When studying Torah, even by oneself, it is important to say the words out loud: this way the words themselves shine to us, helping us to understand where we have made mistakes in our lives and how to correct them. The higher the level of Teshuvah we reach, the deeper our understanding of the Torah. However, when a person is arrogant, not only does the Torah not radiate to him: it becomes covered with a veil of materialism. Arrogance is bound up with sexual immorality, whereas moral purity brings one to true humility. Moral purity is a central feature of God's Covenant with the Jewish People, which not only proscribes incest, adultery and promiscuity, but also enjoins us to cultivate self-control and sanctity within the marital relationship. The union of husband and wife in holiness has the power to bring about yichudim — “unifications” — on various levels. The effect of a yichud is to reveal how apparently disparate parts of the creation are in fact bound together and express the underlying unity of God. For the immoral person, the exertion involved in making a living can be a bitter punishment. The thirty-nine labors employed in building the Sanctuary are the prototype of all work and business activity. However for the immoral person the thirty-nine labors are experienced as the thirty-nine lashes which are the penalty for breaking Torah law. The more we sanctify ourselves, the easier it becomes to earn a living, and all our work activities come into the category of “building the sanctuary.” HaShem: majestic and awesome King of Glory!
Loving God: Let Your majesty be increased, enhanced and heightened through me. Help me to be able to nullify myself completely, and not seek the least honor for myself. Let me think nothing of my own importance, and pay no attention whatever to receiving honor for myself. Let all my efforts be only to magnify the glory of God. Let all my involvements and everything I do, think and want, be only for the sake of Your great glory, blessed God.
Help me break and remove all arrogance from myself. Let not the slightest hint of arrogance ever enter my heart. Bring me to genuine humility. Grant me true Godly wisdom and understanding, so that I will be able to cultivate the ways of humility.
Save me from false humility — affected humility aimed at winning people's esteem. This kind of humility is the ultimate in arrogance. Let me never pretend to be humble with the intention of winning admiration and esteem. Loving and merciful God: Just help me to come to complete humility in perfect sincerity.
Please, HaShem, loving God: Your love is true love. Let Your love and mercy be awakened for someone as lowly and miserable as me. Let me feel my true lowliness, and don't allow my sins to throw me off track by confusing my mind with any foolish motives of trying to impress people, or illusions about my own importance. Have pity on me for Your sake, and save me from the least hint of arrogance and pride.
I know I am not really fit to come close to You, because I have shown such a lack of respect for Your honor, as You know, HaShem my God. But I will rely on Your overflowing love and kindness, and ask You to help me and do everything to save me from pride.
HaShem, help me to keep my mind clear of all false motives and arrogance. Have mercy on me and don't let me stray into those treacherous pathways. Loving God, bring me to follow Your commandments and observe Your laws sincerely, with true and complete humility. Even at times when You grant me the opportunity to do good, help me be totally unselfconscious about it.
Master of the Universe: You have informed us how serious a sin arrogance is — it is like worshipping an idol, God forbid — and that the main reason for the exile of the Jewish People was because of the sin of pride. That is what the Rabbis meant when they said the land was ruined because of seven idolatrous temples. Similarly, pride is the main reason why the exile has gone on for so long. It is now more than eighteen hundred years that we have been away from our land, and we still cannot return — only because of the sin of pride and the race for honor.
You have also let us know that a person who is arrogant is like an idol. Since an idolatrous object must be burned, Torah law views it as if it has already been ground down to nothing. This is why people who are arrogant are unable to open their mouths to say a single holy word. It is as if they have already been ground down to nothing, and so they lack the necessary vocal apparatus.
When a person speaks words of Torah, they ought to shine, as the Rabbis said: “Open your mouth and your words will shine.” But when the Torah comes in the mouth of someone who talks and acts arrogantly, not only does it not shine to him: the very light of the Torah is darkened by a thick veil of materialism.
Have pity on me, and at least from now on, save me from the sin of pride. Help me to stop running after my own glory, God forbid. Let me think nothing of our own importance, and strive only to maximize the glory of God. Let Your glory be enhanced, magnified and revealed through me, and let me sanctify my mouth and speak words that radiate, until “the earth shines with His glory.”
Help me study much Torah every day, and say the words out loud. “For they are life to those who find them” — “...to those who say them out loud.” Let my words of Torah throw light on all the areas of my life in which I need to repent, until I reach a level of Teshuvah where I make amends for all the wrong I have ever done.
My present level is so low that I am down at the “feet” — I am no better than the dust. Help me rise up from level to level until I emerge from this degraded state. Through speaking radiant words of Torah, let me come to complete Teshuvah and emerge from my low level, and attain an understanding of the profoundest depths of the Torah.
Please HaShem: You are full of love and kindness, and Your love is true love. Take pity on Your works. Open my mouth and my heart so that I will be able to express myself before You and arouse Your true love for me. From now on, help me to sanctify and purify myself through observing the holy Covenant. Save me from any kind of immorality. “Keep my eyes from looking at falsehood: through following Your pathways, bring me to life.”
Forgiving God: Be kind and merciful, and pardon and forgive me for everything I have ever done contrary to the Holy Covenant. Forgive me for all the immoral thoughts I have ever had, for everything immoral I have ever said or done, and for having abused my powers of vision, hearing and smell, whether deliberately or unintentionally, wilfully or under compulsion.
“For the sake of Your Name, HaShem, forgive my sin even though it is so weighty.” Have pity on me: break and destroy and do away with all the knots, cords and chains of evil created by my many sins. They keep on attacking me and trying to drag me from one sin to the next, God forbid. They are preventing me from sanctifying and purifying myself the way I should, and because of this I am far from observing the holy Covenant in a way that befits a Jew descended from Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, Your chosen ones.
Master of the Universe: You know my heart. Have mercy on me. Cut and break all the knots and chains of evil, until they will be powerless to attack me in any way. Do away with them so completely that not even the least trace or memory of them will remain. Let all my sins be turned into merits. I know I have not yet reached this level of Tesuhvah. So far I have not even started to repent genuinely. Even so, grant it to me as a free gift of mercy.
Loving, merciful God, look how low I am and how I'm struggling. Evil temptations and desires lie in wait for me all the time, tormenting my nefesh, my ru'ach and my neshamah with all kinds of tortures. They pursue me and persecute me in every way. They want to drive me out of the land of the living. They want to trap my soul and take her into captivity.
I know that I am my own worst persecutor, because I have free will and no-one can force me to be swayed by these desires and temptations. I fully acknowledge and confess that I am the guilty one — “the sin is in me, my Lord.” But what should I do, HaShem? All my power of resistance has been sapped, and I do not know how to find a way to escape the evil desires and fantasies that are constantly attacking me. I don't know how to fight against them.
My only hope is to rely on Your abundant love and mercy. Help me! Give me the strength to resist all evil thoughts and desires. Help me to overcome them and break their power over me, and drive them out of myself and my life from now and for ever. Don't let a single lustful thought ever enter my mind. Let my mind and my thoughts always be completely holy and pure.
Loving God: Help me attain sanctity and purity, and conduct myself with holiness and restraint even in what is permitted to me. Let me constantly add more and more holiness, until I attain such a level of sanctity and detachment from material desire that the Upper and Lower Unifications will be brought about through me.
Master of the Universe: You know that even Torah scholars and great rabbinic leaders who only have marital relations from Shabbat to Shabbat also need to exercise tremendous self-control and caution in order to observe the Covenant in holiness. How much more this applies to average people, who have relations during the week as well. They must certainly act with the utmost care and caution in order to conduct their marriage relationship in holiness and guard the Covenant.
