I will now explain, with God’s help, the order of blessings and prayers (we recite) with the help of the One enthroned on praises, who instructs people with insight.¹

footnotes: ¹ The expressions, “Enthroned on praises,” and “Who instructs people with insight,” are taken from Psalms 22:5 and 94:10

One who gets into bed at night to sleep recites, **Blessed…Who makes the bands of sleep fall upon my eyes and slumber upon my eyelids,**² 60b, Mishnah Torah, Prayer and Priestly Blessings 7:1, Shulchan Aruch, Orech Chaim 239 is based on the verse, “Give no sleep to your eyes nor slumber to your eyelids.” (Pro. 6:4). “One who makes bands of sleep,” (hevlei sheina) is based on, “The portions (havalim) have fallen unto me in pleasant places, etc,” (Ps. 16:6) followed by, “I bless YHVH who guides me; my conscience admonishes me at night.” (Ps. 16:7)³ appears both in the blessing and in Psalms, the connection between the two is not at all clear. Abudraham connects the use of the word havalim to the following verse which states “My conscience admonishes me at night.” Possibly sleep is viewed as a region not only of rest but judgment, as a separate region of being. Hevlei sheina (bands of sleep) is explained as portions of the periods of sleep. Some explain that hevlei sheina is similar to hevlei yoleida (the pangs of childbirth). When a person is unable to sleep for a long time, hevlei sheina, pangs of agony, overtake them, as stated in Nedarim: “ if one takes an oath not to sleep for three days, the court flogs the person, and they are made to sleep immediately.”⁴ 15a, language slightly different We make a blessing for sleep because it is a basic human need, as is stated in Bereshit Rabbah: “Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said: 'And behold it was very good' – and behold sleep is good. Is sleep, then, very good? Did we not learn: Wine with sleep is beneficial for the wicked and beneficial for the whole world? However, as a result of a person sleeping a bit, he can get up and toil extensively in the *Torah.”*⁵ 9:6, BT Sanhedrin 71a When the wicked are sleeping or under the influence of wine, they are less likely to do harm to others or to the world “One who illuminates the pupil of my eye” is based on “Guarded him like the pupil of His eye.” (Deut. 32:10) It states that when a person desires to sleep, the pupil of their eye grows dark, and when one sleeps and wakes up, the pupil of one’s eyes brightens.

footnotes: ² BT Berachot ³ While the word havalim ⁴ BT Nedarim ⁵ Bereshit Rabbah

May it be Your will, Adonai, my God and God of my ancestors, to make me lie down in peace, is based on the verse, “Safe and sound, I lie down and sleep.” (Ps. 4:9). And that You raise me up for life and for peace. These two expressions are meant to include the preservation of the soul and the body. “For life” refers to the soul, because when one sleeps, one is like a corpse, and one’s soul is in the hands of the Holy One, and it is then returned in the morning, as if one is being brought back to life. “For peace” refers to the body, because at night one encounters more destructive forces and evil occurrences than during the day; so, a person prays that one might remain bodily whole. Let neither bad dreams nor troubling thoughts disturb me. That is, I should not have sinful thoughts even in my dreams and let my bed be perfect before You.⁶ 3:7, Bereshit Rabbah 76:1 *Peirush:*⁷ - are not part of the talmudic text but the author’s explanations.If one engages in intimate relations with one's spouse, the offspring that will emerge will be complete in the service of God, and I will not give birth to unworthy seed. This is what the Sage OB'M said about Jacob. His bed was complete since he did not give birth to unfit offspring. But unfit children were found among Abraham’s and Isaac’s offspring. And illumine my eyes lest I sleep a sleep of death. In other words, return my soul to me so that my sleep is not eternal sleep. Blessed are You, Adonai, who illuminates the whole world in His glory. Raise them from their beds into the light of day so they can go about their tasks.

footnotes: ⁶ Literally the expression is “My bed is complete” See Shir HaShirim Rabbah ⁷ Note that the comments beginning Peirush

