Prayer on the Sabbath of Naming a New Born Daughter, by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=40792
open_content_license: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication Date: 2021-11-21
Last Updated: 2025-02-02
Categories: Conception, Pregnancy, and Childbirth
Tags: 19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., baby daughters, English vernacular prayer, gender roles, infants, Jewish Women's Prayers, naming, naming ceremonies, Parents blessing children, prayers concerning children, תחינות teḥinot
Excerpt: "Prayer on the Sabbath of Naming a New Born Daughter" by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau was first published in his תחנות בנות ישראל Devotions for the Daughters of Israel (1852), p. 63. . . .
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In a flow of warm tears of gratitude
I this day tread the steps of Thy house;
in grateful raptures at the mercy shewn to me
during my confinement,
and Thy healing grace after it,
I offer to Thy paternal love my inmost thanks—
the outpouring of my soul,
which may be a substitute for the sacrifice of blood,
which according to Thy law I was bound to offer to Thee,
Fountain of Goodness.
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The mother’s heart now prays,
that, Thou mayest bless this new-born child, my daughter
with lasting health;
that may she bloom with joy and delight.
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And when she shall have outgrown the cradle,
then bless her O God with the spirit of light and truth.
Grant that she may not harbour in her heart
any impure thoughts,
any vain desire,
any guilty cravings;
and that all her powers may be directed
to the ennoblement of her mind.
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May she ever entertain a proper sense of chastity;
may she ever be impressed
with that feeling of delicacy and propriety
so peculiar to our sex.
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She is yet asleep in calm repose,
and is not yet awakened by any tempest of life:
therefore ere the flower is developed,
ere the soft heart of the child
inclines to the alluring strains of evil,
bless it, that it may soon acknowledge and love Thee.
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Eternal grace!
do not deprive the mother’s breast of this presented good,
preserve it to me unto remote days,
and when the redness of sunset
on the last evening of my life
fades away,
may she be my comfort.
Amen.
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“Prayer on the Sabbath of Naming a New Born Daughter” by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau was first published in his תחנות בנות ישראל Devotions for the Daughters of Israel (1852), p. 63.
In his preface to Devotions, Bresslau is clear that his prayers in English were adapted from traditional teḥinot that had earlier been published in France, Germany, and Poland. If you know of a specific prayer that may have served as the basis for this one, please leave a comment or contact us.
Source(s)
Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Co-authors:
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Name: Marcus Heinrich Bresslau
Bio: Marcus Heinrich (also Mordecai Ḥayyim/Hyman/Heyman) Bresslau (ca. 1808-15 May 1864) was a Hebraist and newspaper editor. Born in Hamburg, he settled in England when young. For some time from 1834 he was Baal Ḳoreh (reader) at the Western Synagogue. He then taught Hebrew at the Westminster Jews’ Free School and went on to tutor privately. A maskil, he became involved with M. J. Raphall’s Hebrew Review and Magazine of Rabbinical Literature (1834-6). In October 1844 he was appointed editor of the relaunched Jewish Chronicle by proprietor Joseph Mitchell. Prickly and quarrelsome, he resigned in July 1848 but returned in around September. He remained until about October 1850. After Mitchell’s death in June 1854 he became proprietor (his middle name appearing as Heyman) and edited it until February 1855 when new proprietor Abraham Benisch succeeded him. Bresslau, who tried vainly to revive the Hebrew Review, wrote Hebrew poetry, produced a Hebrew grammar and a Hebrew dictionary, and translated various Hebrew manuscripts in the Bodleian Library. Bresslau compiled (we think) the first compilation of teḥinot in English for women. (Much of this information via Bresslau's entry in The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History)
Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Hyman_Bresslau
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/marcus-heinrich-bresslau
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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
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Title: Prayer on the Sabbath of Naming a New Born Daughter (Marcus Heinrich Bresslau 1852)
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