Trauer-Album — Jahrzeit

English translation

Anniversary prayer To be spoken at the grave of one’s father (mother) on the anniversary of his (her) death. Peace be with you, pure and radiant soul, dwelling in the divine paradise, admitted to the company of the holy and pure, the righteous and upright, placed in high rank among the blessed in the palace of the Ever-living and Self-sustaining One. I think of you continually. Since the day you left me I have not ceased to love you or inwardly mourn you; every day I long for you. I know well that it is the fate of all people to leave the earth, that death separates the loving from the beloved, and that therefore one should console oneself with the words: God has so decreed that all that lives must die. Yet the grief of a child whose father (mother) leaves is very hard. Great is the misfortune and pain—who can heal or comfort it? Every wound may be healed and every other loss replaced, but the loss of children from whom father (mother) has been torn is irreplaceable, for there is no other heart on earth like that of a father (mother) for his (her) children. Therefore my afflicted soul sighs: closed is the eye that watched over me; silent the mouth that gently instructed me; rigid the heart that wanted only my good. My provider has vanished, my light is darkened, my strength broken; I have lost my happiness and stand without support. Today, on the annual memorial day of my father’s (mother’s) death, I am reminded still more of my need and say sorrowfully to myself: Arise and leave the turmoil of the city for this place of solitude and silence. Raise your eyes to the God of all spirits, Lord of help and consolation, that He may turn to my plea and lead me out of my night of distress. Eternal One, comfort me. Eternal One, stand by me. Though my father (mother) has left me, You, Eternal One, stand by me. And you, pure soul, turn toward me and present my pleas and prayers to the source of all being, the One of awesome power: that He may have gracious and merciful compassion on me; accept my good intentions as deeds and count them as virtue; transform my mourning into joy and gladness; bless me with every kind of blessing, happiness and well-being; and comfort me with the consolation of Zion and Jerusalem. Rise ever higher, above the perfect angels, to shine in the light of the Almighty. May the body rest safely in its tomb until the Creator awakens it and raises it again to its beautiful destiny at the end of days. Amen.

Complete English translation of the legible text prepared for the Reichenbach Family Archive. Brackets identify text that is blank, damaged or not securely legible.