And He, the Merciful One,

atones iniquity; and does not destroy.

He frequently withdraws His anger

and does not arouse all His rage.¹

footnotes: ¹ Psalms 78:38. This verse consists of thirteen Hebrew words. It recalls the “thirteen attributes of Divine mercy” (Exodus 34:6-7). In the evening when man pauses from the rush of his daily activities, he is conscious of having sinned during the day, and thus begins his prayer with this appeal for Divine mercy.—Machzor Vitry Midrash Tanchuma (Pinchos 13) notes that the morning sacrifice (תָּמִיד שֶׁל שַׁחַר) atoned for sins committed during the night, while the afternoon sacrifice (תָּמִיד שֶׁל בֵּין הָעַרְבַּיִם) atoned for sins committed during the day. Since the evening service does not represent Temple sacrifice, it became customary to recite this verse because it mentions that God “atones iniquity.”— Avudraham

Adonoy, deliver [us!]

The King will answer us on the day we call.²

footnotes: ² Psalms 20:10

Bless Adonoy Who is blessed.

Blessed is Adonoy, Who is blessed

forever and ever.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

our God, King of the Universe,

With His word He brings on evenings,

with wisdom He opens the gates³ (of heaven);

footnotes: ³ These are the gates of sunrise and sunset through which God, in His infinite wisdom, has divided life on earth into two complementary halves.—Rabbi S.R. Hirsch

and with understanding

changes⁴ the times

footnotes: ⁴ He alternates the three daily periods—evening, morning, and afternoon.—Avudraham

and alternates the seasons,

and arranges the stars

in their watches,⁵ in the sky,

footnotes: ⁵ The stars appear as watchmen appointed by God to stand guard over the sleeping world below. He also appointed them their places in definite orbits according to His will and for purposes known to Him alone.—S.R. Hirsch

according to His will.

He creates day and night,

He rolls the light away from before darkness,

and darkness from before light;

He causes day to pass

and brings night,

and separates between day and night;

Adonoy of Hosts⁶ is His Name.

footnotes: ⁶ His Name ה' צְבָאוֹת means “He Who takes all the infinite variety of hosts and creatures and unites them to act and interact as parts of one unified Universe.— S.R. Hirsch

The Almighty,

[Who is] living and enduring

will always reign over us

forever and ever.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Who brings on evening.

[With] An everlasting love⁷

footnotes: ⁷ This prayer is an abbreviated form of the אַהֲבָה רַבָּה prayer in the morning service. It thanks God for the sacred gift of Divine Revelation that He granted Israel. It declares that Torah alone is the eternal heritage of the Jewish people and that all other goods and gifts of life are transitory.— S.R. Hirsch

You loved the House of Israel, Your people.

Torah and commandments,

statutes and laws,

You taught us.

Therefore, Adonoy, our God,

when we lie down and when we rise,

we will discuss Your statutes,

and rejoice

in the words of the teachings of Your Torah

and in Your commandments forever.

For they are our life

and they lengthen our days,

and on them we will meditate day and night.

[May] Your love

never be removed from us

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Who loves His people Israel.

(Almighty, faithful King)

Hear, Israel:

Adonoy is our God, Adonoy is One.

Blessed [is His] Name,

Whose glorious kingdom

is forever and ever.

And you shall love Adonoy your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your possessions.

And these words

which I command you today,

shall be upon your heart.

And you shall teach them sharply

to your children.

And you shall discuss them

when you sit in your house,

and when you travel on the road,

and when you lie down and when you rise.

And you shall bind them for a sign

upon your hand,

and they shall be for totafos

between your eyes.

And you shall write them

upon the doorposts of your house

and upon your gateways.

And it will be—

if you vigilantly obey My commandments

which I command you this day,

to love Adonoy your God,

and serve Him

with your entire hearts

and with your entire souls—

that I will give rain for your land

in its proper time,

the early (autumn) rain

and the late (spring) rain;

and you will harvest your grain

and your wine and your oil.

And I will put grass

in your fields for your cattle,

and you will eat and be satisfied.

Beware lest your hearts be swayed

and you turn astray,

and you worship alien gods

and bow to them.

And Adonoy's fury will blaze among you,

and He will close off the heavens

and there will be no rain

and the earth will not yield its produce;

and you will perish swiftly

from the good land

which Adonoy gives you.

Place these words of Mine

upon your hearts and upon your souls,—

and bind them for a sign

upon your hands,

and they shall be for totafos

between your eyes.

And you shall teach them to your sons,

to speak them

when you sit in your house,

and when you travel on the road,

and when you lie down and when you rise.

And you shall write them

upon the doorposts of your house

and upon your gateways.

