Evening Prayer (Another day hath passed) [version 2], by Grace Aguilar (ca. 1830s)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=51136

Date: 2023-05-20

Last Updated: 2023-05-20

Categories: Bedtime Shema

Tags: 19th century C.E., 56th century A.M., apotropaic prayers of protection, English vernacular prayer, teḥinot in English, תחינות teḥinot

Excerpt: "Evening Prayer (Another day hath passed)" [version 2] by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853), pp. 95-97. . . .

Content:

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Evening prayer.
	Another day hath passed, O most merciful and gracious God; and night, which Thou, in Thy great goodness hast ordained to bring refreshing sleep to the children of earth, is at hand.
	Almighty and ever blessed God, O shield me and all the inhabitants of this house from the terrors of the night.
	O, grant that gentle and refreshing sleep descend on mine eyelids, and that I may awake in the morning with health and strength renewed, to go through the duties of the day.
	O preserve me from evil dreams, and grant that happy and peaceful visions may flit around my pillow.
	Guard my sleeping thoughts from impurity and guilt, O Eternal, that when I wake in the morning, my first thoughts may be on Thee our Father, and Thy unnumbered mercies.
	Let Thy glorious works, Thy never-ceasing goodness be ever present to my thoughts when I lie down at night, and when I rise up in the morning.[1] A couple of lines are added here in version 1 of this prayer
	Almighty Father! I have sinned during the past day, but mine eyes are blind,[2] A line is added here in version 1 of this prayer  and my sins are hid from me; but they are known to Thee, O King of justice, and Thou wilt not forget them.
	O have mercy on me, and pardon the sins I have committed in the hours that are past, and give me strength, O most merciful Father, to guard against them on the morrow.
	I know that I have sinned, Almighty Father— sinned if not in actual evil, in doing but little good. If I have done anything that is acceptable in Thy presence, O my God, let it weigh against my sins.[3] This section missing in version 1
	Father! have mercy upon me, and in hours of darkness be Thou my guardian and shield!
	O pour Thy blessing on me, and grant that happy and innocent visions, may flit around my pillow;[4] This line missing in version 1.  and grant, O Eternal, that on the morrow I may wake early to pray, and with renewed health and spirits rise to do my duties upon Earth.
	O hear me, Almighty Father, hear me, and through Thy infinite mercy grant my prayer! Blessed be Thy great name for evermore!

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“Evening Prayer (Another day hath passed)” [version 2] by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in the UK edition of Sacred Communings (1853), pp. 95-97. Another version of the prayer (“Evening Prayer (Another day hath passed) [version 1]“) with some lines missing and others added, appears in the US edition on pages pp. 221-222.

Source(s)

 

 

Notes[+]

Notes

1	A couple of lines are added here in version 1 of this prayer
2	A line is added here in version 1 of this prayer
3	This section missing in version 1
4	This line missing in version 1.

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: Grace Aguilar
  Bio: Grace Aguilar (2 June 1816 – 16 September 1847) was an English novelist, poet and writer on Jewish history and religion. Although she had been writing since childhood, much of her work was published posthumously. Among those are her best known works, the novels Home Influence and A Mother's Recompense. Aguilar was the eldest child of Sephardic Jewish refugees from Portugal who settled in the London Borough of Hackney. An early illness resulted in her being educated by her parents, especially her mother, who taught her the tenets of Judaism. Later, her father taught the history of Spanish and Portuguese Jews during his own bout with tuberculosis which had led the family to move to the English coast. After surviving the measles at the age of 19, she began to embark on a serious writing career, even though her physical health never completely recovered. Aguilar's debut was an anonymous collection of poems, The Magic Wreath of Hidden Flowers. Three years later she translated Isaac Orobio de Castro's Israel Defended into English at her father's behest. Later her The Spirit of Judaism drew interest and sales in both Britain and the United States after being published in Philadelphia by Isaac Leeser. He added a preface to the work elucidating his differences with her, the first of many clashes her work would have with mainstream Jewish thought. In the 1840s her novels began to attract regular readers, and Aguilar moved back to London with her parents. Despite her success, she and her mother still had to operate a boys' Hebrew school to stay solvent, which she resented for the time and energy it took from her writing. In 1847, she became ill again with a spinal paralysis which she did not let prevent her from visiting her brother in Frankfurt. Her health worsened and she died there that September.
  Website: https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/aguilar-grace
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/grace-aguilar

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