You have also let us know the high level of holiness of the Jewish marriage relationship at its root. Through it, the Upper and Lower Unifications are brought about. Every Jew needs to do his part to bring this about.
Loving God: Have mercy on us and and send a true holy awakening into our hearts and the hearts of all Your people, the House of Israel. Let all of us, from the smallest to the greatest, be aroused to sanctify ourselves in what is permitted to us and to constantly guard the Covenant and conduct our relationships with ever greater holiness.
Let the two holy Unifications, the Upper and the Lower, be brought about through us, so that Your holy glory will be enhanced and magnified to perfection “...and the glory of HaShem will fill all the earth.” Radiate the earth with Your glory, let us exult and rejoice in You! And fulfil what is written: “The glory of HaShem will be for ever: HaShem will rejoice in His works.”
Hashem, loving God: Please help me and provide me with my livelihood in such a way that I don't lose my eternal reward in the struggle to make a living. Save me from the scourge of the thirty-nine labors of the Sitra Achra, the side of evil. These are the “thirty-nine lashes” that drive and oppress the majority of people with worldly cares and struggles. They spend all their days running to make a living with the utmost pain and effort, “eating their bread in misery.”
With the sweat of their brow they will eat bread, until they return to the earth, taking nothing from all their toil — because the struggle to make a living so dominates their minds all their lives that they fail to remember their ultimate purpose. What will they do on the Day of Judgement?
Please HaShem, You are overflowing with love and kindness: have mercy on me and on all Your people Israel, and save us from all this. Don't let me be ground down by the struggle to make a living. In whatever work I have to do to make a living, help me do everything in holiness and purity, truth and faith, in accordance with Your will. Let me not have to struggle at all. Save me from all mental confusion.
Let me know and believe that everything comes from You and that nothing is in my hands at all. Let me carry out all my work and business activities with such purity and refinement that all the thirty-nine labors will shine and merge with the thirty-nine lights emanating from Your great Name. Let me carry out the thirty-nine labors in holiness and purity, so that in everything I do I will be “building the Sanctuary.”
Bless the work of my hands. Send me blessing and success in all my involvements and activities. Send me my livelihood before I need it, amply and not sparingly, through permitted and not forbidden means, from Your wide-open, generous hand. “And let the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us, and may He give success to the work of our hands, to the work of our hands — success.”
HaShem: Help me to be happy with my share at all times. Let me put my main emphasis on Torah study, and only have to work on a casual basis. And even in the short periods of time I have to engage in work or business in order to earn what I need to make a living, let me still be attached to You and to Your holy Torah. Let me never forget You even for the briefest moment.
HaShem: Please grant me everything I have asked of You. Help me sanctify myself through observing the holy Covenant from now on. Let me subordinate myself to You in complete truth. Do not let the least hint of pride or arrogance come into my heart or my mind. Cleanse me of all motives of trying to impress others and win their admiration. Let me come to genuine humility, and let Your glory be magnified, sanctified and elevated through me.
Help me speak radiant words of Torah, and let the words of the Torah shine to me and help me emerge from my low level. Let the words of the Torah throw light on all the areas of my life where I need to repent, so that I will come to make complete amends for all my sins and transgressions, and for all the disrespect I have shown to Your great glory from my childhood until the present.
Grant that I should be able to rectify everything in my lifetime, and help me advance constantly from level to level, until I attain an understanding of the very depths of the Torah. Bring me to know and understand both the laws of the Torah and its mysteries — the secrets, and the secrets of the secrets!
HaShem: In my heart of hearts I know very well how far I am from all these levels at present. My face is covered with shame for even making such requests. How can someone as lowly as I am dare to ask for such great things? But I am relying on Your great love and kindness. I am basing myself on Your humility and goodness. You are good to all, and nothing is impossible for You. You do the greatest, most unfathomable wonders all the time — who will tell You what to do?
My eyes are on You, waiting for You to show me Your love and kindness. Help me come to everything I have asked of You quickly and easily — if not now, when? So far I have wasted away my years in vanity and emptiness. Loving God: From now on, help me wake up and stir myself, and fill myself with holiness and purity, until I attain everything I have asked of You.
Do it for the sake of Your Name! Do it for the sake of Your glory! Do it for the sake of Your holiness! Do it for the sake of Your Torah! For as Jews, we are called by Your Name and associated with Your glory, and You have already promised that You will not give Your glory to another, as it is written: “I am HaShem, that is My Name, and my glory I will not give to another nor my praise to idols.”
Help me, HaShem, and let Your glory be magnified through me. Let Your glory fill the whole earth. Light up the world with Your glory. “Let the glory of HaShem be for ever. HaShem will rejoice in His works. Blessed be HaShem, the God of Israel, Who does amazing wonders by Himself. And blessed be His glorious Name for ever. Let His glory fill the entire world.” Amen. Amen.
[עַל־פִּי תּוֹרָה י"א - אֲנִי ה' הוּא שְׁמִי]
אָנָּא הַשֵּׁם הַנִּכְבָּד וְהַנּוֹרָא, מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד,
When studying Torah, even by oneself, it is important to say the words out loud: this way the words themselves shine to us, helping us to understand where we have made mistakes in our lives and how to correct them. The higher the level of Teshuvah we reach, the deeper our understanding of the Torah. However, when a person is arrogant, not only does the Torah not radiate to him: it becomes covered with a veil of materialism.
Arrogance is bound up with sexual immorality, whereas moral purity brings one to true humility. Moral purity is a central feature of God's Covenant with the Jewish People, which not only proscribes incest, adultery and promiscuity, but also enjoins us to cultivate self-control and sanctity within the marital relationship. The union of husband and wife in holiness has the power to bring about yichudim — “unifications” — on various levels. The effect of a yichud is to reveal how apparently disparate parts of the creation are in fact bound together and express the underlying unity of God.
For the immoral person, the exertion involved in making a living can be a bitter punishment. The thirty-nine labors employed in building the Sanctuary are the prototype of all work and business activity. However for the immoral person the thirty-nine labors are experienced as the thirty-nine lashes which are the penalty for breaking Torah law. The more we sanctify ourselves, the easier it becomes to earn a living, and all our work activities come into the category of “building the sanctuary.”
HaShem: majestic and awesome King of Glory!
אֲשֶׁר בָּרָאתָ כָּל הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ בִּשְׁבִיל כְּבוֹדְךָ יִתְבָּרַךְ כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב, כֹּל הַנִּקְרָא בִּשְׁמִי וְלִכְבוֹדִי בְּרָאתִיו יְצַרְתִּיו אַף עֲשִׂיתִיו.
You created the entire universe for Your glory, as it is written: “All who are called in My Name, I created, formed and made them for My glory.”
וּבְכֵן תַּעַזְרֵנִי בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים, שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה שֶׁיִּתְגַּדֵּל וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח וְיִתְעַלֶּה כְּבוֹדְךָ עַל יָדִי. וְתִהְיֶה בְּעֶזְרִי שֶׁאוּכַל לְבַטֵּל עַצְמִי לְגַמְרֵי וּלְמַעֵט בִּכְבוֹדִי, שֶׁיִּהְיֶה כְבוֹדִי לְאַיִן וָאֶפֶס, וְלֹא אַשְׁגִּיחַ עַל כְּבוֹד עַצְמִי כְּלָל, רַק לְהַרְבּוֹת כְּבוֹד הַמָּקוֹם, וְיִהְיוּ כָּל עֲסָקַי וַעֲשִׂיָּתִי וּמַחֲשַׁבְתִּי וּרְצוֹנִי כֻּלָּם, רַק בִּשְׁבִיל כְּבוֹדְךָ הַגָּדוֹל יִתְבָּרַךְ.
