The text and translation of an amulet bowl discussed in “‘Gabriel is on their Right’: Angelic Protection in Jewish Magic and Babylonian Lore” by Dan Levene, Dalia Marx, and Siam Bharyo in Studia Mesopotamica (Band 1: 2014) pp.185-198. The apotropaic ward found in the amulet bowl, SD 12, contains an “angels on all sides” formula similar to that appearing in the Jewish liturgy of the bedtime shema.

Categories:

Incantations, Adjurations, & Amulets, Bedtime Shema, Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

amulet bowls, קמעות qame'ot (amulets), Angelic Protection, Angels, apotropaic prayers of protection, mid-first millennium CE, prophylactic, שכינה Shekhinah

Contributor(s):

Dan Levene, Dalia Marx and Aharon N. Varady (translation)

קמע לשמירה מפני לילית | Apotropaic ward for the protection of pregnant women and infants against Lilith & her minions (CUL MS General 194, Montgomery 1913 Amulet No. 42)

An apotropaic ward for the protection of women in their pregnancy and of infant children against an attack from Lilith and her minions, containing the story witnessing her oath to the prophet, Eliyahu along with one variation of her many names.

Categories:

Incantations, Adjurations, & Amulets, Conception, Pregnancy, and Childbirth, Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

Angelic Protection, Angels of Healing, apotropaic prayers of protection, אליהו הנביא Eliyahu haNavi, entering magical territory, epical narrative as ward, historiola, infants, קמעות ḳame'ot, prayers concerning children, prayers for pregnant women, prophylactic

Contributor(s):

James Alan Montgomery (translation), Richard Gottheil (transcription), Unknown and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

קמע לשמירת המגפה | Amulet for Protection from the Plague, attributed to Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum (ca. 19th c.)

A popular prophylactic amulet in the event of an epidemic.

Categories:

Incantations, Adjurations, & Amulets, Epidemics & Pandemics, Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 56th century A.M., קמעות qame'ot (amulets), apotropaic prayers of protection, Epidemic, in the merit of Amtalai bat Karnavu, קמעות ḳame'ot, prophylactic

Contributor(s):

Moshe Teitelbaum and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

בִּרְכָּת הָבָּיִת | Birkat haBayit (Blessing for the Home)

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.

Categories:

Incantations, Adjurations, & Amulets, Homes & Community Centers, Theurgy

Tags:

19th century C.E., 56th century A.M., קמעות qame'ot (amulets), Asiatic Cholera, ברכת הבית birkat habayit, dedications and consecrations, Epidemic, קמעות ḳame'ot, Needing Attribution, Pandemic

Contributor(s):

Unknown and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

תפלה למשה | Prayer of Gratitude at the Consecration of the Montefiore Synagogue at Ramsgate, by Sir Moses Montefiore (1833)

This prayer by Sir Moses Montefiore appears in Order of Service at the Dedication of the Synagogue Founded by Moses Montefiore and Judith his Wife, in commemoration of the happy event of their visit to the holy city of Jerusalem, the inheritance of their forefathers and as an humble tribute to the Almighty for his great and manifold blessings (Ramsgate: 30th Sivan (16th June) 5593 [1833]. — Eve of Rosh Ḥodesh), pp 9-10.

Categories:

Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 56th century A.M., British Jewry, dedications and consecrations, Early Religious Zionism, Montefiore Synagogue, Needing Vocalization, Ramsgate, synagogue consecration

Contributor(s):

Moses Montefiore and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

On Beholding the New Synagogue, a poem by Penina Moïse (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, Charleston 1840)

“On Beholding the New Synagogue, 1840” was published in Secular and Religious Works of Penina Moïse, With Brief Sketch of Her Life (Council of Jewish Women, Charleston Section, 1911), pp. 269-270.

Categories:

Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., dedications and consecrations, synagogue consecration, Synagogues

Contributor(s):

Penina Moïse and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Prayer on Entering a New Habitation, by Rabbi Isaac Henry Myers of Ramsgate (1855)

A prayer on entering a new habitation or dedication for a new home by Rabbi Isaac Henry Myers of Ramsgate.

Categories:

Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., apotropaic prayers of protection, ברכת הבית birkat habayit, dedications and consecrations, English Jewry, English vernacular prayer, Ramsgate

Contributor(s):

Isaac Henry Myers and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Prayer on the second anniversary of the Jewish Foster Home and Orphan Asylum in Philadelphia, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (20 February 1857)

This prayer by Rabbi Sabato Morais on the second anniversary of the founding of the Jewish Foster Home and Orphan Asylum in Philadelphia was offered in opening to an address “before the Jewish Foster Home Society, February 10, 1857” and recorded in The Asmonean on 20 February 1857. It was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (page 9, clipping 008), an archive of newsclippings recording material he contributed to the press, among other announcements. A note next to the clipping reads, “Isaac Leeser took exception at this lecture and became abusive.” (Many thanks to the Library of the University of Pennsylvania for helping to make this resource accessible.)

Categories:

Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., dedications and consecrations, English vernacular prayer, prayers for fund-raising, צדקה tsedaqah

Contributor(s):

Sabato Morais and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Prayer on the consecration of the new synagogue building for Ḳahal Ḳadosh Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, by Rabbi Sabato Morais (1 June 1860)

This prayer for the consecration of the new synagogue building of Mikve Israel by Rabbi Sabato Morais was recorded in an “[Account of…] the consecration ceremony of the new Synagogue of the congregation Mikveh Israel… [Excerpted…] from The Philadelphia Inquirer, of May 25th.” and reprinted in The Jewish Messenger on 1 June 1860. It was preserved by Rabbi Morais in his ledger (page 17b, clipping 017), an archive of newsclippings recording material he contributed to the press, among other announcements. (Many thanks to the Library of the University of Pennsylvania for helping to make this resource accessible.)

