Apologia on the Sabbath, by Rabbi Morrison David Bial (1962)
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=46583
open_content_license: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication Date: 2022-09-06
Last Updated: 2025-03-29
Categories: Musaf l'Shabbat, Repenting, Resetting, and Reconciliation
Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, שבת תשובה Shabbat Teshuvah
Excerpt: "Apologia on the Sabbath" by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 31, from where this prayer was transcribed. . . .
Content:
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Source (English) |
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O Lord,
despite our faults
and our shortsightedness,
accept us in Thy mercy
in that we would try to overcome our limitations.
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Our sins are sins of omission,
not of commission.
We have failed to do good
rather than wrought evil.
We have been lazy
where we should have been energetic;
skeptical
where our lives have cried for faith;
petty
where we should have been magnanimous;
too complacent,
satisfied with ourselves as we are.
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Prod us, O Lord,
prick us with the goad of discontent,
until we realize how we have fallen short.
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Teach us, O Lord,
to appreciate the grandeur and majesty
of our hallowed religion,
and yet to know its humanity.
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Ennoble us
so that we may experience
the meaning of the Sabbath,
a day of peace,
of prayer,
a day of spiritual and physical regeneration.
It is a day of joy, deep human joy.
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May we learn
to set aside a portion of our lives to Thee,
to lift ourselves
from our own spheres into Thine,
to attain to Ḳ’dusha, to holiness.
Then indeed will we attain
to the merit of the delight of the Sabbath,
and grow in wisdom,
in helpfulness,
in kindness
and in love.
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“Apologia on the Sabbath” by Rabbi Morrison David Bial was first published in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 31, from where this prayer was transcribed.
Source(s)
Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Co-authors:
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Name: Morrison David Bial
Bio: Born in New York in 1917, Morrison David Bial studied at Princeton Theological Seminary, served as a chaplain at Mitchell Field during World War II, and was ordained from the Jewish Institute of Religion in 1945. Rabbi Bial spoke from pulpits in the United States as well as in Dublin, Glasgow, and London. He led a number of tours to Israel, and published thirteen books, including The Rabbi’s Bible: Torah and The Rabbi’s Bible: Prophets (began in 1966, co-authored with Solomon Simon), Liberal Judaism at Home: the Practices of Modern Reform Judaism (1971), and Your Jewish Child (1978). Rabbi Bial spent over thirty years serving Temple Sinai in Summit, New Jersey, from 1953 until he became Rabbi Emeritus in 1985. From 1985–1995, Rabbi Bial joined Temple Beth Shalom in Ocala, Florida, revitalizing its interfaith movement, and served as Rabbi Emeritus until his death in 2004.
Website:
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/morrison-david-bial
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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
Featured Image:
Title: Iglesia_de_Nuestra_Señora_de_La_Blanca,_Cardejón,_España,_2012-09-01,_DD_02
Caption: Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de La Blanca, Cardejón, España, 2012-09-01, DD 02 (credit: Diego Delso, license: CC BY-SA)
