PRAYER: ISRAELITE SAMARITAN PRAYERS AND POEMS
Prayers Translated from the Hebrew and Aramaic by Benyamim Tsedaka
Contents
Prayer 1
Praise to the Almighty
(Recite on the Sabbath and every day)
The Eloowwem of Abraahm (Abraham) we bless You.
For You are the First and blessed of the world.
The Eloowwem of Yesaaq (Isaac) we praise.
Israel, among all nations, praises You.
The Eloowwem of Yaaqob (Jacob) we will glorify You.
For You control the Heavens and Your goodness on Earth.
The Eloowwem of Yusef (Joseph) we will surrender to You.
The Angels praised You and mankind revered You.
The Eloowwem of Mooshe (Moses) we are grateful and bow to You.
And so we beseech:
I have spoken today to Shehmaa.
Prayer 2
Devotional Prayer
An unknown writer composed this prayer at the beginning of the second millennium CE. (Recite it on the morning of the first and third Sabbath of the month. If there are five Sabbaths in the month recite this prayer on the first and fourth Sabbath).
The Holy, The Worthy, You showed us holiness and revealed Your choices
You ordained Shabbat for rest, and a Book of Life for wisdom, worth and praise.
And You have built for us an altar where we can bow before You
That we may know You are our Creator, Eloowwem and Master.
You, the Merciful, help us with Your mercy.
You, the Merciful, absolve us with Your kindness.
Come to us and and let our forsaken peoples return to us
And gather all our brothers among the Israelites
And return them to the land of our Forefathers.
And open our hearts so that we may love You
With all our heart, our soul and our might.
By You and Your Name and Your Honour, Shehmaa our Eloowwem
And the covenant of Abraahm and Yessaq and Yaaqob the obedient, our Forefathers
And Yoosef, and our master Mooshe the Prophet
And Aarron and Elaazar, and Itamar and Phinahs, our priests
And the other servants in the fellowship of the Ark of Your Name and honour.
Bestow Your peace on them all, Shehmaa our Eloowwem.
Forgive our sins and transgressions and comfort us.
Forgive us and forgive our fathers.
We give thanks for the sake of Your loyal Priest and Prophet.
Soften Your anger with us and grant us mercy and goodwill
And goodness and tranquility for all time
Our Eloowwem the Compassionate and Gracious.
Prayer 3
Devotional Prayer
An unknown writer composed this prayer at the beginning of the second millennium CE. (Recite it on the morning of the second and fourth Sabbath in the month. If there are five Sabbaths in the month, recite this prayer on the second, third and fifth Sabbaths).
The Holy, The Worthy, You showed us holiness and revealed Your choices
You ordained Shabbat for rest, and a Book of Life for wisdom, worth and praise
And You have built for us an altar where we can bow before You
That we may know You are our Creator, Eloowwem and Master.
Merciful One, support us with Your mercy
Merciful One, bestow Your blessing on Your houses and over all our labours
Merciful One, remove every oppression and anger and obstacle from us
Merciful One, vanquish all who would overpower us
Merciful One, contain our fears
Merciful One, heal our infirmities
Merciful One, let our children multiply
Merciful One, rebuild our holy sites
Merciful One, show mercy to our dead
Merciful One, make this Shabbat and every Shabbat doubly blessed for us
Give justice and mercy to us and to our fathers
With Your full kindness
For the sake of Mooshe your Prophet
Soften Your anger, as You are wont to do
Act with goodwill and compassion at all times
Our Eloowwem the Compassionate and Gracious.
Prayer 4
(Recite immediately after prayer 2 or 3)
In devotion, truth and love we all say:
Praise to You our Eloowwem, The Living One
You have rescued our Forefathers with Your great might
And You have called them to Your Name
And consecrated them to be Your people and servants
And You revealed to them Your laws and brought to them Your handwritten book.
Forget not Your promises to Abraahm, Yessaq and Yaaqob, Your servants.
