This is an archive of prayers generally having to do with making a living, the workplace, and finding fulfillment in one’s labor. If you have composed a prayer for “Labor, Fulfillment, and Parnasah,” please share it here. Filter resources by Name Filter resources by Tag Filter resources by Category
This is a faithful transcription of the prayer of Gele (Gella), daughter of the printer Moshe, as found at the end of Tefillah l’Mosheh (2nd ed., Halle, Germany, 1710), a prayerbook Gele typeset when she was only 11-years-old. This prayerbook is rare owing to the destruction of the press following the incarceration of Gele’s father for publishing a prayerbook containing the prayer “Aleinu,” which had been forbidden by royal decree. The translation provided here was made by Dr. Kathryn Hellerstein as found in A Question of Tradition: Women Poets in Yiddish, 1586-1987 (2014, Stanford University Press), p. 63-4. The layout of Gele’s prayer follows that of Ezra Korman from his anthology of Jewish women’s poetry, Yiddishe Dikhterins, also the source of the page image provided. If you know the location of a copy or digital scan of this siddur, please contact us. . . . In Avignon, France, in 1767, Eliyahu Karmi (Elijah Crémieux) compiled a siddur preserving the nusaḥ of the Comtat Venaissin titled the סדר התמיד (Seder HaTamid). Just after the section for תפלת שחרית (the morning prayers), Karmi provides the following advice for how to organize one’s workday. . . . Tags: 18th century C.E., 56th century A.M., Arba Kehillot, Avignon, Carpentras, Cavaillon, French Jewry, Lisle, Nusaḥ Comtat Venaissin, Post-prayer supplements, workdays “Gebet einer Handelsfrau (Prayer for a merchant woman)” was first published in Pereẓ (Peter) Beer’s Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauenzimmer mosaischer Religion (1815), as teḥinah №40 on p. 129-132 where it was rendered in Judeo-German. The German rendering transcribed above follows that of Henry Frank’s 1839 edition on p. 110-112. . . . “Gebet eines Menschen der sich durch den Handel nährt” was translated/adapted by Yehoshua Heshil Miro and published in his anthology of teḥinot, בית יעקב (Beit Yaaqov) Allgemeines Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauen mosaischer Religion. It first appears in the 1829 edition, תחנות Teḥinot ein Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauenzimmer mosaischer Religion as teḥinah №63 on pp. 90-91. In the 1835 edition, it appears as teḥinah №65 on pp. 113-114. In the 1842 edition, it appears as teḥinah №68 on pp. 118-119. The prayer is thematically closely related to the Birkat haMazon. . . . “Der Arme” was translated/adapted by Yehoshua Heshil Miro and published in his anthology of teḥinot, בית יעקב (Beit Yaaqov) Allgemeines Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauen mosaischer Religion. It first appears in the 1829 edition, תחנות Teḥinot ein Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauenzimmer mosaischer Religion as teḥinah №77 on pp. 117-119. In the 1835 edition, it appears as teḥinah №78 on pp. 141-144. In the 1842 edition, it appears as teḥinah №81 on pp. 146-149. . . . “Im Besitz von Reichthum” was translated/adapted by Yehoshua Heshil Miro and published in his anthology of teḥinot, בית יעקב (Beit Yaaqov) Allgemeines Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauen mosaischer Religion. It first appears in the 1829 edition, תחנות Teḥinot ein Gebetbuch für gebildete Frauenzimmer mosaischer Religion as teḥinah №76 on pp. 115-117. In the 1835 edition, it appears as teḥinah №77 on pp. 139-141. In the 1842 edition, it appears as teḥinah №80 on pp. 144-146. . . . “Prayer for a Blessing on Daily Pursuits” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 227-228. . . . “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. . . . “Prayer (Father of mercies)” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 219-221. In the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853) the prayer appears with small variations of spelling and punctuation on pages 132-134. This prayer at the commencement of an as yet unidentified writing project seems to me to be possibly related to her “Hymn of Praise,” a prayer of gratitude at the culmination 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 parnassah (livelihood) for someone impoverished or in danger of poverty. . . . “Prayer for those who are unavoidably prevented from keeping the Sabbath” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 20-21. . . . “On Ending Apprenticeship and Beginning Paid Work” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 22-23. . . . A kavvanah for focusing one’s intention before working with the soil of Erets Yisrael. . . . Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Early Religious Zionist, ארץ ישראל Erets Yisrael, farming, Prayers for Planting, Prayers of Jewish Farmers, Problematic prayers, Shami, Yemenite Aliyah, Yemenite Jewry “[Prayer] for the Day’s Round in camp,” a variation of a prayer by Rev. Howard A. Bridgman (1860-1929), is found adapted (without Christian god-language) by Rabbi Morris S. Lazaron in his World War Ⅰ era prayerbook, Side Arms: Readings, Prayers and Meditations for Soldiers and Sailors (1918), on pages 24-25. The original version of the prayer was first published in The Service Song Book (Young Men’s Christian Associations, 1917), pp. 82-83 in the abridged edition. . . . This prayer by an unknown author is first found in Evening Service for the Sabbath from the Union Prayer Book (Newly Revised) (1924), p. 45. (It also appears on the same page of the 1940 edition of the “newly revised” UPB.) The prayer is included as a third variation of a Reform synagogue’s Shabbat evening service, in the Amidah before the silent meditation. Rabbi Michael Satz of Temple B’nai Or (Morristown, New Jersey) affectionately refers