[Children's] Prayer for Ḥanukkah, by Lilian Helen Montagu (5 December 1942)
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=46388
open_content_license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license Date: 2022-08-26
Last Updated: 2025-02-02
Categories: Ḥanukkah
Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., British Jewry, children's prayers, English vernacular prayer, the Holocaust, World War Ⅱ
Excerpt: This "Prayer for Chanukah" (5 December 1942) by the Hon. Lily H. Montagu (1873-1963) from the archives of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London, was published in, Lily Montagu: Sermons, Addresses, Letters, and Prayers (ed. Ellen M. Umansky, 1985), p. 352-353. . . .
Content:
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Our Father,
On this festival,
we remember with gratitude
the heroes of the past,
and we give thanks also
for the brave men and women of today.
Our Father,
do Thou let us also serve Thee
according to the measure of our strength.
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We would try to keep pure and holy
the faith for which our fathers struggled and suffered,
and through which they triumphed.
We know that in some lands
people are made to suffer terribly,
and even little children are not allowed to be happy.
Show us how when we are old enough,
we may be of some little use
in making the world
a little more loving and more just.
Let us begin at once
to prepare by being gentler and kinder
to everybody we meet.
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It is sometimes difficult, O Lord,
to fight against wrongdoing,
to speak the whole truth,
to be industrious and earnest in our work,
and unselfish and good tempered in our play.
Again and again, we try,
and again and again we make mistakes.
Help us to be faithful, loving and forgiving,
and to do what is right
even when the right path
seems for the moment
difficult and uncomfortable.
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Give us courage, O Lord,
to bear sickness, sorrow and pain
whenever they may come to us,
courage to try faithfully and hopefully
to seek peace and joy
for those who are unhappy,
to remember Thee at all times,
and to call upon Thy name.
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Amen.
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This “Prayer for Chanukah” (5 December 1942) by the Hon. Lily H. Montagu (1873-1963) from the archives of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London, was published in, Lily Montagu: Sermons, Addresses, Letters, and Prayers (ed. Ellen M. Umansky, 1985), p. 352-353.
Source(s)
Lily Montagu, sermons, addresses, letters, and prayers – Religious Leader – p. 352
Lily Montagu, sermons, addresses, letters, and prayers – Religious Leader – p. 353
Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Co-authors:
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Name: Lilian Helen Montagu
Bio: The Hon. Lilian Helen "Lily" Montagu, CBE (22 December 1873 – 22 January 1963) was the first woman to play a major role in Progressive Judaism. Until the age of 15, she was educated at Doreck College, and privately educated thereafter. In 1893 she founded with Emily Marion Harris the West Central Jewish Girls Club (which subsequently merged into the Jewish Girls' Brigade). She was active in social improvement, particularly in respect to unemployment, sweat shops and bad housing. In 1901 and 1902, Montagu laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Jewish Religious Union in London. In February 1902 she arranged the first meeting of the Jewish Religious Union for the Advancement of Liberal Judaism at her sister Henrietta Franklin's house. The Union set up the first synagogue in Liberal Judaism in the UK and helped found the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Montagu was a founding member with her sister of the Jewish League for Woman Suffrage. She sat on the executive committee and led the meetings in prayer. Following the retirement of Leo Baeck, Montagu served for a brief stint (1955–1959) in her 80s as president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, before handing the reins over to Solomon Freehof.
Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_Montagu
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/lilian-helen-montagu
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Name: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Bio: Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)
Website: https://aharon.varady.net
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-varady-transcription
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