Learning, a prayer for thirst in Torah study by Rabbi Ely E. Pilchik (1962)

Contributor(s):

Ely Emanuel Pilchik and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

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3 September 2022 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

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20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Prayers before Torah Study

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	As we resume our labors in the search for Thee, O Heavenly Father, we pause to glorify Thy name and to bless Thee who are the source of all wisdom.
	To our fathers didst Thou bountifully mete out of Thy wisdom — Thou didst admonish them to guard carefully Thy word. In their zeal to know Thee, they drank deeply of Thy spring of knowledge. As they journeyed from land to land, as they passed through the many generations, they enwrapped Thy precious gift in the years of their learning. Lovingly they bequeathed it to us. For that possession, and for Thy inspiration which impelled our fathers in their ceaseless study, we express our deep gratitude to Thee.
	O, Lord, in these days, we have come to speak in Thy name too presumptuously. Grasping but a fleeting glimpse of our fathers’ teachings, scarcely familiar with our heritage, we rashly give voice to Thine instructions.
	We beseech Thee, O our God, to restore within us our sages’ thirst unquenchable for learning and knowledge, that we in turn, with sureness of mind, and sincerity of heart, may teach of Thee and Thy Torah.
	Amen.

“Learning” by Rabbi Ely E. Pilchik was first published in Rabbi Morrison David Bial’s anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 63, from where this prayer was transcribed.

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. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“Learning, a prayer for thirst in Torah study by Rabbi Ely E. Pilchik (1962)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Ely Emanuel Pilchik

Rabbi Ely Emanuel Pilchik (1913-2003) was an American Jewish Reform rabbi, Born in Baranowiz, Poland, he emigrated in 1920 to the United States. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati in 1935, he was ordained by HUC in 1939 and soon joined the faculty of the University of Maryland while serving as assistant rabbi at Har Sinai Temple in Baltimore until 1942. World War II interrupted his appointment as rabbi for Temple Israel in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he became a rabbi chaplain for the US Navy. After the war, he became rabbi of temple B'nai Jeshurun on Newark, New Jersey until 1981. Through the 1950s, he served on the Essex County Synagogue Council and the NJ Board of Rabbis, the Association of Reform Rabbis of New York, the executive board of CCAR, and as president of the Jewish Book Council of America. He served on the Board of Governors of HUC-JIR, and from 1977-1979, as president of CCAR. A scholar, he authored a number of books including Hillel (1951), Maimonides' Creed (1952), and Duties of the Heart (1953).

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.)

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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

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