One recites the first paragraph of the Sh’ma. For we read in Berachot, Ch. 9 (HaRoeh), “One who enters to sleep on his bed recites from Shema Yisrael (Deut. 6:4) until Vehaya im shamoa. (Deut. 11:13) Rabbeinu Hananel writes that one must also recite Vehaya im shamoa, since it contains the phrase “When you lie down and when you rise up.” (Deut. 11:19) The Rosh writes, it is possible that Rabbeinu Hananel recited Shema Yisrael, Vahaya im shamoa, and Yoshev b’seter elyon, “You who dwell in the shelter on high,” (Ps. 91) up to “Because you made YHVH my refuge,” (Ps. 91:9) since there are sixty words up to the word, mahsi מַחְסִ֑י (my refuge). There are 60 letters in the Priestly Benediction. Regarding them (the letters), it is stated, “There is Solomon’s couch, encircled by sixty warriors.” (Song 3:7) This refers to the Holy Temple. The warriors are the letters of the Priestly Benediction, “All of them, holding a sword,” (Song 3:8) The Sages OB'M, said, all of these verses (of the Priestly Benediction) mention the name of God (YHVH) “May YHVH bless you,” “May YHVH shine upon you,” “May YHVH lift up His Face upon you,” (Nu. 6:25-27) One recites, “A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom. YHVH, my foes are so many,” (Ps. 3:1-2) until, “Deliverance is *YHVH’*s; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.” (Ps. 3:9) One also recites Hashkeevaynu (“Let us lie down”) until, “Guard our going out and our coming in forever,” but one does not recite a concluding blessing. One recites, “Blessed is HaShem by day, Blessed is Hashem by night. Blessed is HaShem when we lie down. Blessed is HaShem when we rise. In Your hands are the souls of the living and the dead. In His hand is every living soul and the breath of all humanity. (Job 12:10) Into Your hand I entrust my spirit; You redeem me, Hashem, faithful God. (Ps. 31:6) One says, HaShem said to Satan… (Zech. 3:2)⁸ said to the Accuser, “YHVH rebuke you, O Accuser; may YHVH who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! For this is a brand plucked from the fire.” One says, “When you lie down you will not be afraid.” (Pro. 3:2) “The Lord will guard your going out and coming in.” (Ps. 121:8) “There is Solomon’s couch, encircled by sixty warriors. All of them, carrying swords. ” (Song 3:7) “HaShem will bless you and guard you, until “And grant you peace. They should immediately go to sleep.

footnotes: ⁸ The full verse is, “But [the angel of] YHVH

Rabbi Hai Gaon writes that it is fitting to place the blessing before the Shema, Psalms, and all these verses so that one can fall asleep while reciting them. He brings a proof from the Jerusalem Talmud which says: “Rabbi Zeira read the Shema over and over again until he drifted off to sleep.”⁹ The Sages state, in Ch. 1 of Berachot, “Rabbi (Elazar) said: Anyone who recites Shema while in bed, it is as if he holds a double-edged sword, as it is stated: “Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy upon their beds. Praises of God in their mouths, and a double-edged sword in their hands” (Ps. 149:6). Peirush: “Let them sing for joy upon their beds,” means one should rejoice when reciting matters related to retiring, as in, “When you lie down.” (Deut 6:8) Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Anyone who recites Shema while in bed, demons stay away from him. As it is stated: “And the sparks [reshef] fly [uf] upward” (Job 5:7). The word “sparks” means demons, as it is stated: “Wasting of hunger, and the devouring of the sparks [reshef] and bitter destruction [ketev meriri]” (Deut. 32:24). The word fly [uf]means Torah, as it is stated: “Will you set your eyes upon it? It is gone.” (Pr. 23:5)¹⁰ The Hidushei Devash¹¹ states, Some do not read the text, “The word fly (uf) means Torah, as it is stated: “Will you set your eyes upon it? It is gone.” (Pr. 23:5) Rather, it (should be), “The word fly (uf) only means the Shema, for it is stated, 'One repeats it (the Shema) twice, once in the daytime and once at night, and Uf also means double, like the word V’khafalta “When you fold over,” (Ex. 26:9)¹²) the sixth cloth at the front of the tent.” In the Aramaic translation of the Torah, the word v’khaaflata is translated as vtei’uf, from the same word, Uf. Since the curtain is doubled over. which is translated וְתֵיעוּף v’tei’uf in the Targum. And if you were to challenge this by saying, "If so, one should also be required to say the Amidah twice!" One could retort that the number of times one recites the Amidah is rabbinic (and not a Torah requirement like the Shema). Also, the Amidah is not recited twice but three times. Some people, when they recite the Shema before going to bed, recite the blessing, “Praised are you Adonai, our God, Eternal Sovereign, who sanctified us with the commandments and commanded us to accept upon ourselves the Sovereignty of Heaven with a complete heart.” They are mistaken because the Shema, which is recited in synagogue, is the essential one, since it is recited along with its blessings. This (Shema) is only optional, as we explained above.

footnotes: ⁹ JT Berachot 1:1 It is interesting to note that Abudraham does not actually quote the text of the Talmud but alludes to it. It is possible that he did 'not have the text in front of him and he is referring to this text from memory. ¹⁰ BT Berachot 5a The Talmudic text is presented in a slightly different order ¹¹ Chiddushei Devash was written by David ben Saul of Narbonne who lived in the thirteenth century in Provence. Leor Jacobi: Talmudic "Honey", Fragments of the Novellae of R. David ben Saul of Narbonne ¹² “Join five of the cloths by themselves, and the other six cloths by themselves; and fold over (v’khafalta