תחנה פאר אײן אִשָׁה װאָס דארף האָבּין אײַן קינד | Tkhine for a Woman who is about to Have a Child (1910)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=29939

Date: 2020-02-03

Last Updated: 2025-02-18

Categories: Conception, Pregnancy, and Childbirth

Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Jewish Women's Prayers, prayers for pregnant women, pregnancy, Yiddish vernacular prayer, תחינות teḥinot, תחינות tkhines

Excerpt: A prayer for a pregnant woman whose childbirth is immanent. . . .

Content:

Source (Yiddish)

Translation (English)

אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנוּן! שטארקער בּאשעפער, האָבּ רַחֲמָנוֹת אױף די אִשָׁה (פב״פ) (מען דארף דא דערמאנען דעם נאמען פון די יוֹלֶדֶת, אונ דעם נאָמען פון איר מוטער) אז זי זאָל האָבּין דאָס קינד בְּשָׁלוֹם, דער זְכוּת פון אונזערע הײליגע אִמָהוֹת, שָׂרָה, רִבְקָה, רָחֵל, וְלֵאָה, אונ דעם זְכוּת פון אונזערע נְבִיאוּת מִרְיָם, דְבוֹרָה, חַנָה, חוּלְדָה, אונ דער זְכוּת פון יָעֵל זאָלין איר בּײַשטײן אין די סַכָּנָה צײַט, אז זי זאָל האָבּין דאָס קינד גרינג אן יְסוּרִים, דען דו גאָט קאָנסט װײַזין אזא נֵס, בִּזְכוּת די צִדְקָנִיוֹת פון אונזערע עלטערין, אונ דאס קינד זאָל גיבָּארין װערין אײַן רײַנע זעלע צו דײַן דינסט, אײַן צַדִיק, אונ ער זאָל עוֹסֵק זײַן בַּתּוֹרָה וּבְּמִצְוֹת, אונ אױבּע א נְקֵבָה, זאָל זי זײַן אײַן אִשָׁה צְנוּעָה, אײַן אִשָׁה יִרְאַת ה׳ אונ זאָל האָבּין אגוטין מַזָל, עס זאָל גיזונד זײַן די מוטער מיט די קינד, אונ זי זאָל קומען אױף דער װעלט, צוא יֽשׁוּעֹות וְנֶחָמוֹת אױף כְּלַל יִשְׂרָאֵל, אין איר צײַט זאָלין יודען זוֹכֶה זײַן אײַן װארע גְאוּלָה אָמֵן׃

Merciful and gracious El! Mighty Creator, have compassion on the woman (ploynes bas ploynes) that she may have this child safely. May the merit of our holy matriarchs — Sarah, Rivkah, Raḥel, and Le’ah — and the merit of our prophetesses – Miriam, Devorah, Ḥanah, and Ḥuldah[1] Ḥuldah; see II Kings 22:14-20. The only prophetess associated with the period of the monarchy, she was consulted by Josiah concerning the Book of the Law discovered during the restoration of the Temple.  — and the merit of Ya’el[2] Yael; she slew Sisera in the war of Devorah and Barak against the Canaanites: see Judges 4:17-22 and 5:24-27.  sustain her in this time of danger so that she may have this child easily and without suffering. For you, God, can perform such a miracle, through the merits of the righteous women from among our ancestors, that the child should be bom a pure soul for your service, a righteous person who will devote himself to the study of Torah and perform mitsvot. And if it is a female, may she be a modest woman, a God-fearing woman, and may she have good fortune. May both mother and child be healthy and may she come into the world to help bring salvation and comfort to all Yisrael. May the Jewish people merit a true redemption in her lifetime. Amen.

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This is a faithful transcription of the תחנה פאר אײן אִשָׁה װאָס דארף האָבּין אײַן קינד (“Tkhine for a Woman who is about to Have a Child”) as it appears in the compilation of tkhines, Rokhl Weeps for Her Children (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.

Source

 

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Notes

Notes

1	Ḥuldah; see II Kings 22:14-20. The only prophetess associated with the period of the monarchy, she was consulted by Josiah concerning the Book of the Law discovered during the restoration of the Temple.
2	Yael; she slew Sisera in the war of Devorah and Barak against the Canaanites: see Judges 4:17-22 and 5:24-27.

Contributor: Unknown Author(s)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Tracy Guren Klirs (translation)
  Bio: Rabbi Tracy Guren Klirs received her B.A. in Yiddish literature at the University of Chicago and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1977. She was ordained as a rabbi from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in 1984. Her book, The Merit of Our Mothers: A Bilingual Anthology of Jewish Women’s Prayers, was published by HUC Press in 1992. She serves as the rabbi of Temple Kol Tikvah in Davidson, North Carolina.
  Website: https://www.facebook.com/RabbiKlirs
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/tracy-guren-klirs
• 
  Name: Unknown Author(s)
  Bio: Sometimes the best we can do in attributing a historical work is to indicate the period and place it was written, the first prayer book it may have been printed in, or the archival collection in which the manuscript was found. We invite the public to help to attribute all works to their original composers. If you know something not mentioned in the commentary offered, please leave a comment or contact us.
  Website:
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/unknown
• 
  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

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Title: hens-adopt-animals-5979afecd07a2–700
Caption: Hen Adopts Kittens (credit: Becky Garcia)