Tropified texts for Purim 2021 juxtaposing the text of Queen Esther with the words of Vice President Kamalla Harris and poet laureate Amanda Gorman. . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), United States Congressional Record and Roland B. Gittelsohn
Shared on י׳ באדר ה׳תשפ״א (2021-02-21) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication
Categories: National Brotherhood Week, Memorial (Decoration) Day Readings
Tags: 20th century C.E., pluralism, United States, democracy, 58th century A.M., World War II, Eulogy, anti-fascist, anti-racist
A chaplain’s eulogy over the fallen soldiers of Iwo Jima (also known under the title, “The Highest and Purest Democracy”) . . .
A prayer for Brotherhood Week, written in 1951. . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Eugene Kohn and Mordecai Kaplan
Shared on ט׳ באדר ה׳תשפ״א (2021-02-20) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication
Categories: Lincoln's Birthday (February 12th), Washington's Birthday (3rd Monday of February), National Brotherhood Week
Tags: 20th century C.E., pluralism, United States, 58th century A.M., civic prayers, American Jewry of the United States, anti-fascist, anti-racist
A civic prayer for the Sabbath occurring during Brotherhood Week (February 19th-28th) in the United States. . . .
A prayer on being present in the moment of the inauguration of the 59th president of the United States. . . .

Contributor(s): David Seidenberg and neohasid.org
Shared on ז׳ בשבט ה׳תשפ״א (2021-01-19) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Government & Country, Inauguration Day (January 20th)
Tags: United States, תחינות teḥinot, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., כוונות kavvanot, American Jewry of the United States, 46th President of the United States, 59th Presidential Inauguration, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, 117th Congress
A prayer for the government of the United States of America on the day of the 59th Presidential Inauguration. . . .
A prayer for America on the day upon which right-wing militias carried out an insurrection upon the representative democratic institution of the United States. . . .
The full text of Rabbi Lauren Berkun’s benediction offered at the end of the third day of the Democratic National Convention, 20 August 2020. . . .
A prayer for the day after the US day of elections that all votes be counted. . . .
“A Prayer for the Spiritual Welfare of the United States at a Time of Trial,” by Rabbi Joe Schwartz was first published at The Forward on 28 June 2019. . . .

Contributor(s): Stephen Belsky
Shared on כ״ה במרחשון ה׳תשע״ט (2018-11-03) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Government & Country, Hateful Intolerance, Prejudice, and Bigotry, Mass Shootings & Gun Violence, Terror
Tags: United States, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Prayers after acts of terrible violence, United States of America, mass murder inside a synagogue, 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
A prayer composed in the aftermath of the mass murder of the Dor Ḥadash community at the Ets Ḥayyim (Tree of Life) Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh on Shabbat morning 27 October 2018. . . .

Contributor(s): Shmuly Yanklowitz
Shared on כ׳ בטבת ה׳תשע״ז (2017-01-17) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Government & Country, Coronations & Inaugurations
Tags: United States, resistance, Donald Trump, dissent, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, 45th President of the United States, Resist, United States General Election 2016, Needing Translation (into Hebrew)
Because of my commitment to the integrity of prayer, starting this week, I can no longer recite or say amen to the Shabbat prayer for the success of the U.S. President. So I have drafted a new prayer that I will plan to recite each Shabbat morning. If you also feel it’s important to pray for the U.S. government but also feel you cannot pray for the success of this President, feel free to use this or adapt it as you please. I felt that it was not enough to simply avoid the U.S. President in the prayer for the government but to remind myself of the billions of vulnerable people who are at risk under his rule, and challenge myself each Shabbat to build up the strength for another week of spiritual resistance. . . .
This opening prayer for Washington’s Birthday, “The Significance of the Day,” as first published in The Faith of America: Readings, Songs, and Prayers for the Celebration of American Holidays (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1951). . . .
This closing prayer for Washington’s Birthday as first published in The Faith of America: Readings, Songs, and Prayers for the Celebration of American Holidays (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1951). . . .
This opening prayer-essay for Lincoln’s Birthday, “The Significance of the Day,” was first published in The Faith of America: Readings, Songs, and Prayers for the Celebration of American Holidays (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1951) — as preface to a number of readings selected by Mordecai Kaplan, Eugene Kohn, and J. Paul Williams for the day. . . .
A prayer for thanksgiving day in the United States by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. . . .
