https://opensiddur.org/?p=48788[Prayer] for usefulness, by Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (1916)2023-02-06 18:43:31Basil L.Q. Henriques's prayer "For Usefulness" was first published in <em>The Fratres Book of Prayer</em> for the Oxford and St. George's Synagogue Jewish Lads Club in 1916, and later reprinted in the <em><a href="https://opensiddur.org/?p=48734">Prayer Book of the St. George's Settlement Synagogue</a></em> (1929), "Special Prayers" section, page 95.Textthe Open Siddur ProjectAharon N. Varady (transcription)Aharon N. Varady (transcription)Basil Lucas Quixano Henriqueshttps://opensiddur.org/copyright-policy/Aharon N. Varady (transcription)https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/Bedtime Shema20th century C.E.57th century A.M.British JewryEnglish vernacular prayerteḥinot in Englishdveykutצדקה tsedaqahמוסר mussarLiberal Movement for Progressive Judaism in Britain
TOGGLE COLUMNS (on/off):ADJUST COLUMN POSITIONS: select the column header cell and drag it where you want. show me!COPY INDIVIDUAL COLUMN(S): use CopyTables, a browser extension.
Father in heaven,
help me at all times to rule myself
so that, controlled and clean,
I may give myself unto Thee;
teach me to look upon Thee alone,
and not my friends, as my judge in all things,
so that I may not blindly follow the multitude.
Give unto me, I beseech Thee,
the strength
that cannot by word nor thought
harm the weak,
and the power
to be a comfort and a joy to others.
Teach me freely
to forgive all evil done,
and to give unto all men
a gentle love.
May I find my delight in simple things
and may my joys and laughter
be free from all bitterness,
either of thought or intention.
Thus, O Lord, may I prepare myself
to sacrifice my life in Thy service.
By opening my heart and my soul
only to that which is pure and righteous,
by doing every thing in my power
to make some life a little happier for my presence,
and by conquering some fault or failing of my own,
may I day by day draw closer unto Thee. Amen.
Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayer “For Usefulness” was first published in The Fratres Book of Prayer for the Oxford and St. George’s Synagogue Jewish Lads Club in 1916, and later reprinted in the Prayer Book of the St. George’s Settlement Synagogue (1929), “Special Prayers” section, page 95.
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.)
Sir Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques CBE JP (17 October 1890 – 2 December 1961) was a British philanthropist of Portuguese Jewish descent, concentrating his work in the East End of London during the first half of the 20th century.
Comments, Corrections, and Queries