My Master, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare Your praise.

THE VIRTUE OF OUR FOREFATHERS

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

our God, and God of our fathers,

God of Abraham, God of Isaac,

and God of Jacob,

the Almighty,

the Great, the Powerful, the Awesome,

most high Almighty,

Who bestows beneficent kindness,

Who possesses everything,

Who remembers the piety of the Patriarchs,

and Who brings a redeemer

to their children's children,

for the sake of His Name, with love.

Remember us for life

King, Who desires life;

and inscribe us in the Book of Life,

for Your sake, Living God.)

King, Helper, and Deliverer and Shield.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Shield of Abraham.

DIVINE MIGHT

You are mighty forever, my Master;

You are the Resurrector of the dead

the Powerful One to deliver us.

He causes the dew to descend.

Causer of the wind to blow

and of the rain to fall.

Sustainer of the living with kindliness,

Resurrector of the dead with great mercy,

Supporter of the fallen,

and Healer of the sick,

and Releaser of the imprisoned,

and Fulfiller of His faithfulness

to those who sleep in the dust.

Who is like You, Master of mighty deeds,

and who can be compared to You?

King Who causes death and restores life,

and causes deliverance to sprout forth.

Who is like You merciful Father,

Who remembers His creatures for life,

in His mercy.)

And You are faithful

to restore the dead to life.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Resurrector of the dead.

DIVINE SANCTIFICATION

You are holy and Your Name is holy

and holy beings

praise You every day, forever.

For a great and Almighty King—

great and holy—are You.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

the Almighty, the Holy One.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

the King, the Holy One.

You have sanctified the seventh day²⁴

footnotes: ²⁴ The first three and the last three blessings of Shemoneh Esrei are identical in all Sabbath services as well as in the regular weekday Shemoneh Esrei. The intermediate blessing, however, differs in each of the four Sabbath services. The thirteen petitions which make up the intermediate blessings of the weekday Shemoneh Esrei are omitted because prayers for personal needs are not recited on the Sabbath and Festivals. In reciting such personal requests one is reminded of his troubles and shortcomings, and our Sabbaths are not to be desecrated by sadness and misery.

to Your Name,

[it was] the purpose of

making heaven and earth;

and You blessed it above all days

and You sanctified it above all seasons.

And so it is written in Your Torah:

And the heavens and the earth were completed

and [so were] all their hosts.²⁵

footnotes: ²⁵ The earthly hosts include all vegetation, all the living creatures, and mankind; while the heavenly hosts are the sun, moon, all the stars, and even the celestial beings such as angels.—Ramban

And God completed by the seventh day²⁶

footnotes: ²⁶ God completed His work at the precise instant that marked the beginning of the seventh day.—Seporno

His work which He had done,

and He abstained on the seventh day,

from all His work which He had done.

And God blessed the seventh day

and sanctified it

for on it He abstained

from all His work

which God had created to do.²⁷

footnotes: ²⁷ God in His goodness, renews every day, continually the work of creation. On the Sabbath, however, God ceased even from His work of renewal. The renewal of the creation designated for the Sabbath was itself prepared and completed on the eve of the Sabbath.—Vilna Gaon

They will rejoice in Your Kingship

those who preserve the Shabbos

and call it a delight

The people who sanctify the seventh [day]

will all be satisfied

and delighted from Your goodness.

And in the seventh [day], You took pleasure

and made it holy.

“Most desirable of days,” You called it,

in commemoration

of the work of the [world's] beginning.

Our God, and God of our fathers,

be pleased with our rest,

sanctify us with Your commandments

and give us our share in Your Torah;

satisfy us from Your goodness

and gladden us with Your deliverance,

and purify our hearts to serve You in truth.

And give us as our inheritance,

Adonoy our God,

in love and in pleasure

Your holy Shabbos;

and may all Israel rest thereon—

the sanctifiers of Your Name.

Blessed are You Adonoy,

Sanctifier of Shabbos.

PRAYER FOR RETURN OF DIVINE SERVICE

Be pleased, Adonoy, our God,

with Your people Israel

and pay heed to their prayer;

and restore the service

to the Holy of Holies in Your abode,

and the fire-offerings of Israel;

and accept their prayer, lovingly

and willingly.

And may You always find pleasure

with the service of Your people, Israel.

Our God and God of our fathers,

may there ascend, come, and reach,

appear, be desired, and heard,

counted and recalled

our remembrance and reckoning;

the remembrance of our fathers;

the remembrance of the Mashiach

the son of David, Your servant;

the remembrance of Jerusalem,

city of Your Sanctuary;

and the remembrance of Your entire people,

the House of Israel, before You

for survival, for well-being,

for favor, kindliness, compassion,

for good life and peace

on this day of:

Rosh Chodesh

the Festival of Matzos

the Festival of Sukkos

Remember us Adonoy, our God,

on this day for well-being;

be mindful of us on this day for blessing,

and deliver us for good life.

In accord with the promise of deliverance

and compassion,

spare us and favor us,

have compassion on us and deliver us;

for to You our eyes are directed

because You are the Almighty

Who is King, Gracious, and Merciful.