The Living One, accept us, though our power cannot compare with Your power
And no one among us can describe Your greatness and Your might.
Your Book is wisdom, composed of Your light.
The Mighty, who created all the world with Your might
There is nothing but Your greatness and everything done by Your might
And You, Yourself Everlasting and governing all Your deeds
And You Eloowwem, who in wisdom knows the visible and the invisible.
And there is no Eloowwem but You
Praise to You the Only One, You are the Ruler of all rulers
And we shall not learn, except from Your revered wisdom
All belongs to You, and we surrender to You and in Your light we labour
Great One: from You we ask forgiveness for our sins
Good One: we are grateful to You and bow down to You
The Mighty
The Victorious
The Holy
The Ruler
(Include the following on the Sabbath of The Ten Days of Forgiveness)
The Great One
The Heroic One
The Awesome One
The Wonderful
The Helper
The Rescuer
The Immanent
The One Who Hears All Requests
(Recite the following epilogue every Sabbath)
My Master, we praise You and serve You all our days and will say to You always
Bless You
Blessed will be our Eloowwem forever
Blessed will be His Name forever
A. The Opening Words of Each Prayer
The Devotion of the Soul
The worshipper whispers this prayer, facing east (in India, Russia and Ukraine, face southwest). The worshiper bows down, forehead touching the ground between the hands. The hands should lie flat on the ground.
My Lord, I ask that You, with Your Mercy
Will take from us and forgive us our sins
In honour of the Righteous, our Prophet and our Forefathers
For You are our Eloowwem
And the Eloowwem of our Forefathers.
Ehyyee Eshar Ehyyee (I Will Be What I Will Be).
My Lord, we will not bow down but to You
And we will not believe but in You
And in Your prophet Moses
And in Your Holy Book
And in Your site of worship, Aargaarizem (Mount Gerizim), the House of El.
(Now the worshipper stands and says out loud)
The Mountain of rest and inheritance and dwelling
(Remain standing and whisper)
And on the Day of Vengeance and Recompense
I will be what I will be, Shehmaa our Eloowwem
Shehmaa is One
He is the only One
How great is His goodness and kindness.
I am standing before You at Your gate of mercy
Shehmaa my Eloowwem and Eloowwem of my Forefathers
To praise You and the essence of Your greatness
Weak, with my inferior power
I know today and say unto my heart
That You are Shehmaa Eloowwem
Up in heaven and on earth below, there is no One but You.
Therefore I am standing between Your Hands
And turning my face towards the chosen place
Hargerizim the House of El Looza
The Mountain of Your inheritance and dwelling
The temple You have made your home, Shehmaa
That Your hand established.
Shehmaa will reign and the world is witness
For Shehmaa is greater than all the gods.
Righteous and upright is He
Hence this prayer that gives life
And rises unseen before the Wise Invisible.
Where is the El who helps His worshippers but You?
(Then the worshipper raises his voice and says)
Declare:
There is no Eloowwem but The One
Shehmaa our Eloowwem Shehmaa is One
There is no Eloowwem but The One
Our Eloowwem Shehmaa
The compassionate and gracious El
With countenance of limitless patience
Abounding in loving kindness and truth
Eloowwem will be praised.
There is no Eloowwem but The One.
(The worshipper bows his head to the ground, between his hands. The hands should lie flat on the ground. Then the worshipper sits on the ground and relaxes)
B. You May Read this Prayer at the End of Each Prayer
Remember:
The Almighty will accept your prayers
And will answer your requests
And will hear the sound of your calls
And will bestow happiness on all of you
And He we will grant your favours
And your demands will be His desires,
And He will improve your words and sayings
And He will grant your request soon
In the days when prayers will be accepted
And requests answered
By the Almighty of gods, Greatest of all
Who encompasses the World
Who remembers promises and prayers
That are coming from holy hearts and pure mouths
To the high place touching the sky
Passing between groups of Angels
Standing before the Seat of Conflict.