A private prayer for fulfilling your civic duty and voting, whether in a voting booth or by mail. The concluding partial berakhah (without its full preamble, so as to avoid a berakhah levatala) is traditionally stated upon seeing a king of a nation, so in a democratic regime it seems appropriate to adopt for the voters. . . .
A virtual prayer for Veterans Day 2020. . . .

Contributor(s): David Zvi Kalman
Shared on ח׳ במרחשון ה׳תשע״ז (2016-11-08) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 International free-culture license
Categories: Prayers During Public Readings of the Tanakh, Government & Country, Elections & Voting, Election Day (1st Tuesday after November 1st)
Tags: United States, voting, democracy, תחינות teḥinot, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Philadelphia, United States General Election 2016, civic prayers
A prayer for the electorate to be recited together with the Prayer for Government on the Shabbat before an election (federal, state, or local). . . .
On Tuesday, we go to the polls in a momentous election that for many of us has generated a combination of anxiety, excitement, fear, and confusion. We offer you this prayer, which you can recite this Shabbat, before you vote, or while you are waiting for returns. . . .
The full text of Rabbi Julie Schonfeld’s benediction offered at the end of the first day of the Democratic National Convention, July 25th, 2016. . . .
The full text of Rabbi David Wolpe’s benediction offered at the end of the second day of the Democratic National Convention, September 6th, 2012. . . .
This prayer is broadly speaking a prayer that we learn to work together to create a better future, and it incorporates a pledge to do one thing for healing the world, for tikkun olam, that will make this future a reality. It’s not a prayer about winning or getting other people to see things our way, like some of the others I’ve seen. Whomever we support, we need to pray for strength for the next president, and for the whole country, to face what will be challenging times. . . .
The full text of Rabbi David Saperstein’s invocation offered on the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention, August 8th, 2008. . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Berl Lapin (translation) and Samuel Francis Smith
Shared on ב׳ בסיון ה׳תש״פ (2020-05-25) — under the following terms: Public Domain (17 U.S. Code §105 - Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works)
Categories: Memorial Day (last Monday of May)
Tags: 20th century C.E., United States, זמירות zemirot, 58th century A.M., Yiddish translation, Yiddish songs, American Jewry of the United States, Patriotic prayers, doikayt, hereness, God Save the Queen
The well-known patriotic hymn with a Yiddish translation. . . .
A megillah for a Purim Sheni commemorating a day of salvation the Jewry of the United States during the Civil War. . . .
The full text of Rabbi Ronne Friedman’s invocation offered on the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention, July 29th, 2004. . . .
A prayer for the government and of good governance in the United States of America. . . .
The full text of Rabbi Irving Greenberg’s invocation offered on the third day of the Democratic National Convention, August 16th, 2000. . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Will Durant, Christian Richard and Meyer I. David
Shared on כ״ה בשבט ה׳תשפ״א (2021-02-06) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication
Categories: Interdependence Day (September 12th), National Brotherhood Week
Tags: 20th century C.E., pluralism, United States, 58th century A.M., American Jewry of the United States, anti-fascist, interfaith tolerance, interdependence, human solidarity, anti-racist, anti-authoritarian
A Declaration of Interdependence co-authored during WW II as part of an interfaith Jewish-Christian response to fascism and “to mitigate racial and religious animosity in America.” . . .
An elegy by Walt Whitman for President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination, in English with Hebrew translation. . . .
The full text of Rabbi Moshe Faskowitz’s invocation offered at the Democratic National Convention, August 27th, 1996. . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Berl Lapin (translation) and Katharine Lee Bates
Shared on כ״ח בכסלו ה׳תש״פ (2019-12-26) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication
Categories: Independence Day (July 4th)
Tags: 20th century C.E., United States, זמירות zemirot, 58th century A.M., Yiddish translation, Yiddish songs, American Jewry of the United States, Patriotic prayers, doikayt, hereness
“America the Beautiful,” the patriotic hymn (1911 version) by Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929) in its Yiddish translation by Berl Lapin (1889-1952). . . .
The full text of Rabbi Jacob Goldstein’s prayer offered at the Democratic National Convention, July 14th, 1992. . . .
A special service prepared by Rabbi David de Sola Pool for Thanksgiving Day in the United States at K.K. Shearith Israel and published by the Union of Sephardic Congregations in 1945. . . .
A prayer of gratitude to be recited on Thanksgiving Day (or the Shabbat prior). . . .
