Prayer by the Nursing Mother
December 15, 2006 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under quotes and literature
The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah begins tonight at sunset. I saw this 18th century prayer posted on the Patience, Grasshopper blog I featured earlier and thought it would be nice to share today.
Excerpt from “Prayer to Be Said When She Nurses
for the First Time”
Commissioned by Dr. Giuseppe Cohen, translated by Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin in Out of the Depths I Call to You: A Book of Prayers for the Married Jewish Woman
“May it be Your will, Lord my God and God of my forebears, that you provide nourishment for Your humble creation, this tiny child, plenty of milk, as much as he needs.
Give me the disposition and inclination to find the time to nurse him patiently until he is satisfied.
Cause me to sleep lightly so that the moment he cries I will hear and respond. …*
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
Reprinted with permission from the translator Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin and the publisher Jason Aronson/Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (This material is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Please contact the publisher for permission to copy, distribute or reprint.)
* For more from this prayer, see this post.
Lovely sentiment.
Here via the lactivist
I’m glad you like it Jax! Come back on Sunday for more about this prayer.