Tekhines

Question: My Grandmother used to tell me how devout her mother in Europe was, frequently praying to the Almighty in Yiddish, in connection with major events in her life, in addition to the usual synagogue prayers. Although my synagogue's prayerbook includes a selection of blessings for specific occassions, I somehow feel this is not what my Grandmother was telling me about. How can I find out more information (in English) about those prayers?

Answer: Your great-grandmother may have been reciting tekhines, Yiddish supplicatory prayers, very personal and intimate prayers, often written by women, and certainly meant for women. Tekhines were an important part of Jewish women's spiritual lives in central and Eastern Europe from the 17th to the 20th century; they were published both in small booklets and as apppendices to prayerbooks (notably the Korban Minchah Siddur).

These prayers were typically composed for women's life-cycle events, holidays, sabbath and other special situations, such as: various situations during pregnancy, childbirth and nursing; on the occasion of a son's circumcision or bar mitzvah; when one's child is ill; or when one's husband is traveling. Tekhines "offered women a direct pipeline to God. The tone of tehines is conversational, addressing God respectfully but as a Yiddish-speaking friend or neighbor who will listen in time of need" (Berger, 1992)

In the last 20 years there has been renewed interest in tekhines in the scholarly community, and many tekines have been reprinted and translated into English collections along with historical background and analysis. Below is a listing of some of these editions; also listed are scholarly articles about the genre of tekhinos.

Interestingly, in 2005 ArtScroll published Ashkenazi and Sephardi siddur editions for women: Ohel Sarah Women's siddur. These are full daily, sabbath and festival prayerbooks, each with the same appendix of "Additional Prayers and Supplications." According to the publisher, these siddurim are meant to be "a Korban Minchah [siddur] for today" p. xix.

Resources in English for the Study of Tekhines:

Berger, Shulamith Z. "Tehines: A Brief Survey of Women's Prayers" Daughters of the King (1992) 73-83

Breger, Jennifer "Women's Devotional Literature: an Essay in Jewish Bibliography" Jewish Book Annual vol 52 (1994-1995) p73-98.

Cardin, Rabbi Nina Beth, ed. and tr. Out of the Depths I call to You: A Book of Prayers for the Married Jewish Woman. (1992)

Kay, Devra, translator, editor and commentator. Seyder Tkhines: The Forgotten Book of Common Prayer for Jewish Women. (2004)

Kay, Devra "An Alternative Prayer Canon for Women: the Yiddish 'Seyder Tkhines' " Zur Geschichte der jüdischen Frau in Deutschland (1993) 49-96

Klirs, Tracy Guren, compiler and commentator. The Merit of Our Mothers: A Bilingual Anthology of Jewish Women's Prayers. (1992)

Salmon-Mack, Tami. [On] Devra Kay, "Seyder Tkhines; the Forgotten Book of Common Prayer for Jewish Women" Nashim 12 (2006) p. 289-294.

Scherr, Robert S. "Voices from the Balcony" Conservative Judaism 54:3 (2002) p. 89-94

Tarnor, Norman, translator and commentator. A Book of Jewish Women's Prayers (1995)

Weinberger, Rabbi Dovid, compiler and annotator. Ohel Sarah Women's Siddur. With Special Prayers, Laws and Customs for Women. (2005)

Weissler, Chava. Traditional Yiddish Literature: A Source for the Study of Women's Religious Lives. (Jacob Pat Memorial Lecture, 1987)

Weissler, Chava. " 'Tkhines' for the Sabbath Before the New Moon." Jewish Studies at the Turn of the Twentieth Century II (1999) 406-412

Weissler, Chava. "Women's Studies and Women's Prayers: Reconstructing the Religious History of Ashkenazic Women" Jewish Social Studies, New Series 1:2 (1995) p. 28-47

Weissler, Chava "The 'Tkhines' and Women’s Prayer" CCAR Journal 40,4 (1993) 75-88

Weissler, Chava. " 'Mizvot' Built into the Body: 'Tkhines' for 'Niddah', Pregnancy, and Childbirth" People of the Body (1992) 101-115

Weissler, Chava. Prayers in Yiddish and the Religious World of Ashkenazic Women" Jewish Women in Historical Perspective (1991) 159-181

Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer

Question: I am researching various tefillot, and I need background information on each prayer, especially the relevant laws and traditions guiding the recitation of the prayers, and the differences between the Ashkenazi and Sefardi customs. The Encyclopedia Judaica and Jewish Encyclopedia do not have the details I need. What resource do you suggest?

Answer: The comprehensive Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer (1993) by Macy Nulman provides this information for over 1300 individual Hebrew prayers. Nulman explains when and how the prayer is recited, specifies variations in the text, identifies the author (or attributed author), and provides a partial translation or information about the prayer's contents and meaning. Differences between various Ashkenaic and various Sephardic tradtions are also noted.