Loving God: Let Your majesty be increased, enhanced and heightened through me. Help me to be able to nullify myself completely, and not seek the least honor for myself. Let me think nothing of my own importance, and pay no attention whatever to receiving honor for myself. Let all my efforts be only to magnify the glory of God. Let all my involvements and everything I do, think and want, be only for the sake of Your great glory, blessed God.
וְתַעַזְרֵנִי בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים לְשַׁבֵּר וּלְסַלֵּק מֵעָלַי מִדַּת הַגַּאֲוָה, שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה שֶׁלֹּא יַעֲלֶה בְּלִבִּי שׁוּם צַד וְנִדְנוּד גֵּאוּת בָּעוֹלָם, וְאֶזְכֶּה לַעֲנָוָה בֶּאֱמֶת. וְתִתֶּן לִי שֵׂכֶל וְחָכְמָה אֲמִתִּית מֵאִתְּךָ בְּאֹפֶן שֶׁאוּכַל לְהָפִיק דַּרְכֵי הָעֲנָוָה,
Help me break and remove all arrogance from myself. Let not the slightest hint of arrogance ever enter my heart. Bring me to genuine humility. Grant me true Godly wisdom and understanding, so that I will be able to cultivate the ways of humility.
וְאֶנָּצֵל מֵעֲנָוָה פְּסוּלָה, מֵעֲנָוָה שֶׁהִיא בִּשְׁבִיל כָּבוֹד, שֶׁזֹּאת הָעֲנָוָה הִיא תַכְלִית הַגַּדְלוּת, שֶׁלֹּא תִהְיֶה כַּוָּנָתִי חַס וְשָׁלוֹם לִהְיוֹת עָנָיו כְּדֵי לְהִתְכַּבֵּד וּלְהִתְיַּקֵּר עַל יְדֵי זֶה, רַק תְּזַכֵּנִי בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים וַחֲסָדֶיךָ הַגְּדוֹלִים הָאֲמִתִּיִּים שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לְתַכְלִית הָעֲנָוָה בֶּאֱמֶת לַאֲמִתּוֹ:
Save me from false humility — affected humility aimed at winning people's esteem. This kind of humility is the ultimate in arrogance. Let me never pretend to be humble with the intention of winning admiration and esteem. Loving and merciful God: Just help me to come to complete humility in perfect sincerity.
אָנָּא יְהֹוָה, מָלֵא רַחֲמִים רַבִּים, הָרַחֲמָן בֶּאֱמֶת, יֵעוֹרְרוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ וַחֲסָדֶיךָ, עַל נִבְזֶה וַחֲדַל אִישִׁים כָּמוֹנִי, שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לְהַרְגִּישׁ שִׁפְלוּתִי בֶּאֱמֶת, וְאַל יִגְרְמוּ עֲוֹנוֹתַי לִדְחוֹת אוֹתִי חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, לְבַלְבֵּל אֶת דַּעְתִּי וּמַחֲשַׁבְתִּי בְּמַחֲשָׁבוֹת שֶׁל שְׁטוּת שֶׁהֵם הַמַּחֲשָׁבוֹת שֶׁל פְּנִיּוֹת וְגַבְהוּת. רַחֵם עָלַי לְמַעַנְךָ, וְהַצִּילֵנִי בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים מִשּׁוּם צַד גֵּאוּת וְגַבְהוּת בָּעוֹלָם כְּלָל,
Please, HaShem, loving God: Your love is true love. Let Your love and mercy be awakened for someone as lowly and miserable as me. Let me feel my true lowliness, and don't allow my sins to throw me off track by confusing my mind with any foolish motives of trying to impress people, or illusions about my own importance. Have pity on me for Your sake, and save me from the least hint of arrogance and pride.
כִּי בֶּאֱמֶת יָדַעְתִּי כִּי אֵינִי רָאוּי וּכְדַאי לְהִתְקָרֵב אֵלֶיךָ, כִּי פָּגַמְתִּי בִּכְבוֹדְךָ מְאֹד כַּאֲשֶׁר אַתָּה יָדַעְתָּ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהַי, אַךְ נִשְׁעַנְתִּי עַל רַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים, שֶׁתִּהְיֶה בְּעֶזְרִי וְתִשְׁתַּדֵּל בְּהַצָּלָתִי. עַל כֵּן עָזְרֵנִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהַי, שֶׁלֹּא יִתְבַּלְבֵּל דַּעְתִּי בְּשׁוּם צַד פְּנִיּוֹת וְגֵאוּת כְּלָל.
I know I am not really fit to come close to You, because I have shown such a lack of respect for Your honor, as You know, HaShem my God. But I will rely on Your overflowing love and kindness, and ask You to help me and do everything to save me from pride.
וּתְרַחֵם עָלַי בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים וְלֹא תַנִּיחֵנִי לִתְעוֹת בִּדְרָכִים נְבוֹכִים חַס וְשָׁלוֹם. וְתַעֲשֶׂה בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ אֵת אֲשֶׁר בְּחֻקֶּיךָ אֵלֵךְ, וְאֶת מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ אֶשְׁמוֹר בֶּאֱמֶת, בְּתַכְלִית הָעֲנָוָה בֶּאֱמֶת לַאֲמִתּוֹ. וְתַעַזְרֵנִי שֶׁאֲפִלּוּ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁתְּזַכֵּנִי לַעֲשׂוֹת טוֹב שֶׁלֹּא אֵדַע מֵעַצְמִי כְּלָל לְעוֹלָם:
HaShem, help me to keep my mind clear of all false motives and arrogance. Have mercy on me and don't let me stray into those treacherous pathways. Loving God, bring me to follow Your commandments and observe Your laws sincerely, with true and complete humility. Even at times when You grant me the opportunity to do good, help me be totally unselfconscious about it.
(הַשְׁמָטָה הַשַּׁיָּךְ כָּאן מִסֵּפֶר "תְּפִלּוֹת וְתַחֲנוּנִים")
רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם אַתָּה הוֹדַעְתָּנוּ חֹמֶר עֲוֹן הַגַּדְלוּת עַד שֶׁהוּא כְּעוֹבֵד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, וְשֶׁכָּל עִקַּר גָּלוּת יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיָה רַק עַל יְדֵי עֲוֹן הַגַּדְלוּת שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת שֶׁבַע בָּתֵּי עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה, וְכֵן כָּל עִקָּר אֲרִיכַת הַגָּלוּת מָה שֶׁזֶּה יוֹתֵר מֵאֶלֶף וּשְׁמֹנֶה מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה אֲשֶׁר גָּלִינוּ מֵאַרְצֵנוּ וַעֲדַיִן אֵין אָנוּ יְכוֹלִין לָשׁוּב לְאַרְצֵנוּ הַכֹּל הוּא רַק מֵחֲמַת עֲוֹן הַגַּדְלוּת וְהָרְדִיפָה אַחַר הַכָּבוֹד.
Master of the Universe: You have informed us how serious a sin arrogance is — it is like worshipping an idol, God forbid — and that the main reason for the exile of the Jewish People was because of the sin of pride. That is what the Rabbis meant when they said the land was ruined because of seven idolatrous temples. Similarly, pride is the main reason why the exile has gone on for so long. It is now more than eighteen hundred years that we have been away from our land, and we still cannot return — only because of the sin of pride and the race for honor.
