3 - The Mercy Of God (A Prayer for Intercession)

O Thou Who art all-good, whose mercies never
fail; Thou Who art all-merciful, whose graces
never end: ever have we hoped in Thee.

Jewish Daily Service

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Introduction

The Prayer for Intercession is preserved in an incomplete scroll which also contains liturgical pieces for the various days of the week. It is followed immediately by a rubric reading Hymns for the Sabbath Day. On the back of the scroll are inscribed two words—evidently a librarian's notation—which mean literally 'words of the luminaries (heavenly lights)'. The purport of this legend has yet to be discovered. It has been proposed by the first editor of the document that this prayer was believed to be one uttered by the heavenly lights as part of the celestial liturgy of the angels. The concept of such a liturgy is certainly well attested in Jewish mystical literature, (*) and fragments of two extracts from an angelic order of service have indeed turned up at Qumran. (†)

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[*] See S. Baer, Seder 'Abodath Israel (1868), p. 120; L. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, v (1947), p. 25.
[†] See below, pp. 285ff.

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It seems difficult, however, to reconcile this explanation with the marked emphasis throughout our text on the particular fortunes and misfortunes of Israel, or with the fact that in speaking of the latter, the writer constantly says 'we, us, our'. The suggestion may therefore be offered that the enigmatic legend is simply the equivalent of 'matins', the prayer being designed for recital in the early morning service. In support of this suggestion, it may be pointed out that an essential and ancient element of the traditional Jewish morning service is indeed the blessing of God as creator of the luminaries (yoser ha-ME'OROTH, the same Hebrew word), and that the Mishnah says explicitly (Megillah iv.6) that no man should recite the morning Shema' who is blind and cannot actually behold the luminaries (me'oroth). Just as that traditional Jewish prayer came to be known conventionally as Yeser—from the words yoser ha-me'oroth, 'Creator of the luminaries'—so the men of Qumran may have called its equivalent Me'oroth—simply 'Luminaries'—for short.

The place of the piece in the collection, viz. after the prayers for the several days of the week and before those for the sabbath, may simply indicate that it was recited on all days of the week and not, as were the others, on any one or other particular day.

The theme of the prayer is the eternal forbearance of God in the face of constant provocation by His people. A continuance of the same forbearance is besought in their current hour of distress. I have been especially careful in my translation to bring out this leitmotif, for it is the essence of the piece.

In view of the foregoing considerations, it has seemed to me best to give this composition the neutral title Prayer for Intercession.

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Prayer For Intercession

-II-

LORD, we beseech Thee, do as Thou art, (1)
in accordance with the greatness of Thy power, (2)
Thou Who (of old) didst forgive our fathers,
what time they rebelled against Thy word. (3)
Though Thou wast angry with them, to destroy them, (4)
yet, through Thy love of them and for Thy Covenant's sake,

Thou didst spare them,
in that Moses won clearance of their sin. (5)

So now, we beseech Thee,
to the end that Thy great power may be known,
and the abundance of Thy mercies also,
unto all generations for ever,
let Thine anger and Thy wrath be turned away from Thy people Israel,
and, besides their sins,
remind Thyself also of Thy peculiar favors (6)
which Thou hast (alway) wrought for us in the sight of the nations,
because Thou hast claimed us as Thine own. (7)

[Vouchsafe, we beseech Thee,
to tu]rn us again unto Thee with all our heart and soul, (8)
and so to plant Thy teaching [‡] in our hearts (9)
that we depart not from it to right or left,
Thou having cured us of madness and blindness and bewilderment of heart. (10)

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[‡] Heb. Torah.

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Behold, when (of old) we were sold by our wrongdoings, (11)
even amid our transgressions didst Thou call us (12)
... and didst rescue us from (further) sinning against Thee.
[Moreover, Thou didst vouchsafe unto us
to know the mysteries of Thy Tru]th (13)
and to understand the evidences (of Thee),
in that Thou didst [gre]at .......

. . . . .

~~III~~

Behold, all the nations were deemed as naught before Thee,
as emptiness and nothingness in Thy presence, (14)
but us—since we owned ourselves Thine alone, (15)
and since Thou hadst created us unto Thy glory (16)—
us didst Thou treat as Thy children (17) in the sight of the nations,
calling Israel, 'My son, My firstborn'. (18)

And though Thou didst chastise us,
as a man might chastise his son, (19)
yet didst Thou grant us increase
throughout the years of our generations.

