Hebrew Daily Prayer Book. Jonathan Sacks

say:

       How precious is Your lovingkindness, O LORD, and the children of men find refuge under the shadow of Your wings. They are filled with the rich plenty of Your house. You give them drink from Your river of delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light, we see light. Continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart.

TEFILLIN

      Meditation before putting on the tefillin:

      By putting on the tefillin I hereby intend to fulfil the commandment of my Creator who commanded us to wear tefillin, as it is written in the Torah: “Bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be an emblem on the centre of your head” They contain these four sections of the Torah: one beginning with Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4–9); another with Vehayah im shamo-a (ibid. 11:13–21); the third with Kaddesh (Exodus 13:1–10); and the fourth with Vehayah ki yevi-acha (ibid. 11–16). These proclaim the uniqueness and unity of GOD, blessed be His name. They also remind us of the miracles and wonders which He did for us when He brought us out of Egypt, and that He has the power and the dominion over the highest and the lowest to deal with them as He pleases. He commanded us to place one of the tefillin on the arm in memory of His “outstretched arm” (of redemption), setting it opposite the heart, to subject the desires and designs of our heart to His service, blessed be His name. The other is to be on the head, opposite the brain, so that the mind, whose seat is in the brain, together with my other senses and faculties, may be subjected to His service, blessed be His name. May the spiritual influence of the commandment of the tefillin be with me so that I may have a long life, a flow of holiness, and sacred thoughts, free from any suggestion of sin or iniquity. May the evil inclination neither incite nor entice us, but leave us to serve the LORD, as it is in our hearts to do. Amen.

      Stand while putting on the tefillin. Place the hand-tefillin on the biceps of the left arm (or right arm if you are left-handed) and, before tightening the strap, say:

       Blessed are You, LORD our GOD, King of the Universe, who has made us holy through His commandments, and has commanded us to put on tefillin.

      Wrap the strap of the hand-tefillin seven times around the arm. Place the head-tefillin above the hairline, centrally (i.e. above the space midway between the eyes), and say:

       Blessed are You, LORD our GOD, King of the Universe, who has made us holy through His commandments, and has commanded us about the commandment of tefillin.

      Adjust the strap of the head-tefillin and say:

       Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and all time.

      After putting on the head-tefillin, wind the strap of the hand-tefillin three times around the middle finger, saying:

       I will betroth You to Me for ever; I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, lovingkindness and compassion; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD.

      After putting on the tefillin, say:

      EXODUS 13:1–10.

      The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites, whether man or beast, belongs to Me.” Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day on which you left Egypt, the slave-house, when the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand. No leaven shall be eaten. You are leaving on this day, in the month of Aviv. When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites, the land He swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you are to observe this service in this same month. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and make the seventh day a festival to the LORD. Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days. No leavened bread may be seen in your possession, and no leaven shall be seen anywhere within your borders. On that day you shall tell your son, ‘This is because of what the LORD did for me when I left Egypt.’ [These words] shall also be a sign on your hand, and a reminder above your forehead, so that the LORD’S Torah may always be in your mouth, because with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.”

      EXODUS 13:11–16

      After the LORD has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your ancestors, and He has given it to you, you shall set apart for the LORD the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your cattle belong to the LORD. Every firstling donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. If you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. Every firstborn among your sons you must redeem. If, in time to come, your son asks you, “What does this mean?” you shall say to him, “With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the slave-house. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us leave, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. That is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb, and redeem all the firstborn of my sons” [These words] shall be a sign on your hand and as an emblem above your forehead, that with a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.

       ADON OLAM

       LORD of the universe, who reigned before the birth of any thing -

      When by His will all things were made then was His name proclaimed King.

      And when all things shall cease to be He alone will reign in awe.

      He was, He is, and He shall be glorious for evermore.

      He is One, there is none else, alone, unique, beyond compare;

      Without beginning, without end, His might, His rule are everywhere.

      He is my GOD; my Redeemer lives. He is the Rock on whom I rely -

      My banner and my safe retreat, my cup, my portion when I cry.

      Into His hand my soul I place, when I awake and when I sleep.

      GOD is with me, I shall not fear; body and soul from harm will He keep.

      YIGDAL

      Great is the living GOD and praised.

      He exists, and His existence is beyond time.

      He is One, and there is no unity like His.

      Unfathomable, His oneness is infinite.

      He has neither bodily form nor substance;

      His holiness is beyond compare.

      He preceded all that was created.

      He was first: there was no beginning to His beginning.

      Behold He is Master of the Universe; to every creature

      He shows His greatness and majesty.

      The rich flow of His prophecy He gave to His treasured people in whom He gloried.

      Never in Israel has there arisen another like Moses, a prophet who beheld GOD’S image.

      GOD gave His people a Torah of truth by the hand of His prophet, most faithful of His house.

      GOD will not alter or