Petitionary Prayer

Unknown

1713

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.

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