Bedtime

Someone at work today asked how I pray.  Here's my bedtime prayer.  I'll write my morning prayer in the morning.  This isn't word-for-word what I say, but pretty close.  It's really more or less a pretty normative Jewish bedtime prayer.



Master of the universe, I hereby forgive anyone who angered or antagonized me or who sinned against me - whether against my body, my property, my honor or against anything of mine; whether he did so accidentally, willfully, carelessly, or purposely; whether through speech, deed, thought, or notion; whether in this incarnation or another incarnation- I forgive every sentient creature. May no one's failures be punished because of me, because I have failed over and over. May it be Your will, HASHEM, my God and the God of my forefathers, that I may fail no more, that I not repeat my mistakes, that I daily grow and improve, and that I attain more blessedness each day.  Whatever I have failed in, blot it out in Your abundant mercies, but not through suffering or harmful illnesses.   May the expressions of my mouth, the thoughts of my heart, and the work of my body bring me daily closer to Truth and Life, let me not be caught up in illusion, let me not be exhausted by struggle.  Empower me against laziness, and complacency, and cowardice. Bless me and protect me, empower and enlighten me.

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יהוה אֶחָ:שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יהוה אֶחָד 

Listen up, Israel!  God is our god, and God is G-d.

Blessed are You, G-d, our god, King of the Forever, who closes my eyes in sleep, my eyelids in slumber. May it be Your will, G-d, my god and the god of my ancestors, to lie me down in peace and then to raise me up in peace. Let no disturbing thoughts upset me, no evil dreams nor troubling fantasies. May my rest be complete and whole in Your sight. Grant me a spark so that I do not sleep the sleep of death, for it is You who illumines and enlightens. Blessed are You, HaShem, whose majesty gives light to the universe.

In the name of HaShem, the god of my tribe, I call:

On my right, Michael,

On my left,Gabriel,

Before me, Auriel,

Behind me Raphael,

and above my head, Shekhinat El.