May Wars Cease, a hymn by Rabbi Max Klein (1926)
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=28012
open_content_license: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication date_src_start: 1926-00-00 date_src_end: 1926-00-00 languages_meta: [{"name":"English","code":"eng","standard":"ISO 639-3"},{"name":"Hebrew","code":"heb","standard":"ISO 639-3"}] scripts_meta: [{"name":"Latin","code":"Latn","standard":"ISO 15924"},{"name":"Hebrew (Ktav Ashuri)","code":"Hebr","standard":"ISO 15924"}] Date: 2019-11-08
Last Updated: 2025-04-11
Categories: War, 🌐 Armistice Day (November 11th)
Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., anti-war, English vernacular prayer, hymns, Philadelphia
Excerpt: A hymn for the end of war by Rabbi Max D. Klein. . . .
Content:
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May Wars Cease
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…וְכִתְּתוּ חַרְבוֹתָם לְאִתִּים…
וְלֹא־יִלְמְדוּ עוֹד מִלְחָמָה׃ (ישעיה ב:ד)
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“And they shall turn their swords into ploughshares, and…
they shall not learn any more war ”— (Isaiah 2:4)
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O God of life who madest man,
With heart and soul and mind;
Bless thou the work of all who strive
To bless all humankind.
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Make clearer day by day the speech
Of all who work for peace;
And bless the noble hope and dream—
That wars on earth will cease.
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O cause the love of war to die;
Bid strife and hatred go;
That men on earth may live for love
And life in sweetness grow.
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May nations from war’s doom be freed,
The way to peace be found!
O may its song of joy be born
And evermore resound.
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“May Wars Cease” by Rabbi Max Klein can be found as hymn number 78 in Hymns of Praise and Prayer (1926), a hymn book Klein prepare for his Philadelphia congregation Adath Jeshurun.
Source(s)
Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Co-authors:
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Name: Max D. Klein
Bio: Rabbi Max Klein was born in New York City in 1885 and was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1911. Soon afterward, he began serving as rabbi for Congregation Adath Jeshurun in Philadelphia. Formerly a Reform synagogue, under Rabbi Klein's leadership it became one of the initial congregations affiliated with the United Synagogue of America (now called the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism). In addition to serving as rabbi at Adath Jeshurun in Philadelphia until 1960, Rabbi Klein wrote, edited, and translated two prayer books: Seder Avodah for Sabbath, Festivals, and Weekdays (1951) and Seder Avodah for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (1960). He died in 1973.
Website:
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/meir-david-klein
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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
Featured Image:
Title: World War I uniforms
Caption: West Point Museum display of World War I era uniforms (U.S. Army photo by West Point Museum/released.) (Photo Credit: (West Point Museum))
