"Thy will be done" a prayer for self-resignation by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy (1927)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=50204

Date: 2023-04-19

Last Updated: 2023-04-19

Categories: Well-being, health, and caregiving

Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Jewish Science movement, teḥinot in English, יצר הרע yetser hara, תחינות teḥinot

Excerpt: This untitled prayer by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy accompanied his short reflection, "Thy Will Be Done!" found in The Helpful Manual (Centre of Jewish Science, 1927), pp. 23-24. . . .

Content:

THY WILL BE DONE!

When I can say in my heart of hearts: “Thy will be done” I have achieved that real understanding of the way in which God works, ever for the best. it is not easy for me to subject my will to God’s for I think that what I want I ought to have, and must have, no matter who suffers for my selfishness.

As I grow up to the better comprehension of the way in which God works upon and through men I begin to apprehend something of the great truth that each one must play his or her part courageously and faithfully, even though we do not always attain the aims which we desire.

I can always have my way, if I make my way God’s way. This is no surrender of my personality, but a real conforming to the laws and conditions under which we live, by God’s Providence. I need not act like a fretful child who wants each whim satisfied, whether for its benefit or not.

I must see that I am only one, and there are many millions around me—all of whom are God’s children. lf I want too much I shall not receive it, unless my desire is for the Spirit, which is infinite in supply, always more than we ask. Only as we seek the Spirit shall we be satisfied, for there lies the Will of God.

---

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Thy will, O God, be done, not mine. For how can I know, what can I do, save as I am in accord with Thee? What are my petty desires when compared with Thy great purposes? May I not learn the better way, to seek to comprehend what Thou wouldst have me do, and do it, with willing heart?
	Raise me, O Lord, above the material desires, the little wants of petty souls. Aid me to the higher understanding of Thine infinite will, which ever works for all mankind. If what I think I need is not attained, surely it is better so.
	Help me to be sure that Thy way is always right, and mine is often wrong.
	Give me the uplook, that I may yield gladly, willingly and fully to Thy purposes made manifest to me as I look more deeply within, and find Thy will.
	Not my will, but Thine be done, now and forever. Amen.

---

This untitled prayer by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy accompanied his short reflection, “Thy Will Be Done!” found in The Helpful Manual (Centre of Jewish Science, 1927), pp. 23-24.

Source(s)

 

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Co-authors:

• 
  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
• 
  Name: Clifton Harby Levy
  Bio: Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy (1867–1962), was a Reform rabbi in the United States. Born in New Orleans, he was ordained at Hebrew Union College (1890), served as rabbi of Congregation Gates of Hope, New York City (1890–91), and as superintendent of classes for immigrant children established by the Baron de Hirsch Fund. Levy later served congregations in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (1892–94) and Baltimore, Maryland (1894–96), where he organized a Jewish kindergarten in a religious school and the first United Hebrew Charities. He founded Tremont Temple, Bronx, New York, and was its rabbi from 1906 to 1921. He left the pulpit rabbinate in 1921 and in 1924 organized the Centre of Jewish Science, New York City. As part of the Jewish Science movement, it sought to counter the influence of Christian Science among acculturated American Jews and to inject spirituality into the Reform Jewish synagogue. He was a founding member of the American Council for Judaism, which consisted primarily of anti-Zionist Reform rabbis and laymen. While still a student, Levy published a five-act Purim play, Haman and Mordecai (1886). During his stay in Baltimore he edited Jewish Comment. He edited The Bible in Art (1936) and The Bible in Pictures (1942), and served as art editor of the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia.
  Website: https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/levy-clifton-harby
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/clifton-harby-levy

Featured Image:

Title: thy will be done (Clifton Harby Levy 1927) – cropped
Caption: thy will be done (Clifton Harby Levy 1927) - cropped