Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=21923
open_content_license: Public Domain (17 U.S. Code §105 - Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works)Date: 2018-09-30
Last Updated: 2022-05-30
Categories: Shemini Atseret (and Simḥat Torah), the Wet Season (Fall & Winter)
Tags: 19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., French Jewry, French vernacular prayer, hazon et hakol, paraliturgical tefilat geshem, Prayers for Precipitation, Rain, water is life, גשם geshem
Excerpt: This is a paraliturgical prayer for rain during the wet season, read during the festival of Sukkot, following in the tradition of Yiddish tkhines, albeit written in French. The prayer was included by Rabbi Arnaud Aron and Jonas Ennery in their opus, אמרי לב Prières d’un Coeur Israelite (first edition) published in 1848 by the Société Consistoriale de Bons Livres. . . .
Source (French) | Translation (English) |
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«C’est lui qui rassemble les nuages vers le ciel;
c’est lui qui prépare la pluie pour la terre, et couvre les mon tagnes de leur riche verdure» (Ps. 147, 7-9). |
“It is he who gathers the clouds to the sky; it is he who prepares the rain for the earth, and who covers the mountains with their rich vegetation.” (Psalms 147:7-9) |
Maître tout-puissant, dont la voix commande à la nature, sois loué pour les bienfaits que tu répands sur la terre et sur ceux qui l’habitent.
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Almighty Master, whose voice commands nature, be praised for the blessings you are spreading on the earth and on those who inhabit it.
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C’est par ta volonté que tout existe, c’est toi qui fais germer et mûrir la nourriture de tout ce qui vit sous le ciel.
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It is by your will that everything exists, it is you who makes the food of all that lives under the sky germinate and ripen.
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Sans ta bénédiction, l’homme s’épuiserait en vains efforts, et la terre resterait stérile. Mais tu jettes un regard de bonté sur tes créatures, tu ordonnes aux nuages d’arroser, au soleil d’échauffer nos sillons, et le sol fécondé par ton amour donne l’abondance et la joie à tes enfants.
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Without your blessing, man would exhaust himself in vain efforts, and the earth would remain barren. But you look kindly on your creatures, you command the clouds to water, the sun to warm our furrows, and the soil fertilized by your love gives abundance and joy to your children.
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Si, pour nous punir, tu suspends ta bénédiction durant une seule année, déjà l’homme tremble de terreur et d’angoisse.
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If, to punish us, you suspend your blessing for just one year, already man is trembling with terror and anguish.
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O notre Père, fais descendre sur la terre la rosée et la pluie, fertilise nos moissons, bénis toutes nos récoltes et préserve de tout accident les plantes et les fruits, dont nous attendons avec espoir la maturité. Bénis les pénibles travaux de tes enfants, afin que cette année, exempte de misères et d’afflictions, soit pour tous heureuse et abondante.
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O our Father, bring down dew and rain to the earth, fertilize our harvests, bless all our crops and preserve from all accidents the plants and fruits, whose maturity we hopefully await. Bless the hard work of your children, so that this year, free from misery and affliction, will be happy and abundant for all.
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Père des hommes, toi qui veilles avec un amour si constant sur toutes tes créatures, permets qu’à l’entrée d’une saison rigoureuse, je me recommande, moi et les miens, à ta sollicitude paternelle. Ce n’est point pour le superflu et les richesses que je t’implore, ô mon Dieu; je ne demande que le pain de chaque jour, les vétements nécessaires, et surtout, ô Seigneur, fais que je les reçoive de ta main paternelle et que je les gagne par mon travail quotidien, maintenant et toujours. O mon père, ne permets pas que la misère frappe à ma porte; éloigne de moi et de tous ceux qui me sont chers, la dure nécessité de tendre la main pour recevoir l’aumône de celle des hommes. O toi qui entretiens tout ce qui existe, tu ne me laisseras pas sans secours. Sois béni, ô mon Dieu, qui fournis aux besoins de l’homme. Amen.
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Father of men, you who watch over all your creatures with such constant love, allow me, and my family, at the beginning of a rigorous season, to commend myself and my family to your paternal caring. It is not for the superfluous and for riches that I implore you, O my God; I ask only for the bread of each day, for necessary clothing, and above all, O Lord, let me receive it from your paternal hand and earn it by my daily work, now and always. O my father, do not allow misery to knock at my door; take away from me and from all those who are dear to me, the hard necessity of extending a hand to receive alms from the hand of men. O you who maintains all that exists, do not leave me without help. Blessed are you, O God, who provide for the needs of mankind. Amen.
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This is a paraliturgical prayer for rain during the wet season, read during the festival of Sukkot, following in the tradition of Yiddish tkhines, albeit written in French. The prayer was included by Rabbi Arnaud Aron and Jonas Ennery in their opus, אמרי לב Prières d’un Coeur Israelite (first edition) published in 1848 by the Société Consistoriale de Bons Livres.
Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (translation)
Co-authors:
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Title: tefilat geshem
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