“Know Before Whom Thou Standest,” a poem on the inscription above the Aron haḲodesh by Penina Moïse (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, Charleston, ca. 1840)

Contributor(s):

Penina Moïse and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Shared on:

13 April 2023 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

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Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., etiquette, exhortation, דע לפני מי אתה עומד Know Before Whom You Stand, Synagogues

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	On the Following Inscription Fronting the [Aron haḲodesh of the] New Synagogue.
	“Know Before Whom Thou Standest.” (Berakhot 28b.7)
	A voice of power from the elder time A voice that homage from the Earth commandeth, On Israel calls with energy sublime, To know in whose dread presence he here standeth.
	It bids him at the portal put away His sandal sullied o’er with sordid dust; In godliness his spirit to array Or ere he seeks the merciful and just.
	Passions profane ye mortals cast afar, And let your hearts to holy love expand, Ere ye the sanctuary’s gates unbar Or dare before Omnipotence to stand.
	In vain would ye some worldly idol hide Within the temple of the spirit shrined, Some golden monster blindly deified To which immortal hope has been resigned.
	No fibre in the meshes of temptation By the all-seeing eye has been unscanned; No lure that leads thy soul from its salvation Evade the Searcher before whom ye stand.
	If wrath towards thy fellow man remain In thy frail bosom an abiding guest, Seek not the altar, like the vengeful Cain With malice ‘gainst thy brethren in thy breast.
	E’en at the threshold the dark feeling cast, Whose shadow dwelt upon the brow too long, Thou stand’st before the present, future, past! The judge supreme of every human wrong.
	Enter not lightly then the house of prayer, Nor hymn with lip of guile the praise of God; Balm will be found for meek contrition there For contumacy, an impeding rod.
	Behold yon testimonial tablets traced By Judah’s providence with outstretched hand List to the voice that thunders from the waste “Know ye, before whose majesty ye stand!”

“On the Following Inscription Fronting the New Synagogue: ‘Know Before Whom Thou Standest'” was published in Secular and Religious Works of Penina Moïse, With Brief Sketch of Her Life (Council of Jewish Women, Charleston Section, 1911), pp. 275-276. The poem is undated in the aforementioned collection, but the reference to the “New Synagogue” whose dedication occurred in 1840 (after the previous building was destroyed by fire in 1838). ‘Know Before Whom Thou Standest’ is the inscription as it appears above the Aron haḲodesh. The inscription above the outer doors of the synagogue is the verse of the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4.

Source(s)

Penina Moïse

Penina Moïse (1797-1880) was born to a large and wealthy family in Charleston, South Carolina, the progeny of her merchant father, Abraham Moïse (1736-1809), originally from Strasbourg in Alsace, France, and her mother Sarah from the Jewish community on the Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius in the Netherlands Antilles. Her brother, also named Abraham, was a leader in the Reformed Society of Israelites, and so we imagine she was closely associated with the reformist wing of the congregation it wished to and ultimately succeeded in reforming, Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim. Moïse wrote at least 187 prayers for Beth Elohim's hymn books published in 1842 and in 1856. Moïse was also a gifted teacher and, in 1845, became head of Beth Elohim’s religious school. Moïse was a prolific writer, earning praise for her 1833 collection of poems, Fancy’s Sketch Book, as well as her articles for various newspapers across the country. After the Civil War, she returned to Charleston and ran an academy with her sister and niece. Though her eyesight eventually deteriorated into blindness, she continued to work and write until the end of her life. (This short biographical sketch includes material adapted from her entry in the Jewish Women's Archive by Jay M. Eidelman.)

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.)

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=50023

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Inscription over Aron – Know Before Whom Thou Standest (Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Charleston, South Carolina)

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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)