https://opensiddur.org/?p=29151Prayer on Entering a New Habitation, by Rabbi Isaac Henry Myers of Ramsgate (1855)2020-01-13 01:40:50A prayer on entering a new habitation or dedication for a new home by Rabbi Isaac Henry Myers of Ramsgate.Textthe Open Siddur ProjectAharon N. Varady (transcription)Aharon N. Varady (transcription)Isaac Henry Myershttps://opensiddur.org/copyright-policy/Aharon N. Varady (transcription)https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/Homes & Community Centersapotropaic prayers of protectiondedications and consecrationsברכת הבית birkat habayitRamsgate19th century C.E.57th century A.M.English JewryEnglish vernacular prayer
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Be gracious unto us, O Lord,
for unto Thee do we direct our prayer.
May the hour in which we dedicate this, our new abode,
be an acceptable time before Thee,
to implore Thy blessing on our coming in, and on our going out.
Suffer, Lord, no evil to befall us,
or sickness to enter our dwelling;
grant that bad passions may never have dominion over us,
but instil into us the love of truth, mercy and justice:
inspire us, Heavenly Father,
with noble sentiments and holy aspirations.
Bless Thou our labour,
and assist us, Lord,
in our endeavours
to make our home
one where affection, unity and peace,
may ever dwell.
Accept, O our Father,
the deep gratitude of our hearts,
for all the mercies Thou hast bestowed upon us,
and grant, we beseech Thee,
a continuance of Thy light and Thy blessing
on this house,
and its inmates.
O, that the time for the dedication of Thy holy Temple
may speedily approach,
when Israel shall be saved
and Judah dwell in safety.
Amen.
Read Psalms 30,
Psalms 1,
Psalms 18,
Psalms 84,
Psalms 121,
Psalms 127,
and selections from Psalms 119,
forming the names of the master and mistress,
and also the words מזל טוב.
As far as we can tell, this dedication of a new home or “prayer on entering a new habiration” by Rabbi Isaac Henry Myers of Ramsgate was first published in Hester Rothschild’s 1855 translation of Imrei Lev (1848), a collection of teḥinot in French by Rabbi Arnaud Aron and Jonas Ennery (in which this prayer is absent). Rabbi Myers own home was built by Sir Moses Montefiore.
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 naqeniשְׁגִיאוֹת 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.)
Isaac Henry Myers (1811-June 22, 1877), secretart to Sir Moses Montefiore and rabbi of the latter's Ramsgate synagogue from 1833-1877. Rabbi Myers officiated at weddings in Canterbury, of which congregation he was a honorary member. According to the Jewish Chronicle of 1st October 1847, he delivered the opening sermon at the laying of the foundation stone of the new Canterbury Synagogue by Sir Moses Montefiore. Isaac Myers was also an active educator and before 1842 he established a small boarding school at Ramsgate, the curriculum of which included Hebrew, English, Latin, German and French. The school was open to Jewish and non-Jewish pupils. In 1845, together with another brother, the Rabbi Moses Henry Myers, who was then assistant Reader of the Duke's Place synagogue, and Hebrew Master at its Talmud Torah school. Together, they published a booklet entitled Twelve hundred questions and answers on the Bible. The school was well supported and in 1865, after reorganization, it became known as the Ramsgate Middle Class school.
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