Prayer for Saturday Night
Unknown
6th to 11th Century
This version of the Saturday-night insertion into the Amidah blessing “who graces with knowledge,” recited to mark the transition between the Sabbath and weekdays, is preserved among several other blessings in a manuscript from the Cairo Geniza. This manuscript originally formed part of a prayer codex, as it is written in a clear hand and contains instructions in Judeo-Arabic. It provides insertions that are added to the regular prayers; this blessing is to be added to the weekday Amidah recited at the end of the Sabbath. The version of this text is nonstandard and appears to be connected to traditions about Havdalah preserved in the Chapters of R. Eliezer (Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer). It contains biblical allusions and phrases from more familiar versions of this prayer.
Related Guide
Early Medieval Prose Liturgy
Related Guide
What is the Cairo Geniza?
The Cairo Geniza collection is one of the most important sources for the history of the Jewish community in premodern Egypt and the entire medieval Mediterranean world.
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