וְגַם הוֹדָעַת לָנוּ כִּי עַל יְדֵי עֲוֹן הַגַּדְלוּת עַל יְדֵי זֶה הָאָדָם הוּא בִּבְחִינַת עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה וְכַתּוּתֵהּ מִכְתַּת שִׁעוּרֵהּ, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה אֵין יְכוֹלִין לִפְתֹּחַ פֶּה וּלְדַבֵּר שׁוּם דִּבּוּר דִּקְדֻשָּׁה כִּי מֵאַחַר שֶׁמִיכְתַּת כָּתִית שִׁעוּרֵהּ מִמֵּילָא אֵין לוֹ כְּלִי הַדִּבּוּר לְדַבֵּר עַל יָדָם,
You have also let us know that a person who is arrogant is like an idol. Since an idolatrous object must be burned, Torah law views it as if it has already been ground down to nothing. This is why people who are arrogant are unable to open their mouths to say a single holy word. It is as if they have already been ground down to nothing, and so they lack the necessary vocal apparatus.
וְלֹא עוֹד אֶלָּא שֶׁכְּשֶׁהַתּוֹרָה בָּאָה לְתוֹךְ דִּבּוּרִים פְּגוּמִים לְתוֹךְ פֶּה פָּגוּם כָּזֶה עַל יְדֵי זֶה לֹא דַּי שֶׁאֵין דִּבּוּרֵי הַתּוֹרָה מְאִירִים לוֹ בִּבְחִינַת מָה שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה פְּתַח פִּיךָ וְיָאִירוּ דְבָרֶיךָ רַק אַדְּרַבָּא גַּם הַתּוֹרָה עַצְמָהּ כִּבְיָכוֹל נִתְגַּשֵּׁם וְנִתְחַשֵּׁךְ שָׁם מִפִּיו.
When a person speaks words of Torah, they ought to shine, as the Rabbis said: “Open your mouth and your words will shine.” But when the Torah comes in the mouth of someone who talks and acts arrogantly, not only does it not shine to him: the very light of the Torah is darkened by a thick veil of materialism.
עַל כֵּן חוּס וַחֲמֹל עָלֵינוּ מֵעַתָּה עַל כָּל פָּנִים וּמַלְטָה נַפְשֵׁנוּ מֵעָוֹן הַגַּדְלוּת וְזַכֵּנוּ שֶׁלֹּא נִרְדֹּף עוֹד אַחַר כְּבוֹד עַצְמֵנוּ חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, רַק אַדְּרַבָּא נִזְכֶּה לְמַעֵט בִּכְבוֹד עַצְמֵנוּ וּלְהַרְבּוֹת בִּכְבוֹד הַמָּקוֹם וְיִתְעַלֶּה וְיִתְגַּדֵּל וְיִתְגַּלֶּה כְּבוֹדְךָ עַל יָדֵינוּ וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה נִזְכֶּה לְפֶה קָדוֹשׁ וּלְדַבֵּר דִּבּוּרִים הַמְּאִירִים שֶׁבְּחִינַת וְהָאָרֶץ הֵאִירָה מִכְּבוֹדוֹ
Have pity on me, and at least from now on, save me from the sin of pride. Help me to stop running after my own glory, God forbid. Let me think nothing of our own importance, and strive only to maximize the glory of God. Let Your glory be enhanced, magnified and revealed through me, and let me sanctify my mouth and speak words that radiate, until “the earth shines with His glory.”
וְנִזְכֶּה לַעֲסֹק הַרְבֵּה בַּתּוֹרָה בְּכָל יוֹם וּלְדַבֵּר דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה בְּפֶה מָלֵא כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב כִּי חַיִּים הֵם לְמֹצְאֵיהֶם ודרז"ל לְמוֹצִיאֵיהֶם בַּפֶּה וְנִזְכֶּה שֶׁהַדִּבּוּרִים יָאִירוּ לָנוּ לְכָל הַמְּקוֹמוֹת שֶׁצְּרִיכִין לַעֲשׂוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה עַד שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה לַעֲשׂוֹת תְּשׁוּבַת הַמִּשְׁקָל מַמָּשׁ,
Help me study much Torah every day, and say the words out loud. “For they are life to those who find them” — “...to those who say them out loud.” Let my words of Torah throw light on all the areas of my life in which I need to repent, until I reach a level of Teshuvah where I make amends for all the wrong I have ever done.
וְנִזְכֶּה לֵילֵךְ מִמַּדְרֵגָה לַמַּדְרֵגָה עַד אֲשֶׁר נֵצֵא מִשִּׁפְלוּת וּפְחִיתוּת מַדְרֵגָתֵנוּ עַתָּה עַד שֶׁאָנוּ בִּבְחִינַת רְגָלִין וּמְשׁוּלִים לְעָפָר מַמָּשׁ, אֲבָל עַל יְדֵי הַדִּבּוּרִים הַמְּאִירִים נִזְכֶּה לִתְשׁוּבָה שְׁלֵמָה וְלָצֵאת מִמַּדְרֵגָתֵנוּ הַפְּחוּתָה וְלָבֹא לִתְבוּנוֹת הַתּוֹרָה לְעָמְקָהּ:
(עַד כָּאן הוֹסָפָה מִסֵּפֶר "תְּפִלּוֹת וְתַחֲנוּנִים")
My present level is so low that I am down at the “feet” — I am no better than the dust. Help me rise up from level to level until I emerge from this degraded state. Through speaking radiant words of Torah, let me come to complete Teshuvah and emerge from my low level, and attain an understanding of the profoundest depths of the Torah.
אָנָּא יְהֹוָה, רַחֲמָן הָאֱמֶת, מָלֵא רַחֲמִים, חֲמֹל עַל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ, וְתִפְתַּח פִּי וְלִבִּי שֶׁאוּכַל לְפָרֵשׁ שִׂיחָתִי לְפָנֶיךָ. וְאֶזְכֶּה לְעוֹרֵר רַחֲמֶיךָ הָאֲמִתִּיִּים עָלַי, שֶׁתְּרַחֵם עָלַי מֵעַתָּה, וְתַעֲזֹר לִי שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לְקַדֵּשׁ וּלְטַהֵר עַצְמִי בִּקְדֻשַּׁת הַבְּרִית, וְאֶנָּצֵל מֵעַתָּה מִכָּל מִינֵי פְּגָם הַבְּרִית שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם, הַעֲבֵר עֵינַי מֵרְאוֹת שָׁוְא בִּדְרָכֶיךָ חַיֵּנִי.
Please HaShem: You are full of love and kindness, and Your love is true love. Take pity on Your works. Open my mouth and my heart so that I will be able to express myself before You and arouse Your true love for me. From now on, help me to sanctify and purify myself through observing the holy Covenant. Save me from any kind of immorality. “Keep my eyes from looking at falsehood: through following Your pathways, bring me to life.”
וְכָל מַה שֶּׁפָּגַמְתִּי עַד עַתָּה בִּבְרִית קֹדֶשׁ, עַל הַכֹּל תִּמְחוֹל וְתִסְלַח לִי מוֹחֵל וְסוֹלֵחַ בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים וַחֲסָדֶיךָ הָעֲצוּמִים. הֵן מַה שֶּׁפָּגַמְתִּי בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה אוֹ בְּדִבּוּר אוֹ בְּמַעֲשֶׂה, הֵן מַה שֶּׁפָּגַמְתִּי בִּרְאִיַּת הָעַיִן וּבִשְׁמִיעַת הָאֹזֶן וּבְחוּשׁ הָרֵיחַ, בֵּין בְּשׁוֹגֵג בֵּין בְּמֵזִיד בֵּין בְּאוֹנֶס בֵּין בְּרָצוֹן, וְכָל מִינֵי פְּגָמִים שֶׁפָּגַמְתִּי בִּפְגַם הַבְּרִית, עַל הַכֹּל תִּמְחוֹל וְתִסְלַח לִי חַנּוּן הַמַּרְבֶּה לִסְלוֹחַ.
Forgiving God: Be kind and merciful, and pardon and forgive me for everything I have ever done contrary to the Holy Covenant. Forgive me for all the immoral thoughts I have ever had, for everything immoral I have ever said or done, and for having abused my powers of vision, hearing and smell, whether deliberately or unintentionally, wilfully or under compulsion.
לְמַעַן שִׁמְךָ יְהֹוָה וְסָלַחְתָּ לַעֲוֹנִי כִּי רַב הוּא. וּתְרַחֵם עָלַי, וּתְשַׁבֵּר וּתְמַגֵּר וְתַכְנִיעַ וּתְבַטֵּל אֶת כָּל מִינֵי קְשָׁרִים וַעֲבֹתוֹת וְשַׁלְשֶׁלֶת דְּסִטְרָא אַחֲרָא שֶׁנִּקְשְׁרוּ וְנִגְדְּלוּ עַל יְדֵי עֲוֹנוֹתַי הַמְּרֻבִּים, אֲשֶׁר הֵם מִתְגַּבְּרִים עָלַי בְּכָל עֵת, וְרוֹצִים לְמָשְׁכֵנִי חַס וְשָׁלוֹם מִפְּגַם לִפְגַם, וְאֵין מַנִּיחִים אוֹתִי לְקַדֵּשׁ וּלְטַהֵר עַצְמִי בֶּאֱמֶת כָּרָאוּי, וּמֵחֲמַת זֶה אֲנִי רָחוֹק מִקְּדֻשַּׁת הַבְּרִית בֶּאֱמֶת, כָּרָאוּי לְאִישׁ יִשְׂרְאֵלִי לְזֶרַע אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב אֲשֶׁר בָּהֶם בָּחָרְתָּ.
“For the sake of Your Name, HaShem, forgive my sin even though it is so weighty.” Have pity on me: break and destroy and do away with all the knots, cords and chains of evil created by my many sins. They keep on attacking me and trying to drag me from one sin to the next, God forbid. They are preventing me from sanctifying and purifying myself the way I should, and because of this I am far from observing the holy Covenant in a way that befits a Jew descended from Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, Your chosen ones.
רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם אַתָּה יָדַעְתָּ אֶת לְבָבִי, חוּס וַחֲמֹל עָלַי, וְתִפְסוֹק וְתִקְרַע וּתְשַׁבֵּר וּתְבַטֵּל אֶת כָּל הַקְּשָׁרִים וְהַשַׁלְשֶׁלֶת דְּסִטְרָא אַחֲרָא, עַד שֶׁלֹּא יִהְיֶה לָהֶם שׁוּם כֹּחַ לְהִתְגַּבֵּר עָלַי כְּלָל. וּתְבַטְּלֵם בְּבִטּוּל גָּמוּר שֶׁלֹּא יִשָּׁאֵר מֵהֶם שׁוּם זֵכֶר וּרְשִׁימָה בָּעוֹלָם כְּלָל, רַק כָּל הָעֲוֹנוֹת יִתְהַפְּכוּ לִזְכֻיּוֹת. וְאִם אָמְנָם לֹא זָכִיתִי עֲדַיִן לִתְשׁוּבָה זוֹ, כִּי עֲדַיִן לֹא הִתְחַלְתִּי לַעֲשׂוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה בֶּאֱמֶת כְּלָל, אַף עַל פִּי כֵן, תִּתֶּן לִי בְּמַתְּנַת חִנָּם וְנִדְבַת חֶסֶד.
Master of the Universe: You know my heart. Have mercy on me. Cut and break all the knots and chains of evil, until they will be powerless to attack me in any way. Do away with them so completely that not even the least trace or memory of them will remain. Let all my sins be turned into merits. I know I have not yet reached this level of Tesuhvah. So far I have not even started to repent genuinely. Even so, grant it to me as a free gift of mercy.
וּתְרַחֵם עָלַי בְּחַסְדְּךָ הַגָּדוֹל, וְתִרְאֶה בְּעָנְיִי וַעֲמָלִי, אֲשֶׁר הֵם אוֹרְבִים עָלַי בְּכָל עֵת וּבְכָל שָׁעָה, וּמְעַנִּים אֶת נַפְשִׁי וְרוּחִי וְנִשְׁמָתִי בְּכָל מִינֵי עִנּוּיִים, וְרוֹדְפִים אַחֲרַי בְּכָל מִינֵי רְדִיפוֹת שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם, וְרוֹצִים לְגָרְשֵׁנִי חַס וְשָׁלוֹם מֵאֶרֶץ הַחַיִּים, וְהֵם צוֹדִים אֶת נַפְשִׁי לְקַחְתָּהּ חַס וְשָׁלוֹם.
Loving, merciful God, look how low I am and how I'm struggling. Evil temptations and desires lie in wait for me all the time, tormenting my nefesh, my ru'ach and my neshamah with all kinds of tortures. They pursue me and persecute me in every way. They want to drive me out of the land of the living. They want to trap my soul and take her into captivity.
וְאִם אָמְנָם אֲנִי בְּעַצְמִי רוֹדֵף אוֹתִי יוֹתֵר מִכֻּלָּם, כִּי בְּוַדַּאי הַבְּחִירָה חָפְשִׁית, וּמִי יוּכַל לְהַכְרִיחַ אוֹתִי לְהַטּוֹת לְדַרְכָּם חַס וְשָׁלוֹם. הִנְנִי מוֹדֶה וּמִתְוַדֶּה כִּי בֶּאֱמֶת אֲנִי בְּעַצְמִי הַחַיָּב, בִּי אֲנִי אֲדֹנִי הֶעָוֹן. אֲבָל מָה אֶעֱשֶׂה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהַי, כִּי מָטָה יָדֵינוּ מְאֹד, וְאֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ לְבַקֵּשׁ אֵיזֶה דֶרֶךְ מָנוֹס לָנוּס מֵהֶם, וּלְהִתְגַבֵּר עַל כָּל הַתַּאֲווֹת וְהִרְהוּרִים רָעִים שֶׁהֵם מִתְגַּבְּרִים עָלַי בְּכָל עֵת,
I know that I am my own worst persecutor, because I have free will and no-one can force me to be swayed by these desires and temptations. I fully acknowledge and confess that I am the guilty one — “the sin is in me, my Lord.” But what should I do, HaShem? All my power of resistance has been sapped, and I do not know how to find a way to escape the evil desires and fantasies that are constantly attacking me. I don't know how to fight against them.
