כְּהַיּוֹם הַזֶּה בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם | k'Hayom HaZeh Birushalayim (This day in Jerusalem), a wedding prayer from the Seder Rav Amram Gaon (ca. 9th c.)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=31669

Date: 2020-05-23

Last Updated: 2025-02-18

Categories: Engagements & Weddings

Tags: 47th century A.M., 9th century C.E., Geonic prayers, wedding blessings, Needing Vocalization

Excerpt: A well-wishing prayer for couples on their wedding day found in the Seder Rav Amram Gaon. . . .

Content:

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
כהיום הזה בירושלים ירבו שמחות בישראל וינוסו אנחות מישראל ירבו בשורות טובות בישראל ירבו ישועות בישראל ירבו נחמות בישראל תרבה אהבה בישראל תרבה ברכה בישראל תרבה גילה בישראל תרבה דיצה בישראל ירבה הוד בישראל ירבה ועד בישראל ירבה זכות בישראל ירבה חתן בישראל ירבו ימים טובים בישראל. אליהו הנביא במהרה יבוא אלנו, המלך המשיח יצמח בימינו.	This day in Yerushalayim: Let happiness increase in Yisrael and let sorrow flee from Yisrael. May good tidings increase in Yisrael. May salvation increase in Yisrael. May consolation increase in Yisrael. May love increase in Yisrael. May blessing increase in Yisrael. May joy increase in Yisrael. May happiness increase in Yisrael. May glory increase in Yisrael. May gatherings increase in Yisrael May merit increase in Yisrael. May marriage increase in Yisrael. May festive days increase in Yisrael. May Eliyahu haNavi[1] Elijah the Prophet, psychopomp of the messiah.  come speedily and may the moshiaḥ arrive in our days.
יצלח חתן וכלה ישמחו שניהם זה עם זה ויעלזו שניהם זה עם זה ויעמידו בנים ובנות ויאריכו שנים בשבי יהודה בנים ובנות מצליחים וכולם ברוכים.	May the bride and the groom flourish. May they find happiness with one another and may they rejoice with one another, and may they produce children and may they be granted children who live long and prosper[2] lit., “children who are successful.” Creative license given to Rabbi Saks as an homage to the Vulcan greeting.  with the remnant of Yehudah and may all of them be blessed.
ישמח חתן בכלה וכלה תשמח בחתן בבנים ובבנות בעושר ובנכסים בבנים (ובבנות) עוסקים בתורה ומקיימים מצוות בישראל.	The groom shall rejoice with the bride and the bride shall rejoice with the groom. May they flourish with wealth and possessions, and with children who study Torah, and keep mitsvot in Yisrael.

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A wedding prayer from the Seder Rav Amram Gaon section on Erusin and Nesu’in. Rabbi Jeffrey Saks contributed an informal translation he prepared for his wedding which we have expanded upon. Many thanks to Rabbi Gabriel Nachman Kretzmer Seed for his work on completing this translation with me. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

Seder Rav Amram Gaon (Codex Sulzberger) page 59r

seder erusin v’nesuin (seder rav amram gaon, ed. Daniel Goldschmidt 1971) p.182

k’Hayom haZeh b’Yerushalayim (Seder rav Amram Gaon, trans. Jeffrey Saks)

 

Notes

Notes

1	Elijah the Prophet, psychopomp of the messiah.
2	lit., “children who are successful.” Creative license given to Rabbi Saks as an homage to the Vulcan greeting.

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (translation)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Gabriel Kretzmer Seed (translation)
  Bio: Rabbi Gabe Kretzmer Seed has served as a Jewish chaplain in the New York City Department of Correction since 2018 where he provides religious services, classes and spiritual support primarily for Jewish incarcerated individuals along with providing general spiritual care for the incarcerated and staff of all faiths and none. He was recently named one of the New York Jewish Week 36 Under 36, a list of individuals making a difference in the New York Jewish Community for his work in the jails during the pandemic. Gabe received semikhah from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in 2017, and is a graduate of Columbia University where he majored in United States History. He also received BA and MA degrees from the Jewish Theological Seminary – JTS where he focused on Talmud and Midrash, and Jewish education. He is the co-founder of the Zemirot Database, an editable online database for zemirot, liturgy, and other Jewish songs. Gabe is an avid Baal tefillah and Baal qriyah, and leads davening regularly in both his home community of Riverdale, NY, and has served as the High Holiday Ḥazzan Sheni at Congregation Tiferet Israel in Austin, TX since 2014. He also loves studying Jewish liturgy, especially comparing siddurim of different nusḥaot and minhagim.
  Website:
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/gabriel-seed
• 
  Name: Jeffrey Saks (translation)
  Bio: Jeffrey Saks (born March 25, 1969) is a Modern Orthodox rabbi, educator, writer and editor. Saks has published widely on Jewish thought, education, and literature. Born into a secular Jewish family and raised in suburban New Jersey, Saks became interested in religious observance in high school through the influence of a local rabbi and the NCSY youth movement.
  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Saks
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/jeffrey-saks
• 
  Name: Amram ben Rav Sheshna
  Bio: Amram Gaon (Hebrew: עמרם גאון‎, or Amram bar Sheshna, Hebrew: עמרם בר רב ששנא, or sometimes: Amram ben Sheshna or Amram b. Sheshna; died 875) was a famous Gaon or head of the Jewish Talmud Academy of Sura in the 9th century. He was the author of many Responsa, but his chief work was liturgical. He was the first to arrange a complete liturgy for the synagogue. His Prayer-Book (Siddur Rab Amram or Seder Rav Amram), which took the form of a long responsum to the Jews of Spain, is still extant and was an important influence on most of the current rites in use among the Jews. He was a pupil of Natronai II, Gaon of Sura, and was exceptionally honored with the title of Gaon within the lifetime of his teacher. Upon Natronai's death, about 857, the full title and dignities of the gaonate were conferred upon Amram, and he held them until his death. It is characteristic of Amram's method to avoid extreme rigor; thus he decides that a slave who has embraced Judaism, but desires to postpone the necessary circumcision until he feels strong enough for it, is not to be hurried (ib. iv. 6, 11). He placed himself almost in opposition to the Talmud, when he protested that there is no sense in fasting on account of bad dreams, since the true nature of dreams cannot be known. (via wikipedia)
  Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amram_Gaon
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/amram-ben-rav-sheshna
• 
  Name: Aharon N. Varady (translation)
  Bio: Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer translator for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his translations, 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 transcribes prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes for the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)
  Website: https://aharon.varady.net
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-varady-translation

Featured Image:

Title: Seder Rav Amram Gaon (Codex Sulzberger) page 59r – detail
Caption: Seder Rav Amram Gaon (Codex Sulzberger) page 59r - detail