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The Hebrew text of this version of Shalom Aleikhem for women is found on the last page in the Basel edition of the [collection of prayers entitled] Birkhat ha-Mazon (Basel: Waldkirch, 1600). Perhaps its placement indicates an expectation that it will be recited regularly. It begins like Shalom Aleikhem and then continues in a form that resembles the latter part of the Ribon Olamim (Sovereign of the Universe) hymn. In other words, it is in classic teḥinah form, asking for the blessings normative for Teḥinot.[1] For the origins and early history of tehinot see, Morris M. Faierstein, “The Earliest Published Yiddish Tehinnot (1590–1609).” Hebrew Union College Annual 91 (2020): 157–206. This teḥinah is unusual in that it is in Hebrew and not in Yiddish as is normative for Teḥinot for women. The answer is found in the same Talmudic passage that prohibits petitioning for healing on the Sabbath. The rabbis state (in B. Shabbat 12b) there that the angels only understand Hebrew, and this teḥinah specifically addresses the angels. Thus, in order to be effective, the Teḥinah must be in Hebrew, so that the angels will understand what is being asked of them. In any event, the key Hebrew terms are part of the Hebrew component of Yiddish, so that anyone conversant in Yiddish would have a general idea of what is being asked in this Teḥinah….
Moshe Henochs Altschul-Yerushalmi, the author of the influential Yiddish ethical text, Sefer Brantshpigl (Cracow, 1596), writes about a woman who lights the Sabbath and Festival candles: “The sages write, when someone lights with good intentions then one fulfills the commandment to honor God, blessed be He, and to honor the Sabbath and the festivals, it is accorded for her as if she lit the candelabrum in the Temple.”[2] Sefer Brantshpigl (Basel, 1602), 134a. His comment is an allusion to Zohar, I:48b.
| Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|
דיא ברכה זאלין דיא װײבר זאגין נאך דיא ליכט צינדן אן פרײטג צו נכט׃ |
The women should recite this blessing after lighting the candles on Friday night. |
שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָׁלוֹם בְּבֹאֲכֶם בְּשָׁלוֹם כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָה אֶתְכֶם אֲדוֹנֵינוּ הַמֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד וְהַקָדוֹשׁ אֲדוֹן הַשָׁלוֹם רִבּוֹן כׇּל הָעוֹלָמִים |
Peace unto you, angels of peace, with your coming in peace, as you have been commanded by our Lord, the holy and honored King, the Lord of peace, the Ruler of the worlds.[3] Here marks a transitional moment between the language of the teḥinah addressing the accompanying angels of peace (as described in TB Shabbat 119b) and the language of the prayer addressed directly towards the transcendent divinity, Hashem, unified with their immanent Presence, the Shekhinah, (as described in the Zohar Ḥadash 48b, [Warsaw, 1902]). In the words of Shabbat 119b: “It was taught in a baraitha: Rabbi Yose bar Yehuda says: Two ministering angels accompany a person on Shabbat evening from the synagogue to his home, one good angel and one evil angel. And when he reaches his home and finds a lamp burning and a table set and his bed made, the good angel says: May it be Your will that it shall be like this for another Shabbat. And the evil angel answers against his will: Amen. And if the person’s home is not prepared for Shabbat in that manner, the evil angel says: May it be Your will that it shall be so for another Shabbat, and the good angel answers against his will: Amen.” In the words of the Zohar Ḥadash: “When the person comes home from the synagogue, angels come on both sides of him, and the Shekhinah above them all, like a mother above her children … All of this is when the person comes to his house and receives the guest (Ushpiza) with joy. When the Shekhinah sees the burning candles, the table set, and the husband and wife in joy and peace, the Shekhinah says: These are mine – “Yisrael in whom I glory” (Isaiah 49:3).” Translation of these sources via Morris Faierstein. –Aharon Varady |
אֲדוֹן כׇּל הַבְרִיוֹת וַאֲדוֹן עַל כׇּל אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ וַאֲשֶׁר אַתָּה עָתִיד לַעֲשׂוֹת עֲשֵׂה עִמִי חֶסֶד וְעִם בִּרְיוֹתֶךָ וּבְּרוּכִים הַמַלְאָכִים שֶׁעוֹשִׂים רְצוֹנֶךָ |
the Lord of all creatures, the Lord of everything you have made and everything you will make in the future — act compassionately with me and with all of your creatures. Blessed are the angels who do Your will. |
אֲדוֹן הַשָׁלוֹם תְּבָרְכֵנִי בְשָׁלוֹם וְתִפְקְדֵנִי בְּשָׁלוֹם לְחַיִים טוֹבִים וּלְשָלוֹם וְתִזְכֵנִי לְמִצְוֺתֶיךָ וְתֵן לִי חֵן וְשֵׂכֶל טוֹב בְּעֵנֶיךָ וּבְעֵנֵי כׇּל רוֹאַי |
