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FALL ISSUE 2007   SUBSCRIBE

Prayer for a Mother Whose Son Is in Military Service

From Hours of Devotion: Fanny Neuda's Book of Prayers from Jewish Women edited and adapted into verse by Dinah Berland © 2007. Reprinted with permission by Schocken Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Gird your sword upon your thigh, O hero,
In your splendor and glory,
In your glory, win success.
Ride on the cause of truth and righteous humility,
And may your right hand lead you to awesome deeds.
—Psalm 45:4-5
 
Almighty ruler of armies, you who reign mightily
In heaven and on earth, I raise my prayer to you
From the depths of a mother's heart.
Turn your presence toward me
And hear me in your mercy.

Following the call of duty,
My child has entered the ranks
Of those who fight on behalf of our country
To stand for what is right and proper,
To fend off threats to our nation's peace and security.
I thank you Eternal Parent, for having given me
A child with strong, healthy limbs,
Capable of carrying out this valiant task,
But it shakes and terrifies my heart
To think of the many dangers that will surround him.
Young and inexperienced, far from the instruction
And admonitions of his parents,
How easily his heart might be tempted
To be unfaithful to his duties and to fall into sin.
Therefore I beg of you, Eternal Parent,
Take my son into your powerful protection.
Surround him with your all-encompassing grace.
Strengthen and invigorate every noble feeling
And every impulse toward good that is within him.
Strengthen and invigorate every memory
Of parental guidance and advice
That rises up in his soul—
That the teachings of virtue and fear of God
Never vanish from his sight,
That his soul not turn hard under the service of arms
And that no corrupting influences overcome him.

All compassionate One, grant my child
Insight and strength, vigor and endurance,
To fulfill his difficult duties with care and alertness
So he may be guilty of no evil or transgression
And not become confused or unstable
Amid unrelenting chaos.
And when the hot, difficult hour arrives
When he is called out to the battlefield
Where death holds its harvest—
There, Eternal Parent, surround him with your mercy.
Let your grace serve as a shield and as armor.
Steady his arm, pour courage into his heart,
And let the memory of the ancient heroes of Israel
Stir in his breast, allowing him to enter the fight
With strength and resolve.
Let my child, through his bravery and valor,
Bring honor to our people
And show faithful service to our nation.


Almighty God, hear this mother's prayer for her child!
Let my maternal blessing
Surround him like a guarding banner,
So he shall return with his spirit well completed,
Healthy in body and spirit,
Adorned with signs that his fulfilled duty
Has been recognized and praised—
To the joy of my heart,
To the glory and praise of your name. Amen.

Personal Prayers 

Poet and editor Dina Berland was scanning the shelves of a San Francisco used-book store years ago when she discovered a slim, worn volume in the Judaica section entitled Hours of Devotion: A Book of Prayers and Meditations for the Use of the Daughters of Israel, During Public Service and at Home for All Conditions of a Woman’s Life. The book, dated 1866, had no author’s name. Looking through the table of contents, Berland was struck by how many prayers were written especially for women. There were personal prayers for women about to give birth, for brides, for mothers with grown children and for widows. There was even a prayer that seemed especially intended for Berland, who had been estranged from her son for 11 years following a difficult divorce. She began to read "A Mother’s Prayer Whose Child Is Abroad" often, and ultimately she was able to take the steps that brought her son back into her life.

In 2003, Berland decided she would take on the task of editing and adapting the book of prayers that had been so meaningful to her. That book, Hours of Devotion: Fanny Neuda’s Book of Prayers for Jewish Women, is being released Aug. 28 by Schocken Books.

Berland’s research revealed that the book dated back to Fanny Neuda, a 35-year-old mother of two and resident of Lostice, a town in what is now the Czech Republic. Devastated at the death of her husband, Rabbi Abraham Neuda, at age 42, Neuda decided to compose a book of prayers in his memory. That book, published in 1855, was the first prayer book for all occasions written by a woman. An enormous success, it was reprinted 28 times and translated from the original German into Yiddish in Europe and English in the United States. It remained popular well into the 20th century, and many copies were carried through the Holocaust years.

Berland selected a group of prayers that she edited and adapted into verse, among them a "Daughter’s Prayer for her Parents," "For the Mother of a Bar/Bat Mitzvah," "For Patience and Strength in Adversity" and "On the Eve of the New Year." Compelling and poignant, these prayers express women’s deep yearning, offering hope and comfort in times of joy and hardship. In a fascinating introduction, Berland not only tells Fanny Neuda’s story, but also that of her own spiritual journey back to Judaism. Fanny Neuda’s original introduction, also included, expresses her hope for the Jewish education of daughters so that they "should learn to carry the name of the daughters of Israel with dignity and self-confidence."

 

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