Prayer of a Wife for her Husband, by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau (1852)
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=40822
open_content_license: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication Date: 2021-11-23
Last Updated: 2021-11-23
Categories: Marriage
Tags: 19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Jewish Women's Prayers, תחינות teḥinot
Excerpt: "Prayer of a Wife for her Husband" by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau was first published in his תחנות בנות ישראל Devotions for the Daughters of Israel (1852), p. 57. . . .
Content:
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With soft emotions my soul soars up to Thee, Creator and Ruler of the world!
By indissoluble bands hast Thou united me in marriage with my beloved husband,
accept then for Thy grace and goodness
the most fervent though humble thanks
coming from a deeply moved soul.
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Cause, O Father,
that the hours of his life may flow agreeably;
strengthen him,
that he may never grow weary in the struggle for good;
that he may by unremitting and undisturbed industry
make provision for his wife and children.
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Exhort him
when temptation allures him
to stray from the path of Thy paternal grace;
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protect him from the vile machinations of the evil disposed,
lest they draw him into the webs of their vicious circle,
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grant him patience and forbearance with my womanly weakness,
so that his love may never yield to anger and strife;
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may there ever dwell within us
the spirit of wisdom and virtue,
of industry and of joyous zeal,
of discipline and order,
of forbearance and benevolence,
of piety and morality,
of harmony and confidence.
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O, eternal God of hosts!
be with him in all his ways,
bless him in his going out and in his coming in,
bless all his undertakings from this day and evermore.
Amen.
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“Prayer of a Wife for her Husband” by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau was first published in his תחנות בנות ישראל Devotions for the Daughters of Israel (1852), p. 57.
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 (editing/transcription)
Co-authors:
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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
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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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Title: Prayer of a Wife for her Husband (Marcus Heinrich Bresslau 1852)
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