🆕 תודה | Prayer of Thanksgiving for the Safe Return of Sir Moses Montefiore from Romania (Ḳ.Ḳ. Shaar haShamayim, 1867)

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Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Benjamin Artom

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6 September 2024 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

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Romania

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19th century C.E., Emancipation, Spanish-Portuguese, 57th century A.M., free translation, Romanian Jewry, Prayers for leaders, Moses Montefiore

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
אלהי צבאות מי כמוך חסין יה · מי כמוך באלים ה׳ אלהי השומע בקול נשברי לב · הנוטה אזן אל תפלת הערער · הגואל משחת חיינו המעטרנו חסד ורחמים · כל הנשמה תהללך כי היית משגב לרך משגב לעתות בצרה׃ אודך ה׳ כי לא עזבת חסדך ואמתך מעם תפארת ישרון ·	O Lord God of Hosts, who is like unto Thee in might and in mercy? Thou graciously hearkenest unto the prayers of them that are afflicted; Thou sendest unto them salvation through Thy loving-kindness. Every soul extolleth Thee, as the mighty Redeemer in time of distress; and we, specially, Thy people Israel, have ever to acknowledge Thine infinite mercies.
הזקן הגדול ונשוא פנים השר משה מונטיפיור אשר לא פחד מפני שאון גלים ותלאות הדרך לא בעתוהו · ויאזור כגבר חלציו וילך אל ארץ רומניא אשר בא משם קול ענות חלושה · ומחוז לבו לרוץ לעזרת כל עשוק ורצוץ מבני עמו׃	Thou hast again thrown Thy shield over Thy faithful servant Sir Moses Montefiore, who, moved by a cry of distress heard from Roumania, hath bravely rushed to the rescue, heedless of dangers and fatigues, and regardless of self, in order to bring comfort to his suffering brethren.
וצר לו בראותו כי אין אתו אשת נעוריו יהודית החסידה ע״ה לנחמו ולאמצו כפעם בפעם · אמנם חזק ויתחזק כי שם בך ה׳ תקותו · ואתה אל רחום וחנון נחית אותו בארח אמת גם הצלחת את דרכו אשר הלך עליה׃	Alas! his faithful companion, the pious and noble-hearted Judith, was no longer by his side to comfort him and strengthen his hands, as she ever did before, for her seat is now in the glory of heaven. Still he hath not hesitated, for he hath reposed his trust solely in Thee. And Thou, gracious Lord, hast crowned his efforts with success, his labours with triumph.
ואנחנו נשנח ונפאר את שמך הגדול כי יום בשורה היום הזה · ידיד נפשנו ועטרת ראשנו כאשר יצא בשלום כן שב בשלום אל ארץ מולדתו · ארץ בריטניא המהוללה · הנה שכרו אתו ופעלתו לפניו׃	Therefore do we praise and glorify Thy Holy Name on this solemn day, and offer up our hearty thanks unto Thee, who hast graciously protected our beloved champion in all his ways outwards and homewards, and hast disposed in his favour the hearts of Princes and Monarchs.
אתה נתת את חנו בעיני רוזנים וזרע מלכים כבדוהו כי ידעו את ישרו ואת גדל מפעליו׃ ישב בארמנות נדיבים · ויאכל על שלחן מושלים · הביאוהו בסודם · קראוהו אל קהלם · וארשת שפתיו לא מנעו׃ כי הוא בקש מלפני השליט על אחיו לתת להם מהסה תחת כנפי תורת המלכות לבל ישא איש את ידו להרע להם ואין עוזר ואין סומך׃	They could appreciate his merits, for fame had preceded him. They did accordingly honour him, and graciously listen to his prayer on behalf of his brethren— a prayer which asked naught but even justice.
ומלך רומניא אשר יושר ומשפט אזור מתניו דבר אתו דברי צדק ואמת לאמר · לך לשלום ואנכי את חפצך אמלא · לא יפול עוד משערת היהודים ארצה כי אנכי אגן בעדם · תורה אחת יהיה לכל בני עמי לגר ולאזרח הארץ׃	The Prince of Roumania, who glorieth in truth and righteousness, did readily and kindly extend the protection of the law, and the mighty arm of justice unto his Jewish subjects, whom he considereth and loveth as all his other subjects.
על כן שמח לבנו ויגל כבודנו כי קרבה הישועה ואתה ה׳ עשית׃ יושב הכרובים · השוקל במאזני צדק מפעלות בני אדם ידעת אתה ימי תמימים וצדקתם לעולם תהיה ·	Thus have all oppressed hearts been relieved; and unto Thee, O Lord, who lovest justice and mercy, do we raise our eyes with gratitude and joy.
ברך קארלוס המלך והרם את כסאו בהוד והדר · ותן בלבו ובלב יועציו להקים את דברו ולעשות טובה עם ישראל אחינו׃	We implore Thee to confer Thy blessings on the august Prince Charles of Roumania,^[1] Carol Ⅰ or Charles Ⅰ of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – 10 October [O.S. 27 September] 1914), was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (Domnitor) from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He was elected Prince of the Romanian United Principalities on 20 April 1866 after the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup d’état. to prosper his reign, and to continue to incline his heart, and the hearts of his Councillors and Ministers to the welfare of Thy children Israel.
שלח את שפע ברכותיך על השר משה מונטיפיור · אל תכלא רחמיך ממנו · האריך ימיו · ושנותיו תהיינה בנעימים · כי הוא רָצוּי לְרֹב אֶחָיו דֹּרֵשׁ טוֹב לְעַמּוֹ וְדֹבֵר שָׁלוֹם לְכָל־זַרְעוֹ׃ (אסתר י:ג)	We also beseech Thee, O Lord, to continue Thy favours and blessings unto the venerable philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore, the esteemed and beloved of all his brethren, and to prolong his precious days in peace, health, and happiness.
השקיפה ממעון קדשך מן השמים וברך את עמך את ישראל והרחק ממנו יגון ואנחה כי לך ה׳ הישועה ולך תוחלתנו׃	Deign, O Lord, to look down upon Thy people with Thy wonted mercy, and as they trust in Thee, so do Thou protect them from all evil, and shower upon them the treasures of Thy grace.
שים שלום בארץ והקרב היום הגדול אשר ראו נביאיך בחזיונות לילה · יום שובה ונחת והשקט ובטח · יום אשר לֹא־יָרֵעוּ וְלֹא־יַשְׁחִיתוּ בְּכָל־הַר קָדְשִׁי כִּי־מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ דֵּעָה אֶת־ה׳ כַּמַּיִם לַיָּם מְכַסִּים׃ (ישעיה יא:ט)	O grant peace to the world, and vouchsafe the day foreshadowed by Thy faithful Prophets, when all the inhabitants of the earth shall know Thee, and adore Thy Name in concord and happiness.
יהי רצון מלפניך ה׳ אלהינו ואלהי אבותינו שתכלה שנה וקללותיה · ותחל שנה טובה · שנת רצון ונחמה וגאולה וישועה · שנת סליחה וכפרה לענייך ומרודיך · ושנת גמול טוב לשומרי תורתך ולחסידיך · וקיים בנו מקרא שכתוב וְנִסְלַח לְכָל־עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלַגֵּר הַגָּר בְּתוֹכָם כִּי לְכָל־הָעָם בִּשְׁגָגָה (במדבר טו:כו)· וכן יהי רצון ונאמר אמן׃	Grant O Lord, with the approaching New Year, a gracious forgiveness of our sins, relief to them that suffer, comfort to them that are troubled in spirit, joy to them that serve Thee with sincerity and piety, and a new harvest of blessings to all, from Thy throne of mercy. Amen.

