Is there a proper blessing for the Tsar?

Question

Just curious...

Answer 1

Below is a quote from the Temple Sinai Website,
Temple Sinai
50 Sewall Avenue,
Brookline, MA 02446
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October 2004

"A BLESSING FOR THE CZAR!"

Everybody loves this scene from "Fiddler on the Roof": The townspeople acknowledge that in Judaism, there exists a blessing for everything, and then they wonder, 'Rabbi, is there a proper blessing for the Czar?' He thinks for a moment, then, comes up with the answer: 'May God bless and keep the Czar... far away from us!' The line is an oldie, but what a goodie.


But then, just a few weeks ago, I found the actual blessing for the Czar. . . .found. . .an old machzor, a High Holy Day prayer book, published in 1895 in Petrokov (today Poland, but until 1919, part of the Russian Empire). I thumbed through it, and saw that it contains the full Hebrew text of the High Holy Day prayers, and includes a Yiddish commentary and translation on every page. What a find! And then, turning to the Torah service, on page 97 of the Rosh Hashanah volume, I saw it, the prayer for the Czar, beautifully composed:

"May the One who gives power to kings, and sovereignty to princes; may the One who is the Ruler of rulers... bless and keep, guard and aid, exalt and raise the Czar Nicholas Alexanderovich, and his widowed mother, Czarina Marie Feodorovna [here, my knowledge of the Russian monarchy is a little weak], and his wife the royal Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna, and their heir, Grigory... May God save them from all harm and pain, and may all their enemies fall before them. And may the Merciful One put in the heart of the Czar compassion and good deeds for the People of Israel..."

Rabbi Andy Vogel

Answer 2

Actually, it is "May God bless and keep the Tsar.....Far away from us!!

Link below is for the movie, but it is also in the musical.

Answer 3

It's in Fiddler on the Roof. Something like "may the Tsar live to be happy and healthy...FAR AWAY FROM US!"