[Prayer] on the Disaster of the USS Akron, by Rabbi Norman M. Goldburg (5 April 1933)

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Date: 2023-06-22

Last Updated: 2023-06-24

Categories: Man-made Disasters, Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies

Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., air travel, California State Legislature, English vernacular prayer, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, technological hubris, United States, USS Akron, קפיצת הדרך ḳfitsat haderekh

Excerpt: "On the Disaster of the Akron" by Rabbi Norman Michael Goldburg, was offered before the California state legislature on 5 April 1933, and published in California Legislature 50th Session 1933: Prayers Offered at the Daily Sessions of the Assembly, pp. 61-63. . . .

Content:

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	Our Father in heaven, to Thee we come when sorrow overwhelms us, when grief leaves us dejected and disconsolate. To Thee, we turn, praying that Thou wilt take us out of the valley of despair that Thou wilt send consolation to our sorrowing hearts.
	Heavenly Father, a great disaster has befallen our nation. Our majestic Queen of the Skies, the Akron,^[1] The USS Akron (ZRS-4), an airship operated by the US Navy between 1931 and 1933. built by the most skillful of workers, manned by the ablest officers and men, viewed with pride by every loyal American— has plunged to a watery grave.
	That thing of beauty, of engineering skill— marvel of modern science— attesting to man’s every growing power over the forces of nature— is now but a memory— a mass of twisted wreckage at the bottom of the sea. And most of the brave and gallant men who guided her through the skies— they, too, have gone to their eternal rest.
	Father and King— we thank Thee for the lives of the rescued ones, even as we mention, in submission to Thy Divine will, the names of those who have perished.
	Send Thy consolation to the fathers and mothers, the wives and children of those Thou hast gathered to Thy bosom.
	Grant that these sacrifices shall not have been in vain— that from this tragic disaster we may learn either to construct more safely, or to refrain from building these great and seemingly ill-fated monsters of the sky.
	Give us humility, O God, and may we ever view human life as precious beyond all else, beyond pride in competition— beyond all the material manifestations of man’s handiwork.

“On the Disaster of the Akron” by Rabbi Norman Michael Goldburg, was offered before the California state legislature on 5 April 1933, and published in California Legislature 50th Session 1933: Prayers Offered at the Daily Sessions of the Assembly, pp. 61-63.

Source(s)

Notes[+]

Notes
1	The USS Akron (ZRS-4), an airship operated by the US Navy between 1931 and 1933.

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Co-authors:

Name: Aharon N. Varady (editing/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

Name: Norman Michael Goldburg
Bio: Rabbi Norman Michael Goldburg (Feb 22, 1902 - Jun 12, 1993) originally from St. Louis, Missouri, was ordained at HUC and graduated from the University of Cincinnati, afterward doing graduate work at the University of Chicago and Howard Divinity School. He served as rabbi of Temple B'nai Israel in Sacramento, California in the 1930s. There, he was appointed chaplain of the State Legislature during the biennial session of 1933, and led the Sacramento Council for Civic Unity through which he advocated for Japanese Americans’ civil rights. During World War Ⅱ, he served as a chaplain in the US Army. In 1949, he came to Augusta, Georgia where he served as rabbi for the the Walton Way Temple (later Temple Children of Israel) until 1968. Rabbi Goldburg also served as president of Augusta Library and taught philosophy at Augusta College. He held honorary degrees from HUC and Augusta (Georgia) College of Law. Besides his collection of prayers written during his tenure as chaplain in Sacramento, he also wrote the novel, Patrick J. McGilllcuddy and the Rabbi (1969).
Website:
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/norman-michael-goldburg