Prayer for the Festival of Rejoicing in the Torah (שמחת תורה), by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)

Contributor(s):

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

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

Categories:

Shemini Atseret (and Simḥat Torah)

Tags:

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

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	O Lord God, abundant in mercy and truth! Thou hast deigned thousands of years past to reveal Thy Law unto mankind for their guidance on earth and their salvation in a future life. This law, as unchangeable as its Divine author is yet and ever will be preserved by them. Truly this law emanating from the Essence of perfection “Is perfect, quickening the soul;” (Psalms 19:8) the statutes ordained by Thee, O God of righteousness, are “Righteous, rejoicing the heart.” (Psalms 19:9)
	Let us therefore, rejoice this day, O Lord, in this great boon, let us be glad at having lived another year to complete the reading of those sacred books which Thou hast bestowed upon us through Thy faithful servant Moses.
	Grant, O Thou Divine Legislator, that after the completion and recommencement of this reading, I may be spared again to commence and again to complete it many successive years.
	And grant also that our reading thereof may lead to our properly studying it, to our meditating therein day and night, to our instilling its sacred tenets and impressing its holy observances into the minds of our children;
	grant that we may keep, cherish, and esteem it, that we may always be mindful of the precious admonition given by Thy servant Moses, “for not on bread only liveth man, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of the Lord, liveth man.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
	Grant that I may not be abashed to learn from any one, and that I may impart from my humble knowledge to the uninstructed; then indeed will it be “our life and the length of our days”^[1] From “ohev amo yisrael,” the blessing immediately preceding the qriyat shema. in this and in the coming world. Amen.

“Prayer for the Festival of Rejoicing in the Law שמחת תורה (9th Day of Tabernacles)” by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau was first published in his תחנות בנות ישראל Devotions for the Daughters of Israel (1852), p. 83.

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)

Notes[+]

Notes
1	From “ohev amo yisrael,” the blessing immediately preceding the qriyat shema.

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“Prayer for the Festival of Rejoicing in the Torah (שמחת תורה), 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