Question: Is there a prayer that asks God for aid in one's work?
I often become stressed at work when I have to create something. (I write and design) Is their a proper blessing before working? Or a prayer asking G-d to aid in one's work?
Answer: Thanks for your question about your search for a Jewish blessing before working.
To my knowledge, there is no traditional blessing or prayer of the kind you seek. However, I suppose that one could say that the traditional morning blessings -- which begin with statements of gratitude for a body that works and a soul that is pure -- form a prayer in which we ask that our day be filled with God's presence in all that we do, including our work.
There is a tradition of composing original prayers for God's guidance in our occupational work -- the most famous being Maimonides' Physician's Prayer. Although all modern scholars agree that this prayer could not possibly have been written by the great 12th Century Jewish philosopher and physician, the Physician's Prayer has become a beloved and highly regarded statement of medical values and intentions by Jews of all denominations.
So, you are a writer. Why not write your own Jewish prayer for writers and designers?
If you do not feel so inclined or able, let me offer my own prayer, based on the Physician's Prayer, that might fit your needs:
Almighty God, You created all reality with words and You have endowed your creations with the wisdom to express their deepest thoughts and the stirrings of their hearts with words. You have blessed humanity with language, which contains within it the secrets of creation and which allows us to understand Your presence in all that we experience and all that we do. As you endowed Bezalel with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge to create designs for the Tabernacle in the wilderness, may You give me a portion of Your creative spirit.
On this day, allow me to express myself with wisdom and modesty to bring beauty into the world and to reveal Your truth through words and design. Guard me against using words that bring harm, that spread gossip or slander. Grant me the judgment not to use language, which is Your creation, as a weapon of falsehood. In all that I do, allow Your aspects of beauty and truth to flourish.
Preserve the strength of my body and of my spirit to do Your will in peace. Imbue my soul with gentleness and calmness when others judge me. May even this be of help to me, for others know many things of which I am ignorant, but let not the arrogance of others give me pain.
Let me be contented in everything except in my growth to understand, live and express Your will. Never allow the thought to arise in me that I have attained sufficient skill, but give me the strength, time and energy always to extend my ability. For art is great, but the mind of a human being is ever expanding.
Almighty God! Support me so that my work will be of benefit to humanity, for without Your help not even the least thing will succeed.
I hope that is of some use to you.
Best wishes,
Rabbi Jeffrey W. Goldwasser
