Prayer for the Congregation and the Government, by the Central Conference of American Rabbis (1895) • the Open Siddur Project

Categories: Congregation & Community, Government & Country, After the Aliyot, 🇺🇸 United States of America

Tags: 19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., American Reform Movement, Classical Reform, English vernacular prayer, United States

Excerpt: A prayer for the government composed by the Central Conference of American Rabbis and included in their Union Prayer Book. . . .

Content:

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	May He who is the source of all good gifts, bless this congregation and be with all its members, their families and their households; may He prosper them in their various callings and occupations, help them in their needs and guide them in their difficulties. May He hear the prayers of all who worship here this morning,^[1] The Abridged Prayer Book for Jews in the Army and Navy in the United States (1917) reads, “May He hear the prayers of all who worship Him in truth.” comfort the sorrowing and cheer the silent sufferers.
	May He bless those who guide and who serve this congregation, and those who contribute willingly to its support.
	May He reward with the joy of goodness the charitable and the merciful who succor the poor, care for the sick, teach the ignorant, and stretch forth their helping hand to those who have lost their way in this world.
	Fervently we invoke Thy benediction for this our country and our nation. Guard them, O God, from calamity and injury; may their adversaries not triumph over them, but the glories of a just, righteous, and God-fearing people increase from age to age.
	Enlighten and sustain with Thy power those whom the people have set in authority; the President and his counsellors and advisers, the judges, law-givers, and executives, and all those who are entrusted with our safety and with the guardianship of our rights and liberties.
	May peace and good will obtain amongst all the citizens of our land; may religion spread its blessings among us, and exalt our nation in righteousness.
	Amen.

This prayer for the government was first published in the Union Prayer Book of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. It was also included with slight variations in the Abridged Prayer Book for Jews in the Army and Navy of the United States (National Jewish Welfare Board 1917), p. 81, and the Abridged Prayer Book for the Jews in the Armed Forces of the United States (Jewish Welfare Board 1941), p. 107.

Source(s)

Notes

Notes
1	The Abridged Prayer Book for Jews in the Army and Navy in the United States (1917) reads, “May He hear the prayers of all who worship Him in truth.”