Minhag America is a siddur

Siddur

A siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as it is known today has developed...

 created in 1857 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise

Isaac Mayer Wise

Isaac Mayer Wise , was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author.-Early life:...

 that was intended to address conflict between sides supporting and opposing traditionalism in early Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The prayer book was accepted by the majority of Reform congregations in the western and southern United States.

The roots of the prayer book date back to a program he laid out in The Occident

The Occident and American Jewish Advocate

The Occident , was the first general Jewish periodical published in the United States. ....

(vol. 5, p. 109) in which Wise described how "the strength of Israel is divided, because the emigrant brings his own Minhag

Minhag

Minhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach , refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers...

 from his home", a problem that could be addressed by a uniquely American Minhag that would provide a synthesis that all could use. In the May 1847 issue of The Occident, Wise described how American Jews had come "from different countries, and, brought with them diverse Minhagim; and this circumstance must always prove a source of confusion and disagreement in the various Synagogues" and that the need to create a new Minhag was to "bring unity among... all the American Synagogues" and to "uphold the Word of the Living God... in the free country of America", without "the desire for innovation, nor the thirst for fame, nor a giddy disposition for reform".

In his 1919 work Centenary Papers and Others, Rabbi David Philipson

David Philipson

David Philipson was an American Reform rabbi, orator, and author. The son of German-Jewish immigrants, he was a member of the first graduating class of the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. As an adult, he was one of the leaders of American Reform Judaism and a philanthropic leader in his...

 describes how Wise's use of the title Minhag America was deliberately intended to show that his prayer book was superseding the "Minhag Ashkenaz", "Minhag Sefard" and "Minhag Polen" (the German, Spanish and Polish traditions, respectively) that immigrants to the United States had arrived with, and was intended to become a vernacular for prayer that they could all share.

In 1857, he published in Cincinnati a pair of prayer books titled Minhag America, T'fillot B'nai Yeshurun, both with Hebrew text, and one translated into English and the other into German (titled Gebet-Buch fur den offentlichen Got tesdienst und die Privat-Andacht - Prayer Book for Public and Private Worship). Largely retaining the format of the traditional siddur

Siddur

A siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as it is known today has developed...

, Wise made modifications to reflect "the wants and demands of time", including changing the Hebrew word goel (redeemer) to geulah (redemption), reflecting a removal of references to a personal Messiah. The prayer book retained many portions of the traditional Hebrew language

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

 text, while adding concise and accurate translations in English. Minhag America eliminated calls for a return to Israel and the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, the reinstitution of sacrifices

Korban

The term offering as found in the Hebrew Bible in relation to the worship of Ancient Israel is mainly represented by the Hebrew noun korban whether for an animal or other offering...

 and the restoration of the priesthood and the Davidic dynasty. References to resurrection

Resurrection

Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...

 were changed to reflect a spiritual immortality.

When the Central Conference of American Rabbis

Central Conference of American Rabbis

The Central Conference of American Rabbis , founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada, the CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world....

 released the Union Prayer Book

Union Prayer Book

The Union Prayer Book was a siddur published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis to serve the needs of the Reform Judaism movement in the United States.-History:...

in the 1890s, Wise had his own congregation abandon the siddur he had formulated and adopt the UPB, an act that Philipson described as "a remarkable act of self abnegation". Wise's example led many other congregations that had been using Minhag America to accept the switch to the Union Prayer Book.