Although the entries are listed alphabetically according to their transliterated spellings, a Hebrew-language index of "first lines" is provided. A bibliography of additional resources for each prayer is also provided.

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer is located in the Reserve section of The JTS Library at BM 660 N85 1993.

Hebrew Text of Prayer that References Pomegranates

Question:
I am looking for the Hebrew text of a certain prayer. It has something to do with asking God to grant us the opportunity to do as many mistvot (good deeds) as there are seeds in a pomegranate. Can you tell me the exact wording?

Answer:
I believe you are referring to the prayer that is said while eating a pomegranate on the night of Rosh ha-Shanah: "May it be Your Will, Hashem, our God, and the God of our forefathers, that our merits increase as [the seeds of] a pomegranate". Here is the prayer in Hebrew, with nikud (vowel points), based on the text found in The Complete Artscroll Machzor : Rosh Hashanah [Brooklyn, NY : Mesorah, 1985 - p.98]:
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְפָנֶיךָ ,ה' אֶלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אַבוֹתֵינוּ ,שֶנִרְבֶּה ְזכֻיוֹת כְּרִמוֹן

Articles on Jewish Prayers

Question:

Where can I find articles about the history of weekday shaharit prayers? I have identified many articles published since the mid-1960's in RAMBI, but I would also like to find articles published earlier in the 20th century.

Answer:

Joseph Tabory's magnificent bibliography Jewish Prayer and the Yearly Cycle רשימת מאמרים בענייני תפילה ומועדים , published as a Supplement to volume 64 of Kiryat Sefer (The Jewish National and University Library, 1993) is a comprehensive listing of articles, in Hebrew and European languages, published from the mid-1800's up to the 1990's.

It covers not only individual prayers and prayer services, but also historical aspects of Jewish prayer, prayer in specific geographic and ethnic communities, Shabbat and the holidays, the reading the Torah, the language of prayer, concepts expressed in the liturgy, and more.

Tabory has compiled corrections and additions to this bibliography, published with his facsimile edition of the 1628 Siddur Hanau סידור הנאו שפ"ח : מהדורה פקסימילית : עם פרקי מבוא ונספח ביבליוגרפי (Bar Ilan University, 1994). Reference BM 656 S5

Jewish Prayer and the Yearly Cycle is located in the JTS Library’s Reference collection at Z6371.L5 T3 1993

What information is there on the Prayer for Israeli Soldiers?

The prayer for the Israeli soldiers, which we say each shabbat at the end of the Torah reading was written by the Rav Ha Rashi of Zahal, Rabbi Shlomo Goren. There is no date attributed to this prayer but it is referred to in 1959 in an article on “New Israeli Prayers" by Pinhas Peli in Mahanayim, the journal of Zahal. Peli describes 12 new prayers which were writen and encorporated into the liturgy since the establishment of the state of Israel. Most of these prayers are related to the Zionist experience and to Zahal, the IDF. They include the prayer for the state; the prayer for the soldiers; prayers for going to war, for paratroopers, for going in a submarine, for the fighter pilot; memorial prayers for Israeli soldiers and for victims of the Holocaust, for world peace, for raising the flag on Yom Haatzmaut and a prayer for children.

This prayer, according to the Zahal rabbanut is to be said each Shabbat. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, former Chief Sefardi rabbi and spiritual leader of Shas, according to an article in the Jerusalem Post (August 2006) called for the prayer for the well-being of IDF soldiers to be said not only on Shabbat, but also on Mondays and Thursdays, days during which the Torah is read during the morning service.

"Our soldiers, the Israel Defense Forces, contribute themselves selflessly, enter the lion's den... how they need to be blessed. Had it not been for them, would we have time to study the Torah? To turn to the books?"

However, is not without controversy within the Ultra-Orthodox community. Shmuel Poppenheim, editor of the weekly Ha'edah, the mouthpiece of the Edah haredit, a virulently anti-Zionist group of haredim, called for that mass prayer vigils reciting Psalms for “peace and protection of all Jews everywhere” to support the war in Lebanon during August 2006. – He was sure to say that “we do not pray for the IDF, Zionist soldiers” because it causes a blurring of vision as if we were advocating a body that is not based on Torah ideals. People might get the wrong impression. "But we do pray for the safety of every Jew including a Jewish soldier."

The structure of the prayer is as follows:

Traditional Mishaberach opening. He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-- may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces

Prayer for the soldiers – with geographic boundaries, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.

A traditional prayer – that God should protect them, etc. May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.

Then a special section for Zahal – about the enemies. May He lead our enemies under our soldiers' sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory

and finally brings the quote from Deuteronomy. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is the Lord your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you. Now let us respond: Amen.

As a final note, in 2004 the Chief Rabbinate of Israel updated the prayer to include “kokhot bitakon” in the first sentence and added that they should be protected “be kol makom shehem.”