Thou didst not [abandon us
neither suffer] hunger or thirst, plague or sword [to consume us]
but didst ever fulfill Thy Covenant (with us).

(So too,) because Thou hadst chosen us for Thine own (20)
[out of all the peoples of] the earth,
therefore although, when Thine anger was kindled,
Thou didst pour on us Thy wrath and Thy fiery rage,
and cause to cleave unto us (21) [all] Thy [plagues and str]okes
which Moses had prescribed (22)

and (likewise) Thy servants the prophets
whom Thou didst send to [procla]im unto us the evil
which was to befall us in latter times (23)
—when [our priests (?)] and kings [brake faith with Thee]
by taking to wife the daughters of [the heathen], (24)
thereby [ ] and acting corruptly (25)—
[yet didst Thou not abjure] Thy Covenant, neither [reject us,
to wipe out] the seed of Israel

. . . . .

(Nay,) Thou dost ever deal justly with them that cl[ing unto Thee],
(26) and dost [ ]

. . . . .

~~IV~~

(So too,) because Thou didst love Israel above all peoples,
and didst choose the tribe of Judah,
[Thou didst set] Thy dwelling [in Zion],
[and] a resting-place [for Thy glory] in Jerusa[lem], (27)
[the city which Thou hadst chos]en out of all the earth,
that Thy [name] might abide (§) there for ever;
and Thou didst also fulfill Thy covenant with David
that he should be shepherd, leader o'er Thy people, (28)
and that (his offspring) should sit alway in Thy presence
on the throne of Israel. (29)

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[§] Heb. 'be'.

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And all the nations beheld Thy glory,
ensconced as Thou wast in holiness amid Thy people Israel,
<and they made obeisance to Thee> and to Thy great name,
and brought their tribute of silver and gold and precious stones

together with all the choice things of their lands,
to do honor unto Thy people,
and unto Zion, Thy holy city,
and unto Thy glorious House. (30)
Nor was adversary there nor misfortune, (31)
but only peace and blessing;
men ate and filled themselves and waxed fat (32) [ ]

~~V~~

(So too,) though they had forsaken that fount of living waters (33)
[which Thou hadst opened for them for] their [hall]owing,
and though they practised idolatry (34) in their land, and their
soil was destroyed by their foemen,

when, in Thy fiery passion, Thy fury and hot anger [were poured] out,
so that it was turned to a wasteland,
where no man came nor went, (35)
yet, despite all of this, Thou didst not reject the seed of Jacob,
neither contemn Israel, to make an end of them, (36)
and abjure Thy Covenant with them.

Nay, Thou alone art a living God;
and there is none beside Thee.

Therefore, remembering the Covenant
by which Thou hadst brought us forth in the sight of the nations, (37)

Thou didst not then abandon us among those nations,
but in all [the] lands whither Thou didst thrust them (38)

Thou didst still show kindness to Thy people Israel,
that they might be minded to return unto Thee and to hearken to Thy voice, (39)
even to all which Thou hadst commanded through Thy servant Moses,

For Thou didst shed Thy holy spirit (40) upon us,
(so) bringing to us Thy blessings,
that we might take thought on Thee when trouble befell us,
and murmur our prayers (to Thee) whenso Thy chastisement pressed sore. (41)
(And troubles indeed have we encountered,
[pla]gued and tortured by the fury of oppressors!) (42)

Moreover, although we, for our part,
'drove God hard with our wrongdoings,
and, with our sins, laid hard service on our Rock', (43)
yet, when Thou didst lay service upon us,

Thou didst so for our advantage,
guiding <us> in the way we should walk. (44)
[And] though we paid no heed to [Thy word],

[yet didst Thou ]

~~VI~~

and, ever true to Thyself, (**)
[Thou didst ca]st away from us all our transgressions, (45)
and purge us of our sin.

It is Thou, O LORD, (not us), that hast dealt rightly, (46)
for all these things hast Thou done. (47)

Howbeit, now, this day,
when our hearts are bowed down, (48)
have we not paid the price of our own and our fathers' wrongdoing
—the price of our perfidy and of our contrariness? (49)
For we have not spurned Thy trials,
neither have our souls demurred (††) (50) against Thy strokes,
abjuring our Covenant with Thee
through all the distress of our souls.

