Jadą Chassidim do Góry (יאַדוֹם חֲסִידִים דוֹ גוּרִי) | The Ḥassidim are going to Ger (translated by Yaakov Wasilewicz)
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❧This is the traveling song Gerer Chassidim would sing on their way to see the Gerrer Rebbe in Góra Kalwaria, Poland before World War Ⅱ. . . .
אײן אנשפראכע געגען עין הרע | An Incantation against the Ayin haRa (1896)
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❧This tkhine offers a formula for providing relief to a very ill person, and as such, should only be used as a supplement to recommendations provided by an expert physician or nurse. The source of the tkhine is Tkhine of a Highly Respected Woman, Budapest, 1896; and transcribed from The Merit of Our Mothers בזכות אמהות A Bilingual Anthology of Jewish Women’s Prayers, compiled by Tracy Guren Klirs, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1992. . . .
Kuando el rey Nimrod (When Nimrod was King), a song relating the story of Avraham & the Furnace (ca. 1890)
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❧The sephardic folk-song “Kuando el rey Nimrod” in Ladino with English translation. . . .
הַנּוֹתֵן תְּשׁוּעָה | A Prayer for the Kaiser, Nikolai Ⅱ Alexanderovich (1889)
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❧This prayer for the well-being of the Kaiser (Emperor) Nikolai II and his family appears in the siddur Shir Ushvaḥah (1889) . . .
אֵל שְׁמֹר הַמַּלְכָּה | God Save the Queen, an adaptation of Hyman Hurwitz’s Hebrew translation of “God Save the King” for Queen Victoria’s Jubilee Celebration (1887)
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❧“God Save the Queen” is an adaptation of “God Save the King,” a work by an unknown author, first circulated in three stanzas during the reign of Britain’s King George Ⅱ, circa 1745. This Hebrew translation was published in a pamphlet circulated by New Road (Whitechapel) Synagogue in 1892 “on the 73rd Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Victoria,” an event attended by then chief rabbi of the British Empire, Rabbi Dr. Hermann Adler. . . .
תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ נִיסָן | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Nisan (1877)
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❧The paraliturgical tkhine for the new month of Nissan read on the shabbat preceding the new moon during the blessing over new month. . . .
תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ אִיָּר | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Iyyar (1877)
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❧To the best of my ability, this is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ אִיָיר (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Iyyar”) which appeared in תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow and Brothers Romm, Vilna 1877). English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). –A.N. Varady . . .
תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ סִיוָן | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Sivan (1877)
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❧To the best of my ability, this is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ סִיוָן (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Sivan”) which appeared in תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow and Brothers Romm, Vilna 1877) before its adaptation in Shas Tkhine Ḥadashe (Ben-Tsiyon Alfes 1910), the source from which this translation was made. English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). –A.N. Varady . . .
תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ תַּמּוּז | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Tamuz (1877)
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❧This is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ תַּמוּז (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Tamuz”) which appeared in תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow and Brothers Romm, Vilna 1877) before its adaptation in Shas Tkhine Ḥadashe (Ben-Tsiyon Alfes 1910), the source from which this translation was made. English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). –A.N. Varady . . .
תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ מְנַחֵם אָב | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Menaḥem Av (1877 and 1910)
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❧This is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ מְנַחֵם אָב (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Menaḥem Av”) as printed in Shas Tkhine Ḥodoshe (1910) and תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow & Brothers Romm, Vilna 1872/3, 1877). English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). Using Shas Tkhine Ḥodoshe as her source, Moreh Zakutinsky probably had not seen the additional paragraph in the earlier printing. –A.N. Varady . . .
תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֹדֶשׁ אֶלוּל | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Elul (1877)
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❧To the best of my ability, this is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ אֶלוּל (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Elul”) which appeared in תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow and Brothers Romm, Vilna 1877). English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). –A.N. Varady . . .
תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מִבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ מַרְחֶשְׁוָן | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Marḥeshvan (1877)
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❧To the best of my ability, this is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ מַרְחֶשְׁוָן (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Marḥeshvan”) which appeared in תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow and Brothers Romm, Vilna 1877). English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). –A.N. Varady . . .
תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֹדֶשׁ כִּסְלֵו | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Kislev (1877)
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❧To the best of my ability, this is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ כִּסְלֵו (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Kislev”) which appeared in תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow and Brothers Romm, Vilna 1877). English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). –A.N. Varady . . .
תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֹדֶשׁ טֵבֵת | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Tevet (1877)
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❧To the best of my ability, this is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ טֵבֵת (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Tevet”) which appeared in תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow and Brothers Romm, Vilna 1877). English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). –A.N. Varady . . .
תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֹדֶשׁ שְׁבָט | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Shvat (1877)
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❧To the best of my ability, this is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ שְׁבָט (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Shvat”) which appeared in תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow and Brothers Romm, Vilna 1877). English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). –A.N. Varady . . .
תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֹדֶשׁ אַדָר רִאשׁוֹן | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Adar א on Leap Years (1877)
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❧To the best of my ability, this is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ אַדָר רִאשׁוֹן (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Adar I”) which appeared in תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow and Brothers Romm, Vilna 1877). English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). –A.N. Varady . . .
תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֹדֶשׁ אַדָר | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Adar ב and Adar on regular non-leap years (1877)
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❧To the best of my ability, this is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ אַדָר (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Adar [II]”) which appeared in תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow and Brothers Romm, Vilna 1877). English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). –A.N. Varady . . .
He of Prayer, a poem concerning the angel Sandalphon by an Unknown Author (ca. 1870s)
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❧The poem, “He of Prayer” as published in Henry Abarbanel’s English School and Family Reader (1883), p.14, where it is attributed to the newspaper The Jewish Times, a New York newspaper that circulated from 1869-1877. . . .
תפלה לשלום המלכות | Prière pour l’empereur | Prayer for the Well-being of Louis Napoleon Ⅲ, Emperor of France (1869)
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❧A prayer for the French Emperor, Napoleon III, a year before he was captured by the Prussians in the doomed Franco-Prussian War of 1870, including the formula of the prayer, haNoten Teshuah, as adapted for Napoleon III. . . .
תשלומי חצי קדיש לפני שחרית ברכו ליחיד (אשכנז) | Replacement for the Ḥatsi Ḳaddish before the Barkhu of Shaḥarit when Praying Alone or Without a Minyan, from Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
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❧In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Ḥatsi Ḳaddish before Barkhu that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .
תשלומי שחרית ברכו ליחיד (אשכנז) | Replacement for the Barkhu of Shaḥarit when Praying Alone or Without a Minyan, from Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
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❧In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Barkhu of Shaḥarit that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .
תשלומי שחרית קדושה ליחיד (אשכנז) | Replacement for the Qedushah of Shaḥarit when Praying Alone or Without a Minyan, from Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
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❧In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Qedushah of Shaḥarit that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .
תשלומי קדיש שלם שחרית ליחיד (אשכנז) | Replacement for the Ḳaddish Shalem of Shaḥarit when Praying Alone or Without a Minyan, from Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
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❧In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Qadish Shalem of Shaḥarit that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .
תשלומי מנחה חצי קדיש ליחיד (אשכנז) | Replacement for the Ḥatsi Ḳaddish of Minḥah when Praying Alone or Without a Minyan, from Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
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❧In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Ḥatsi Qaddish of Minḥah that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .
תשלומי מנחה קדושה ליחיד (אשכנז) | Replacement for the Qedushah of Minḥah when Praying Alone or Without a Minyan, from Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
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❧In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Qedushah of Minḥah that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .
תשלומי ערבית ברכו ליחיד (אשכנז) | Replacement for the Barkhu of Arvit when Praying Alone or Without a Minyan, from Seder Avodat Yisrael (1868)
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❧In Jewish liturgy, some passages are dəvarim she-bi-qdusha, passages that require public communal prayer. Most famous among these are the Qaddish, Barkhu, and Qədusha. But people are not always able to pray in a community! In liturgical history both ancient and modern many different tashlumim (replacements) for these texts when praying individually have been suggested. The following is a replacement for the Barkhu of Arvit that used to be found in many traditional Ashkenazi siddurim. . . .
Whoa, Mary, don’t you weep no more! (Hebrew adaptation by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer)
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❧The African-American Christian spiritual adapted for a Pesaḥ song in Hebrew and English. . . .
תְּחִנָה זאָגט מען װען מען בּײַסט אָפּ דעם פִּטוּם פוּן דעם אֶתְרוֹג | Tkhine for when biting the pitom from the etrog (Siddur Ḳorban Minḥah, 1861)
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❧A tkhine for when biting the pitom from the etrog . . .
Prayer of praise for Tsar Alexander II, emancipator of the serfs of the Russian Empire (HaMelitz, 1861)
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❧This prayer of praise of Tsar Alexander II (1818-1881), for largely ending feudalism by emancipating the serfs of the Russian Empire was written by an unknown author and published in HaMelitz on Thursday, 28 March 1861. . . .
Oh! Fill our Hearts, Almighty King! – a “School Hymn” (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim 1856)
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❧“Oh! fill our hearts, Almighty King” by an unknown author, published in 1856, appears under the subject “School Hymns” as Hymn 208 in Hymns Written for the Use of Hebrew Congregations (Penina Moïse et al., Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, 1856), p. 208. . . .