And may our eyes behold

Your merciful return to Zion.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Who returns His Divine Presence to Zion.

THANKSGIVING

We are thankful to You

that You Adonoy are our God

and the God of our fathers forever;

Our Rock, Rock of our lives,

the Shield of our deliverance,

You are in every generation.

We will give thanks to You

and recount Your praise,

for our lives

which are committed into Your hand,

and for our souls

which are entrusted to (You,

and for Your miracles of every day with us,

and for Your wonders and benefactions

at all times—

evening, morning and noon.

(You are) The Beneficent One—

for Your compassion is never withheld;

And (You are) the Merciful One—

for Your kindliness never ceases;

for we have always placed our hope in You.

[We thank You] for the miracles

for the redemption, for the mighty deeds,

for the deliverances, for the wonders

for the consolations and for the wars

that You performed for our fathers

in those days at this season.

In the days of Matisyahu,

son of Yochanan the High Priest,

the Hasmonean and his sons,

when the evil Greek kingdom rose up

against Your people Israel

to make them forget Your Torah

and to turn them away

from the statutes of Your will—

You, in Your abundant mercy,

stood by them in their time of distress,

You defended their cause,

You judged their grievances,

You avenged them.

You delivered the mighty

into the hands of the weak,

many into the hands of the few,

defiled people into the hands of the undefiled,

the wicked into the hands of the righteous,

and insolent [sinners] into the hands of

diligent students of Your Torah.

And You made Yourself

a great and sanctified name in Your world.

And for Your people, Israel,

You performed a great deliverance

and redemption unto this very day.

Afterwards, Your sons entered

the Holy of Holies of Your Abode,

cleaned Your Temple,

purified Your Sanctuary,

and kindled lights

in the Courtyards of Your Sanctuary,

and designated these eight days of Chanukah

to thank and praise Your great Name.

And for all the foregoing

blessed, exalted and extolled

your Name, our King

constantly, forever and ever.

Inscribe for a good life

all the children of Your covenant.

And all the living shall thank You forever

and praise and bless

Your great Name with sincerity forever;

for You are goodness—

the Almighty, Who is our deliverance

and our help forever—

the benevolent Almighty.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

“The Beneficent” is Your Name

and You it is fitting to praise.

PRAYER FOR PEACE

Grant peace, goodness, and blessing,

life favor, kindness and compassion

upon us and upon all Israel, Your people.

Bless us, our Father, all of us as one

with the light of Your countenance.

For by the light of Your countenance

You gave us Adonoy our God,

a Torah of life and the love of kindliness,

righteousness, blessing, compassion,

life, and peace.

And may it be good in Your sight

to bless us

and to bless Your people Israel,

at all times and at every moment

with Your peace

(with much strength and peace).

In the book of life, blessing, peace

and abundant maintenance,

good decrees, salvations and condolences,

may we be remembered and inscribed

before You;

we and all Your people, the House of Israel

for a good life and peace.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Who blesses His people Israel

with peace.

Abundant peace

upon Israel, Your people,

bestow forever,

for You King

are the Master of all peace.

And may it be good in Your sight

to bless us

and to bless Your people Israel,

at all times and at every moment

with Your peace.

In the book of life, blessing, peace

and abundant maintenance,

good decrees, salvations and condolences,

may we be remembered and inscribed

before You;

we and all Your people, the House of Israel

for a good life and peace.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Who blesses His people Israel

with peace.

May they be acceptable

the words of my mouth

and the thoughts of my heart, before You

Adonoy, my Rock and my Redeemer.

My God, guard my tongue from evil

and my lips from speaking deceitfully.

To those who curse me,

may my soul be unresponsive;

and let my soul be like dust to all.

Open my heart to Your Torah

and let my soul pursue Your commandments.

And all who plan evil against me,

quickly annul their counsel

and frustrate their intention.

(May it it be Your will

Adonoy, my God and God of my fathers,

that no person be envious of me

and that I not be envious of others,

that I not be brought to anger this day,

and that I not cause Your anger;

and save me from the evil inclination,

and help me be humble and any modest.

Our King and our Father,

unify Your Name in Your world,

rebuild Your city, establish Your house

and perfect your sanctuary.

Gather our exiles,

redeem Your people, rejoice Your congregation).

Act for the sake of Your Name.

Act for the sake of Your right hand.

Act for the sake of Your Torah.

Act for the sake of Your holiness.

In order that Your loved ones be released,

deliver [with] Your right hand and answer me.

May they be acceptable—

the words of my mouth

and the thoughts of my heart—before You

Adonoy, my Rock and my Redeemer.

He Who makes peace

in His high heavens

may He make peace

upon us and upon all Israel

and say Amein.

May it be Your will,

Adonoy, our God, and the God of our Fathers

that the Holy Temple be rebuilt

speedily in our days,

and grant us our share in Your Torah.

And there we will serve You reverently

as in the days of old,

and in earlier years.

And let Adonoy be pleased

with the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem

as in the days of old and in earlier years.