Bedtime Shema
Kriyat Shema Al HaMitah
Jewish Law / Halacha ↗️
Reading this prayer before going to sleep protects one from various types of danger during the night, as well as from having bad dreams.
Master of the universe, I hereby forgive anyone who angered or provoked me, or anyone who sinned against me whether with regard to my physical person, my finances, my honor or anything belonging to me; whether accidentally or willingly; whether intentionally or unintentionally; whether by word or by deed; whether in this lifetime or in another transmigration by any Israelite. May no person be punished on my account. May it be Your will, Adonai, my God, and God of my fathers, that I not sin again. And may You, in Your great mercy erase that which I have sinned against You, but not through suffering or sever illnesses. May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be acceptable before You, Adonai, my Rock and Redeemer.
Blessed is He Who casts the bonds of sleep upon my eyes and slumber upon my eyelids, and who illuminates the pupil of the eye. May it be Your will, Adonai, my God and the God of my forefathers that You lay me down to sleep in peace and raise me erect for a good life and for peace. Grant me my share of Your Torah. Accustom me to fulfill mitzvot, and do not accustom me to do averot. Do not bring me into the power of error, nor into the power of challenge, nor into the power of scorn. Let the Good Inclination dominate me, and let not the Evil Inclination dominate me. Rescue me from the Evil Inclination, and from harmful illness. May my ideas, bad dreams, and bad notions not bewilder me; May my offspring be perfect before You, and may You illuminate my eyes lest I die in sleep. Blessed is He who illuminates the entire world with His glory.
The following phrase is pronounced covering your eyes with palm of your right hand:
Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
(Say in an undertone) Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be in your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.
And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. And it shall come to pass if you surely listen to the commandments that I command you today to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul, that I will give rain to your land, the early and the late rains, that you may gather in your grain, your wine and your oil. And I will give grass in your fields for your cattle and you will eat and you will be satiated. (Continue in an underdone…) Beware, lest your heart be deceived and you turn and serve other gods and worship them. For then (pause) the wrath of the Lord will ignite against you, and He will close the heavens and there will not be rain, and the earth will not give you its fullness, and you will perish quickly from the good land that the Lord gives you. (Continue aloud…) So you shall put these, my words, on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them for signs on your hands, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. And you shall teach them to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. In order to prolong your days and the days of your children on the land that the Lord promised your fathers that he would give them, as long as the days that the heavens are over the earth.
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them they should make themselves tzitzit (fringes) on the corners of their clothing throughout their generations, and give the tzitzit of each corner a thread of blue. And they shall be tzitzit for you, and when you look at them you will remember all of the Lord’s commandments and do them and not follow after your heart and after your eyes which lead you astray. In order to remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. I am the Lord, your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be a God to you. I am the Lord, your God. It is true. The Lord, your God, it is true.
The pious will rejoice in honor – the will sing joyously upon their beds. High praises of the Almighty in their throats, and a double-edged sword in their hand.
Behold. The couch of Shelomoh. Sixty mighty ones round about it, of the mighty ones of Israel. All gripping the sword, learned in warfare, each with his sword on his thigh, from fear of nights. (repeat 3 times)
May Adonai bless you and safeguard you. May Adonai illuminate His countenance for you and be gracious to you. May Adonai turn His face toward you and establish peace for you.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Supreme One, under the protection of Shaddiye he will abide. I say of Adonai, [He is] my refuge and my stronghold, my God in Whom I trust. For He will save you from the snare-trap, from the destructive pestilence. With His wings He will cover you, and beneath His wings you will find refuge. His guarantee [of protection] is like a shield and armor. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, the pestilence that prowls in darkness, nor the deadly plague that ravages at noon. A thousand will fall at your [left] side, and ten thousand at your right [side], but it [the plague] shall not come near you. Only with your eyes will you behold and see the punishment of the wicked. For you [have proclaimed]: “Adonai is my refuge.”
The first night starts from motze-shabbat (after shabbat ends).
First night; Please, by the force of Your great right hand, release the bound one.
Second night; Accept the prayer of Your people; strengthen us, purify us Awesome One! Please!
Third night; Mighty One, those who seek Your Unity, preserve them like the pupil[of Your eye].
Fourth night; Bless them, purify them, the compassion of Your benevolent righteousness [may You] always bestow upon them.
Fifth night; Mighty, Holy One, in Your abundant goodness, lead Your community.
Sixth night; Unique One, Exalted, turn to Your people who are mindful of Your holiness.
Seventh night; Accept our prayer and hear our cry, [You] Who knows hidden thoughts.
This is then followed by repeating 3 times the phrase corresponding to the night this is being read, and then continue:
(In an undertone) Blessed [is His] Name, Whose glorious kingdom is forever and ever.
You will arise and have mercy on Siyyon, for it is time to be gracious to her, for the appointed time has come. Light is sown for the righteous, and for the upright heart – joy. Gad will recruit a regiment, and it will retreat on its heel. Into Your hand, I commit my spirit, for You will redeem me, Adonai, God of faithfulness.
David, king of Israel, lives forever. (repeat 12 times)