In order that your days be prolonged,

and the days of your children,

upon the land

which Adonoy swore to your fathers

to give them [for as long]

as the heavens are above the earth.

And Adonoy spoke to Moses saying:

Speak to the children of Israel,

and tell them

to make for themselves fringes

on the corners of their garments

throughout their generations;

and they will place with the fringes

of each corner

a thread of blue.

And it will be to you for fringes,

and you will look upon it

and you will remember

all the commandments of Adonoy,

and you will perform them;

and you will not turn aside after your hearts

and after your eyes

which cause you to go astray.

In order that you will remember

and perform all My commandments;

and you will be holy unto your God.

I am Adonoy, your God,

Who brought you out

of the land of Egypt

to be your God:

I am Adonoy, your God—

—is true—

Adonoy, your God, is true.

—and faithful is all this,⁸

footnotes: ⁸ All that we have affirmed in the Shema, is true and trustworthy.—Etz Yosef

and it is permanently established with us

that he is Adonoy, our God,

and there is nothing besides Him,

and that we, Israel, are His people.

[He] Who liberated us

from the hand of kings,⁹

footnotes: ⁹ He redeemed us from Pharaoh, and saved us from Sichon and Og in the days of Moses and from the thirty-one kings in the days of Joshua.—Etz Yosef

[is] our King, Who redeemed us

from the grasp of all the tyrants.¹⁰

footnotes: ¹⁰ “Tyrants” include Amalek and others who wanted to destroy us.—Etz Yosef

[He is] the Almighty

Who exacts payment [punishment]

from our oppressors,¹¹

footnotes: ¹¹ The Malbim says that “oppressors” (צָרֵינוּ) refers to those who actively persecute us whereas “enemies” (אוֹיְבֵינוּ) refers to those who would rejoice over our misfortune without necessarily contributing to our downfall in an outright manner.

and brings retribution

on all those who are enemies of our soul.

He does great things¹²

footnotes: ¹² “Great things” refers to the way God rules according to the laws of nature and “wonders” refers to those things that are classified as miracles.—Siach Yitzchak

beyond comprehension,

miracles and wonders without number.

He sustains our soul in life¹³

footnotes: ¹³ Not only does God sustain our souls in exile but He also sustains our physical wellbeing.—Siach Yitzchak

and does not allow our feet to slip.

He makes us tread

upon the high places of our enemies,

and exalts our strength

over all who hate us.

He performed miracles for us

and vengeance upon Pharaoh,

signs and wonders

in the land of the Hamites.

He slew in His wrath,

all the firstborn of Egypt,

and brought out His people, Israel,

from their midst

to everlasting¹⁴ freedom.

footnotes: ¹⁴ The redemption from Egypt is the source for all later redemptions; it is the source from which our final and total salvation will spring. We became free, never again to taste the bitterness of spiritual or physical bondage.—Sfas Emes

He led His children

through the divided parts of

the Sea of Reeds,

their pursuers and their enemies

He drowned in its depths.

And His children saw His mighty power—

they praised and gave thanks to His Name,

His sovereignty

they willingly accepted;

Moses and the children of Israel

sang unto You with great joy,

and they all said:

“Who is like You among the mighty, Adonoy!

Who is like You?

[You are] adorned in holiness,

awesome in praise, performing wonders”¹⁵

footnotes: ¹⁵ Exodus 15:11

Your children beheld Your sovereignty

when You divided the sea before Moses.

“This is my God,”¹⁶ they exclaimed,

footnotes: ¹⁶ Exodus 15:2

and declared,

“Adonoy will reign forever and ever.”¹⁷

footnotes: ¹⁷ Exodus 15:18

And it is said,

“For Adonoy has liberated Jacob

and redeemed him

from a hand, mightier than his.”¹⁸

footnotes: ¹⁸ Jeremiah 31:10

Blessed are You, Adonoy

Who has redeemed Israel.

Adonoy our God; make us lie down in peace,

our King, raise us again

to good life,¹⁹ and peace

footnotes: ¹⁹ Undisturbed peace, and strength for a new day of vigorous living are the gifts that night brings and for which we pray to God.— S.R. Hirsch

Spread over us the shelter of Your peace,

and direct us to better ourselves

through Your good counsel;²⁰

footnotes: ²⁰ We particularly ask of Him at night to bless us with wise counsel. Daytime is the time for achievement, but the rest that comes with nightfall is made to allow man to compose his thoughts. By virtue of the complete relaxation it affords, sleep endows the mind and spirit with renewed vigor. We pray therefore for Divine aid so that our nightly rest will help us take wise counsel and affirm worthy resolution for future days.—Avudraham and Siach Yitzchak

and deliver us speedily for Your Name's sake.

