A Prayer for Our Teachers, by Rabbi Albert G. Baum (ca. 1930s)
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=46498
open_content_license: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication Date: 2022-09-02
Last Updated: 2024-12-17
Categories: Learning, Study, and School
Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, prayers for educators
Excerpt: "A Prayer for Our Teachers" by Rabbi Albert G. Baum was written sometime before 1962. Unfortunately, no more information was provided by Rabbi David Bial in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 64, from where this prayer was transcribed. Possibly, the prayer was written while Baum served as principal of the Park Avenue Synagogue Hebrew School in the late 1920s or as rabbi for Congregation Gemiluth Chassodim in Alexandria, Louisiana during the 1930s. If you know more, please leave a comment or contact us. . . .
Content:
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Source (English) |
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O Lord, our God —
If our lips were filled with song
and our tongues with words of constant praise,
we would still be unable to thank Thee
for the many blessings
which Thou dost daily bestow upon us.
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We sing Thy praise
for the masters and teachers in Israel,
for our educators
who help us understand that the universe,
which Thou hast given to man as a home,
is founded on law and order,
harmony and peace.
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May Thy spirit
ever inspire our teachers,
poets
and writers of songs
so that they may help us
wipe out the ugliness,
strife,
suffering
and cruelty
which mar the beauty
and goodness
of Thy universe.
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Enable Thy servants
to speak clearly
and knowingly
so that all men
everywhere
may learn to do Thy will
with one accord.
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Bless the endeavors
of all who strive
to bring knowledge
and understanding
into the world
and into the hearts of men
everywhere.
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May our songs of praise
ever be upon our lips.
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Amen.
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“A Prayer for Our Teachers” by Rabbi Albert G. Baum was written sometime before 1962. Unfortunately, no more information was provided by Rabbi David Bial in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 64, from where this prayer was transcribed. Possibly, the prayer was written while Baum served as principal of the Park Avenue Synagogue Hebrew School in the late 1920s or as rabbi for Congregation Gemiluth Chassodim in Alexandria, Louisiana during the 1930s. If you know more, please leave a comment or contact us.
Source(s)
Contributor: Albert G. Baum
Co-authors:
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Name: Albert G. Baum
Bio: Rabbi Albert Gustavus Baum (1903-1996) was a Reform Jewish rabbi and organizer of new congregations for the New York Federation of Reform Synagogues. After graduating from City College in New York in 1923, he continued with graduate work at Columbia. At the Rabbi Stephen S. Wise Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, he was awarded the Philip Waldheim Prize in Social Service in 1927 and was the Free Synagogue Social Service Fellow in 1927-28. While a rabbinical student, he served as principal of the Park Avenue Synagogue Hebrew School and Temple Israel in Amsterdam, New York. After being ordained as a rabbi in 1930. he was appointed to Congregation Gemiluth Chassodim (a/k/a, The Temple) in Alexandria, Louisiana. He was the chosen delegate to the Rotary International Convention at Nice, France in 1937 and represented B'nai B'rith, District №7 as a delegate to their conventions. He also served as the Jewish Welfare Board representative for Central Louisiana, former vice-president of the Louisiana State Conference on Social Welfare, and as a member of the National Council of United Palestine Appeal. In 1942, he became a rabbi chaplain for the US Navy over the course of World War II. After workinf for the New York Federation of Reform Synagogues he joined the faculty of HUC in New York.
Website: http://collections.americanjewisharchives.org/ms/ms0412/ms0412.html
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/albert-g-baum
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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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