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תפילה לה״ בעד חיי׳ המלך אדוננו ובעד טובת מדינתינו ביום בוא מלכנו אלכסנדר יאאן הראשון לעירינו |
O rugăciune către HaShem pentru viața regelui și pentru bunăstarea regatului său În ziua în care Regele nostru Alexandru Ioan a sosit în orașul nostru |
A Prayer to HaShem for the Life of our monarch the King and on behalf of the welfare of his state On the day our king Alexander Ioan I came to our city … |
יום נפתחן שערי ארצנו יבא בם בחירן מלכנו ה״ אלקינו לפניך נשפך שיח פתח שערי שמיך אורן יהל ארך ימים תן לו חיים שאל הוד והדר שוה עליו ה׳ הצליח |
Ziua în care porțile pământului nostru au fost deschise Fie ca regele nostru ales să pătrundă prin ele Să ne punem noi cuvintele noastre înaintea Ta HaShem, al nostru el’oah Deschide porțile cerurilor Tale și lasă lumina Ta să strălucească Dăruiește-i viață lungă Acoperă-l cu maiestate și glorie. |
A day when the gates of our land were opened May our chosen king enter through them Let us pour out our words before You HaShem our elo’ah Open the gates of Your heavens and let Your light shine Grant him long years of life Shower him with majesty and glory |
ועמן אחותינו באה מאלדווע המדינה זה כמה לא תבקו ידינו זאת העדינה אחתינו אתהיי לאלפי רבבה ועל כנפי נשר ועל בכור שור תראה ההצלחה יעופו ככבי אור לשום ברכה על נס ודגלים אהבה |
Și o dată cu el vine suveranitatea Moldovei Noi n-am cuprins încă întreaga noastră țară Sora noastră, fie ca tu să primești binecuvântările biblice Iar pe aripi de vulturi și pe mărețul bour Vei dobândi izbânda cu avânt, precum stelele strălucitoare Aducând binecuvântări și iubire pentru stindardul nostru. |
And with him comes the statehood of Moldavia We had not yet embraced our entire fair country Our sister, may you receive the blessings recounted in the bible And on the wings of eagles and on the mighty auroch You will behold victory soaring like shining stars Bringing blessings and love to our banner and flag |
ה׳ בכל עת ועת מרי הארת פניך לכונן כס מלכות לאיש לבבו נאמן לפניך ותאמר׃ כסאך אבנה לדור ודור מאז מצאת כסאו בלב עמים בנוי ראית ינהלם כרועה עדרן יושיע עם עני לשלח רצוצים חפשים לקרוא לשובים דרור |
HaShem, Tu mereu ai îngăduit ca fața Ta să lumineze Ca tronul regal să fie cu hotărâre întemeiat pentru el – cel care ți-a fost credincios Ție I-ai vestit lui: îți voi clădi tronul de la generație la generație Din vremea în care Tu l-ai întemeiat între popoare L-ai vazut pe el, îndrumând poporul precum un păstor turma sa, pentru a ridica un popor sărman Pentru a-i frânge încătușările și pentru a proclama libertatea celor captivi. |
HaShem, you have always allowed Your face to shine To firmly establish the royal throne for him who has been faithful to You You proclaimed to him: I will build up your throne from generation to generation From the time You established it within the community of nations You have beheld him leading them as a shepherd his flock, to elevate a lowly people – To break their bonds and proclaim freedom to the captives |
וכפרוץ השמחה כנגן הנבל והחליל על כל יאשדרך על כל נבע ותליל וכל לב מלא גיל כל פה תהלה אנכי בת ישורון לבבי מלא תוחלת ועיני לשמים ונפשי חסד שואלת בידך ה׳ לב מלך ואני תפלה |
Iar când bucuria izbucnește în muzica de harpă și de trompetă Pe fiecare drum și pe fiecare munte înalt Iar fiecare inimă se umple de fericire și fiecare gură se umple de laudă Eu, fiica lui Yeshurun, inima mea se umple de speranță Iar ochii mei privesc către ceruri, sufletul meu caută îndurare Inima regelui nostru e în mâinile tale, HaShem, și eu mă rog – |
And when joy breaks forth amid the music of harp and trumpet On every highway and on each steep mountain And every heart fills with joy and every mouth with praise I, the daughter of Yeshurun, my heart fills with hope And my eyes look up towards heaven and my soul seeks grace The king’s heart is in your hands, HaShem, and I pray – |
ה׳ נצור כאישון את אלכסנדר יאהן הראשון |
HaShem, apără, precum aperi ceea ce este cel mai de preț pentru Tine Pe Alexandru Ioan Întâiul |