The full text of Rabbi Morris Shmidman’s benediction offered at the Democratic National Convention, July 20th, 1988. . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Avraham Samuel Soltes
Shared on י״ח באלול ה׳תשע״ט (2019-09-18) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication
Categories: Well-being, health, and caregiving, Labor, Fulfillment, and Parnassah
Tags: 20th century C.E., ecumenical prayers, United States, Nursing, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, commencement
A prayer for a Nurse’s Commencement ceremony at Beth Israel Hospital on 19 September 1951. . . .
A service and prayer for Memorial Day in the United States, containing a variation of El Malé Raḥamim, by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan. . . .
The second inaugural address of President Abraham Lincoln in English with a cantillized Hebrew translation suitable for chanting. . . .
The full text of Rabbi Martin Weiner’s invocation offered on the second day of the Democratic National Convention, July 17th, 1984. . . .
This prayer by Rabbi Samuel Thurman, of the United Hebrew Temple (St. Louis, Missouri), was recorded in the United States’ Congressional Record for January 20, 1949. . . .
This Haggadah was created specifically for a seder that took place April 20, 2014 outside the White House as an act of solidarity with the #not1more deportation campaign hunger strikers. While it is created for a seder without food, in a cross cultural setting, framed around the issue of deportation, there are many gems that can be adapted to work for any seder. This is a work of love. We hope you enjoy, use, and share! We would love to hear from you! Email us at jewssayno2deportation@gmail.com to get in touch or to share how you adapt it for your community. Check out some reflects on the seder here. . . .
This prayer by Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, of Cleveland, Ohio, was recorded in the United States’ Congressional Record for January 20, 1953. . . .

Contributor(s): Virginia Spatz
Shared on ו׳ באלול ה׳תשע״ה (2015-08-21) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Social Justice, Peace, and Liberty, Mass Shootings & Gun Violence
Tags: United States, Neighborhood Violence, 21st century C.E., Parashat Shoftim, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, שפטים Shoftim, Gun violence in the United States, Needing Translation (into Hebrew)
“Does joy come in the morning, where weeping has not tarried for the night? Can we dance together, if we have not yet joined in lament?” This prayer is a kavanah for the morning blessings, using language and images from the prayer “Mah Tovu” [how lovely are your tents] commonly recited in the early morning blessings. Offered with special intention for the healing of Congress Heights, Capitol View, and other neighborhoods in Washington, DC, rocked by persistent violence. . . .
A litany of hoshanot for use in a ritual prayer circle march on the festival of Sukkot. . . .
This prayer at the second inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower by Rabbi Dr. Louis Finkelstein, chancellor, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, was recorded in the United States’ Congressional Record for January 20, 1957. . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Irving Berlin
Shared on ג׳ בכסלו ה׳תשע״ט (2018-11-10) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication
Categories: Government & Country, Armistice Day (a/k/a Veterans Day, November 11)
Tags: 20th century C.E., United States, זמירות zemirot, 57th century A.M., Yiddish songs, American Jewry of the United States, Patriotic prayers, doikayt, hereness
The words of the prayer for Armistice Day 1938, “God Bless America” by Irving Berlin, in English and Yiddish. . . .
Our God and God of our ancestors: Accept with mercy our prayer for our land and its government. Pour out your blessing on this land, on its President, judges, officers and officials, who work faithfully for the public good. Teach them from the laws of Your Torah, enlighten them with the rules of Your justice, so that peace, tranquility, happiness and freedom will never depart from our land. God of all that lives, please bestow Your spirit on all the inhabitants of our land, and plant love, fellowship, peace and friendship between the different communities and faiths that dwell here. Uproot from their hearts all hate, animosity, jealousy and strife, in order to fulfill the longings of its people, who aspire for its dignity, and desire to see it as a light for all nations. . . .
This benediction for President John F. Kennedy by Rabbi Dr. Nelson Glueck, was recorded in the United States’ Congressional Record on January 20, 1961. . . .
This prayer by Rabbi Hyman Judah Schachtel, Congregation Beth Israel (Houston, Texas), was recorded in the United States’ Congressional Record on January 20, 1965. . . .
A prayer on behalf of the government of the United States of America by one of the leading architects of Modern Orthodoxy in America. . . .