to it as the “Coal Miner’s Prayer.” . . . “Man Is Here for the Sake of Others,” a short excerpt from a longer essay by Albert Einstein, was included by Rabbi Morrison David Bial in his collection of supplemental prayers and texts for personal prayer and synagogue services: An Offering of Prayer (Temple Sinai of Summit, New Jersey, 1962). The full text of Einstein’s essay appeared under the title “What I Believe” in Forum and Century 84 (October 1930), no. 4, p. 193-194. David E. Rowe and Robert Schulman (in Einstein on Politics 2007, p. 226) note, “The text was reproduced several times under the title ‘The World as I See It,’ most notably in Mein Weltbild and Ideas and Opinions, and in 1932 the German League of Human Rights released a phonograph recording of Einstein reading a slightly variant version entitled ‘Confession of Belief.'” . . . A prayer for lifegiving sustenance. . . . “Courage to Withstand the Ridicule of the Worldly,” by Rabbi Mordecai Menaḥem Kaplan can be found on p. 433-4 of his The Sabbath Prayer Book (New York: The Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation, 1945). . . . Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., Amits Koaḥ, apotropaic prayers of protection, ayin hara, English vernacular prayer, lashon hara, loneliness, lonely man of faith, Psalms 4, social anxiety, יצר הרע yetser hara This prayer, initially delivered by Rabbi Joseph Baron as an invocation at the opening of the 12th U.A.W.-C.I.O. Labor Convention in Milwaukee, July 1949, was included in the anthology, The Prayer Book of the Armed Forces (ed. Daniel A. Poling, 1951), pp. 81-82. The prayer was selected for the anthology by Walter P. Reuther (1907-1970), a Lutheran, a leader of organized labor, and a civil rights activist who built the United Automobile Workers (UAW) into one of the most progressive labor unions in American history. . . . The poem, “Psalm of Gratitude” by the Jewish poet and educator, Ben Aronin. . . . Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., Chicago, depression, Distress, English vernacular prayer, first person, Gratitude, מודים Modim, Prayers as poems, thanksgiving A prayer offered at a ceremony honoring the graduated of the New Jersey State Teachers’ College in Newark in 1951. . . . A prayer for a Nurse’s Commencement ceremony at Beth Israel Hospital on 19 September 1951. . . . A prayer composed for a ceremony honoring the tenure of Charles Henry Martens, mayor of East Orange, New Jersey on his retirement from three decades of civic service. . . . A prayer offered at the opening of a department store during the post-WWII economic expansion in the United States. . . . “Installation Prayer” by Rabbi Wolf Gunther Plaut was first published in Rabbi Morrison David Bial’s anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 51, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . . “Benediction for Charity Meeting” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 74, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . . Based on a traditional form, this is just a personal petition I drew up to remind myself of a few important things. Anyone is free to use it, alter it for their own circumstances, change the translation, etc. No attribution required. . . . A holistic prayer for health in work. . . . This piyut (liturgical poem) arose after a very meaningful performance of mine in the summer of 2000. It was such a powerful experience that I was moved to say a prayer of thanks to G-d for the opportunity to perform my songs for audiences – but found no such prayer in existence. So I wrote this one. It took about a year to complete and I’ve been saying it backstage right before my performances, and sometimes before recording sessions, since then. . . . A worker’s prayer by Rabbi Stephen Belsky, dedicated to Noam Ezra ben haRav Moshe z”l. . . . “A Blessing for Creating” comes by way of David A.M. Wilensky (with approval by the blessing’s author, Rabbi Adina Allen) who shared a photo on Facebook of a posterboard on which the blessing was written. The poster was made for the first ever Kabbalat Shabbat organized by the Jewish Studio Project, whose mission is “to activate creativity in individuals and communities to reclaim Jewish values, make meaning in our lives and restore hope to the world.” Vocalization added by Aharon Varady. . . . Chaya Kaplan-Lester’s “Prayer for – Finally – Getting Back to WORK” was first published on her Facebook page, here. The Hebrew word Todah תודה, means grateful. The English word ‘ta-da!’ is an onomatopoetic form of a horn (Cf. 1913 Sphinx July 98/1): “Coming front in utter disgust, he [sc. a conjuror] tells them [sc. the orchestra] that that won’t do, that he wants something like ‘tadaa!’ from all of them. They seem to understand, so he goes off again. On his reappearance, however, he is met with a loud tumult, as all the orchestra shout out in unison the word ‘tadaa!’” (Oxford English Dictionary). . . . Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., After Sukkot, English vernacular prayer, First day of creation, God as co-worker, Gratitude, ירושלם Jerusalem, כוונות kavvanot, kivun, מודים Modim, Openers, Post-Ḥag, Sunday, workers, ישראל Yisrael A prayer for workers and worker needs amid the 2020 COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. . . . A prayer of intention before the meeting of the board of a philanthropic organization determining the recipients of the largess in their trust. . . . This prayer for rabbis, cantors, educators, and other congregational workers was offered by Rabbi Menachem Creditor and shared by the author through the Open Siddur Project discussion group on Facebook, 20 October 2023. . . . A prayer for a friend who needs prompt and useful data in response to their Internet queries. . . . |
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