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[**] Heb. 'for Thy sake'.
[††] Heb. felt revulsion'.

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(Thou Who hast sent our enemies against us
hast Thyself also given us courage!)
Therefore, we beseech Thee, O LORD,
to the end that we may bear the tale of Thy power to all generations for ever,
even as throughout all time Thou hast wrought peculiar favors,
so now let Thine anger and Thy wrath be turned away from us,

and look Thou on our woe and our trouble and our stress, (51)
and grant unto Thy people Isra[el
in all] the lands, near and far, (52) whither [Thou hast thrust them],
yea, unto everyone that is inscribed in the Book of Life. (53)

that they may succeed in serving Thee and giving thanks (‡‡)
to [Thy holy name].
[Deliver them also] from all their needs (54) [ ].
[But bring Thou Thy retribution on dissemblers(?)]
who are causing [Thy people(?)] to stumble (55) [ ]

[Blessed be He who ],
Who hath delivered us from all distress. AMEN, [AMEN]

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[‡‡] Or, 'praise'.

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Notes

1. I.e., act in accordance with Thy divine nature and attributes.

2. Cp. Num. 14.17-20.

3. Deut. 1.43; 9.23.

4. Deut. 9.8.

5. Cp. Ex. 32.30.

6. The Hebrew word, usually rendered Vender, marvel', means properly a singular and special act, and the corresponding verb is often employed in the Old Testament in connection with the bestowal of favor or the fulfillment of obligations of loyalty (hesed).

7. Literally, 'Because Thy name hath been called over us'.

8. Deut. 4.29; 10.12; 11.13; 30.2, 10.

9. Cp. Isa. 51.7.

10. Deut. 28.28.

11. Cp. Isa. 50.1.

12. Cp. Isa. 50.2.

13. I restore tentatively, [lehodi'enu raze ha-eme]t.

14. Isa. 40.17.

15. Literally, 'Since we made mention of Thy name alone', or perhaps, 'Since we alone were designated by Thy name'.

16. Cp. Isa. 43.7.

17. Cp. Deut. 14.1.

18. Ex. 4.22.

19. Deut. 8.5.

20. Cp. Deut. 14.2.

21. Deut. 18.11.

22. Deut. 31.21.

23. Deut. 31.29.

24. Cp. Ezra 9.1-2; Neh. 12.25-26.

25. Cp. Deut. 31.29.

26. I restore tentatively, tisdaq la-meha[kkim lak] (or, la-maha[ziqim bak]).

27. Pss. 95.11; 132.14. Cp. also Isa. 66.1.

28. II Sam. 5.2; 25.30.

29. Cp. II Sam. 7.13; I Kings 2.4; 4.5; 8.25; I Chron. 17.12, 14.

30. Isa. 60.7; 64.10.

31. I Kings 5.18(4). The phrase became something of a cliche; cp. Jubilees 23.29; 40.9; 46.1, 2, 5. Also in the Jewish prayer book: Singer, p. 7 (cp. TB Berachoth 60b).

32. Deut. 31.10.

33. Jer. 17.13.

34. Literally, 'worshipped a strange (alien) god.'

35. Zech. 7.14; 9.8.

36. Lev. 26.44; Jer. 14.19.

37. Lev. 26.45.

38. Cp. Deut. 30.1.

39. Deut. 30.2, 8.

40. Isa. 44.3; cp. Enoch 91.1.

41. Isa. 26.16.

42. Isa. 51.13.

43. Isa. 43.23-24.

44. Cp. Isa. 48.17. The point of the sentence lies in the contrast between Israel's belaboring God with its sins, and God's laying service on Israel for its benefit. (The original editor's restoration, Thou didst not lay service on us', therefore gives just the wrong sense.)

45. Ezek. 18.31.

46. Dan. 9.7; cp. Hymns xvi.9.

47. Jer. 14.22; a cliche in the Hymns, e.g. x.12; xviii.21; frag. ii.5.

48. Lev. 26.41.

49. Lev. 26.24, 27, 40, 41.

50. Lev. 26.15.

51. Deut. 26.7.

52. Ezek. 21.4-5.

53. Dan. 12.1.

54. The manuscript is not clear. Tentatively, I read and restore: we-hassilem mi-kol sorekehemah.

55. Cp. Florilegium, i.8.

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