Lord of peace, bless me with peace, remember me with peace and good life and for peace. Make me worthy to fulfill your commandments, and give me favor and wisdom in Your eyes, and in the eyes of all who see me. |
וְתַעֲבוֹר וְהִמְחוֹל לִי עַל כׇּל חַטוֹאתַי וְעֲוֺנוֹתַי וּפְשָׁעַי וְתִזְכֵּנִי לְקַבֵּל שַׁבָּתוֹת וְיָמִים טוֹבִים מִתּוֹךְ רוֹב עוֹשֶׁר וְכָּבוֹד וּמִתּוֹךְ מִיעוּט עֲוֺנוֹת |
Absolve and forgive me for all my sins and transgressions, and crimes. Make me worthy to receive Sabbaths and Festivals in the midst of wealth and honor, and with few transgressions. |
וְהָסֵר מִמֶנִי וּמִזַרְעִי וּמִזֶרַע זַרְעִי מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם כׇל חוֹלִי וְכׇל דַלוֹת וְעֶנִיוֹת וְאֶבְיוֹנוֹת וְלֹא תְּהֵא צָרָה בְּיוֹם מְנוּחָתֵנוּ |
Remove from me, my children, and my children’s children from now and forever, all illness, and all penury, poverty, and neediness. There should not be any troubles on the day of our rest. |
וְתֵן בִּי יֵצֶר טוֹב בְּאַהֲבָה וּבְּיִרְאָה וְאֶהֱיֶה מְכוּבַּד בְּעֵינֶיךָ וּבְעֵינֵי כׇל רוֹאַי כִּי אַתָּה הַמֶלֶךְ אָמֵן סֶלָה׃ |
Give within me a good inclination, with love and awe, and I should be honored in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see me, for You are the King, Amen Selah. |
This is the Hebrew text of a teḥinah for Shalom Aleikhem intended for women lighting candles on the commencement of Shabbat and festival days as found on the last page in the Basel edition of the [collection of prayers entitled] Birkhat ha-Mazon (Basel: Waldkirch, 1600). The English translation is by Rabbi Dr. Morris M. Faierstein as published in “An Early Modern Version of Shalom Aleichem for Women after Friday Candle Lighting” in Women in Judaism, 19:2 (2022), on page 4. The text of the prayer itself was transcribed from the digital facsimile of the page image with the prayer appended to Dr. Faierstein’s article. I have parsed the text of the prayer by phrase and set it in a linear format side-by-side with Dr. Faierstein’s translation. Any thematic changes or changes of address (to the angels or Hashem) are indicated with paragraph breaks for clarity and ease-of-use by practitioners. In parsing the prayer, I have made some very light (or subtle changes in the punctuation indicating the change in where the prayer is address to the angels and where the prayer is addressed to Hashem. Many thanks to Nili Simḥai for bringing this prayer and Dr. Faierstein’s work on it to our attention. –Aharon Varady
Source(s)
Teḥinah for Shalom Aleikhem from Birkhat ha-Mazon (Basel, 1600)
Notes
| 1 | For the origins and early history of tehinot see, Morris M. Faierstein, “The Earliest Published Yiddish Tehinnot (1590–1609).” Hebrew Union College Annual 91 (2020): 157–206. |
|---|---|
| 2 | Sefer Brantshpigl (Basel, 1602), 134a. His comment is an allusion to Zohar, I:48b. |
| 3 | Here marks a transitional moment between the language of the teḥinah addressing the accompanying angels of peace (as described in TB Shabbat 119b) and the language of the prayer addressed directly towards the transcendent divinity, Hashem, unified with their immanent Presence, the Shekhinah, (as described in the Zohar Ḥadash 48b, [Warsaw, 1902]). In the words of Shabbat 119b: “It was taught in a baraitha: Rabbi Yose bar Yehuda says: Two ministering angels accompany a person on Shabbat evening from the synagogue to his home, one good angel and one evil angel. And when he reaches his home and finds a lamp burning and a table set and his bed made, the good angel says: May it be Your will that it shall be like this for another Shabbat. And the evil angel answers against his will: Amen. And if the person’s home is not prepared for Shabbat in that manner, the evil angel says: May it be Your will that it shall be so for another Shabbat, and the good angel answers against his will: Amen.” In the words of the Zohar Ḥadash: “When the person comes home from the synagogue, angels come on both sides of him, and the Shekhinah above them all, like a mother above her children … All of this is when the person comes to his house and receives the guest (Ushpiza) with joy. When the Shekhinah sees the burning candles, the table set, and the husband and wife in joy and peace, the Shekhinah says: These are mine – “Yisrael in whom I glory” (Isaiah 49:3).” Translation of these sources via Morris Faierstein. –Aharon Varady |
“תְּחִנַּת שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם | Shalom Aleikhem teḥinah after lighting the Shabbat candles (1600)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license.
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