וְאֵין לִי שׁוּם תִּקְוָה כִּי אִם עַל רַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים וַחֲסָדֶיךָ הַגְּדוֹלִים, שֶׁתַּעֲזוֹר לִי וְתִתֶּן לִי כֹּחַ לְהִתְגַּבֵּר עַל כָּל מִינֵי תַאֲווֹת וְהִרְהוּרִים רָעִים, לְהַכְנִיעָם וּלְהַשְׁפִּילָם וּלְשַׁבְּרָם וּלְסַלְּקָם מֵעָלַי וּמֵעַל גְּבוּלִי מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם, שֶׁלֹּא יִכְנֹס בְּדַעְתִּי וּמַחֲשַׁבְתִּי שׁוּם צַד הִרְהוּר בָּעוֹלָם כְּלָל, רַק מוֹחִי וּמַחֲשַׁבְתִּי יִהְיוּ קְדוֹשִׁים וּטְהוֹרִים תָּמִיד בְּתַכְלִית הַקְּדֻשָּׁה בִּשְׁלֵמוּת.
My only hope is to rely on Your abundant love and mercy. Help me! Give me the strength to resist all evil thoughts and desires. Help me to overcome them and break their power over me, and drive them out of myself and my life from now and for ever. Don't let a single lustful thought ever enter my mind. Let my mind and my thoughts always be completely holy and pure.
וְתַעַזְרֵנִי בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לִקְדֻשָּׁה וְטָהֳרָה, שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לְקַדֵּשׁ עַצְמִי בַּמֻּתָּר לִי. וְאֶזְכֶּה בְּכָל פַּעַם לְהוֹסִיף קְדֻשָּׁה עַל קְדֻשָּׁה, עַד שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לִקְדֻשָּׁה וּפְרִישׁוּת בֶּאֱמֶת, עַד שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה שֶׁיִּתְיַחֵד עַל יָדִי יִחוּדָא עִלָּאָה וְיִחוּדָא תַתָּאָה:
Loving God: Help me attain sanctity and purity, and conduct myself with holiness and restraint even in what is permitted to me. Let me constantly add more and more holiness, until I attain such a level of sanctity and detachment from material desire that the Upper and Lower Unifications will be brought about through me.
(הַשְׁמָטָה הַשַּׁיָּךְ כָּאן מִסֵּפֶר "תְּפִלּוֹת וְתַחֲנוּנִים")
רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם אַתָּה יָדַעְתָּ אֵיךְ שֶׁגַּם הֲתַלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים וּגְדוֹלֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר זִוּוּגָם הוּא רַק מִשַּׁבָּת לְשַׁבָּת גַּם הֵם צְרִיכִין הִתְגַּבְּרוּת גָּדוֹל וּזְהִירוּת יְתֵרָה וּשְׁמִירָה גְּדוֹלָה בְּעִנְיַן קְדֻשַּׁת שְׁמִירַת הַבְּרִית וּמִכָּל שֶׁכֵּן הָאֲנָשִׁים הַקְּטַנִּים בְּמַעֲלָה שֶׁזִּוּוּגָם גַּם בִּימֵי הַחֹל שֶׁהֵם בְּוַדַּאי צְרִיכִים שְׁמִירָה גְּדוֹלָה וּזְהִירוּת יְתֵרָה בְּעִנְיַן קְדֻשַּׁת הַזִּוּוּג וּשְׁמִירַת הַבְּרִית.
Master of the Universe: You know that even Torah scholars and great rabbinic leaders who only have marital relations from Shabbat to Shabbat also need to exercise tremendous self-control and caution in order to observe the Covenant in holiness. How much more this applies to average people, who have relations during the week as well. They must certainly act with the utmost care and caution in order to conduct their marriage relationship in holiness and guard the Covenant.
וְגַם אַתָּה הוֹדַעְתָּנוּ גֹּדֶל מַעֲלַת קְדֻשַּׁת הַזִּוּוּג שֶׁל עַמְּךָ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּשָׁרְשׁוֹ עַד אֲשֶׁר עַל יְדֵי זֶה נַעֲשֶׂה יְחֻדָּא עִלָּאָה וִיְחוּדָא תַּתָּאָה אֲשֶׁר כָּל אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל צָרִיךְ שֶׁיִּהְיֶה נַעֲשָׂה זֹאת עַל יָדוֹ.
You have also let us know the high level of holiness of the Jewish marriage relationship at its root. Through it, the Upper and Lower Unifications are brought about. Every Jew needs to do his part to bring this about.
עַל כֵּן חוּס וַחֲמֹל עָלֵינוּ בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים וְהַגְּדוֹלִים וּשְׁלַח לָנוּ בְּלִבֵּנוּ וּבְלֵב כָּל עַמְּךָ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל הִתְעוֹרְרוּת אֲמִתִּי דִּקְדֻשָּׁה שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה לְהִתְעוֹרֵר כֻּלָּנוּ לְמִקָּטְנֵנוּ וְעַד גְדוֹלֵינוּ לְקַדֵּשׁ עַצְמֵנוּ בַּמֻּתָּר לָנוּ וּלְהַמְשִׁיךְ עָלֵינוּ הוֹסָפוֹת קְדֻשָּׁה יְתֵרָה בְּכָל פַּעַם בְּעִנְיַן שְׁמִירַת הַבְּרִית וּקְדֻשַּׁת הַזִּוּוּג
Loving God: Have mercy on us and and send a true holy awakening into our hearts and the hearts of all Your people, the House of Israel. Let all of us, from the smallest to the greatest, be aroused to sanctify ourselves in what is permitted to us and to constantly guard the Covenant and conduct our relationships with ever greater holiness.
עַד שֶׁיִּהְיֶה נַעֲשֶׂה עַל יָדֵינוּ קְדֻשַּׁת הַשְּׁנֵי יִחוּדִים הַקְּדוֹשִׁים שֶׁהֵם יְחֻדָּא עִלָּאָה וּיְחֻדָּא תַּתָּאָה בִּשְׁלֵמוּת עַד שֶׁעַל יְדֵי זֶה יִתְעַלֶּה וְיִתְגַּדֵּל כְּבוֹדְךָ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בִּשְׁלֵמוּת וְיִמָּלֵא כְבוֹד ה' אֶת כָּל הָאָרֶץ, תָּאִיר אֶרֶץ מִכְּבוֹדֶךָ נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בָּךְ, וִיקֻיַּם מִקְרָא שֶׁכָּתוּב יְהִי כְּבוֹד לְעוֹלָם יִשְׂמַח ה' בְּמַעֲשָׂיו:
(עַד כָּאן הוֹסָפָה מִסֵּפֶר "תְּפִלּוֹת וְתַחֲנוּנִים")
Let the two holy Unifications, the Upper and the Lower, be brought about through us, so that Your holy glory will be enhanced and magnified to perfection “...and the glory of HaShem will fill all the earth.” Radiate the earth with Your glory, let us exult and rejoice in You! And fulfil what is written: “The glory of HaShem will be for ever: HaShem will rejoice in His works.”
אָנָּא יְהֹוָה, עָזְרֵנִי בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים שֶׁלֹּא אֲאַבֵּד אֶת עוֹלָמִי חַס וְשָׁלוֹם עַל יְדֵי טִרְדַּת הַפַּרְנָסָה. וְתַצִּילֵנִי בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים מִפְּגַם הַל"ט מְלָאכוֹת דְּסִטְרָא אַחֲרָא שֶׁהֵם ל"ט מַלְקִיּוֹת, שֶׁהֵם מַטְרִידִים אֶת רוֹב הָעוֹלָם בִּיגִיעוֹת וְטִרְדּוֹת הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, אֲשֶׁר הֵם רָצִים כָּל יְמֵיהֶם אַחַר פַּרְנָסָתָם בִּיגִיעוֹת וְטִרְחוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת מְאֹד, וְהֵם אוֹכְלֵי לֶחֶם בְּעִצָּבוֹן,
Hashem, loving God: Please help me and provide me with my livelihood in such a way that I don't lose my eternal reward in the struggle to make a living. Save me from the scourge of the thirty-nine labors of the Sitra Achra, the side of evil. These are the “thirty-nine lashes” that drive and oppress the majority of people with worldly cares and struggles. They spend all their days running to make a living with the utmost pain and effort, “eating their bread in misery.”