This thanksgiving prayer was offered by Ḳ.Ḳ. Shaar haShamayim (a/k/a Bevis Marks, the S&P Synagogue in London) upon the safe return of Sir Moses Montefiore from a trip to Romania on behalf of Romanian Jewry in 1867. The concern at the time was the overthrow in the previous year of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup d’état. Cuza, a reformer, had brought emancipation to the Roma peoples residing in Romania, who had been enslaved for centuries. Similar promises of emancipation for Romanian Jewry had been extended prior to Cuza’s overthrow. Unfortunately for Romanian Jewry, Carol Ⅰ would not be their liberator. (Emancipation for Romanian Jewry would come by treaty after World War Ⅰ in 1919 and enshrined in the Romanian constitution in 1923.) The prayer was likely written by Rabbi Benjamin Artom who was installed as the rabbi for Bevis Marks in late 1866. The English translation is approximate and elides the biblical references offered in the Hebrew text of the prayer. Many thanks to Abe Katz for brining this prayer to our attention. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

Notes[+]

Notes
1	Carol Ⅰ or Charles Ⅰ of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – 10 October [O.S. 27 September] 1914), was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (Domnitor) from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He was elected Prince of the Romanian United Principalities on 20 April 1866 after the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup d’état.

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“תודה | Prayer of Thanksgiving for the Safe Return of Sir Moses Montefiore from Romania (Ḳ.Ḳ. Shaar haShamayim, 1867)” 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.)

Benjamin Artom

Rabbi Benjamin Artom (1835–1879), born in Asti, Piedmont, in the Kingdom of Sardinia, was a rabbi in Italy and Britain. He was the first person to hold the post of rabbi of Naples. In 1866, he accepted a call to become the spiritual leader, or Ḥakham, of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews in Britain, and held the post until his death on 6 January 1879 at 3 Marine Parade, Brighton. He composed a prayer for boys on the occasion of their Bar Mitzvah that was at one time used in most Orthodox synagogues in Britain and is still used in the Spanish and Portuguese ones. He was left fatherless when a child, and his maternal uncle supervised his early training. His theological education he owed to the rabbis Marco Tedeschi, of Trieste, and Terracini. At twenty he taught Hebrew, Italian, French, English, and German. His first appointment was that of minister to the congregation of Saluzzo near Genoa. While rabbi of a congregation in Naples he received a call to London, where he was on December 16, 1866 installed as chief rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese congregations of the United Kingdom. After a year's stay in England, he became so proficient in English that he could preach in that language with eloquence. Deeply interested in Anglo-Jewish institutions, he directed his attention chiefly to organizing and superintending the educational establishments of his own congregation, the Sha'are Tikvah and Villareal schools. Although of Orthodox views, he welcomed moderate reforms, and endeavored to promote any enterprise tending toward the union of discordant factions. He was author of various odes and prayers in Hebrew, and several pieces of Italian poetry. A selection of his sermons delivered in England was published in 1873.

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תפלה למשה | Prayer of Gratitude at the Consecration of the Montefiore Synagogue at Ramsgate, by Sir Moses Montefiore (1833)

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Rugăcĭune Pentru Regele | Prayer for the King [Carol Ⅰ, of Romania], by Rabbi Dr. Moses Gaster (1883)

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תפילה לה׳ בעד חיי׳ המלך אדוננו ובעד טובת | Prayer for Alexandru Ioan Ⅰ Cuza, Domnitor of Romania, by Rabbi Meir Leibush (1862)

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מזמור לתודה לכבוד משה איש האלהים | A Thanksgiving in Commemoration of Moses Maimonides, an octocentennial prayer by Ḥakham Shem Tov Gaguine (Bevis Marks Synagogue, 27 May 1935)

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Moses Montefiore sitting in Harper’s Weekly (20 October 1883) – detail

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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