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| Source (German) | Translation, 1852 (English) | Translation, 2022 (English) |
|---|---|---|
Gebet einer schwangern Frau, an הושענא רבה, nachdem sie den Segen über die Etrog-Frucht gesprochen. |
Prayer for a woman who is about to become a mother, after the [final] benediction of the citron. |
Prayer of a pregnant woman, on Hoshana Rabbah, after saying the blessing over the etrog fruit. |
Behüte meine Seele, rette mich vom Bösen; Laß mich in deinem Schutze der Schande nicht anheim fallen. (Psalm 25, 20.) |
Protect my soul, save me from evil; In your protection, do not let me fall prey to disgrace. (Psalms 25:20) | |
Dieses ist der Paradiesapfel — laut der heiligen Sage — der Heil und Unheil den Menschenkindern gebracht. Durch den Genuß dieser Frucht ward dem Geiste Licht und Vernunft, dem Leibe aber der Keim des Verderbens zu Theil, wie uns die heilige Schrift verkündet.[1] 1 B. M. 3. Dieses laß mich, mein Gott und Herr! bedenken, daß auh wir, der ersten Mutter der Menschen (חוה) sündige Töchter, der Versuchung der Schlange — das Symbol der Sünde — unterworfen find und unser Herz vor ihrem giftigen Stachel sorgsam bewahren! Verleihe uns Stärke und die Macht des Willens, jeglicher Versuchung im Leben, die zum Bösen führt, muthig zu widerstehen, jede Lockung der Sinnenreize, die zum Verderben unsrer besseren Natur gereichen muß, von uns abzuwehren. Denn ach, jede Frucht, vom Laster gereicht, hat die Verbannung aus dem Paradiese, aus dem Eden der Unschuld, zur Folge, welches ein Engel mit dem Flammenshwert bewacht, daß es die Sünder nie wieder betreten mögen. Ach, die Sünde, einmal begangen, zeugt der giftigen Pflanzen wuchernde Keime fort und fort, und die Seele, einmal vom Laster befleckt, gewinnt hienieden ihren himmlischen Glanz nie mehr wieder! Darum beten wir täglich: Führe uns nicht in Versuchung,[2] אַל תְּבִיאֵנוּ לִידֵי נִסָּיוֹן (Sidur.) halte des Bösen tückevolle Schlingen von uns fern, daß unser wanfender Schritt nicht gleite und falle. — |
This, O Lord! according to the holy legend, is the apple of paradise, which entailed on man salvation and misery. Through the enjoyment of this fruit, as revealed in Holy Writ, light and reason became the properties of the spirit, but the germ of destruction was, through it, also implanted in the body. Let me remember, Eternal God! that we the frail daughters of Eve, are likewise subject to the temptings of the serpent, sin; and that we must, with all care and diligence, guard our hearts from the venom of its sting. Grant us strength and power of will, to withstand courageously each temptation in life which leads to error; and do Thou ward off from us every allurement of the senses which might effect the destruction of our better nature. For every fruit, seducing vice holds forth to us, entails upon us banishment from Paradise, and closes against us the Eden of innocence, where with flaming sword, the angel keep his constant guard, that the sinner may never more obtain admission. Alas! sin once admitted, is sure to extend its baleful influence over the heart: the soul once stained with vice, never regains below its heavenly brightness. ‘Tis therefore, Father! that we every day implore Thee, not to lead us in the power of temptation; but to remove from us the snares of evil, so that our wavering footsteps may not stumble. |
This is the apple of paradise – according to the sacred legend – which brought salvation and disaster to the children of man. Through the enjoyment of this fruit, the spirit was given light and reason, but the body the germ of destruction, as the Scriptures proclaim to us.[3] Genesis 3:1-24. This, my God and Lord, let me remember that we too, sinful daughters of the first mother of mankind (חוה), are subject to the temptation of the serpent — the symbol of sin — and carefully guard our hearts against its poisonous sting! Grant us strength and the power of the will to courageously resist every temptation in life that leads to evil, to ward off from us every lure of the senses that must be to the ruin of our better nature. For, alas, every fruit of vice results in banishment from paradise, from the Eden of innocence, which an angel guards with a flaming sword so that sinners may never enter it again. Oh, sin, once committed, begets the poisonous plant’s proliferating germs again and again, and the soul, once stained by vice, never again gains its heavenly splendor here! Therefore we pray daily: “Lead us not into temptation, keep the evil one’s treacherous snares away from us, that our staggering step may not slip and fall.”[4] From the prayer following the morning blessings, “Vayehi Ratson…” — |
Als Erinnerung, als Selbstmahnung koste ich den Stiel dieser schönen Frucht, der herbe von Geschmack ist, um mir die Lehre zu Gemüthe zu führen: daß die Folgen der noch so reizenden Sünde bitter find für Geist und Herz, und daß nur ein bethörter Sinn sich von den gleißenden Täuschungen der Sünde verlocken läßt. Darum erhöre mich, o himmlischer Vater! — „Ein reines Herz erschaffe mir“ — rufe ich mit den Worten des heiligen Psalmdichters — „und erneuere einen festen Sinn in meinem Innern,“ o Ewiger, mein Gott und mein Erlöser! |
As an admonitory recollection, Lord! I taste the stalk of this beautiful fruit, so that its bitterness may keep alive the salutary reflection, that the result of sin, however sightly, is bitter to the mind and heart; and that it is only folly which permits itself to be enticed by the false allurements of the tempter. Therefore, Heavenly Father! do Thou hear my prayer, as I supplicate Thee in the words of the holy Psalmist, “Create in me a pure heart, and renew within me an upright spirit,” (Psalms 51:10) Eternal, my Rock and my Redeemer! Amen. |
As a reminder, as a self-admonition, I taste the stalk of this beautiful fruit, which is tart in taste, to bring to my mind the lesson: that the consequences of sin, however charming, are bitter to the mind and heart, and that only an attentive mind can be enticed by the glittering deceits of sin. Therefore hear me, O heavenly Father! – “Create a clean heart for me” — I cry out in the words of the holy Psalm poet — “and renew a firm mind within me,” (Psalms 51:10) O Eternal One, my God and my Redeemer! |
“Gebet einer schwangern Frau, an הושענא רבה, nachdem sie den Segen über die Etrog-Frucht gesprochen.” was translated/adapted by Meïr haLevi Letteris and published in תָּחֲנוּנֵי בַּת יְהוּדָה (Taḥnunei bat Yehudah): Andachtsbuch für Israelitische Frauenzimmer (2nd edition, 1852), pp. 41-42. In 1852, this teḥinah was translated into English (with a short prayer added for children) by Miriam Wertheimer under the title “Prayer for a woman who is about to become a mother, after the benediction of the citron” in Devotional Exercises for the Use of Jewish Women on Public and Domestic Occasions (1852), pp. 52-54.
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Notes
“Gebet einer schwangern Frau, an הושענא רבה, nachdem sie den Segen über die Etrog-Frucht gesprochen | Prayer of a pregnant woman on Hoshana Rabbah after saying the blessing over the etrog fruit, a teḥinah by Meïr Letteris (1852)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)
Aharon N. Varady (translation)
Miriam Wertheimer (translation)
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