Prosperity to all of you from there
Mercy and Kindness and Success to you
And to your congregations wherever they may be.
C. Poem by Abraham ben Marchiv Tsedaka Hassafari, 1852-1928
(All those seated at the table on Friday evening: read this prayer before the Sabbath meal)
Our Eloowwem,
You shared Your charity among those You have created
And with Your permission You gave unto us
From the food and the drink
Your Might, with its favour and holiness and benefit.
They are temporal, the food and the drink
Good for the sanctification of our souls
And for the purity of our hearts and souls.
From the varieties of breads and meats
From the plants and the grains
From the splendid vegetables and the dry food, from the pure refreshing drinks
From the blood of the grapes that adorn the table:
To every person his due
To prevent the loss of our souls.
As You said in your Book:
His praise will neither sleep, nor be withdrawn.
His words: Man does not live by bread alone
But by everything that issues from the Mouth of Shehmaa does Man live.
And now with Your help and Your ability
At Your command
We are gathered and we have laid this table
And we baked and we cooked.
We hope with Your charity we will enjoy the food and the drinks
Because our healing is in Your Hands.
D. The Blessing on the Food
(Then the eldest one at the dinner table blesses the others)
Shehmaa our Eloowwem
You are blessed and there is no Eloowwem but the One
And praise to Him
And your Sabbaths are blessed by Eloowem.
Be blessed who has said (Genesis 1:31 – 2:3):
And Eloowwem saw all that He had made
And behold, it was very good.
And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed
And all the host of them.
And on the sixth day Eloowwem completed the work that He had done.
And He rested on the seventh day from all the work that He had done.
And Eloowwem blessed the seventh day and sanctified it
Because on it He rested from all the work of creation
That He had done.
Be blessed who has said (Exodus 31:16-17)
And the Children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath
To observe the Sabbath throughout their generations
As a perpetual covenant.
It is a sign between Me and the Children of Israel forever.
For in six days Shehmaa made the heavens and the earth
But on the seventh day He ceased from labour
And was refreshed.
Be blessed who has said (Deuteronomy 8:3, 10):
That man does not live by bread alone
But by every word that issues from the Mouth of Shehmaa man lives.
And when you have eaten and are satisfied
You will bless Shehmaa your Eloowwem for the good land that He has given you.
Shehmaa our Eloowwem, You are blessed
And there is no Eloowwem but the One
And the praise is to Him
And your Sabbaths are blessed by Eloowwem.
(Then the reader holds his glass of wine and says: “Happiness all your days for one hundred years”, then the diners eat)
E. Poem by Abraham ben Marchiv Tsedaka Hassafari (1852-1928)
(Read this prayer after reading the last portion of the Book)
Our Eloowwem, who hears all our laments
On this holy day magnify our happiness
And increase our number.
O He who performs all miracles.
Grant us prosperity, as we keep your statutes
And your commandments and your laws.
Show us our path that we may live our life with honesty
And spread upon it what is good in Your eyes.
Forgive all our mistakes and sins
Rescue us from oppression
And guide us to days of goodwill and acceptance.
Save us from every difficulty
And put not our households and homes beyond Your charity.
Make us perform good deeds
And show us how to keep the Torah and its statutes.
Purify our conscience
Hear from us every lament
And release us from difficulty.
Do not allow our enemies to humiliate us
And remove anger from our minds
And disconcert the collaborators.
Sweeten our tongues and lighten our countenance
And make the days of good will
And the coming of the Taheb closer
And quench our thirst.
Confound those who abuse, upset and weary us.
Let us drink from the holy juice
And raise our heads on this day
Guide us in the way that our forefathers walked
And scatter our enemies, who cling to false prophets.
Show us the way to keep your Torah
The Torah of our Master
Your emissary who dwelt in Your House
Invoked by Your Might.
