BEDTIME
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Master of the universe! I hereby forgive anyone who has angered or
vexed me, or sinned against me, either physically or financially,
against my honor or anything else that is mine, whether accidently
or intentionally, inadvertently or deliberately, by speech or by
deed; may no man be punished on my account. May it be Your will
Lord my God and God of my ancestors, that I shall sin no more nor
repeat my sins, neither shall I again anger You or do what is wrong
in Your eyes. The sins I have committed, erase in your abounding
mercies, but not through suffering or severe illnesses. May the
words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable
before You, Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.
Our Father, let me lie down in peace; my King, raise me up to a
good life and peace. Improve me with Your good counsel, help me
speedily for the sake of Your Name, and spread over me the shelter
of Your peace. Protect me and remove from me the enemy, pestilence,
sword, famine and sorrow. Remove the adversary from before me and
from behind me; shelter me in the shadow of Your wings; and guard
my going out and my coming in for a good life and peace from
now and for all time. For You, benevolent God, are my guardian
and my deliverer.
SH'MA, YISRAEL, ADONAI ELEHANOO, ADONAI IKHOD!
Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I
command you today shall be upon your heart. You shall teach them
thoroughly to your children, and you shall speak of them when
you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, when you
lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign upon
your hand, and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes.
And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and
upon your gates.
And it will be, if you will diligently obey My commandments
which I enjoin upon you this day, to love the Lord your God and
to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, I will
give rain for your land at the proper time, the early rain and
the late rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine and
your oil. And I will give grass in the fields for your cattle,
and you will eat and be sated. Take care lest your heart be
lured away, and you turn astray and worship alien gods and bow
down to them. For then the Lord's wrath will flare up against
you, and He will close the heavens so that there will be no
rain and the earth will not yield its produce, and you will
swiftly perish from the good land which the Lord gives you.
Therefore, place these words of Mine upon your heart and upon
your soul, and bind them for a sign on your hand, and they
shall be for a reminder between your eyes. Your shall teach
them to your children, to speak of them when you sit in your
house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when
you rise. And you shall inscribe them on the doorposts of your
house and on your gates - so that your days and the days of
your children may be prolonged on the land which the Lord swore
to your fathers to give to them for as long as the heavens are
above the earth.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel
and tell them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of
their garments throughout their generations, and to attach a
thread of blue on the fringe of each corner. They shall be to
you as tzitzit, and you shall look upon them and remember all
the commandments of the Lord and fulfill them, and you will not
follow after your heart and after your eyes by which you go
astray - so that you may remember and fulfill all My commandments
and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God who brought you
out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I, the Lord, am your
God.
Let the pious exalt in glory; let them sing upon their beds. The
exaltation of God is in their throats, and a double-edged sword
is in their hands.
[*** Repeat 3 times ***]
Behold,
around the bed of Solomon are sixty mighty men,
of the valiant of Israel.
All are armed with swords,
trained in war,
each with his sword upon his thigh,
because of the fear of the night.
[*** Repeat 3 times ***]
The Lord bless you and guard you.
The Lord make his countenance shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The Lord turn His countenance toward you and grant you peace.
You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the
shadow of the Omnipotent, I say to you of the Lord who is my
refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I trust, that He will
save you from the ensnaring trap, from the destructive pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions and you will find refuge under
His wings; His truth is a shield is a shield and an armor. You will
not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
the pestilence that prowls in the darkness, nor the destruction
that ravages at noon. A thousand may fall at your left side, and
ten thousand at your right, but it shall not reach you. You need
only look with your eyes, and you will see the retribution of the
wicked. Because you have said, "The Lord is my shelter," and you
have made the Most High your haven.
Our God and God of our ancestors, may our prayers come before You,
and do not turn away from our supplication, for we are not so
impudent and obdurate as to declare before You, Lord our God and
God of our ancestors, that we are righteous and have not sinned.
Indeed, we and our fathers have sinned.
We have transgressed,
we have acted perfidiously,
we have robbed,
we have slandered;
we have acted perversely and wickedly,
we have willfully sinned,
we have done violence,
we have imputed falsely;
we have given evil counsel,
we have lied,
we have scoffed,
we have rebelled,
we have provoked,
we have been disobedient,
we have committed iniquity,
we have wantonly transgressed,
we have oppressed,
we have been obstinate;
we have committed evil,
we have acted perniciously,
we have acted abominably,
we have gone astray,
we have led others astray.
We have strayed from Your good precepts and ordinances, and it has
not profited us. Indeed, You are just in all that has come upon us,
for You have acted truthfully, and it is we who have acted wickedly.
What shall we say to You who dwells on high?
What shall we relate to You who abides in the heavens?
You surely know all the hidden and the revealed things.
