Licht und Wahrheit | Light and Truth, translated by Felix Adler (1868) from a poem by Eduard Kley (1826)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription), Felix Adler and Eduard Kley

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

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Pesaḥ Yamei Ḥag

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56th century A.M., German vernacular prayer, German Reform Movement, liturgy of the wandering stars, diaspora, hymns, 19th century C.E., English Translation

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Source (German)	Translation (English)
Licht und Wahrheit.	Light and Truth
Selig, wen Dein Wort erquicket, Gott! wer Dein Gesetz bewahrt; Selig, wen Dein Licht erleuchtet Auf des Lebens dunklcr Faint. Sich und Anderen zum Scgen Wallt er freudig seinen Lauf, Und den Miiden nimmt der Frieden Einst zu neuer Stärkung auf.	Happy he that never wanders From the path of truth astray, Whom the light of knowledge guideth On life’s dark and stormy way. Joyfully and well he labors, Till his toil and cares are past, And the weary pilgrim resteth In eternal bliss at last.
In der Wüste dieser Erde Schwindet, ach, so oft die Spur, Tausend Wege geh’n zum Tode, Einer führt zum Leben nur. Weh’ dem Wandrer, der, verlassen, Zweifelnd steht am Scheideweg: Doch in Klarheit zeigt die Wahrheit Deines Worts den sichern Weg.	In the desert of our wand’rings, O’er life’s wide and trackless sand, But a single path can lead us Safely to the promised land. But be strong, O man, and doubt not; Look aloft! the radiant light Of the star of truth will guide thee In thy troubled course aright.
Der Du uns Dein Wort gegeben, Lehr’ uns auch, es recht versteh’n; Unserm Herzen schenke Frieden, Unserm Geiste Kraft zum Seh’n. Schaue segnend auf uns nieder, Führ’ uns zu des Heiles Quell; Deine Treue, Gott! erneue Unser Leben rein und hell.	O, Eternal Father, teach us Well Thy sacred word to know, Light upon the soul, and quiet On the anxious heart bestow. May our life be pure before Thee, Till its race on earth is o’er, May Thy blessing rest upon us, And Thy peace forever more,

“Licht und Wahrheit (Light and Truth)” is a hymn translated by Felix Adler from Allgemeines Israelitisches Gesangbuch: eingeführt in dem Neuen Israelitischen Tempel zu Hamburg (1833), hymn №125, pp. 155-157, and published in Hymns, for Divine Service in the Temple Emanu-El (1871), hymn №12, pp. 24-25. We have tentatively dated this hymn to 1868, since another hymn by Adler (“School-hymn, no. 36”) can be found appended from another unattributed work in A Guide to Instruction in the Israelitsh Religion (Samuel Adler, trans. M. Mayer, Temple Emanu-El, 1864, 4th printing 1868). The hymn as printed in the Hamburg Temple Hymnal is nine stanzas long. That hymnal credits the hymn as printed in the collected sermons of Eduard Kley, Sammlung der neuesten Predigten (1826) where it appears on pages 49-50 in three stanzas as part of a discourse on Passover. –Aharon Varady

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. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“Licht und Wahrheit | Light and Truth, translated by Felix Adler (1868) from a poem by Eduard Kley (1826)” 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.)

Felix Adler

Felix Adler (August 13, 1851 – April 24, 1933) was a German-Jewish American professor of political and social ethics, rationalist, influential lecturer on euthanasia, religious leader, and social reformer who, in 1876, founded the Ethical Culture movement. Felix Adler was the son of Rabbi Samuel Adler of Temple Emanu-El, the most prominent reform synagogue in New York City.

Eduard Kley

Eduard Israel Kley (June 10, 1789 - October 4, 1867) was a German-Jewish educator and one of the early pioneers of Reform Judaism.

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School-hymn, by Felix Adler (1868)

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Dedication-Hymn, by Felix Adler (1868)

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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