Service for the Blessing of a Baby, by Lilian Helen Montagu (1962)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Lilian Helen Montagu

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26 August 2022 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories:

Brit Milah & Simḥat Bat

Tags:

20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., infants, naming ceremonies

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Reconstructed Source (Hebrew)	Source (English)
אָהַבְתִּי כִּי־יִשְׁמַע יְהֹוָה אֶת־קוֹלִי תַּחֲנוּנָי׃ כִּי־הִטָּה אׇזְנוֹ לִי וּבְיָמַי אֶקְרָא׃ אֲפָפוּנִי חֶבְלֵי־מָוֶת וּמְצָרֵי שְׁאוֹל מְצָאוּנִי צָרָה וְיָגוֹן אֶמְצָא׃ וּבְשֵׁם־יְהֹוָה אֶקְרָא אָנָּה יְהֹוָה מַלְּטָה נַפְשִׁי׃	I love the Lord, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live. The cords of death compassed me, and the pains of Sheol get hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. (Psalms 116:1-4)
חַנּוּן יְהֹוָה וְצַדִּיק וֵאלֹהֵינוּ מְרַחֵם׃ שֹׁמֵר פְּתָאיִם יְהֹוָה דַּלֹּתִי וְלִי יְהוֹשִׁיעַ׃ שׁוּבִי נַפְשִׁי לִמְנוּחָיְכִי כִּי־יְהֹוָה גָּמַל עָלָיְכִי׃ כִּי חִלַּצְתָּ נַפְשִׁי מִמָּוֶת אֶת־עֵינִי מִן־דִּמְעָה אֶת־רַגְלִי מִדֶּחִי׃	Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yes, our God is merciful. The Lord preserveth the simple, I was brought low and he saved me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt beautifully with thee. For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from failing. (Psalms 116:5-8)
אֶתְהַלֵּךְ לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה בְּאַרְצוֹת הַחַיִּים׃ מָה־אָשִׁיב לַיהֹוָה כׇּל־תַּגְמוּלוֹהִי עָלָי׃ לְךָ־אֶזְבַּח זֶבַח תּוֹדָה וּבְשֵׁם יְהֹוָה אֶקְרָא׃	I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalms 116:9) What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits towards me? (Psalms 116:12) I will offer to Thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. (Psalms 116:17)
	Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who bestowest mercies upon thy children.^[1] This blessing in English appears to be an adaptation of the birkat ha-gomel, בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַגּוֹמֵל לְחַיָּבִים טוֹבוֹת שֶׁגְּמָלַנִי כׇּל טוֹב׃
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הַעוֹלָם שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה׃	Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who hast kept us in life, preserved us and enabled us to attain to this occasion.^[2] Accompanying these two blessings are their Hebrew translations, which Lily Montagu presumably cut out from some book or pamphlet and taped to the page.
הִנֵּה נַחֲלַת יְהֹוָה בָּנִים שָׂכָר פְּרִי הַבָּטֶן׃	Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the body is His reward. (Psalms 127:3)
אֵין־קָדוֹשׁ כַּיהֹוָה כִּי אֵין בִּלְתֶּךָ וְאֵין צוּר כֵּאלֹהֵינוּ׃	There is none holy as the Lord; for there is none besides Thee, neither is there any rock like our God. (1 Samuel 2:2)
	The Mother Will Say: My God, I turn unto Thee with a deeply grateful heart, for the deliverence which Thou hast wrought for me. By thy help, I have come through a time of great trial, through pain and weakness, unto strength. Thou art our guardian. Thou enrichest our life with many gifts. Humbly we behold Thy goodness in the gift of children for which we offer the fullest thanks of our hearts. And I beseech Thee, my God, help me and my husband to be worthy of the blessing Thou hast given us in this child, and to show our gratitude to Thee by unwearying efforts to lead him in the way of righteousness and holiness. Teach us so to guide and instruct him that he shall grow up to be loyal to Judaism and a worthy member of the Jewish community.
	Minister: Dear God and Father, we entreat Thy fatherly love for this child. May he learn more and more, as he is more able to know, that Thou art ever near him, growing up in Thy presence as in the sunshine, and keeping the sense of it all the days of his life. Open his eyes to see the beauty and wonder of the world about him, so that there may be a perpetual spring of freshness in his heart. Still more, let him learn to love the goodness that is in man and woman. We do not ask that he shall be spared the trials and troubles which no human being may escape. But we humbly beg for him a strength that shall increase with his years, and courage to face and subdue all evil. Grant him above all a loving heart that he may live to do thy will in faithfulness. Cause him whose name shall be ([baby’s name]^[3] This service was used in the blessing of Raymond Sion David Barda. ) to attain unto virtue and knowledge, and to be a blessing. Bless him with long life.
	The Shema might be recited. (Deuteronomy 6:4)
	Priestly Benediction. (Numbers 6:23-27)

This undated “Service for the Blessing of a Baby” by the Hon. Lily H. Montagu (1873-1963) from the archives of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London, was published in, Lily Montagu: Sermons, Addresses, Letters, and Prayers (ed. Ellen Umansky, 1985), pp. 339-341. Based on the name of the baby for whom the service was performed, we feel confident in dating this service to June 1962. I have added the Masoretic and liturgical Hebrew and set it side-by-side with the Motagu’s text in English. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

Lily Montagu, sermons, addresses, letters, and prayers – Religious Leader – p. 339

Lily Montagu, sermons, addresses, letters, and prayers – Religious Leader – p. 340

Lily Montagu, sermons, addresses, letters, and prayers – Religious Leader – p. 341

Notes[+]

Notes
1	This blessing in English appears to be an adaptation of the birkat ha-gomel, בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַגּוֹמֵל לְחַיָּבִים טוֹבוֹת שֶׁגְּמָלַנִי כׇּל טוֹב׃
2	Accompanying these two blessings are their Hebrew translations, which Lily Montagu presumably cut out from some book or pamphlet and taped to the page.
3	This service was used in the blessing of Raymond Sion David Barda.

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“Service for the Blessing of a Baby, by Lilian Helen Montagu (1962)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

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.)

Lilian Helen Montagu

The Hon. Lilian Helen "Lily" Montagu, CBE (22 December 1873 – 22 January 1963) was the first woman to play a major role in Progressive Judaism. Until the age of 15, she was educated at Doreck College, and privately educated thereafter. In 1893 she founded with Emily Marion Harris the West Central Jewish Girls Club (which subsequently merged into the Jewish Girls' Brigade). She was active in social improvement, particularly in respect to unemployment, sweat shops and bad housing. In 1901 and 1902, Montagu laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Jewish Religious Union in London. In February 1902 she arranged the first meeting of the Jewish Religious Union for the Advancement of Liberal Judaism at her sister Henrietta Franklin's house. The Union set up the first synagogue in Liberal Judaism in the UK and helped found the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Montagu was a founding member with her sister of the Jewish League for Woman Suffrage. She sat on the executive committee and led the meetings in prayer. Following the retirement of Leo Baeck, Montagu served for a brief stint (1955–1959) in her 80s as president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, before handing the reins over to Solomon Freehof.

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17