בְּזֵעַת אַפָּם יֹאכְלוּ לֶחֶם עַד שׁוּבָם אֶל הָאֲדָמָה, וּמְאוּמָה לֹא יִשְׂאוּ בַּעֲמָלָם, כִּי טִרְדַּת הַפַּרְנָסָה מְבַלְבֶּלֶת אוֹתָם כָּל יְמֵיהֶם, וּמוֹנַעַת אוֹתָם מִלִּזְכּוֹר וְלָשׂוּם אֶל לִבָּם אֶת תַּכְלִיתָם, מַה יַעֲשׂוּ לְיוֹם פְּקֻדָּה:
With the sweat of their brow they will eat bread, until they return to the earth, taking nothing from all their toil — because the struggle to make a living so dominates their minds all their lives that they fail to remember their ultimate purpose. What will they do on the Day of Judgement?
אָנָּא יְהֹוָה, מָלֵא רַחֲמִים רַבִּים. רַחֵם עָלַי וְעַל כָּל חֶבְרָתֵנוּ וְעַל כָּל עַמְּךָ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְתַצִּיל אוֹתָנוּ מִכָּל זֶה, וּתְזַכֶּה אוֹתָנוּ שֶׁלֹּא נִהְיֶה טְרוּדִים כְּלָל בְּטִרְדַּת הַפַּרְנָסָה. וַאֲפִלּוּ בָּעֵת שֶׁאָנוּ מֻכְרָחִים לַעֲשׂוֹת אֵיזֶה עֵסֶק אוֹ מַשָּׂא וּמַתָּן בִּשְׁבִיל פַּרְנָסָה, תַּעַזְרֵנוּ בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים שֶׁיִּהְיֶה הַכֹּל בִּקְדֻשָּׁה וּבְטָהֳרָה, בֶּאֱמֶת וּבֶאֱמוּנָה כִּרְצוֹנְךָ הַטּוֹב, בְּלִי טִרְדָּא וּבְלִי בִּלְבּוּל הַדַּעַת כְּלָל.
Please HaShem, You are overflowing with love and kindness: have mercy on me and on all Your people Israel, and save us from all this. Don't let me be ground down by the struggle to make a living. In whatever work I have to do to make a living, help me do everything in holiness and purity, truth and faith, in accordance with Your will. Let me not have to struggle at all. Save me from all mental confusion.
וְנֵדַע וְנַאֲמִין כִּי הַכֹּל מֵאִתְּךָ וְלֹא עַל יָדֵינוּ כְּלָל, וְכָל עִסְקֵנוּ וַעֲשִׂיָּתֵנוּ בְּמַשָּׂא וּבְמַתָּן וְעִסְקֵי פַּרְנָסָה, יִהְיֶה הַכֹּל מְזֻכָּךְ וּמְזֻקָּק, עַד שֶׁיִּהְיוּ מְאִירִים כָּל הַל"ט מְלָאכוֹת וְיוּכְלְלוּ בְּטַל אוֹרוֹת הַנִּמְשָׁכִים מִשִּׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל. וְכָל הַל"ט מְלָאכוֹת יִהְיוּ בִּקְדֻשָּׁה וּבְטָהֳרָה, בִּבְחִינוֹת מְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן.
Let me know and believe that everything comes from You and that nothing is in my hands at all. Let me carry out all my work and business activities with such purity and refinement that all the thirty-nine labors will shine and merge with the thirty-nine lights emanating from Your great Name. Let me carry out the thirty-nine labors in holiness and purity, so that in everything I do I will be “building the Sanctuary.”
וּתְבָרֵךְ אֶת מַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ, וְתִשְׁלַח בְּרָכָה וְהַצְלָחָה בְּכָל עִסְקֵינוּ וַעֲשִׂיָּתֵינוּ, וְתַזְמִין פַּרְנָסָתֵנוּ קוֹדֶם שֶׁנִּצְטָרֵךְ לָהֶם, בְּרֶוַח וְלֹא בְּצִמְצוּם בְּהֶתֵּר וְלֹא בְּאִסּוּר, מִתַּחַת יָדְךָ הָרְחָבָה וְהַמְּלֵאָה. וִיהִי נוֹעַם יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ עָלֵינוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ כּוֹנְנָה עָלֵינוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ כּוֹנְנֵהוּ.
Bless the work of my hands. Send me blessing and success in all my involvements and activities. Send me my livelihood before I need it, amply and not sparingly, through permitted and not forbidden means, from Your wide-open, generous hand. “And let the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us, and may He give success to the work of our hands, to the work of our hands — success.”
וְעָזְרֵנוּ יְהֹוָה, שֶׁנִּהְיֶה שְׂמֵחִים בְּחֶלְקֵנוּ תָמִיד, וְתִהְיֶה תוֹרָתֵנוּ קֶבַע וּמְלַאכְתֵּנוּ עֲרָאי. וַאֲפִלּוּ בְּאוֹתָהּ הַשָּׁעָה הַמְּעוּטָה שֶׁנִּצְטָרֵךְ לַעֲסֹק בְּאֵיזֶה עֵסֶק אוֹ מַשָּׂא וּמַתָּן בִּשְׁבִיל הֶכְרֵחִיוּת פַּרְנָסָתֵנוּ, גַּם אָז נִהְיֶה דְבוּקִים בְּךָ וּבְתוֹרָתְךָ הַקְּדוֹשָׁה, וְלֹא נִשְׁכַּח אוֹתְךָ אֲפִלּוּ רֶגַע קַלָּה:
HaShem: Help me to be happy with my share at all times. Let me put my main emphasis on Torah study, and only have to work on a casual basis. And even in the short periods of time I have to engage in work or business in order to earn what I need to make a living, let me still be attached to You and to Your holy Torah. Let me never forget You even for the briefest moment.
אָנָּא יְהֹוָה, זַכֵּנִי לְהַגִּיעַ לְכָל מַה שֶּׁבִּקַּשְׁתִּי מִלְּפָנֶיךָ, וַעֲזוֹר לִי מֵעַתָּה שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לְקַדֵּשׁ אֶת עַצְמִי בִּקְדֻשַּׁת הַבְּרִית. וְאֶזְכֶּה לְבַטֵּל עַצְמִי נֶגְדְּךָ בֶּאֱמֶת, וְלֹא יַעֲלֶה בְּלִבִּי וְדַעְתִּי שׁוּם צַד גֵּאוּת וְגַבְהוּת וּפְנִיּוֹת בָּעוֹלָם, וְאֶזְכֶּה לַעֲנָוָה בֶּאֱמֶת לַאֲמִתּוֹ. וְתַעַזְרֵנִי וּתְזַכֵּנִי שֶׁיִּתְגַּדֵּל וְיִתְקַדֵּשׁ וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח כְּבוֹדְךָ הַגָּדוֹל עַל יָדִי.
