Prayer on Kneading and Baking Ḥallot for Shabbat, by Perle Derbaremdiger Peretz (fl. 18th c.)

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International

Date: 2018-11-15

Last Updated: 2025-03-23

Categories: Erev Shabbat

Tags: 18th century C.E., 56th century A.M., baking ḥallah, eros, German vernacular prayer, taking dough, חלה challah ḥallah, תחינות teḥinot

Excerpt: A prayer upon preparing ḥallot for Shabbat. . . .

Content:

Source (German)	Translation (English)
Von Perle, der Frau des Berditschewers, ist ein Gebet überliefert. Wenn sie die Sabbatbrote knetete und buk, pflegte sie zu beten:	A prayer has come down to us from Perle, the rebbe of Berditchev’s wife. Whenever she kneaded and baked the loaves for Shabbat, she prayed:
Herr der Welt, ich bitte dich, hilf mir, dass mein Levi Jizchak, wenn er am Sabbat über diese Brote den Segen spricht, dasselbe im Sinn habe wie ich in dieser Stunde, da ich sie knete und backe!	Lord of the world, I beg you to help me, that when my husband Levi Yitsḥak says the blessing upon these loaves on Shabbat, he may have in his mind what I have in my mind this very hour that I knead them and bake them.

This prayer of Perle Derbaremdiger (Peretz), wife of the rebbe Levi Yitsḥak of Berditchev, is attested in Martin Buber’s Die Erzählungen Der Chassidim (Tales of the Ḥasidim), Manesse Bibliothek der Weltliteratur, Conzett und Huber, Zurich, first published in 1924, under the heading “Nas Gebet der Frau” (His Wife’s Prayer). The transcription here was made from page 343 of the 1949 edition. We lack an earlier source for this prayer, or the story of this prayer, which may have appeared in Yiddish. Our gratitude to Open Siddur Project contributor Andrew Meit for his help tracking down the original text of this prayer in Buber’s original German, for his translation, and for the source image of the text shared below.

Sources

“Nas Gebet der Frau” (His Wife’s Prayer) from Die Erzählungen Der Chassidim.

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Co-authors:

Name: Andrew Meit
Bio: Andrew Meit has studied and researched in various areas: the imagination, Martin Buber, Judaism, prophets and prophecy, and Ephraim Moses Lilien. In 1984, Meit earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies with minors in Mathematics and Philosophy from Stetson University. As a lifelong creative, he is a type and graphics designer focusing on Jewish art and digitally repairing damaged art. Meit is legally deaf-blind, and has several learning problems stemming from contracting congenital Rubella. He is active in the Independent Living Movement; been on several CIL boards. Throughout his life Meit has striven to turn his disabilities into well-made art that inspires and celebrates beauty and truth. Off and on for 40 years, Meit has been involved in interfaith services and study groups. He has informally lectured on Buber. He enjoys writing prayers and creating worship presentations. Although mainly self-taught in calligraphy, drawing and design, Meit formally studied at the Cleveland Art Institute. With the font editor Fontographer, he recreated the well known font GoodCity Modern (a faithful recreation of the Gutenberg’s bible typeface). Over the decades, he produced a digital recreation of the first page of Genesis from the Gutenberg Bible. He artistically colored many of E.M. Lilien’s line art illustrations, created a font based on Buber's handwriting, and recently, he created a new logo for the Florida Orange City Unitarian Universalist Congregation and improved a logo for Applied Jewish Spirituality group. Meit likes to help repair the world through his art; enjoys deep thoughts, playing with puzzles, and learning about Religion. He currently lives in Plantation, Florida.
Website: https://www.facebook.com/MeitGarretGallery/
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/andrew-meit

Name: Perle Derbaremdiger (Peretz)
Bio: Perle Derbaremdiger Peretz (estimated between 1711 and 1771) was the daughter of Malka Peretz and Rabbi Yisroel Peretz. She was the wife of the ḥassidic rebbe, Levi Yitsḥak of Berdichev, z"tl.
Website:
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/perle-derbaremdiger-peretz

Name: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Bio: Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)
Website: https://aharon.varady.net
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-varady-transcription