Prayer for the United States of America on Thanksgiving Day, by Rabbi David Einhorn (26 November 1863)
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=45999
open_content_license: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication Date: 2022-08-05
Last Updated: 2025-03-31
Categories: War, 🇺🇸 United States of America
Tags: 19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Slaveholders' Rebellion (1861-1865)
Excerpt: This prayer by Rabbi David Einhorn was offered at the conclusion of his "Sermon delivered on Thanksgiving Day, November 26th, 1863," (page 13). . . .
Content:
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Bless, Lord! our country,
protect and guard it
against enemies
from within and without,
and grant that it may emerge
from this bloody conflict
regenerated and purified. —
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Invest our people
with strength and fortitude,
and open Thou the eyes
of its wayward children,
who have banished themselves
from a flourishing Eden,
that they may return.
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Grant us soon the longed for peace,
a peace worthy of the precious blood
that has already flown,
worthy of the broken hearts
of thousands of fathers and mothers,
worthy of the hot tears shed
by many a widow and orphan.
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Pour Thou, Lord!
a healing balm
into the deep wounds
of the bereaved families
of our heroes slain in battle,
and comfort them
with the consoling thought
that the heavy sacrifices they have offered
on the altar of their country,
are also offered
on the common altar of all mankind.
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Bless the President and his counsellors.
Endow them with strength and with wisdom
that they may accomplish the great work
Thou hast given them to do. —
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Bless Israel —
imbue it with a spirit of devotion
and thankfulness towards this land,
the first that broke the chains
its children wore for centuries,
where they can say:
“With my staff I have passed over the sea,
and now I have become two bands.” (Genesis 32:11)
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Bless this congregation,
bless all mankind, with the threefold benediction —
“The Lord bless thee,” &c, &c. (Numbers 6:24-26)
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This prayer by Rabbi David Einhorn was offered at the conclusion of his “Sermon delivered on Thanksgiving Day, November 26th, 1863,” (page 13).
Source(s)
Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Co-authors:
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Name: David Einhorn
Bio: David Einhorn (November 10, 1809 – November 2, 1879) was a German-Jewish rabbi and leader of Reform Judaism in the United States. Einhorn was chosen in 1855 as the first rabbi of the Har Sinai Congregation in Baltimore, the oldest congregation in the United States that has been affiliated with the Reform movement since its inception. While there, he compiled a siddur in German and Hebrew, one of the early Reform Jewish prayerbooks in the United States. (The siddur, later translated to English, became one of the progenitors of the Reform Movement's Union Prayer Book.) In 1861, Einhorn's life was threatened by a mob angered by his strong abolitionist anti-slavery views, and was forced to flee to Philadelphia. There he became rabbi of Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel. He moved to New York City in 1866, where he became rabbi of Congregation Adath Israel. (from his wikipedia article)
Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Einhorn_(rabbi)
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/david-einhorn
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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: Prayer on Thanksgiving Day (David Einhorn 1863) – cropped
Caption: Prayer on Thanksgiving Day (David Einhorn 1863) - cropped
