A Closing Prayer by the Ḥazzan, by Gershom Seixas (Ḳ.Ḳ. Shearith Israel, 1789)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Gershom Mendes Seixas

Shared on:

27 November 2018 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Addenda, Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday of November)

Tags:

Prayers of the Ḥazzan, Spanish-Portuguese, 56th century A.M., 18th Century C.E., K.K. Shearith Israel, חתימות ḥatimot (concluding prayers)

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
יְהִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ עִמָּנוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר הָיָה עִם־אֲבֹתֵינוּ אַל־יַעַזְבֵנוּ וְאַל־יִטְּשֵׁנוּ׃ לְהַטּוֹת לְבָבֵנוּ אֵלָיו לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל־דְּרָכָיו וְלִשְׁמֹר מִצְוֺתָיו וְחֻקָּיו וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה אֶת־אֲבֹתֵינוּ׃	May the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us or forsake us; that he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, his statutes and his judgments which he commanded our fathers.^[1] I Kings 8:57-58.
וְיִהְיוּ דְבָרַי אֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר הִתְחַנַּנְתִּי לִפְנֵי יְהוָה קְרֹבִים אֶל־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יוֹמָם וָלָיְלָה לַעֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפַּט עַבְדּוֹ וּמִשְׁפַּט עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל דְּבַר־יוֹם בְּיוֹמוֹ׃	And may these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God, day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel, at all times, as the matter shall require.^[2] I Kings 8:59.
שֶׁיֵדְעוּ כׇּל יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל כִּי יְיָ הוּא אֱלֹהִים וְאֵין עוֹד׃	That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord he is God and none else.^[3] I Kings 8:60.
לֹא־יָמוּשׁ סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה מִפִּיךָ וְהָגִיתָ בּוֹ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה לְמַעַן תִּשְׁמֹר לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכָל־הַכָּתוּב בּוֹ כִּי־אָז תַּצְלִיחַ אֶת־דְּרָכֶךָ וְאָז תַּשְׂכִּיל׃	This book of the law shall not depart from thy mouth; and thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then shalt thou make thy way prosperous, and then shalt thou be prudent.^[4] Joshua 1:8.
הֲלוֹא צִוִּיתִיךָ חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ אַל־תַּעֲרֹץ וְאַל־תֵּחָת כִּי עִמְּךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר תֵּלֵךְ׃	Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.^[5] Joshua 1:9.
תְּקֻבַּל בְּרַחֲמִים וּבְרָצוֹן תְּפִלָּתֵנוּ׃	May our prayers be accepted with loving favor.

This “Prayer by the Ḥazzan” by Gershom Seixas can be found on the last page of A Religious Discourse Delivered in the Synagogue in this City, on Thursday the 26th November, 1789. Agreeable to the Proclamation of the President of the United States of America, to be Observed as a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer.. It appears to have been offered as a ḥatimah (closing) prayer for the special Thanksgiving Day service by K.K. Shearith Israel in 1789. As Zachary Edinger has noted in the comments below, “This is also a regular part of the Sephardic liturgy for the return of the sefer on shabbat morning” (as can be found here).

Source(s)

Notes[+]

Notes
1	I Kings 8:57-58.
2	I Kings 8:59.
3	I Kings 8:60.
4	Joshua 1:8.
5	Joshua 1:9.

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“A Closing Prayer by the Ḥazzan, by Gershom Seixas (Ḳ.Ḳ. Shearith Israel, 1789)” 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.)

Gershom Mendes Seixas

Gershom Mendes Seixas (1745–1816) led the Sepharadi Congregation Shearith Israel in New York from 1768 to 1776 and again from 1784 to 1816. Although not an ordained Rabbi, he served as Ḥazzan and was among the first Jewish communal leaders who was born and educated in the United States. He was also the first American Jewish synagogue leader to give a d'var torah (sermon) in English. Seixas was an ardent patriot during the American Revolution. He moved the congregation to Philadelphia's Congregation Mikveh Israel and was the Ḥazzan there for the duration of the war. In 1783, he successfully sought revisions in a constitutional clause newly adopted by the Pennsylvania State Legislature, which required a religious examination for seekers of public office. Seixas was one of the fourteen recognized ministers in New York in 1789 who participated in George Washington's first inauguration at Federal Hall in New York City. He delivered the first Thanksgiving address in an American synagogue following the adoption of the United States Constitution. (via his article in wikipedia)

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4 comments to A Closing Prayer by the Ḥazzan, by Gershom Seixas (Ḳ.Ḳ. Shearith Israel, 1789)

Zachary Edinger
2020-10-22 at 3:14 pm · Reply.
Your Hebrew reconstruction is extraneous as these are biblical quotes. The first half from I Kings 8:56-60; the second part as you noted from Joshua 1: 8-9. Your notes 1 and 2 are incorrect. This is also a regular part of the Sephardic liturgy for the return of the sefer on shabbat morning.
- Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
  2020-10-22 at 6:03 pm · Reply.
  Thank you for the missing references and I will look for the shabbes morning return of the sefer torah liturgy you’re pointing me towards. But please let me know what is wrong with the references for “That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord he is God and none else.” Is this not from Alenu (and Alenu citing part of Deuteronomy 4:35)? I see it now.
Zachary Edinger
2020-10-22 at 3:31 pm · Reply.
Additionally, I think your Hebrew re-construction of the final line may also be inaccurate. The closing line for all prayer services in the S&P tradition of NY is “Tekubal beRahamim ubRatson Tefilatenu” – “May our prayers be accepted with loving favor”.
- Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
  2020-10-22 at 5:40 pm · Reply.
  Thank you for these corrections Zachary!

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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