A Weekday Tefillah from the Land of Israel

5th–13th Century

O God, open my lips that my mouth may utter Your praises! (Psalm 51:17)

1. Praised be You, Adonai,

our God and God of our ancestors—

God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob—

great, mighty, and awesome God,

God Most High, creator of heaven and earth,

our shield and shield of our ancestors,

our refuge in every generation.

Praised be You, Adonai, shield of Abraham.

2. You are mighty—humbling the haughty;

powerful—calling the arrogant to judgment;

eternal—reviving the dead,

causing the wind to blow and the rain to fall,

sustaining the living, reviving the dead—

O cause our salvation to sprout in the twinkling of an eye!

Praised be You, Adonai, reviver of the dead.

3. You are holy and Your name is awesome;

there is no god beside You.

Praised be You, Adonai, the holy God.

4. Graciously favor us, our Father, with understanding from You,

discernment and insight out of Your Torah.

Praised be You, Adonai, gracious bestower of understanding.

5. Turn us to You, O God, that we may return;

renew our days as of old (Lamentations 5:21).

Praised be You, Adonai, desirous of repentance.

6. Forgive us, our Father, for we have sinned against You.

Erase and blot out our transgressions from before Your eyes,

for You are abundantly compassionate.

Praised be You, Adonai, abundantly forgiving [see Isaiah 55:7].

7. Behold our afflictions, defend our cause,

and redeem us speedily for Your name’s sake [see Psalm 119:153–154; Jeremiah 50:34].

Praised be You, Adonai, redeemer of Israel.

8. Heal us, Adonai our God, from the pain in our hearts,

remove grief, sighing, and pestilence from us,

and cause our wounds to be healed [see Jeremiah 30:17].

Praised be You, Adonai, healer of the stricken among Your people Israel.

9. Bless this year for us, Adonai our God,

and may its harvest be abundant.

Hasten the time of our deliverance.

Provide dew and rain for the earth;

satisfy the world with Your blessings,

and bestow a blessing upon the work of our hands.

Praised be You, Adonai, who blesses the years.

10. Sound a blast on the great shofar for our freedom [see Isaiah 27:13]

and raise a banner for the ingathering of our exiles [see Isaiah 11:12].

Praised be You, Adonai, gatherer of the dispersed of Your people Israel.

11. Restore our judges as of old

and our leaders as in days of yore [see Isaiah 1:26],

and rule over us—You alone.

Praised be You, Adonai, lover of justice.

12. May there be no hope for the apostates,

and speedily uproot the kingdom of arrogance in our own day.

May the Nazarenes¹ and the sectarians perish in an instant.

May they be blotted out of the book of the living,

and may they not be inscribed with the righteous (Psalm 69:29).

Praised be You, Adonai, subduer of the arrogant.

13. Show abundant compassion to the righteous converts,

and give us a good reward together with those who do Your will.

Praised be You, Adonai, stay of the righteous.

14. Have compassion, Adonai our God, in Your abundant mercy,

upon Israel Your people,

and upon Jerusalem Your city,

and upon Zion the abode of Your presence,

and upon Your sanctuary and upon Your dwelling place,

and upon the royal seed of David, Your justly anointed.

Praised be You, Adonai, God of David, builder of Jerusalem.

15. Hear, Adonai our God, the sound of our prayers,

and have compassion upon us,

for You are a gracious and compassionate God.

Praised be You, Adonai, who hearkens to prayer [see Psalm 65:3].

16. Deign, Adonai our God, to dwell in Zion;

may Your servants soon worship You in Jerusalem.

Praised be You, Adonai, whom we worship in reverence.

17. We give You thanks,

you, who are our God and God of our fathers,

for all the goodness, the loving-kindness, and the mercies

with which You have requited us and our ancestors before us.

For when we say, “Our foot slips,” Your mercy, Adonai, supports us.

Praised be You, Adonai, O Good One, to whom our thanks are due.

18. Bestow Your peace [see Numbers 6:22]

upon Israel Your people,

and upon Your city,

and bless us all together.

Praised be You, Adonai, maker of peace.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You,

Adonai, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:15).

Translated by Richard S. Sarason.

Notes

[The term noṣrim in later literature refers to Christians, but here it likely refers to Jewish Christians, since this malediction is directed against Jewish sectarians (minim).—Trans.]

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.

A Weekday Tefillah from the Land of Israel

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