A Prayer for America by Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver
Rabbi Silver was the influential rabbi of “The Temple” in Cleveland, Ohio. He emigrated from Poland at the age of nine and received his ordination from Hebrew Union College in 1915. He served the Cleveland Jewish community from 1917 and served until his death in 1963. He was a Zionist, an advocate for immigration, fair wages, workers’ rights, and civil liberties. Deeply engaged in politics, he appeared before the United Nations and met with President Truman several times to advocate for Jewish statehood. He was a Republican, and not only addressed the party at the 1948 convention, but also convinced them to include a pro-Israel plank on its platform.
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In addition to praising his adopted country, this poem is a clarion call for immigration as a means of bolstering America’s vision.
(This poem uses gendered language for God—something we avoid in the Reform movement and at Wise. To remain faithful to the author, we have not changed the language.)
God built Him a continent of glory and filled it with treasures untold;
He carpeted it with soft-rolling plains, and columned it with thundering mountains;
He studded it with sweet-flowing fountains, and traced it with long-winding streams;
He planted it with deep-shadowed forests, and filled them with song.Then He called unto a thousand peoples and summoned the bravest among them.
They came from the ends of the earth, each bearing a gift and a hope.
The glow of adventure was in their eyes, and in their hearts the glory of hope.And out of the bounty of earth and the labor of men,
Out of the longing of hearts and the prayers of souls,
Out of the memory of ages and the hopes of the world;
God fashioned a nation in love, blessed it with a purpose sublime —
And called it AMERICA.
— Rabbi Ron Stern