Let us learn the Ten Principles of reading
And let us know their significance
And give us from them richness.
Open our eyes so that we may know the Invisible
And let our souls be linked with it.
Illuminate our hearts with pure light
And help us to continue on the path with no end
The depth of its holiness unfathomed
And remove fear from our souls.
F. The Eldest Reader of the Sabbath Portion Reads This Prayer
Thanks to him (Moses) who received it in obedience
Whose name is joined with His Name.
(At the end of each reading portion, after reading the additional passage, all the readers say the following together)
Moses has commanded us to observe Torah
The inheritance of the assembly of Yaaqob.
Eloowwem Who gave it will be Blessed.
Be Blessed our Eloowem for ever
And be Blessed His Name for ever.
Ehyyee Eshaar Ehyee (I Will Be What I Will Be).
Please Aadaanee, pardon our iniquities and our sins.
Atone our crimes and our guilt
And redeem us from our sins
And from the evils of other nations
And enable us to keep this Holy Sabbath Day
And the Holy Festivals and the Holy Torah
And Aargaareezem the House of El
All the days of our life.
And calm us from the trouble we are in
My Lord, calm us from the trouble we are in
And love us in Your mercy
And heal us with the power of Your Grace
Thanks to Moses Your Loyal One and Your Servant
Thanks to Moses Your Loyal One and Your Servant.
Turn away Your fierce wrath
And relent from harming Your People
Remember Abraham, Yessac and Yaaqob
Your servants to whom You swore by Your own self.
(Then the first reader says)
You have done well, O petitioners and readers
Continue saying Amen.
You will be blessed Shema Our Eloowem
There is no Eloowwem but The One
And the praise be to Him
And may your Sabbaths be blessed by Eloowem.
And Our Eloowwem will make this Sabbath Day
And each Sabbath Day double-blessed upon you
And may your Sabbaths be blessed by Eloowwem.
And Eloowwem will save you
And will heal your illness
And will remember the covenant of salt
Thanks to those who dwelt in the cave of Macphelaa
Abraham and Yessac and Yaaqob.
And thanks to Yoosef and our Master Moses
Who received the Torah from Eloowwem
Please say Amen.
(Then the petitioners remain in their seats, and receive tea and cakes)
Benyamim Tsedaka
Photography: Ori Orhof
Eli
Baarok Shehmaa! Hallelu Shehmaa!
Ye'oosha Kadosh
Shalom !!!
Permanecemos firmes e aguardando a visita de nosso achi shomer Ben Sedaka ao Brazil , Cidade de Teresina, Capital do Piauí a Nordeste.
Que Shehmaa nos conceda a Shalom .
Gavriel
Paul in reference to your question “shehmaa”= The name.
Also I’ve found it to have a double meaning with reference to time, eternity, existence, start to end.
Paul mikhael
Why you call God ‘Shehma’ can you explain? I’m wondering so much about this. Thanks
moses musa ssali
thanks
moses musa ssali
Thanks for being alive may the God of Abraham bless you. I like to convert to this religion what can I do I am an African? Thanks
Benny
Shalom Moses,
It is possible to join after living with us for three years and fulfilling all the commandments of the Torah.
Benny
Tamar Bat Noah
B”H I wish to know, if possible , if in one of your prayers (morning, evening ecc) the men are blessing something like: “Worshipful are You O Lord our G-d , King of Univers , WHO DID NOT MAKE ME A WOMEN” . (Sidur). Being a Ger/Noahide and studying HaShem’s Torah I’d like to know more regarding this argument from your point of view because I’m not sure about this “formula”. Your kind answer will help me so much in my path and in my research of Truth. G-d bless you! BeTodah Me’rosh! Sh’lom Aleichem!
Ilan
May we all become (FULLFILL) or ATTAIN Yashar-El!! STRAIGHT TO THE CREATOR!! Which is the true meaning of YISRAEL!!