Categories:

Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., dedications and consecrations, English vernacular prayer, Ḳ.Ḳ. Miḳveh Israel (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), synagogue consecration

Contributor(s):

Sabato Morais and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Dedication-Hymn, by Felix Adler (1868)

“Dedication-Hymn” is a hymn written by Felix Adler and published in Hymns, for Divine Service in the Temple Emanu-El (1871), hymn №37, p. 71. We have tentatively dated this hymn 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). That date does match the year that the then new building for Temple Emanu-El’s synagogue was dedicated, 11 September 1868.

Categories:

Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., dedications and consecrations, English vernacular prayer, hymns

Contributor(s):

Felix Adler and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Prayer at the Consecration of the Central Synagogue by chief Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler (7 April 1870)

The prayer at the consecration of the Central Synagogue (in London) offered by the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire, Nathan Marcus Adler, on 7 April 1870. The prayer was reprinted in “A Sermon By the Chief Rabbi,” The Israelite, vol. 117 part 14 (29 April 1870), page 9.

Categories:

Congregation & Community, Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., British Jewry, dedications and consecrations, English vernacular prayer, synagogue consecration

Contributor(s):

Nathan Marcus Adler, Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Prayer at the Dedication of the Home for the Aged and Infirm by the I.O.B.B. District Grand Lodge №1 by Rabbi Henry Samuel Jacobs (28 June 1882)

This prayer by Rabbi Henry S. Jacobs was offered at the Dedication of the Home for the Aged and Infirm by the District Grand Lodge No. 1 Independent Order of B’né B’rith on 28 June 1882 and published in their Proceedings of the Thirtieth Annual Meeting of District Grand Lodge No. 1 I.O.B.B. Held January 29, 30, and 31, 1882, pp. 68-70.

Categories:

Congregation & Community, Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Prayers of Freemasons

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Henry Samuel Jacobs

[Prayer] for home, by Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (1916)

Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayer “For Home” 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, pages 95-96.

Categories:

Marriage, Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., British Jewry, English vernacular prayer, Liberal Movement for Progressive Judaism in Britain, teḥinot in English

Contributor(s):

Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Holy Places (CCAR 1923)

“Holy Places” is the thirty-sixth prayer found in ברכה ותהלה Blessing and Praise: A Book of Meditations and Prayers for Individual and Home Devotion (CCAR 1923), pp. 121-123.

Categories:

Earth, our Collective Home & Life-Support System, Homes & Community Centers, Well-being, health, and caregiving

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., dedications and consecrations, English vernacular prayer, synagogue consecration, teḥinot in English

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Unknown and Central Conference of American Rabbis [CCAR]

God Our Eternal Home (CCAR 1923)

“God Our Eternal Home” is the forty-fourth prayer found in ברכה ותהלה Blessing and Praise: A Book of Meditations and Prayers for Individual and Home Devotion (CCAR 1923), pp. 146-148.

Categories:

Homes & Community Centers, Well-being, health, and caregiving

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., alienation, עבודה זרה avodah zarah, בצלם אלהים btselem Elohim, English vernacular prayer, interconnectedness, teḥinot in English

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Unknown and Central Conference of American Rabbis [CCAR]

A Prayer at the Ceremony of Breaking Ground for the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center, by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak (1924)

“A Prayer at the Ceremony of Breaking Ground for the Building of a Synagogue” was written and delivered by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak on 19 October 1924, at the breaking of ground for the building of the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center. The prayer was first published in Rabbi Bosniak’s לקוטי תפלות Liḳutei Tefilot: Pulpit and Public Prayers (1927), pp. 101-102.

Categories:

Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Conservative Jewry, dedications and consecrations, synagogue consecration

Contributor(s):

Jacob Bosniak and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

A Prayer at the Ceremony of the Corner Stone Laying for the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center, by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak (1925)

“A Prayer at the Ceremony of the Corner Stone Laying of a Synagogue” was written and delivered by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak on 19 April 1925, at the laying of the cornerstone of the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center. The prayer was first published in Rabbi Bosniak’s לקוטי תפלות Liḳutei Tefilot: Pulpit and Public Prayers (1927), pp. 103-104.

Categories:

Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Conservative Jewry, dedications and consecrations, synagogue consecration

Contributor(s):

Jacob Bosniak and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

A Prayer at the Dedication Ceremony for the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center, by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak (1926)

“Dedication of a Synagogue” was written and delivered by Rabbi Jacob Bosniak on 23 October 1926, at the dedication of the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center. The prayer was first published in Rabbi Bosniak’s לקוטי תפלות Liḳutei Tefilot: Pulpit and Public Prayers (1927), pp. 106-107.

Categories:

Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Conservative Jewry, dedications and consecrations, synagogue consecration

Contributor(s):

Jacob Bosniak and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Prayer at [the] Dedication of a Community Center (CCAR 1928)

This “Prayer at [the] Dedication of a Community Center” is included in CCAR’s Rabbi’s Manual (1928), p. 117.

Categories:

Homes & Community Centers

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., dedications and consecrations, English vernacular prayer

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Unknown and Central Conference of American Rabbis [CCAR]

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Ḥamsa qame'a with Birkat haBayit

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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)

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