Shield us, and remove from us²¹

footnotes: ²¹ Shield us from trouble before it comes, and remove it from us if it has already come.—Siach Yitzchak

enemies, pestilence, sword,

famine and sorrow.

Remove the adversary²² from before us

footnotes: ²² The Hebrew word שָׂטָן (Satan) used in the Prayer Book refers to the Evil Impulse, the lower passions which are a hindrance to man’s pursuit of the nobler aims in life. It is against the dominance of this impulse that the Jew prays. The “adversary,” therefore, is any person, spirit, or Evil Impulse that seduces us to do wrong.— Dover Sholom and others

and from behind us,

and shelter us in the shadow of Your wings.

For, Almighty,

You are our Protector and Rescuer,

For, Almighty

You are a gracious and merciful King.

Guard our going out and our coming in

for life and peace

for now forever.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Who guards His people Israel forever.

Blessed is Adonoy forever,

Amein and Amein!²³

footnotes: ²³ Psalms 89:53

Blessed is Adonoy from Zion

Who dwells in Jerusalem,

Praise God.²⁴

footnotes: ²⁴ Psalms 135:21

Blessed is Adonoy, God,

God of Israel

Who alone performs wonders.²⁵

footnotes: ²⁵ Psalms 72:18

Blessed is the Name of His glory forever

and may His glory fill the whole earth;

Amein and Amein!²⁶

footnotes: ²⁶ Psalms 72:19

The Glory of Adonoy will endure forever;

Adonoy will rejoice in His works.²⁷

footnotes: ²⁷ Psalms 104:31

The Name of Adonoy will be blessed

from now forever.²⁸

footnotes: ²⁸ Psalms 113:12.

For Adonoy will not cast off His people,

for the sake of His great Name,

because Adonoy has determined

to make you His people.²⁹

footnotes: ²⁹ I Samuel 12:22

And all the people saw it

and they fell on their faces, and proclaimed,

“Adonoy, He is God!

Adonoy, He is God!”³⁰

footnotes: ³⁰ I Kings 18:39. This verse describes the reaction of the people when they saw the miracle performed by God on behalf of Elijah on Mount Carmel when he disproved and ridiculed the false prophets of Baal.

And Adonoy will be King

over the whole earth;

on that day Adonoy will be One

and His Name One.³¹

footnotes: ³¹ Zechariah 14:9

Adonoy, may Your kindness be upon us

as we have hoped for You.³²

footnotes: ³² Psalms 33:22

Deliver us, Adonoy, our God,

gather us from the nations

to give thanks to Your Holy Name,

to be extolled in Your praise.³³

footnotes: ³³ I Chronicles 16:35

All the nations which You have made

will come and bow down

before You, my Master,

and they will give honor to Your Name.³⁴

footnotes: ³⁴ Psalms 86:9

For You are great and do wondrous things,

You alone are God.³⁵

footnotes: ³⁵ Psalms 86:10

And we,

Your people, the sheep of Your pasture,

will give thanks to You forever,

from generation to generation

we will recount Your praise.³⁶

footnotes: ³⁶ Psalms 79:13

Blessed is Adonoy by day,

Blessed is Adonoy by night,

Blessed is Adonoy when we lie down,

Blessed is Adonoy when we rise.

For in Your hand

are the souls of the living and the dead:

[as it is written]: for in His hand

is the soul of every living thing,

and the spirit of every human being.³⁷

footnotes: ³⁷ Job 12:10

In Your hand, I commit my spirit;

You have liberated me

Adonoy, Almighty of truth.

Our God in heaven,

reveal the unity of Your Name,

preserve Your kingdom always

and reign over us forever and ever.

May our eyes behold,

our heart rejoice, and our soul exalt

in Your true deliverance,

when it will be said to Zion:

“Your God has begun His reign.”

“Adonoy is King, Adonoy was King

Adonoy will reign for ever and ever”

For the kingdom is Yours

and to all eternity, You will reign in glory;

for we have no king except You.

Blessed are You,

the King in His glory,

will always reign over us

forever and ever,

and over all His creation.

Exalted and sanctified be His great Name

in the world which He created

according to His will

and may He rule His kingdom

bring forth His redemption

and hasten the coming of His Mashiach.

In your lifetime and in your days,

and in the lifetime

of the entire House of Israel,

speedily and in the near future—

and say Amein.

May His great Name be blessed

forever and for all eternity.

Blessed and praised,

glorified, and exalted and uplifted,

honored and elevated and extolled

be the Name of the Holy One, blessed is He;

above (Ten Days of Penitence: far above)

all the blessings and hymns,

praises and consolations

which we utter in the world—and say Amein.