Nachtgebet eines Kindes | Night prayer of a child [for the Bedtime Shema], by Lise Tarlau (1907)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=48116

Date: 2022-12-25

Last Updated: 2025-03-27

Categories: Bedtime Shema

Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Angelic Protection, Angels, apotropaic prayers of protection, children's prayers, German vernacular prayer, Jewish Women's Prayers, Teḥinot in German, שמע shemaŋ, תחינות teḥinot

Excerpt: "Nachtgebet eines Kindes" by Lise Tarlau can be found in Rabbi Max Grunwald's anthology of Jewish women's prayer, Beruria: Gebet- und Andachtsbuch für jüdische Frauen und Mädchen (1907), page 30. . . .

Content:

Source (German)	Translation (English)
Nachtgebet eines Kindes.	Night prayer of a child.
Lieber Gott, Du schlummerst nicht, Wenn wir Menschen schlafen müssen, Deiner treuen Augen Licht Leuchtet über unsren Kissen.	Dear God, you do not slumber, When we humans must sleep, The light of your faithful eyes Shines over our pillows.
Und wir schlafen friedlich ein, Wenn die stillen sterne scheinen, Denn wir wissen, wir sind Dein, Und Du hütest ja die Deinen.	And we fall asleep peacefully, When the silent stars shine, For we know we are yours, And you’re watching over yours.
Wenn wir nur vertrauen Dir, Schirmst Du uns vor allen Sorgen, Selbst im Traume fühlen wir Dankbar, daß wir gut geborgen,	If only we trust you, You shield us from all worries, Even in dreams we feel Grateful that we are well protected,
Denn zu unsrer Rechten geht Michael, zu unsrer Linken Gabriel, zu füßen steht Uriel, zu Häupten winken	For on our right goes Michael, on our left Gabriel, at our feet stands Uriel, at our heads wave
Rafael, des Himmelsboten, Augen uns mit mildem Schein, Aber über all den Engeln Troneit Du, o Gott, allein.	Rafael, the heavenly messenger, Observes us with gentle radiance, But above all the angels You, O God, alone.
Amen	Amen
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָֹה אֶחָֽד׃ (דברים ו:ד)
Höre, Israel, der Ewige, unser Gott, ist einig einzig.	Hear, O Israel, the Eternal, our God, is the only one. (Deuteronomy 6:4)

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“Nachtgebet eines Kindes” by Lise Tarlau can be found in Rabbi Max Grunwald’s anthology of Jewish women’s prayer, Beruria: Gebet- und Andachtsbuch für jüdische Frauen und Mädchen (1907), page 30.

The transcription of the German provided machine-readable text for machine translations by DeepL, which we then edited for accuracy and clarity. We welcome any/all corrections, improvements, and additional transcriptions and translations of this work’s contents. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

 

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Lise Tarlau
  Bio: Lise Tarlau (also known as L'Ysaye/Isaye/Ysaye/Ysale, Lisa, Lize, Elizabeth, Luise, and Louise Tarleau; 1879-1952), was a writer born to a prominent Viennese Bohemian Jewish family, the daughter of Rabbi Dr. Joseph Samuel Bloch and Laura Lachmann. In an essay published in 1906, "The Religious Problem," she expressed enthusiasm for Zionism and a deep sympathy for East European, Yiddish speaking Jewry, praising them for having retained their own distinctive cultural identity and their own language. This posture was accompanied by harsh criticism of Western European Jewish cultural assimilation, writing that they have “lived as parasites on the creative possibilities of the dreams of beauty of other peoples” (as quoted in Peter Singer's Pushing Time Away, 2003). Before emigrating to the United States in 1908, nearly two dozen prayers she wrote were published in Beruria (1907), an anthology of teḥinot in German compiled by her sister's husband Rabbi Dr. Max Grunwald. A decade later in the US, Houghton Mifflin Company and Riverside Press published The Inn of Disenchantment (1917), a collection of her prose and several short stories. Tarlau's fiction also appeared in major magazines of the day, including The Nation (105:2725, September 20, 1917), The Atlantic Monthly (in 1919), and Harper's Magazine. In 1924, her short story "Loutré" was awarded second place in Harper's first ever short story contest. During World War II, she wrote a number of scripts for radio and film and worked as a translator for the US military. Several of her works were included in The Fireside Book of Romance (ed. C. Edward Wagenknecht, 1948). She died on October 9, 1952 in Kew Gardens, Queens, Long Island, New York.
  Website: https://www.geni.com/people/Louise-Tarlau/6000000039642814681
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/lise-tarlau
• 
  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: Nachtgebet eines Kindes (Lise Tarlau 1907) – cropped
Caption: Nachtgebet eines Kindes (Lise Tarlau 1907) - cropped