A hymnal prepared by Rabbi Benjamin Szold and translated from German into English by Rabbi Marcus Jastrow. . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Rabbi Uri Miller
Shared on כ׳ בטבת ה׳תשע״ז (2017-01-17) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication
Categories: Martin Luther King Jr. Day (3rd Monday of January), Social Justice, Peace, and Liberty, National Brotherhood Week
Tags: 20th century C.E., United States, social justice, democracy, civil rights, demonstrations, 57th century A.M., Btselem Elohim
Prayer delivered by Rabbi Uri Miller, President of the Synagogue Council of America, at the March on Washington, August 28, 1963 . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Stephen Vincent Benét
Shared on ט׳ בטבת ה׳תשפ״א (2020-12-24) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication
Categories: Lincoln's Birthday (February 12th), National Brotherhood Week, United Nations Day (October 24th), Flag Day (June 14)
Tags: 20th century C.E., United States, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Universal Peace, World War II, vexillology, universalist prayers
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 Edgar F. Magnin was recorded in the United States’ Congressional Record on January 20, 1969. . . .
A prayer on behalf of the government of the United States of America by one of the leading architects of Modern Orthodoxy in America. . . .
Please, God Adonai, Who creates the skies and drapes them over the earth, Who spreads out the earth and its descendants, Who grants life to its nations, and vigor to those who walk upon it, You positioned borders on earth and sustained sovereigns and states. These United States, too, Your hands arranged. They began in distress, but through Your great and abundant kindness, have grown like a cedar in Lebanon, adding vitality, strength, and success with each generation. America’s wings stretch from sea to shining sea, and over far islands. Like the sun at its zenith, it lights the world and its inhabitants with laws and ordinances good and upright, righteous and fair. . . .
A prayer for the government composed by the Central Conference of American Rabbis and included in their Union Prayer Book. . . .
This prayer by Rabbi Seymour Siegel at the second inauguration of President Richard M. Nixon was recorded in the United States’ Congressional Record on January 20, 1973. . . .
Rabbi David Dine Wirtschafter writes, “Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Marshall County, Kentucky who, now have joined an ever growing list of places to experience a mass shooting at a public school. We grieve for the families of the two teenagers who were killed. May the 18 others who were injured speedily recover from their wounds. These incidents are terrible no matter where they happen but there is something all the more unsettling when they occur so close to home.” . . .
Selections from speeches and letters by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. read in ecumenical services for Martin Luther King Day in the United States. . . .

Contributor(s): Jack Kessler (trōpification), Marcia Prager and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Shared on כ״ח בטבת ה׳תשע״ח (2018-01-15) — under the following terms: Fair Use Right (17 U.S. Code §107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use)
Categories: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Readings, Modern Miscellany
Tags: United States, social justice, civil rights, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Hafatarot, Cantillized readings in English, צדק צדק תרדוף tsedek tsedek tirdof
These quotations from Dr. King’s speeches were edited by Rabbi Marcia Prager and set to Haftarah Trop by Hazzan Jack Kessler. This adaptation was first published in Kerem (Fall 2014), in Jack Kessler’s article, “English Leyning: Bringing New Meaning to the Torah Service.” . . .

Contributor(s): Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (naqdanut), Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Abe Katz (translation) and Isaac Goldstein
Shared on י״ח בשבט ה׳תשע״ב (2012-02-11) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Lincoln's Birthday (February 12th)
Tags: 19th century C.E., United States, acrostic, Presidents Day, emancipation, קינות Ḳinnot, civil rights, 57th century A.M., Memorial prayers, Abraham Lincoln, American Jewry of the United States, Prayers for leaders, elegies
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? . . .
A “mi sheberakh” prayer for U.S. war veterans on the shabbat preceding Veterans Day (November 11). . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), David Evan Markus and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Shared on כ״ז בטבת ה׳תשע״ח (2018-01-14) — under the following terms: Fair Use Right (17 U.S. Code §107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use)
Categories: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Readings, Modern Miscellany
Tags: United States, social justice, civil rights, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Hafatarot, Cantillized readings in English, צדק צדק תרדוף tsedek tsedek tirdof
In 2017, Rabbi David Evan Markus prepared the end of Dr. King’s famous speech read at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (August 28, 1963) with trope (t’amim, cantillation). The following year on Facebook he shared a recording of the reading hosted on Soundcloud. Rabbi Markus writes, “This weekend at Temple Beth El of City Island, I offered the end of Dr. King’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech, which I set to haftarah trope because I hold Dr. King to be a prophet. When my community applauded, I offered President Obama’s response, ‘Don’t clap: vote.’ And do more than vote: organize, donate, volunteer, help, heal, advocate. Only then, in Dr. King’s words quoting Isaiah 40:5, will ‘all flesh see it together.'” . . .
