Prayer of a Wife for a Sick Husband, by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)

Contributor(s):

Marcus Heinrich Bresslau and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

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13 June 2020 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Well-being, health, and caregiving

Tags:

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

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Source (English)

מִמַּעֲמַקִּים קְרָאתִיךָ יְיָ “From the depths of my heart I call upon thee, O Lord!” Dreadful is the darkness in which Thou, O Father, hast enveloped me through the sickness of my dear husband, dreadful is Thy anger, which thou hast poured out upon me; heavy is the punishment with which Thou hast been pleased to chastise the deeply afflicted wife. With a humble, contrite, and trembling heart, I call upon Thee from a wounded breast, that Thou mayest yet preserve for me, for a long, long time, the precious blessing which in Thy unbounded mercy thou hast given unto me.

Without rest, without sleep, without soothing nourishment, the night of my trouble sinks down the starry heaven: every hour which I gloomily drag along by the sick bed of my husband, grows to me as eternity. Severe suffering is the rough guide that leads me to this spot, prostrated is now my domestic happiness, darkened is now the bright crown of my house. Hear, Thou, O God, The Essence of compassion, hear my prayer; I will resign and renounce all vain glory and ambition, only do not snatch the heart from the heart. Yet the hope which the faith of my fathers grafted on my heart, speaks to me in a comforting voice: have confidence, and endure, what the Lord has determined concerning thee! Yea, upon Thy paternal mercy I wait, I pant for thy help according to the instruction conveyed in Thy holy word: הַבּוֹטֵחַ בַּיְיָ חֶסֶד יְסוֹבְבֶנוּ “He that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.” Yes, Thou wilt assuredly answer me, assuredly leave me the most precious good in my possession, assuredly relieve me from the grievous suffering which now so heavily oppresses me. Restore to him O, Father, his wonted vigour of life, restore him to his sacred duties, so that he may long be enabled to labour for his own good and the temporal and spiritual well-being of his family. Amen.

Source(s)

Notes

Notes
1	Psalms 130:1.
2	Psalms 32:10.

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)

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׃ (תהלים צ:יז) · "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)

Prayer of a Wife for a Sick Husband, by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)

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