Prayer for the Close of the Sabbath, by Rabbi Moritz Mayer (1866)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=31958

Date: 2020-06-09

Last Updated: 2022-01-29

Categories: Motsei Shabbat

Tags: 19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Jewish Women's Prayers, תחינות teḥinot

Excerpt: "Prayer for the Close of the Sabbath" is one of thirty prayers appearing in Rabbi Moritz Mayer's collection of tehinot, Hours of Devotion (1866), of uncertain provenance and which he may have written. . . .

Content:

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Almighty God, Rock of my salvation! in Thy name I conclude the day of rest and sanctification, and with it the week, during which Thou didst shower upon me the gifts of Thy loving-kindness, and didst provide me from the inexhaustible fountain of Thy paternal blessings with every thing that I needed for my support and the maintenance of those near and dear to my heart.
	My heart swells with gratitude towards Thee, my devotion is kindled and burns like a flame within me — Oh! would that my lips were able to express it. But Thou, O Lord! searchest the heart, examinest the thoughts of man, and acceptest the will for the deed, and even our aspiration towards virtue is accepted and counted by Thee for its practice. Yet, without Thine aid we cannot find the right path, nor fulfill our duties.
	Therefore, God! I pray unto Thee, at the beginning of a new week, to which Thou hast preserved our lives, to open unto us the gates of understanding, of knowledge, and of enlightenment, that we may shun evil and sin, all that is immoral useless and reprehensible, and enter, pure and sanctified, into the gates of virtue, piety and chastity! Open unto us the gates of contentment and tranquillity of the heart, and concord and peace, of universal unity and brotherly love, that we may envy no one, and no one may envy us. Open unto us the gates of blessing, of prosperity and happiness, that all the works of our hands may be crowned with success. Open unto us the gates of joy and delight, of acceptance and fulfillment, that we may behold the realization of the gladsome promise which Thou hast given unto the pious and righteous: “And the Lord shall give unto thee according to the desire of thy heart and prosper all thy designs. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee, and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” (Job 22:28)
	Amen.

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“Prayer for the Close of the Sabbath” is one of thirty prayers appearing in Rabbi Moritz Mayer’s collection of tehinot, Hours of Devotion (1866), of uncertain provenance and which he may have written. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

 

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Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Aharon N. Varady (editing/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
• 
  Name: Moritz Mayer
  Bio: Rabbi Moritz Mayer (originally Moses Maier, later Maurice Mayer; 1821-1867) born in Dürckheim-on-the-Haardt, Germany, fled to the United States and to New York as a political refugee of the 1848 revolution. In 1859, after seven years as the rabbi of Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim in Charleston, South Carolina, he returned in poor health to New York where he contributed frequently to the Jewish press, and translated various German works into English: Rabbi Samuel Adler's catechism, Abraham Geiger's lectures on Jewish history, and Ludwig Philipson's pamphlet, Haben die Juden Jesum Gekreuzigt? (the Crucifixion from the Jewish Point of View), et al. In 1866, a number of his English translations of Fanny Neuda's teḥinot in German (from her Stunden Der Andacht, 1855/1858) were published in a volume he titled Hours of Devotion. The work also included a number of his own prayers as well as those of Marcus Heinrich Bresslau. The following year, Moritz Mayer passed away. He was 45 years old. (We are indebted to Anton Hieke for his research on Mayer, "Rabbi Maurice Mayer: German Revolutionary, Charleston Reformer, and Anti-Abolitionist" published in Southern Jewish Life, 17 (2014), pp. 45-89.) For Mayer's translations of prayers by other authors, please visit here.
  Website:
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/moritz-mayer

Featured Image:

Title: for the conclusion of the sabbath (Moritz Mayer 1864)
Caption: Detail of Moritz Mayer's paraliturgical prayer for the close of the sabbath day.