https://opensiddur.org/?p=29600[Prayer] in Illness, by Rabbi Avraham Samuel Soltes (ca. 1950s)2020-01-26 04:18:02A prayer to provide some relief and comfort tor an ill patient.Textthe Open Siddur ProjectAharon N. Varady (transcription)Aharon N. Varady (transcription)Avraham Samuel Solteshttps://opensiddur.org/copyright-policy/Aharon N. Varady (transcription)https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/Well-being, health, and caregiving20th century C.E.still small voice58th century A.M.Btselem ElohimEnglish vernacular prayerמי או מה who or what
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O Thou still, small voice[1] Cf. 1 Kings 19:11-13.
whose love
is the heart of the universe,
my whispering soul
seeks the rhythm of Thy heartbeat,
that
in its reverberating concords
it may find strength and serenity.
When I behold Thy heavens,
O Lord,
the glories of Thy creation,
what am I
that Thou shouldst hear my whispers,
who am I
that my murmuring
should touch Thy spirit?
Yet, I know
that
the light which fires the stars,
the heat which warms the sun
is the light of my beloved’s eyes,
the warmth of his spirit’s embrace.
For Thou hast made man in Thine image
And crowned him with Thy glory:
–the glory of mind
that perceives the wonders of the universe;
–the glory of heart
that hears Thy music in the wind
and sees Thy smile in the rosebud;
–the glory of spirit
that speaks from soul to soul
binding one to another
with the sustaining rapture of love.
In all these ways
have I felt
the crowning glory of Thy
presence, Lord,
the loving touch of Thy hand,
the tender voice of Thy concern.
I know, then,
that Thou art with me, now,
as I entrust myself
to the skill of those
upon whom Thou hast bestowed
Thy healing wisdom.
Be Thou with them
in their art,
and guide their heads and hands
that I may be restored in health
and strength
to continue Thy work–
refracting
into dim and harried lives
the rays of Thy warming light.
Sustain the spirits
of those who love me
that they may have faith
in Thy divine judgment,
for it is their boundless love
that strengthens my faith in Thee.
O God,
who hast given us rain for our bodies
and added rainbows for our souls,
wheat for our sustenance
and flowers for our spirit,
and to the necessary embrace of breeding
hast bestowed the fiery ecstasy of love,
be gracious also unto us
at this hour,
beyond our deserving.
Into Thy hand
I commit my spirit;
For Thy salvation, I hope,
O Lord.
Amen.
Rabbi Abraham Soltes’s “[Prayer] in Illness” is an undated prayer published in his collection of prayers, תפלה Invocation: A Sheaf Of Prayers (Bloch 1959). The earliest prayer in that collection dates to 1950 and we are confident this prayer can be dated between that year and the date of publication.
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.)
Rabbi Avraham Soltes (1917-1983) was a Reform Jewish rabbi, the Jewish chaplain at the United States Military Academy in West Point, an author and a leading figure in Jewish cultural affairs. He was born in New York City. He graduated from the City College of New York in 1937 and received a master's degree from Columbia University in 1938. After being ordained in 1942 by the Jewish Institute of Religion (now HUC-JIR), he served as chaplain at Cornell and McGill Universities and then was assistant rabbi at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Manhattan from 1946 to 1949. He subsequently served as rabbi at Temple Sharey Tefilo in East Orange and Temple Emanuel in Great Neck. He began his service at West Point as a voluntary chaplain in 1963 and was made a permanent member of the staff in 1981. His interests also took him into commerce, and from 1969 to 1974, he was vice president for community affairs of the Glen Alden Corporation, which in 1972 was merged into the Rapid America Corporation. From 1974 to 1977, he was assistant to the president of Tel Aviv University. He was credited with a key role in the establishment of the New York medical division at the university. In 1981, Rabbi Soltes received the Jabotinsky Award from Prime Minister Menachim Begin for his service to Israel. From 1977 until his death Rabbi Soltes had been the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Chavairuth of Bergen County, in Tenafly, N.J. He participated in many cultural and educational activities that interpreted Jewish art, music and literature. He was chairman of the National Jewish Music Council from 1963 to 1969 and a member of the board of the National Jewish Book Council from 1967 to 1972. Rabbi Soltes, a commentator on Jewish music for American listeners, was the host of a radio program, ''The Music of Israel,'' on WQXR from 1974-1983. Among his writings were Palestine in Poetry and Song of the Jewish Diaspora (Master's thesis HUC-JIR 1942) and Off The Willows: The Rebirth of Modern Jewish Music (1970).
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