The Glory of God, a hymn by David Nunes Carvalho (Reformed Society of Israelites, Charleston, South Carolina, 1826)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=39617

Date: 2021-10-14

Last Updated: 2025-05-09

Categories: Shaḥarit l'Shabbat ul'Yom Tov

Tags: 19th century C.E., 56th century A.M., ABAB rhyming scheme, American Jewry of the United States, American Reform Movement, English vernacular prayer, hymns, South Carolina, United States

Excerpt: A hymn provided for opening or concluding the morning Sabbath service of the Reformed Society of Israelites (Charleston, S.C.) ca. 1826. . . .

Content:

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Thou centre of revolving light who can thy bounds perceive or count thy glories by the sight infinity conceive
	How great in power did thy hand with truth and order place Those mighty systems, countless! grand! To fill the radiant space.
	As doth thy works thy glory show So dost thou condescend To bless thy creatures here below And every good extend
	Then let my thoughts in awful gaze Wing its astonished way Climb to the Throne where mercies blaze To view eternal day
	Then shall its pinion rest secure Till my departing breath Shall from thy mortal frame impure Escape from silent death
	My soul shall lead in aerial flight My sacred transport driven And soon that pure and holy height To take its seat in heaven

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“The Glory of God!” written by David Nunes Carvalho was recorded with a few short bars for the melody in the Carvalho Holograph, one of the handwritten manuscripts used by the Reformed Society of Israelites as a supplement for their prayer service. Many thanks to the American Jewish Archives for providing access to the manuscript. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

The Glory of God (David Nunes Carvalho – Carvalho Holograph 1826) recto

The Glory of God (David Nunes Carvalho – Carvalho Holograph 1826) verso

 

Contributor: Reformed Society of Israelites

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: David Nunes Carvalho
  Bio: David Nunes Carvalho (1784-1860), born and educated in London, England, was a merchant, author, and ḥazzan for the Reformed Society of Israelites in Charleston, South Carolina, the first Reform congregation in the United States. He helped to compile the first Reform prayerbook in English, the fourth oldest Reform prayerbook in the world.
  Website:
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/david-nunes-carvalho
• 
  Name: Reformed Society of Israelites
  Bio: The Reformed Society of Israelites (1824-1833) was a group of forty-seven congregants of Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim, Charleston, South Carolina, who gathered in late 1824 to petition the congregation to modify the service of prayers with an adapted liturgy emphasizing English translations, original hymns, and other modifications. Among other reforms, the group called for shorter services and sermons conducted in English that would relate the weekly parashah to everyday life. Prominent leaders in the group were Isaac Harby (1788–1828), Abraham Moïse (1799-1869), and David Nunes Carvalho (1784-1860). After Harby's death in 1828, the group published a prayerbook (later reprinted by Barnett Elzas/Bloch in 1916). In 1833, the group dissolved but in rejoining Beth Elohim they also managed to succeed in their original mission in putting the congregation on a firm Reform movement trajectory.
  Website:
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/reformed-society-of-israelites
• 
  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: Print; Carvalho, Solomon Nunes; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; Charleston, South Carolina, United States; 1838_Kaplan Collection Upenn
Caption: Print; Carvalho, Solomon Nunes; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; Charleston, South Carolina, United States; 1838_Kaplan Collection Upenn