תְּחִינָה לִשָּׁבוּעוֺת נאָך ליכט צינדן | Tkhine upon Candlelighting at the Onset of Shavuot
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❧This tekhina (supplication) upon candlelighting for Shavuot in Hebrew and Yiddish appears in the Maḥzor for Shavuot Rav Peninim (Vilna 1911) although we are uncertain whether it first appeared here. We welcome your help in correctly attributing and translating it. . . .
Prayers for the Morning of Sigd: ሃሌ ፡ ሃሌ ፡ ይባርክዎ | Hale hale yəbarəkəwo (Hail, Hail, Bless the One), in Ge’ez with vocalized Hebrew and English translation
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❧Hälē Hälē yebärkewo (Praise, Praise, Bless the One) is the fourth prayer in this order of prayers for the morning of Sigd. . . .
Prayers for the Morning of Sigd: ወጾሩ ፡ ታቦቶሙ | Wäṣoru Tabotomu (They Carried Out Their Ark), in Ge’ez with vocalized Hebrew and English translation
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❧Wäṣoru Tabotomu (They Carried Out Their Ark) is the first prayer in this order of prayers for the morning of Sigd. It is a prayer said upon the removal of the Orit from the synagogue ark. . . .
Prayers for the Morning of Sigd: ወዐርጉ ፡ ደብር | Wäʿärəgu Däbərə (And They Climbed the Mount), in Ge’ez with vocalized Hebrew and English translation
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❧Wäy’ärgu Debre (And They Climbed the Mount) is the second prayer in this order of prayers for the morning of Sigd. It is the first prayer said upon arriving on the mountain, based on the ritual described in Neḥemyah 9. . . .
Prayers for the Morning of Sigd: መናብረተ ፡ ቤተ ፡ ዳዊት | Mänabərätä betä Dawitə (Thrones of David’s House), in Ge’ez/Agaw with vocalized Hebrew and English translation
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❧Mänabərätä betä Dawitə (Thrones of David’s House) is the sixth prayer in this order of prayers for the morning of Sigd. It is an ancient text inspired by and quoting Psalm 122, partially in Geʿez and partially in Agaw. . . .
Prayers for the Morning of Sigd: ይትባረክ ፡ እግዚአብሔር | YətəbaräkəʾƎgəziʾäbəḥerə (Blessed be YHVH), in Ge’ez with vocalized Hebrew and English translation
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❧Yitbärēk Egzi’äbḥer (Blessed be YHVH) is the third prayer in this order of prayers for the morning of Sigd. It is a morning blessing. . . .
Prayers for the Morning of Sigd: ንዑ ፡ ንስግድ | Nəʽu nəsəgədə (Come, Let Us Bow), in Ge’ez with vocalized Hebrew and English translation
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❧Nəʽu nəsəgədə (Come, Let Us Bow) is the fifth prayer in this order of prayers for the morning of Sigd. . . .
תפילה לשלום באירופה | Prayer for Peace in Europe during the Italian War of Independence (ca. 19th c.)
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❧This is a transcription, vocalization, and translation of a manuscript of a prayer for peace in Europe held in the collection of the Columbia University Library. The prayer is undated but the language of the prayer and the use of Italian indicate to me that this was a prayer made by an Italian Jewish community during either the first Italian War of Independence 1848-9, or one of the two succeeding wars in 1860 and 1870. . . .
Preis der Gotteslehre, a hymn translated by Felix Adler (1868) adapted from a songbook of the Cooperative for Reform Judaism in Berlin (1846)
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❧“Preis der Gotteslehre” is a hymn translated by Felix Adler from one found in Gebete und Gesänge zu dem von der Genossenschaft für Reform im Judenthum zu Berlin eingerichteten Gottesdienst für die Zeit zwischen dem Schewuoth- und Roschhaschanah-Fest des Weltjahres 5606/7, hymn №23, pp. 19-20 (1846) and published in Hymns, for Divine Service in the Temple Emanu-El (1871), hymn №3, pp. 6-7. We have tentatively dated this translation to 1868, since another hymn by Adler (“School-hymn, no. 36”) can be found appended from another unattributed work in A Guide to Instruction in the Israelitsh Religion (Samuel Adler, trans. M. Mayer, Temple Emanu-El, 1864, 4th printing 1868). The original hymn in German has three stanzas. . . .
Naḥamu (Comfort Ye!), a hymn by J.C.L. (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim 1842)
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❧“Naḥamu (Comfort Ye!),” by J.C.L., published in 1842, appears as Hymn 2 in Hymns Written for the Service of the Hebrew Congregation Beth Elohim, South Carolina (Penina Moïse et al., Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, 1842), p. 7. . . .
