Prayer for the New Year, by Lilian Helen Montagu
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=46405
open_content_license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license date_src_start: 1902-00-00 date_src_end: 1963-00-00 languages_meta: [{"name":"English","code":"eng","standard":"ISO 639-3"}] scripts_meta: [{"name":"Latin","code":"Latn","standard":"ISO 15924"}] Date: 2022-08-26
Last Updated: 2025-04-16
Categories: Rosh haShanah (l’Maaseh Bereshit)
Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, הזכרת נשמות hazkarat neshamot
Excerpt: This undated "Prayer for the New Year" 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), pp. 350. . . .
Content:
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Almighty Father,
We thank Thee
for having brought us together
on this sacred day of rejoicing
and high resolve.
Let us feel Thy nearness.
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As we peer into the New Year,
we are faced with deep mystery.
What is to happen to each one of us
and to our Congregation, we ask?
We pray to Thee
that we may have no fear,
except the fear of disobeying Thy law of righteousness,
of withholding love from our fellow beings,
the fear of being slack in our work for peace.
Oh God,
renew our strength
and guide us on the way of life.
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Our God,
we remember especially today
the charge given to us by our parents,
by those who have passed out of our sight,
or by our mothers and fathers who are happily with us today,
to seek to build up Thy Kingdom
by our faith in Judaism
by which we live.
Our Father,
give us the courage
to go forward in hope
and steadfastness.
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Amen.
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This undated “Prayer for the New Year” 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), pp. 350.
Source(s)
Lily Montagu, sermons, addresses, letters, and prayers – Religious Leader – p. 350
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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