Petitionary Prayer

Unknown

1713

About This Entry

In the summer of 1713, the plague epidemic making its way through Europe reached the city of Prague. There, more than 10,000 residents died from the illness, including some 3,500 Jews (out of a total Jewish population of approximately 11,000). The local authorities imposed various regulations on the Jews during the outbreak (for example, limiting their freedom of movement), and likewise, the Jewish leadership responded to the epidemic in various ways, with instructions regarding behavior, fasting, and prayer. Evidence of these reactions is preserved in responsa, texts memorializing the event, and other documents. Special prayers were recited daily to protect Jews from the epidemic, both existing texts (largely Psalms) and new prayers composed especially for this purpose, which were published in small pamphlets. This twenty-six-line prayer, commissioned by chief rabbi of the city, David Oppenheim (who himself fled Prague during the outbreak), is a mosaic of verses from Psalms and features an acrostic spelling the name of the city: Prague. It was printed in 1713 together with a collection of psalms to be recited twice daily as protection against the plague, in a booklet entitled Tefilah le-omram be-khol yom ‘erev va-voker (Prayers to Be Recited Every Morning and Evening).

Peh¹

Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter into them, I will give thanks to the Lord (Psalms 118:19);

He has regarded the prayer of the destitute and has not despised their prayer (Psalms 102:18);

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am solitary and afflicted (Psalms 25:16);

Turn to me and be gracious to me, give Your strength to Your servant and save the son of Your handmaid (Psalms 86:16);

Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is Your wont to do for those who love Your name (Psalms 119:132);

My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness, and of Your salvation all the day; for I know not its numbers (Psalms 71:15);

He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever; holy and awesome is His name (Psalms 111:9);

The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who take refuge in Him shall be desolate (Psalms 34:23);

He has redeemed my soul in peace so that none come near me; for they were many who strove with me (Psalms 55:19);

Redeem Israel, O Lord, from all his troubles (Psalms 25:22);

Resh

See my affliction and my travail, and forgive all my sins (Psalms 25:18);

See my affliction and rescue me, for I have not forgotten Your law (Psalms 119:153);

He will fulfil the desire of those who fear Him; and He will hear their cry and will save them (Psalms 145:19);

See how I love Your precepts; sustain me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness (Psalms 119:159);

Great are Your compassions, O Lord; sustain me as is Your wont (Psalms 119:156);

Gimel

And even until old age and hoary hairs, O Lord, do not forsake me, until I have declared Your strength to the next generation, Your might to everyone who is to come (Psalms 71:18);

Yea, none who wait for You shall be ashamed; they shall be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause (Psalms 25:3);

Yea, the Lord will give that which is good; and our land shall yield its produce (Psalms 85:13);

Deal bountifully with Your servant that I may live, and I will observe Your word (Psalms 119:17);

Commit your way unto the Lord and trust in Him, and He will bring it to pass (Psalms 37:5);

Let him commit himself unto the Lord, let Him rescue him, let Him deliver him, seeing that He delights in him (Psalms 22:9);

Alef

Unto You, O Lord, I will call, and unto the Lord I will make supplication (Psalms 30:9);

My God, I cried unto You, and You did heal me (Psalms 30:3);

I say: O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days, You whose years endure throughout the generations (see Psalms 102:25);

As for me, I said: O Lord, be gracious to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You (Psalms 41:5);

With long life will I satisfy him, and make him behold My salvation (Psalms 91:16).

Translated by Avi Steinhart.

Notes

[The first ten lines all begin with the letter peh, followed by ten beginning with a resh, ten with a gimel, and ten with an alef, thereby spelling out Prague in Hebrew.—Trans.]

Credits

Author Unknown, “Teffilah le-omram be-khol yom erev va-voker (Petitionary Prayer)” (manuscript, Prague, 1713; Opp. 4° 1239 and 1241, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, England). Published in: Joshua Teplitsky, Prince of the Press (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019), pp. 151–152.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.