Prayer for the Sabbath Eve, by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Grace Aguilar

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

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Arvit l'Shabbat

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teḥinot in English, 19th century C.E., תחינות teḥinot, 56th century A.M., English vernacular prayer

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Prayer for the Sabbath Eve.
	I thank Thee, oh merciful Father, for permitting me to behold the close of another week in health and peace.
	I thank Thee for allowing me to look upon the Sabbath as a day of holy and blessed rest, mercifully granted to Thy people Israel. We may not assemble to worship Thee in Thy Holy Temple, oh Lord, yet let the prayer of the son of David, when he dedicated his house to Thee, still be acceptable to our God — “and hearken Thou to the supplication of Thy servant and of Thy people Israel, when they turn toward this place…” however distant they may be, “…and hear Thou in heaven, Thy dwelling-place, and when Thou hearest, forgive;” (2 Chronicles 6:21 part) “and forgive Thy people that have sinned against Thee, and all their transgressions wherein They have transgressed against Thee,” (Cf. 1 Kings 8:50 part) “for there is no man that sinneth not.” (1 Kings 8:46 part, 2 Chronicles 6:36 part, Ecclesiastes 7:20)
	Oh permit me to pray in these words, oh Lord, for though removed from Thy House, I acknowledge my transgression, and will praise and worship Thee.
	I thank Thee for the great mercies Thou hast vouchsafed me during the past week, for enabling me to do my duty in that station where it has pleased Thee to place me; for the divine assistance Thou hast given me in Thy mercy, Lord, in the cultivation of my talents, Thy gifts, oh my God; for guarding me from evil temptations and presumptuous sins.
	And I thank Thee more particularly, oh my God, for the kind parents Thou hast bestowed on me, to whom, under Thee, I owe all enjoyments of this life: do Thou bless them, oh Lord, bestow on them Thy holy spirit, and preserve them in health, long to guard their children.
	Have mercy on my brothers; bless them, oh Lord; forgive them the sins and faults they may have committed during the past week, either in deed or thought; and in thine infinite mercy make them good and acceptable in Thy sight, Father of Mercy!
	I have sinned during the past week, either in thought, word, or deed. I have failed in duty; my thoughts have wandered continually, as I prayed to Thee. Thy spirit yet dwelleth not in me; my moments of devotion are too weak and tame; the thoughts of this world too frequently occupy my mind. Oh, merciful Father, forgive these manifold sins.
	Thou readest my heart, and knowest the humble penitence with which I would confess my sins to Thee. What am I but a worm, an atom in Thy sight? Less than the smallest particle of dust on which I tread is to me; and yet I lean on the infinite, never-failing mercy of my God.
	I trust in Thee, oh my Father. Thou art my stay, my hope, my trust; and I fear not man, for I feel that Thou art with me. Thou listenest to my cry, oh forgive my sins. I pray before Thee, oh Lord, bowed down beneath the sense of my own nothingness.
	Prostrate before Thee, I implore Thy mercy, not for my own sake, oh Lord, but for that great and awful Name, by which Thou hast promised to show mercy unto thousands of them that love Thee and keep Thy commandments. Unworthy as I am, withdraw not Thy great mercies from me; still extend Thy protecting arm over me, and guard me from my sins.
	Impress my every action, my every thought, with Thy Holy Spirit. Sanctify Thy servant in Thy sight, oh Lord. Cleanse me from my impurities and sins. Let me feel that Thou art with me wherever I may go.
	Strengthen my soul, that should the future bring with it trials and sorrows now unknown, I may not sink beneath them, but perform my duty, painful as it may be, aided and encouraged by Thee. Whatever may befall me, let not the spirit of religion depart from my soul.
	Great God of Israel, Father of life, and love, and mercy, make me but worthy in Thy sight, and under all circumstances, in Thine infinite mercy, teach, oh teach me Thy will be done. — Amen.

“Prayer for the Sabbath Eve” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 230-233. In the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853) the prayer appears with small variations of spelling and punctuation on pages 138-140.

Source(s)

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“Prayer for the Sabbath Eve, by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)” 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.)

Grace Aguilar

Grace Aguilar (2 June 1816 – 16 September 1847) was an English novelist, poet and writer on Jewish history and religion. Although she had been writing since childhood, much of her work was published posthumously. Among those are her best known works, the novels Home Influence and A Mother's Recompense. Aguilar was the eldest child of Sephardic Jewish refugees from Portugal who settled in the London Borough of Hackney. An early illness resulted in her being educated by her parents, especially her mother, who taught her the tenets of Judaism. Later, her father taught the history of Spanish and Portuguese Jews during his own bout with tuberculosis which had led the family to move to the English coast. After surviving the measles at the age of 19, she began to embark on a serious writing career, even though her physical health never completely recovered. Aguilar's debut was an anonymous collection of poems, The Magic Wreath of Hidden Flowers. Three years later she translated Isaac Orobio de Castro's Israel Defended into English at her father's behest. Later her The Spirit of Judaism drew interest and sales in both Britain and the United States after being published in Philadelphia by Isaac Leeser. He added a preface to the work elucidating his differences with her, the first of many clashes her work would have with mainstream Jewish thought. In the 1840s her novels began to attract regular readers, and Aguilar moved back to London with her parents. Despite her success, she and her mother still had to operate a boys' Hebrew school to stay solvent, which she resented for the time and energy it took from her writing. In 1847, she became ill again with a spinal paralysis which she did not let prevent her from visiting her brother in Frankfurt. Her health worsened and she died there that September.

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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