“A Prayer for the New Year (5781)” was first published by Rabbi Menachem Creditor online at his Facebook Page and shared with the Open Siddur Project through our Facebook discussion group. . . .
“An Intention for the New Year (5779)” was first published by Rabbi Menachem Creditor online at his blog and shared with the Open Siddur Project through our Facebook discussion group. . . .
This prayer by Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk at the second inauguration of President Ronald Reagan was recorded in the United States’ Congressional Record on January 21, 1985. . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Yaakov Yosef and Judah David Eisenstein (translation)
Shared on ז׳ בטבת ה׳תשע״ח (2017-12-25) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Government & Country, Inauguration Day (January 20th), Washington's Birthday (3rd Monday of February)
Tags: 19th century C.E., United States, Presidents Day, 57th century A.M., New York City, George Washington, American Jewry of the United States, Prayers for leaders, Benjamin Harrison, Needing Vocalization
The proclamation and prayer of chief rabbi Yaakov Yosef, on the centennial of President George Washington’s Inauguration . . .
A prayer for Independence Day in the United States by Rabbi Mordeca Kaplan, prefaced by an abridged reading of the Declaration of Independence. . . .

Contributor(s): Jill Jacobs and T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
Shared on כ״ג בסיון ה׳תשע״ט (2019-06-26) — under the following terms:
Categories: Social Justice, Peace, and Liberty
Tags: United States, democracy, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, 45th President of the United States, Immigration policy of Donald Trump, Trump administration family separation policy, 116th Congress, צדק צדק תרדוף tsedek tsedek tirdof
An invocation by Rabbi Jill Jacobs, executive director of T’ruah, offered at the opening dinner of the Council on Foreign Relations annual Religion and Foreign Policy Workshop, June 2019. . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), David Evan Markus and Bayit: Your Jewish Home
Shared on י׳ באדר ה׳תשע״ח (2018-02-25) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Modern Miscellany, Purim Readings
Tags: United States, social justice, civil rights, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Cantillized readings in English, Women's History Month, tropified texts, צדק צדק תרדוף tsedek tsedek tirdof
Purim affirms Esther’s stand against official silencing, abuse of power, misogyny and anti-Semitism. At first an outsider, Queen Esther used her insider power to reveal and thwart official hatred that threatened Jewish life and safety. We celebrate one woman’s courageous cunning to right grievous wrongs within corrupt systems. The archetype of heroic woman standing against hatred continues to call out every society still wrestling with official misogyny, power abuses and silencing. For every official silencing and every threat to equality and freedom, may we all live the lesson of Esther and all who stand in her shoes: “Nevertheless, she persisted.” . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (digital imaging and document preparation), Benjamin Szold and Marcus Jastrow (translation)
Shared on כ״ט בשבט ה׳תשע״ז (2017-02-25) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication
Categories: Comprehensive (Kol Bo) Siddurim
Tags: 19th century C.E., United States, English Translation, 57th century A.M., North American Jewry, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Nusaḥ Ashkenaz, Needing Transcription, Needing Decompilation
The siddur, Aḇodath Yisrael was first prepared for Temple Oheb Shalom (Baltimore, Maryland) by Rabbi Benjamin Szold (1829-1902). Before Szold’s arrival in 1859, the congregation had adopted for use in its Shabbat service the Minhag America by the Reform rabbi, Isaac Meyer Wise. After much discussion with his congregation Szold introduced Aḇodath Yisrael, which hewed more closely to traditional Ashkenazi custom. The first edition of this prayer-book appeared in 1863 with German translation, and was widely adopted by congregations in the United States. New editions were published in 1864 and 1865 (the latter with English translation), and another, revised edition in 1871, by Rabbis Marcus Jastrow of Philadelphia (1829-1903) and Henry Hochheimer of Baltimore (1818-1912). . . .
A prayer in English to end gun violence before Rosh haShanah, . . .
A prayer for the recovery of President Dwight D. Eisenhower following a severe heart attack in late September 1955. . . .