HaShem, protect, as you protect what is dearest to You, Alexander Johann I |
המלך אדנינו שמרהו אלקינו ואת רעייתו המלכה וכל שרי הממלכה |
Domnul nostru, regele Păzește-l, al nostru elo’ah Și pe consoarta sa, Regina Și pe toți miniștrii regatului |
Our lord, the king Protect him, our elo’ah, and his consort the Queen and all the ministers of his kingdom |
ושמת לעד זרעם וכסאם כימי שמים ונתת כנהר שלומם וכפלגי מים וכתות מפניו צריו ומשנאיו יסורו ותהי שפעת ה׳ כשתר פרוש על הערים וסביב גבעות ברכה ושלום ושאו הרים וַעֲמָקִים יַעַטְפוּ־בָר יִתְרוֹעֲעוּ אַף־יָשִׁירוּ |
Și pentru totdeauna așază moștenitorii și tronurile lor Fie ca bunăstarea lor să curgă precum un râu măreț Să zdrobească toți dușmanii din fața lor, iar cei potrivnici să-și întoarcă drumul Fie ca dărnicia lui HaShem să se întindă peste toate orașele precum zorile de zi. Să cuprindă cele mai înalte vârfuri ale țării Iar văile roditoare să răsune de muzică. |
And establish forever their heirs and their thrones And may their welfare flow like a mighty river Crush all their enemies before them and may their foes turn away May HaShem’s bounty spread over its cities like the dawn And envelop the country’s highest peaks And may its fruited valleys ring with music.[1] Psalms 65:14 partial |
והאחיות התאומות יחדיו תהיינה תמים תחת ראש אחד מלך צדיק מושלעמים יֵרֵד כְּמָטָר עַל־גֵּז כִּרְבִיבִים על צומח ויערף כמטר טובה וכטל השמים ברכה וכגלי הים שלוה וכמעותיו הצלחה יפרח בימיו צדיק ורוב שלום עד כלי ירה |
Iar Surorile Gemene împreună vor fi una Sub domnia unui singur virtuos monarh, un cârmuitor al popoarelor El să fie precum ploaia ce cade pe un câmp arat, precum o ploaie peste vegetație, Fie ca bunătatea să curgă precum o ploaie binevoitoare și o binecuvântată rouă Iar pacea și victoria precum valurile mării Fie ca acest rege drept să înflorească iar pacea să fie din belșug. |
And the Twin Sisters together will be complete[2] The “Twin Sisters,” i.e., Moldavia and Wallachia Beneath the rule of a single righteous monarch, a ruler of nations Let him be like rain that falls on a mown field, like a downpour of rain on vegetation,[3] Cf. Psalms 72:6 May goodness flow like benevolent rain and blessed dew And peace and victory like the waves of the sea May this righteous king flourish and may peace abound. |
מאיר ליבוש מלבים ראבד דפה באקארסט |
Meir Leibush (ben Yehiel Michel) Malbim, RAB”D (Șef-Rabin) al orașului București. |
Meir Leibush [ben Yehiel Michel] Malbim, RAB”D (Chief Rabbi), of this city Bucharest |
The life of Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yeḥiel Michel (MALBIM, 1809-1879) as a wandering rabbi and brilliant intellect reflects the changing expectations of Jews and Jewish religious authorities during the period of emancipation in 19th century Eastern Europe. His first published commentary was on Megillat Esther (1845). The Malbim’s fame and popularity rests upon his commentary on the Tanakh (1876). His political life as a community rabbi, however, is a tragic one.
In his capacity as the chief rabbi of Bucharest, Romania, the Malbim composed the prayer above for Prince Alexander Ioan I Cuza (1820-1873), Domnitor. The prince had united the Danube principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1862 to form the Kingdom of Romania. During his reign, he managed to bring about a series of important land reforms benefiting the peasantry of Romania, and he did try to improve the situation for Jews under his rule. Although he succeeded on emancipating the enslaved Roma of Romania, the emancipation of the Jews of Romania, announced with the Proclamation of Islaz during the Wallachian Revolution of 1848, had never actually gone into effect. In 1865, the prince announced a project which would lead to the “gradual emancipation of the people of Mosaic faith” but this effort was never realized due to Alexandru Ioan’s forced abdication and replacement by a Prussian King in 1866.
