“Why should I torture myself” a prayer for reassurance by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy (1927)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Clifton Harby Levy

Shared on:

19 April 2023 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Well-being, health, and caregiving

Tags:

57th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, teḥinot in English, Jewish Science movement, 20th century C.E., תחינות teḥinot

I MUST NOT WORRY
Why should I worry? How can it help me in any way to sit and brood over any troubles, no matter how real they are or seem? Is it not fear and cowardice which lead me to worry lest events should not come as I wish? Who says that my desire is always right? Do I know what is best for me at all times?
Worry has never aided in the solution of a single human problem. But if I set aside all fear or hesitation, and calmly try to find some sensible way through my difficulty have I not the right to expect some valuable result?
When I worry I merely weaken my power of reasoning, or distort my judgment. I need my best ability when I face a problem, and I can have it only if I am free of all worry. With the aid of God, I can cast out all fear, knowing that He works within me at this moment to help and cheer.
Knowing this, I can control myself through my deeper trust in God and my better reliance upon my own powers. I can prove my character by the way in which I surmount a difficulty, or pass over it. Success can never come to me if I worry, which is a process of weakening, when I most require strength. It is as easy for me to resolve never to worry as it is to believe that I am on earth to do things and not to waste my energy in useless fear. If all is not right, can I not make it as nearly right as lies within my strength? That is what I shall do with the help of Almighty God.

TOGGLE COLUMNS (on/off):

ADJUST COLUMN POSITIONS: select the column header cell and drag it where you want. show me!

COPY INDIVIDUAL COLUMN(S): use CopyTables, a browser extension.

TABLE HELP

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Why should I torture myself, while Thou art ever near? What can be wrong when Thou directest all? In Thy Presence all fear is gone, for Thy Spirit is within me and about me, and the right must come to be.
	Help me to see the way to do what will benefit both me and those around me.
	Teach me the Faith that all is always right, if we but work with Thee.
	Show me how I may find the way through every difficulty, even though it be not as I had hoped.
	Make me strong enough to face each issue as it comes, and mould it to the best ends.
	Banish every oppressing care, for Thou art shaping the destinies of men, and what Thou doest is always right.
	Grant me the vision of truth and justice, that I may guide myself aright, even according to Thy will. Help me to see that in the end all will be well, as Thou savest me from pain and trouble. This be Thy will, at every turn in life. Amen.

This untitled prayer by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy accompanied his short reflection, “I Must Not Worry” found in The Helpful Manual (Centre of Jewish Science, 1927), pp. 19-20.

Source(s)

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

““Why should I torture myself” a prayer for reassurance by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy (1927)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal 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.)

Clifton Harby Levy

Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy (1867–1962), was a Reform rabbi in the United States. Born in New Orleans, he was ordained at Hebrew Union College (1890), served as rabbi of Congregation Gates of Hope, New York City (1890–91), and as superintendent of classes for immigrant children established by the Baron de Hirsch Fund. Levy later served congregations in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (1892–94) and Baltimore, Maryland (1894–96), where he organized a Jewish kindergarten in a religious school and the first United Hebrew Charities. He founded Tremont Temple, Bronx, New York, and was its rabbi from 1906 to 1921. He left the pulpit rabbinate in 1921 and in 1924 organized the Centre of Jewish Science, New York City. As part of the Jewish Science movement, it sought to counter the influence of Christian Science among acculturated American Jews and to inject spirituality into the Reform Jewish synagogue. He was a founding member of the American Council for Judaism, which consisted primarily of anti-Zionist Reform rabbis and laymen. While still a student, Levy published a five-act Purim play, Haman and Mordecai (1886). During his stay in Baltimore he edited Jewish Comment. He edited The Bible in Art (1936) and The Bible in Pictures (1942), and served as art editor of the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia.

Pocket Pinterest Reddit 𝕏 Facebook Telegram WhatsApp SMS Email

Works of related interest:

heal me (Clifton Harby Levy 1927) - cropped

“Heal me” a prayer for healing by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy (1927)

help our loved one who lingers in pain (Clifton Harby Levy 1927) - cropped

“Help our loved one who lingers in pain” a prayer for healing by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy (1927)

all adrift (Clifton Harby Levy 1927) - cropped

“All adrift on the stream of life” a prayer for help and self-control by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy (1927)

give me peace of soul (Clifton Harby Levy 1927) - cropped

“Give me peace of soul” a prayer for self-control by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy (1927)

guard me from yielding to this temptation to err (Clifton Harby Levy 1927) - cropped

“Guard me from yielding to this temptation to err” a prayer by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy (1927)

thy will be done (Clifton Harby Levy 1927) - cropped

“Thy will be done” a prayer for self-resignation by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy (1927)

morning prayer for very young children (Clifton Harby Levy 1927)

Morning Prayer (for Very Young Children) by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy (1927)

prev next

Comments, Corrections, and QueriesCancel reply

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=50166

Associated Image:

“Keep Hope Afloat, Be Kind, Share” (Al Jaffee, z”l) – enlarged from cropped image. The image was prepared by Jaffee for Rabbi David Massinter’s ARK Campaign (ARK = Acts of Random Kindness).

(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in shared links on social media.)

Source Data: XML | JSON

Re-formatted: HTML | ODT

Terms of Use: Be a mentsch (a conscientious, considerate person) and adhere to the following guidelines:

Properly attribute the work to Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Clifton Harby Levy.
Clearly indicate the date you accessed the work and in what ways, if any, you modified it. (If you have adapted the work, let us know so that the contributor might consider endorsing your revision.)
Provide the stable link to this resource: <https://opensiddur.org/?p=50166>.
Indicate that the original work was shared under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication. (To redistribute or remix this work in any format, modified or unmodified, you must refer to the terms of the license under which the work is shared.)

Additional Notes:

The views expressed in this work represent the views of their creator(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Open Siddur Project's developers, its diverse community of contributors, patrons, or institutional partners.
We strongly advise against printing sacred texts and art containing divine names as these copies must be regarded with reverence, complicating their casual treatment and disposal.
If you must dispose of a printed sacred text (one containing Divine Names), please locate the closest genizah (often established by a synagogue) and contact its custodians for further instructions. We also recommend using Morah Yehudis Fishman's Prayer for Adding a Work to the Genizah.

Support this work: The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture. If you like what you've found here, please help keep our project alive and online with your financial contribution.

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