Prayer on the Day of Marriage (previous to the Nuptial Ceremony), by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Marcus Heinrich Bresslau

Shared on:

23 November 2021 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Engagements & Weddings

Tags:

Jewish Women's Prayers, English vernacular prayer, 19th century C.E., תחינות teḥinot, 57th century A.M.

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Creator in Heaven! I shall soon approach Thee at the side of my companion in life, whom Thou from the fulness of Thy grace and truth hath bestowed upon me; soon will be pronounced the sentence which will closely interweave me with the fate of that being; be it therefore Thy will, O Father, that no power on earth loosen our band.
	Grant, that I may joyfully endure the sacred ties of matrimony; grant us mild temperament, tenderness and fidelity; grant that I divide my heart without reserve with my betrothed, and that after Thee, I may love him most.
	May pure domestic virtue flourish in our union; may no evil voice of dissent cloud our concord, and to peace only be our house consecrated.
	And shouldst Thou, all-kind Father deign to bless this alliance with hopeful off-spring, then grant also the warmest prayer of parents for the education of their children in the fear of God, and to rear them in the performance of every virtue.
	Once more I implore Thee gracious God for the best blessing of Thy goodness, direct us to happiness by the beacon of union and love; keep all adversity from our dwelling, forgive our transgressions, so that this holy covenant may be free from sin and that Thou mayest crown it with Thy blessing. Amen.

“Prayer on the Day of Marriage, previous to the Nuptial Ceremony” by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau was first published in his תחנות בנות ישראל Devotions for the Daughters of Israel (1852), p. 56.

In his preface to Devotions, Bresslau is clear that his prayers in English were adapted from traditional teḥinot that had earlier been published in France, Germany, and Poland. If you know of a specific prayer that may have served as the basis for this one, please leave a comment or contact us.

Source(s)

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“Prayer on the Day of Marriage (previous to the Nuptial Ceremony), by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)” is shared by the living contributor(s) with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Aharon N. Varady (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.)

Marcus Heinrich Bresslau

Marcus Heinrich (also Mordecai Ḥayyim/Hyman/Heyman) Bresslau (ca. 1808-15 May 1864) was a Hebraist and newspaper editor. Born in Hamburg, he settled in England when young. For some time from 1834 he was Baal Ḳoreh (reader) at the Western Synagogue. He then taught Hebrew at the Westminster Jews’ Free School and went on to tutor privately. A maskil, he became involved with M. J. Raphall’s Hebrew Review and Magazine of Rabbinical Literature (1834-6). In October 1844 he was appointed editor of the relaunched Jewish Chronicle by proprietor Joseph Mitchell. Prickly and quarrelsome, he resigned in July 1848 but returned in around September. He remained until about October 1850. After Mitchell’s death in June 1854 he became proprietor (his middle name appearing as Heyman) and edited it until February 1855 when new proprietor Abraham Benisch succeeded him. Bresslau, who tried vainly to revive the Hebrew Review, wrote Hebrew poetry, produced a Hebrew grammar and a Hebrew dictionary, and translated various Hebrew manuscripts in the Bodleian Library. Bresslau compiled (we think) the first compilation of teḥinot in English for women. (Much of this information via Bresslau's entry in The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History)

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=40818

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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