Elayne Grossbard writes that the prayer was composed “to celebrate the Romanian national holiday on 24 January 1862, when it was read publicly by the chief rabbi and by the congregation.”[4] Grosbard continues, “Besides being printed on paper at the time, the words were also printed in Hebrew and Romanian on a silk banner decorated with the national coat of arms.
Grosbard writes, “The MALBIM was a controversial figure because of his differences with the local community and he used this occasion to deliver a sermon bemoaning his ill treatment and appealing for support.” YIVO explains the strained relationship between the Malbim and the Jewish community of Bucharest, which led to his arrest in 1862 sometime after the prayer above was composed:
In the 1850s, a group of Jews led by Iuliu Barasch (“the Mendelssohn of Romanian Jewry”) had fought for Jewish emancipation and Jewish cultural advancement through secular schools and through the establishment of a choral temple with an organ and choir. Upon his arrival [in Bucharest in 1858], Malbim sought to bolster Orthodox observance (by setting kashrut standards, building an ‘eruv [boundary permitting Jews to carry on the Sabbath], establishing a Hebrew press in Bucharest, popularizing Torah study, and preaching Sabbath observance) and took drastic steps to thwart the Reform movement by withdrawing funding from modern schools, halting the choral temple’s construction, and even prohibiting kosher butchers from selling to those who did not observe the Sabbath. The influential reformers attacked Malbim as a fanatic and, turning to the government, accused him of impeding Jewish assimilation into society, of being unpatriotic, and, most seriously, of blaspheming Christianity in his commentaries. The government responded in 1862 by banning Malbim from preaching, removing his title of chief rabbi, and withdrawing the Bucharest Jewish community’s authority to raise taxes and manage its own affairs.
Malbim’s family life during this period was unsettled, as Aharon, the only child from his second marriage, died in childhood, and Ḥayah [his wife], suffering from depression, behaved erratically, spent beyond the family’s means, and maligned her husband openly. In the public sphere, Malbim benefited from the support of Orthodox Bucharest Jews who petitioned the government to lift the ban on his preaching, an opportunity Malbim took to condemn his opponents publicly. Continuing battles ultimately led to his imprisonment and to his expulsion from Romania in 1864. Unwilling to capitulate, Malbim traveled to Constantinople to sue the Romanian government, demanding reinstatement and back wages; he received support from Sir Moses Montefiore and from the Prussian consulate, which protested his mistreatment as a Prussian national. He also traveled to Paris to enlist the help of Adolphe Crémieux (president of the Alliance Israélite Universelle), who sent a protest letter directly to the Romanian ruler, Alexandru Cuza. Malbim won reparations on condition that he officially resign as rabbi of Romania.
What I find remarkable is how this prayer, composed by one man for another, is situated just at the intersection of both of their lives, each of which begins to strangely track each other, if not geographically then tragically. Each of their lives becomes terribly complicated by separate but related historical currents that soon remove both of them from their office and position, and ultimately, out of Romania entirely.
Transcription Source
Prayer for the welfare of Alexandru Ioan I Cuza, Domnitor of Romania, 1820-1873 by Meyr Leybush Malbim (Bucarest, Romania, 1862) from the Magnes Museum Collection (Public Domain)
I found the Malbim’s “Prayer for Alexandru Ioan I” among many other treasures in the Magnes Museum’s archive of images on Flickr documenting its collection of Judaica. The transcription is mine and the English translation is that of Elayne Grossbard, originally posted in her post “A Prayer for the Welfare of the King” at the Magnes Museum’s blog, “opensource.” I have made a number of small corrections and changes to her translation. Additional information can be found in the Magnes Museum’s database record.
The secondary translation into Romanian was made by Ella Stiniguță, based upon the English. Any comments or corrections are welcome!
Notes
“תפילה לה׳ בעד חיי׳ המלך אדוננו ובעד טובת | Prayer for Alexandru Ioan Ⅰ Cuza, Domnitor of Romania, by Rabbi Meir Leibush (1862)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)
Ella Stiniguță (translation)
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