HaShem: Please grant me everything I have asked of You. Help me sanctify myself through observing the holy Covenant from now on. Let me subordinate myself to You in complete truth. Do not let the least hint of pride or arrogance come into my heart or my mind. Cleanse me of all motives of trying to impress others and win their admiration. Let me come to genuine humility, and let Your glory be magnified, sanctified and elevated through me.
וּתְזַכֵּנִי לְדִבּוּרִים הַמְּאִירִים בַּתּוֹרָה, וְיָאִירוּ לִי דִבּוּרֵי הַתּוֹרָה לָצֵאת מִפְּחִיתוּת וְשִׁפְלוּת מַדְרֵגָתִי הַפְּחוּתָה וּשְׁפָלָה מְאֹד.
Help me speak radiant words of Torah, and let the words of the Torah shine to me and help me emerge from my low level. Let the words of the Torah throw light on all the areas of my life where I need to repent, so that I will come to make complete amends for all my sins and transgressions, and for all the disrespect I have shown to Your great glory from my childhood until the present.
וְאֶזְכֶּה שֶׁיָּאִירוּ לִי דִבּוּרֵי הַתּוֹרָה בְּכָל פַּעַם, לְכָל הַמְּקוֹמוֹת שֶׁאֲנִי צָרִיךְ לַעֲשׂוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה, בְּאֹפֶן שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לַעֲשׂוֹת תְּשׁוּבַת הַמִּשְׁקָל מַמָּשׁ, עַל כָּל חֲטָאַי וַעֲוֹנוֹתַי וּפְשָׁעַי הַמְּרֻבִּים, וְעַל כָּל הַפְּגָמִים שֶׁפָּגַמְתִּי בִּכְבוֹדְךָ הַגָּדוֹל יִתְבָּרַךְ מִנְּעוּרַי עַד עָתָּה. וּתְזַכֵּנִי לְתַקֵּן הַכֹּל בְּחַיָּי. וְתַעַזְרֵנִי בְּכָל פַּעַם לַעֲלוֹת מִדַּרְגָא לְדַרְגָּא, עַד שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לָבוֹא לִתְבוּנוֹת הַתּוֹרָה לְעֹמְקָהּ, וּתְזַכֵּנִי לֵידַע וּלְהָבִין וּלְהַשִּׂיג הֲלָכָה וְקַבָּלָה, רָזִין, וְרָזִין דְּרָזִין.
Grant that I should be able to rectify everything in my lifetime, and help me advance constantly from level to level, until I attain an understanding of the very depths of the Torah. Bring me to know and understand both the laws of the Torah and its mysteries — the secrets, and the secrets of the secrets!
יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים, נַפְשִׁי יוֹדַעַת מְאֹד כַּמָּה אֲנִי רָחוֹק כָּעֵת מִכָּל אֵלֶּה, עַד אֲשֶׁר מַסְוֶה הַבּוּשָׁה עַל פָּנַי לְבַקֵּשׁ עַל כָּל אֵלֶּה, כִּי אֵיךְ יוּכַל נִבְזֶה וְנִמְאָס כָּמוֹנִי לְבַקֵּשׁ גְּדוֹלוֹת כָּאֵלֶּה. אַךְ עַל רַחֲמֶיךָ הַגְּדוֹלִים נִשְׁעָנְתִּי, וְעַל עַנְוְתָנוּתְךָ וְטוּבְךָ תָּמַכְתִּי יְתֵדוֹתַי, כִּי אַתָּה טוֹב לַכֹּל וְאֵין דָּבָר נִמְנַע מִמֶּךָּ. וְאַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה גְדוֹלוֹת וְנִפְלָאוֹת עַד אֵין חֵקֶר בְּכָל עֵת וּבְכָל שָׁעָה, וּמִי יֹאמַר לְךָ מַה תַּעֲשֶׂה.
HaShem: In my heart of hearts I know very well how far I am from all these levels at present. My face is covered with shame for even making such requests. How can someone as lowly as I am dare to ask for such great things? But I am relying on Your great love and kindness. I am basing myself on Your humility and goodness. You are good to all, and nothing is impossible for You. You do the greatest, most unfathomable wonders all the time — who will tell You what to do?
עַל כֵּן עֵינַי לְךָ תְלוּיוֹת עַד שֶׁתְּחָנֵּנִי בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים, לִזְכּוֹת לְהַגִּיעַ לְכָל מַה שֶּׁבִּקַּשְׁתִּי מִלְּפָנֶיךָ חִישׁ קַל מְהֵרָה, וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו אֵימָתַי, כִּי כְּבָר כִּלִּיתִי שְׁנוֹתַי בְּהֶבֶל וָרִיק. עָזְרֵנִי מֵעַתָּה בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ, שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לְהִתְעוֹרֵר מֵהַיּוֹם לְהַמְשִׁיךְ עָלַי קְדֻשָּׁה וְטָהֳרָה בֶּאֱמֶת, עַד שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לְהַגִּיעַ לְכָל מַה שֶּׁבִּקַּשְׁתִּי מִלְּפָנֶיךָ.
My eyes are on You, waiting for You to show me Your love and kindness. Help me come to everything I have asked of You quickly and easily — if not now, when? So far I have wasted away my years in vanity and emptiness. Loving God: From now on, help me wake up and stir myself, and fill myself with holiness and purity, until I attain everything I have asked of You.
עֲשֵׂה לְמַעַן שְׁמֶךָ, עֲשֵׂה לְמַעַן כְּבוֹדֶךָ, עֲשֵׂה לְמַעַן קְדֻשָּׁתֶךָ, עֲשֵׂה לְמַעַן תּוֹרָתֶךָ, כִּי שִׁמְךָ וּכְבוֹדְךָ עָלֵינוּ נִקְרָא, וּכְבָר הִבְטַחְתָּנוּ שֶׁלֹּא תִתֵּן כְּבוֹדְךָ לְאַחֵר, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב, אֲנִי יְהֹוָה הוּא שְׁמִי וּכְבוֹדִי לְאַחֵר לֹא אֶתֵּן וּתְהִלָּתִי לַפְּסִילִים.
Do it for the sake of Your Name! Do it for the sake of Your glory! Do it for the sake of Your holiness! Do it for the sake of Your Torah! For as Jews, we are called by Your Name and associated with Your glory, and You have already promised that You will not give Your glory to another, as it is written: “I am HaShem, that is My Name, and my glory I will not give to another nor my praise to idols.”
עָזְרֵנוּ יְהֹוָה, שֶׁיִּתְגַּדֵּל כְּבוֹדְךָ עַל יָדֵינוּ, וּכְבוֹדְךָ יִמָּלֵא כָל הָאָרֶץ, תָּאִיר אֶרֶץ מִכְּבוֹדֶךָ, יְהִי כְבוֹד יְהֹוָה לְעוֹלָם יִשְׂמַח יְהֹוָה בְּמַעֲשָׂיו. בָּרוּךְ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹשֵׂה נִפְלָאוֹת לְבַדּוֹ. וּבָרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹדוֹ לְעוֹלָם וְיִמָּלֵא כְבוֹדוֹ אֶת כָּל הָאָרֶץ אָמֵן וְאָמֵן:
Help me, HaShem, and let Your glory be magnified through me. Let Your glory fill the whole earth. Light up the world with Your glory. “Let the glory of HaShem be for ever. HaShem will rejoice in His works. Blessed be HaShem, the God of Israel, Who does amazing wonders by Himself. And blessed be His glorious Name for ever. Let His glory fill the entire world.” Amen. Amen.