Prayer Previous to Confinement, by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Marcus Heinrich Bresslau

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

Categories:

Conception, Pregnancy, and Childbirth

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

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	עֲנֵנִי יְהוָה עֲנֵנִי Answer me, O eternal, answer me (1 Kings 18:37) in this anxious hour, in the hour where joy and pain are bordering so near each other. Incline Thine ear unto me, O Father, and listen to the fervent prayer of Thy handmaid,
	grant, that the birth of my child be not afflictive; shorten the pain, the anguish and anxiety, that now approach me; cause Thy assistance to uphold me in the hour of danger, and remember not the multitude of my sins.
	Turn my pains into joy by the delightful sight of a living, well-formed and healthy babe, whose heart may be at all times dedicated to Thee. Bless me, as Thou didst bless the pious Hannah, with such a child, of which I may also exclaim with joy: אֶל הַנַּעַר הַזֶּה הִתְפַּלָּלְתִּי “For this child have I prayed!” (1 Samuel 1:27) Amen.

“Prayer Previous to Confinement” by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau was first published in his תחנות בנות ישראל Devotions for the Daughters of Israel (1852), p. 58.

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 Previous to Confinement, by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)” 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.)

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)

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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