My soul mourns), a seliḥah for Tsom Gedalyah attributed to Rav Saadia Gaon (10th c.) Contributor(s):A seliḥah for the Fast of Gedalyah, attributed to Rav Saadia Gaon. . . . |
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