Hashkiveinu is the second blessing following the
Shema
''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewis ...
during
Maariv
''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or night. It consists primarily of the evening ''Shema'' and '' Amidah''.
The service will often begin with two verses from Psalms ...
. It is a petitionary prayer to be able to lie down in peace at night and to return to life the following day.
Shabbat/Yom Tov version
On weekdays, this prayer ends with the words ''Shomer Amo Yisrael L'Ad''. This is seen as appropriate for weekdays, when men go in and out in their weekday pursuits, and come in need of divine protection.
On
Shabbat and
Yom Tov
Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...
, a longer version of this blessing is recited. The blessing is ended with the words ''Who spreads the shelter of peace upon us, upon all of his people Israel, and upon Jerusalem.'' The words ''And spread over us the shelter of Your peace'' that are normally recited earlier in the paragraph are repeated prior to the closing. This is a reflection of the peace that comes along with these special days, and that putting Jerusalem above everything else is important.
In the Babylonian rite, they always recited ''Shomer Amo Yisrael L'Ad'' even on the Sabbath,
[As it appears in the Siddur of the Rambam.] and in the Land of Israel they always recited the longer version even on weekdays. The contemporary custom, which has been adopted in virtually all communities, is a compromise.
Text
The prayer's text, in each of the
Hebrew script
The Hebrew alphabet ( he, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish ...
, Hebrew as transliterated into the
Roman alphabet, and English:
Lay us down, God, in peace, and raise us up again, our King, to ewlife.
Spread over us Your tabernacle of peace,
And guide us with Your good counsel.
Save us for Your name's sake.
Shield us from every enemy, plague, sword, famine, and sorrow.
Remove the adversary from before and behind us.
Shelter us in the shadow of Your wings,
Guard (our going out and our coming in, and grant us life) and peace, now and always.
Blessed are You, , who spreads Your tabernacle of peace over us,
And over all His people Israel and over Jerusalem.
There may be slight differences, depending which
nusach Nusach can refer to:
* Nusach (Jewish custom)
In Judaism, Nusach ( he, נוסח ''nusaħ'', modern pronunciation ''nusakh'' or ''núsakh''), plural nuschaot () or Modern Hebrew nusachim (), refers to the exact text of a prayer service; sometimes ...
(regional liturgical rite) one follows.
References
{{Jewish prayers
Maariv
Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings