SHEMA BEFORE SLEEP AT NIGHT Just as our first words in the morning should be words of prayer, so should our last at night. The night prayers consist of: (1) a prayer for peaceful sleep and a safe awakening, mentioned in the Talmud (Berakhot60b); (2) the first paragraph of the Shema, ensuring these words are with us וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ “when we lie down”; (3) Psalm 91, a prayer for protection from danger; (4) Psalm 3, chosen because of its reference to night: “I lie down to sleep and I wake again, for the LORD supports me”; (5) הַשְׁכִּיבֵֽנוּ “Help us lie down” – three paragraphs from the evening service; (6) הַמַּלְאָךְ הַגֹּאֵל אֹתִי “May the angel who rescued me from all harm,” a series of biblical verses about safety and security; (7) A verse about angels, based on “The LORD’s angel encamps around those who fear Him, and He rescues them” (Psalm 34:8) and “He will command His angels about you, to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11); (8) Psalm 128, about work, recalling the phrase from Ecclesiastes (5:11), “Sweet is the sleep of one who labors”; (9) רִגְזוּ וְאַל־תֶּחֱטָאוּ “Tremble, and do not sin,” from Psalm 4:5, mentioned in the Talmud (Berakhot 4b) as an appropriate verse before sleep; and (10) Adon Olam*/*“LORD of the Universe,” said here because of its closing lines with their reference to entrusting our souls and bodies to God’s safekeeping at night.