You know the mysteries of the universe and the hidden secrets of
every living being. You search all our innermost thoughts, and
probe our mind and heart; nothing is hidden from You, nothing is
concealed from Your sight. And so, may it be Your will, Lord our
God and God of our ancestors, to have mercy on us and forgive us
all our sins, grant us atonement for all our iniquities, and
forgive and pardon us for all our transgressions.
We implore You, by the great power of Your right hand, release the
captive. Accept the prayer of Your people; strengthen us, purify
us, Awesome One. Mighty One, we beseech You, guard as the apple
of the eye, those who seek Your Oneness. Bless them, cleanse them;
bestow upon them forever Your merciful righteousness. Powerful,
Holy One, turn to Your people who are mindful of Your holiness.
Accept our supplication and hear our cry, You who knows secret
thoughts.
Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever.
For the Choirmaster; a psalm of David, when Nathan the Prophet came
to him after he had gone to Bat-sheva.
Be gracious to me, O God,
in keeping with Your kindness;
in accordance with Your abounding compassion,
erase my transgressions,
Cleanse me thoroughly of my wrong-doing,
and purify me of my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against You alone have I sinned,
and done that which is evil in Your eyes;
forgive me so that You will be justified
in Your verdict,
vindicated in Your judgement.
Indeed, I was begotten in sin,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Indeed, You desire truth in the innermost parts;
teach me the wisdom of concealed things.
Purge me with hyssop and I shall be pure;
cleanse me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear tidings of joy and gladness;
then the bones which You have shattered will rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins,
and erase all my trespasses.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew within me an upright spirit.
Do not cast me out of Your presence,
and do not take Your Spirit of Holiness away from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your deliverance,
and uphold me with a spirit of magnanimity.
I will teach transgressors Your ways,
and sinners will return to You.
Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
God of my deliverance;
my tongue will sing Your righteousness.
My Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall declare Your praise.
For you do not desire that I bring sacrifices,
nor do You wish burnt offerings.
The offering desireable to God
is a contrite spirit;
a contrite and broken heart, God,
You do not disdain.
In Your goodwill,
bestow goodness upon Zion;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then will You desire sacrifices offered in righteousness,
olah,
and burnt offerings;
then they will offer bullocks upon Your altar.
(Psalm 51)
- - - - - -
A song of Ascents.
I will lift my eyes to the mountains -
from where will my help come?
My help will come from the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let my foot falter;
your guardian does not slumber.
Indeed, the Guardian of Israel
neither slumbers nor sleeps.
The Lord is your guardian;
the Lord is your protective shade
at your right hand.
The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will guard you from all evil;
He will guard your soul.
The Lord will guard your going and your coming
from now and for all time.
(Psalm 121)
- - - - - -
[***Repeat 3 times***]
Gad will be surrounded by troops, but he will turn them back
on their heels.
On their heels he will turn them back, the troops that will
surround Gad.
[***Repeat 3 times***]
When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.
[***Repeat 3 times***]
May I sleep well; may I awake in mercy.
[***Repeat 3 times***]
For Your salvation I hope, O Lord.
[***Repeat 3 times***]
You are a refuge for me; protect me from distress; surround me
with songs of deliverance forever.
[***Repeat 3 times***]
Make known to me the path of life, that I may be satiated with the
joy of Your presence, with the bliss of Your right hand forever.
Arise and have mercy on Zion, for it is time to be gracious to her;
the appointed time has come. Thus shall you say to them: The gods
that have not made the heavens and the earth, shall perish from the
earth under these heavens. I entrust my spirit into Your hand; You
will redeem me, Lord, God of truth.
Master of the worlds!
You have created Your world in Your good will, as it has arisen in
Your primordial thought; and
You have created the heavens and all their hosts, and the earth and
everything that is on it;
You have created man upon it, and have blown into his nostrils a
living soul so that he may recognize Your greatness and glory;
and
You give life to them all, for you are the Soul of all souls and
the Life-force of all living things.
And You, Lord my God - I entrust my nefesh, ruach and neshamah
into Your pure and faithful hand, and
You, Lord my God, will cleanse them of every impurity and malady
that has become attached to them through my wrongdoings, and
return them to me in peace, tranquility and security...
for You hear the prayer of Your people Israel in mercy.
Blessed is He who hears prayers.
Awake, O my soul!
Awaken me, O harp and lyre!
I will wake the dawn.
The Torah which Moses commanded us in the heritage of the
congregation of Jacob.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who causes the
bonds of sleep to fall upon my eyes and slumber upon my eyelids, and
who gives light to the apple of the eye. May it be Your will, Lord
my God and God of my ancestors, to let me lie down in peace and
raise me up to a good life and peace. Let my thoughts not trouble
me, nor bad dreams, nor sinful fancies, and may my bed be perfect
before You. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.
Blessed are You Lord, who in His glory gives light to the whole
world.