תחנה אױף קינדער האבין (פאר א אִשָׁה װאָס האָט ניט קײַן קינדער) | Tkhine for Having Children for a Woman who Has No Children (ca. 1840)
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❧A prayer for a childless woman seeking to conception. . . .
תחנה פיר אין כלה פאר דער חופה | Prayer for a Bride before her Wedding (19th c.)
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❧A tkhine (supplication) for a bride to say before their wedding, transcribed and translated from the Siddur Qorban Minḥah (1897). . . .
תחינה פאר א אִשָּׁה פאר דעד חוּפָּה פון איר זון ארער איר טאָכטער | Tkhine for a mother to say before the wedding of her daughter (19th c.)
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❧A tkhine (supplication) for a mother to say before her daughter’s wedding, transcribed and translated from the Siddur Qorban Minḥah (1897). . . .
תפלת הים | Prayer for a Seaship Voyage, or During a Storm at Sea (1837)
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❧A prayer for those traveling over water on a sea or ocean voyage. . . .
Erhöre, Herr, mein Wort | Accept, O Lord my word — from the Hamburg Temple Hymnal (1833)
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❧“Erhöre, Herr, mein Wort” is a hymn selected by Rabbi Gotthold Salomon, Immanuel Wohlwill, and Maimon Fraenkel for inclusion in the Hamburg Temple Hymnal (1833), hymn №300, pp. 367-368. The first three stanzas were translated by Rabbi James Koppel Gutheim and published as “Erhebung zu Gott! (Trust in God)” in his Hymns, for Divine Service in the Temple Emanu-El (1871) as hymn №2, pp. 4-5. . . .
אֵל שְׁמֹר הַמֶּֽלֶךְ | God Save the King (Hebrew translation with an additional stanza by Hyman Hurwitz 1831)
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❧“God Save the King” was originally written by an unknown author and circulated in three stanzas during the reign of Britain’s King George Ⅱ, circa 1745. This Hebrew translation, “El Shemor haMelekh,” as translated by Hyman Hurwitz with an added fourth stanza, was first published in his The Etymology and Syntax of the Hebrew Language (1831), pp. 276-279, during the reign of King William Ⅳ (1765-1837). . . .
ברכה לקסר ומלך | Prière pour Sa Majesté Impériale et Royale | Prayer for the Emperor and King, Napoleon Ⅰ (ca. 1810)
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❧A prayer composed for honoring Napoleon Ⅰ by the emancipated Jews of France. . . .
בִּרְכָּת הָבָּיִת | Birkat haBayit (Blessing for the Home)
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❧The Birkat Habayit is perhaps the most popular blessing in the Jewish world, appearing as a hanging amulet inside the entrance of many houses of Jews of all streams. I have added niqud to the blessing and I am very grateful to Gabriel Wasserman for his corrections to my vocalization. . . .
תחנה שערי דמעות | Tkhine of the Gate of Tears
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❧The “Tkhine of the Gate of Tears” by an unknown author presented here derives from the Vilna, 1848 edition. I have transcribed it without any changes from The Merit of Our Mothers בזכות אמהות A Bilingual Anthology of Jewish Women’s Prayers, compiled by Rabbi Tracy Guren Klirs, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1992. shgiyot mi yavin, ministarot nakeni. If you can scan an image of the page from the edition this was copied from, please share it with us. . . .
תְּפִלַּת מַשְׁבִּית מִלְחָמוֹת וְהַדֶּבֶר מִן הַבְּהֵמוֹת | Prayer for the cessation of war and pestilence afflicting domesticated animals (ca. 1800)
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❧This is a prayer for the welfare of domesticated animals (behemot), specifically cattle. “Tefilat mashbit milḥamot v’ha-dever min ha-behemot” (HUC MS 465) was composed by an unknown author, sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century, and possibly in a Jewish community in Italy. The text contains the following clues: 1) a prayer for a local Duke (instead of the Emperor Napoleon), 2) mention of warfare, and 3) mention of some variety of epizootic contagious disease among cattle. Rinderpest, known since ancient times, is the most likely candidate for the latter, especially in Italy in the 18th century (where it was first described by early veterinary science) but it was also in Europe following the defeat of Napoleon. While typhus and hoof-and-mouth disease are also possible, Dr. Susan Einbinder, who brought our attention to this prayer via a lecture on epidemic prayers for the HUC Klau Library, notes that the biblical reference to the “bellowing of the cattle” evokes the actual tortuous lived experience of the afflicted animals, and the suffering of their human minders, helpless to relieve them. The tragedy of rinderpest only ended in the 20th century after a concerted multi-national effort to eradicate the disease — one of the earliest modern multinational initiatives to improve the world. (A related disease, Ovine Rinderpest, first described in the 20th century, has not yet been eradicated and affects goats and sheep as well as cattle.) . . .