This is an archive of prayers generally having to do with learning — as a living experience, as preparation and acquisition of skills, and as appreciation for the subject of learning, teachers, schools, and fellow learners. If you have composed a prayer for “Learning, Study, and School,” please share it here. Filter resources by Name Filter resources by Tag Filter resources by Category
An original Hebrew translation of the popular medieval commercium song and graduation anthem “De Brevitate Vitæ,” more commonly known as “Gaudeamus Igitur.” First attested in 1287, this Latin poem is irrevocably associated with college life for academics all over the world. It has been translated into many languages, and this Hebrew edition can be added to the list. . . . A traditional prayer before studying classic texts of ḳabbalah, by a celebrated ḳabbalist of the 16th century, in pointed Hebrew with an English translation. . . . “A Student’s Prayer,” was adapted by Rabbi Morrison David Bial from Reb Nosson Sternhartz of Nemyriv’s Liqutei Tefilot I:58.1, itself adapted from the teachings of Rebbe Naḥman of Bratslav in Liqutei Moharan I:58.1. The adaptation by Rabbi Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 83, from where the English was transcribed. I have set his adaptation side-by-side with the Hebrew as well as I could determine, providing for a reference Yaacov David Shulman’s translation as originally published by the Breslove Research Insitute in 2009. –Aharon Varady . . . “Prayer for wisdom” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 173-175. In the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853) the prayer appears with small variations of spelling and punctuation on pages 100-102. . . . “Hymn of praise” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 184-185. In the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853) the prayer appears with small variations of spelling and punctuation on pages 102-103. This prayer at the conclusion of an as yet unidentified writing project seems to me to be possibly related to her “Prayer (Father of mercies),” a prayer of gratitude at the commencement of a writing project. . . . “Saturday night, Feb. 25, 1837” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 208-210. In the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853) the prayer appears with small variations of spelling and punctuation on pages 124-126. . . . A prayer for children after school. . . . A prayer for children before school. . . . “With grateful hearts of song and praise” by Rabbi Moritz Mayer, published in 1856, appears under the subject “School Hymns” as Hymn 209 in Hymns Written for the Use of Hebrew Congregations (Penina Moïse et al., Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, 1856), pp. 208-209. . . . “School-hymn” is a hymn written by Felix Adler and published in Hymns, for Divine Service in the Temple Emanu-El (1871), hymn №36, p. 70. We have found this hymn published in A Guide to Instruction in the Israelitsh Religion (Samuel Adler, trans. M. Mayer, Temple Emanu-El, 1864, 4th printing 1868). The hymn, numbered “36” is appended from another unattributed work as it appears in the 1871 Temple Emanu-El hymnal. So, tentatively, we may date this hymn to 1868, although it may likely have been authored earlier, along with the other hymns later attributed in 1871 by Rabbi James K. Gutheim to Felix Adler. . . . “The Children’s Song” is a hymn by Felix Adler, first published in The Ethical Record vol. 1, no. 1. (April 1888), sheet music page 5. . . . “Task of the Ages” is a short hymn by Felix Adler, first published in The Ethical Record vol. 1, no. 1. (April 1888), sheet music pages 2-3. . . . “Morning Song [splendor of the morning sunlight]” is a hymn by Felix Adler, published in The Sabbath School Hymnal, a collection of songs, services and responses for Jewish Sabbath schools, and homes (4th rev. ed., 1897), hymn no. 23. . . . “Tkine for a Mother Who Leads Her Child to Kheyder” by an unknown author is a faithful transcription of the tkhine published in Rokhl m’vakoh al boneho (Raḥel Weeps for her Children), Vilna, 1910. 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. Please offer a translation of this tkhine in the comments. . . . Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Areinfirenish, children, first experiences, Jewish Women's Prayers, kheyder, Needing Attribution, Needing Source Images, Prayers of Primary Caregivers, religious school, school, תחינות teḥinot, תחינות tkhines, Yiddish vernacular prayer “Tkine for a Mother Who Leads Her Child to Kheyder” by an unknown author is a faithful transcription of the tkhine published in Rokhl m’vakoh al boneho (Raḥel Weeps for her Children), Vilna, 1910. 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. Please offer a translation of this tkhine in the comments. . . . Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., children, Jewish Women's Prayers, kheyder, Needing Attribution, Needing Source Images, religious school, school, תחינות teḥinot, תחינות tkhines, Yiddish vernacular prayer “A Prayer for Our Teachers” by Rabbi Albert G. Baum was written sometime before 1962. Unfortunately, no more information was provided by Rabbi David Bial in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 64, from where this prayer was transcribed. Possibly, the prayer was written while Baum served as principal of the Park Avenue Synagogue Hebrew School in the late 1920s or as rabbi for Congregation Gemiluth Chassodim in Alexandria, Louisiana during the 1930s. If you know more, please leave a comment or contact us. . . . A “Prayer for the University” found in the Seder ha-Tefilah (Order of Service) arranged by the Jewish community of Oxford, England in 1931 at a special event celebrating the centenary of the scholar and librarian at the Bodleian Library, Dr. Adolf Neubauer (1831-1907). . . . “On Education Week” by Rabbi Norman Michael Goldburg, was offered before the California state legislature on 24 April 1933, and published in California Legislature 50th Session 1933: Prayers Offered at the Daily Sessions of the Assembly, pp. 77-78. . . . A prayer for intellectual honesty before study. . . . A prayer offered at a ceremony honoring the graduated of the New Jersey State Teachers’ College in Newark in 1951. . . . “Learning” by Rabbi Ely E. Pilchik was first published in Rabbi Morrison David Bial’s anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 63, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . . “[Prayer] For Knowledge and Understanding” by Rabbi Louis M. Epstein was published in Rabbi Morrison David Bial’s anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 18, from where this prayer was transcribed. When exactly this prayer was first written is not known to us, but it had to be before Rabbi Epstein’s death in 1949. If you know more, please leave a comment or contact us. . . . “Prayer for High School Graduation” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 73, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . . A prayer before commencing the study of Torah in groups, in ḥavrutah study, or alone. . . . This list of thirteen supplications for emunah (faith) in particular beliefs was included by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). . . . Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., אני מאמין Ani Maamin, Elat Chayyim, Jewish Renewal, כוונות kavvanot, North America, עולם הבא Olam Haba, supplications, תחינות teḥinot, שלשה עשר עקרים shlolshah asar iqarim (13 principles) A Jewish Prayer for Graduation and an Interfaith Meditation on Wisdom and Learning, by Rabbi Jonah Rank (2010) . . . I wrote this kavvanah [around 2010]. At that time I lived in Ithaca, NY. I was a substitute teacher in the Ithaca Central School District. There was a community event at Fall Creek Elementary school, and the way families, faculty, students, and people from the area came together inspired the poem. . . . Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., אחדות aḥdut (togetherness), children, Lehrer, Prayers of Jewish Educators, professional intention, public performance, statements of belief, Teacher, universalist A mi sheberakh prayer by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried for the parents of students leaving school for their summer break. . . . A prayer for students studying-abroad in Israel. . . . A prayer for the safety and success of those leaving home to go off to college and university. When children go off to college, parents can feel worried about the future of their children. Empty-nest syndrome can set in and spiritual guidance is often needed. This prayer uses the idioms of Biblical and siddur language to create a text for parents who worry about their children’s future as they head off on their own. It could be said 49 days after Tekufat Tammuz in the diaspora (August 28 or 29 after a leap year – approximately the time when college terms begin in the US) or on the first Saturday after Shmini Atzeret ba’aretz (approximately when college terms begin in Israel) . . . This Graduation Blessing by Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan-Kaplan was written for Convocation 2017 at the Vancouver School of Theology. . . . A mi sheberakh prayer by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried for the parents of students returning to school from their summer break. . . . A “mi sheberakh” blessing for children and the parents of children returning to school at the beginning of the new school year. . . . A prayer for a teacher to say or adapt as needed at the beginning of their school year. . . . A prayer for teachers at the onset of the school year. . . . A prayer for children at the onset of the school year. . . . A prayer for children on the first day of a new year of school. . . . In Yemenite Jewish children’s schools, this prayer of unknown authorship is said before the lesson in unison. The teacher conducts and the children sing together to a melody. The prayer is printed in tajjim (Yemenite trilingual Pentateuch codices) before the book of Leviticus, traditionally the starting point for a child’s education. The first twenty-two lines of the prayer are an alphabetical acrostic wherein each line spells out the entire letter in which it starts. For instance, the first line spells out Alef, Lamed, and Pe, which spells out the full name of the letter Alef. This is followed by three Biblical verses all starting with the word “Good,” a brief poem in Hebrew, and a concluding passage largely in Judeo-Arabic. Here the editor has included the original text, along with a non-gendered English translation and a transcription of the Judeo-Arabic text into Arabic script. . . . |
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