We are honored to share a paper of the eminent sociologist of American Jewry, Dr. Samuel Klausner. In this paper, Dr. Klausner presents his observations of the Pew Study of American Jewry (2013). Dr. Klausner writes: “Why have so many of my sociologist friends and leaders of the American Jewish community accepted the Pew report findings at face value? A Portrait of Jewish Americans has received wide attention. An article appeared in the Forward and Arnold Eisen discussed it in his blog. My list serv from the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry (ASSJ) has had a running discussion of both findings and methods. Recently, I received a Board Briefing from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture which describes the report as “important and impartial.” The subtext of “impartial” may account for some of the uncritical impact of the findings. Pew has published ‘raw’ numbers, unexplained summaries of interview responses. The results evoked skepticism in this reader. An examination of how these results were obtained, a methodological critique, confirmed my skepticism.” . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Abe Katz (translation) and Ḳ.Ḳ. Beit Shalome
Shared on כ״ז בשבט ה׳תשע״ב (2012-02-19) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Government & Country, Inauguration Day (January 20th), Washington's Birthday (3rd Monday of February)
Tags: United States, acrostic, Presidents Day, 56th century A.M., 18th Century C.E., Western Sepharadim, George Washington, American Jewry of the United States, Prayers for leaders
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. . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), John Paul Williams, Eugene Kohn and Mordecai Kaplan
Shared on כ״ז בטבת ה׳תשפ״א (2021-01-11) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Rosh haShanah la-Ilanot (Tu biShvat), Planting, National Arbor Day (last Friday in April)
Tags: 20th century C.E., ecumenical prayers, United States, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, civic prayers, American Jewry of the United States, planting trees
This opening prayer for Arbor Day, “The Significance of the Day,” was first published in The Faith of America: Readings, Songs, and Prayers for the Celebration of American Holidays (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1951), p. 3-4 — as preface to a number of readings selected by Mordecai Kaplan, Eugene Kohn, and J. Paul Williams for the day. . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Lyons Collection Committee (translation) and Hendla Jochanan van Oettingen
Shared on ו׳ באדר א׳ ה׳תשע״ו (2016-02-15) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Government & Country, Washington's Birthday (3rd Monday of February)
Tags: United States, Presidents Day, Spanish-Portuguese, 56th century A.M., 18th Century C.E., K.K. Shearith Israel, Sepharadi Diaspora, American War of Independence, Western Sepharadim, American Jewry of the United States
Prayers recited on special occasions and thus not part of the fixed liturgy offered America’s foremost Jewish congregation far greater latitude for originality in prayer. At such services, particularly when the prayers were delivered in English and written with the knowledge that non-Jews would hear them, leaders of Shearith Israel often dispensed with the traditional prayer for the government and substituted revealing new compositions appropriate to the concerns of the day. A prayer composed in 1784 (in this case in Hebrew) by the otherwise unknown Rabbi (Cantor?) Hendla Jochanan van Oettingen, for example, thanked God who “in His goodness prospered our warfare.” Mentioning by name both Governor George Clinton and General George Washington, the rabbi prayed for peace and offered a restorationist Jewish twist on the popular idea of America as “redeemer nation”: “As Thou hast granted to these thirteen states of America everlasting freedom,” he declared, “so mayst Thou bring us forth once again from bondage into freedom and mayst Thou sound the great horn for our freedom.” . . .
Rabbi Marvin Hier offered this prayer of blessing for Donald Trump and the United States of America on January 20, 2017 at the inauguration day ceremony. . . .

Contributor(s): Aharon N. Varady (transcription), John Paul Williams, Eugene Kohn and Mordecai Kaplan
Shared on כ״ז בטבת ה׳תשפ״א (2021-01-11) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication
Categories: Rosh haShanah la-Ilanot (Tu biShvat), Planting, National Arbor Day (last Friday in April)
Tags: 20th century C.E., ecumenical prayers, United States, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, civic prayers, American Jewry of the United States, planting trees
This closing prayer for Arbor Day, “The Significance of the Day,” was first published in The Faith of America: Readings, Songs, and Prayers for the Celebration of American Holidays (Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1951), p. 86. . . .
A prayer on the anniversary of the attacks on 11 September 2001. . . .
May the next Thanksgivukkah be a time of health and abundance for all of you who will receive the world from our hands. May we together find away to make sure that there is health and wealth and beauty not just for our family, not just for the Jewish people and humanity, but for all living creatures who share this planet with us. May the One bless us with the power and wisdom to birth a society that shows love to the world around us, that lives with love towards all beings. . . .
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