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The Blessing of Hamapil to Your Torah.” At the end of the Shemoneh Esrei: “Place our Therefore, at that time a person must make a personal
portion in Your Torah.” In Uva Letzion: “He will open our hearts accounting of his deeds and confess them, because that
I heard in the name of great tzaddikim that of all 100 blessings in His Torah.” In the afternoon prayers, there are four requests is the time of death, [and before death, a person recites
that a Jew recites every day, the most important one is Hamapil, in the Shemoneh Esrei, as in the morning. In the evening prayers, confession]. Such people are called “people who make
which we say before going to sleep in the text of the Bedtime in the opening blessings: “Therefore, Hashem our God, when we an accounting.”
Sh’ma. Therefore, this blessing faces great opposition from the lie down and when we get up, may we speak in Your laws.” And
evil inclination, which clothes itself in the craving for sleep and in again, four instances in the Shemoneh Esrei. And in the Bedside And Rabbi Chaim Vital writes (Sha’arei Kedushah: Part 1, Gate 6):
tiredness. Sh’ma, in hamapil: “Place my portion in Your Torah.” On no other
topic but learning Torah did our sages institute such a multiplicity And now, my son, listen to my voice, to everything
This blessing contains wonderful and important prayers and it of prayers every single day. This may be clearly understood (in that I command you. Prepare to meet your God every
is a pity to neglect them. Therefore, a person must be careful to accordance with what this book has taught about the will): in order night when you go to sleep. Remember that it is the
strengthen himself to have proper intent when reciting this blessing. to attain this great and wonderful goal, a person needs a strong will
that will accompany him throughout the entire day. small death, a reminder of the true, great death. And
With the words, “May my bed be perfect before You,” have in look at all of the deeds that you did that day. If they
mind “that there should be no blemished or evil person among my Therefore, our sages instituted reminders throughout the day. We have bad elements among them, confess them, because
offspring” (cf. Rashi Berachot 60b). Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe explains that must utilize these opportunities in order to enhance our intention. it is the way of those who are sentenced to death to
our sages’ statement that our forefather Jacob’s bed was perfect And that is another important goal to focus on when we recite confess. Accept the yoke of the kingdom of heaven
means that there was no blemish among his offspring, and that this hamapil. in the Bedtime Sh’ma, raising your soul with the word
is something that every Jew can attain. That is why we begin reciting echad, “one.” Afterwards, deposit your spirit in His
the Sh’ma with a two- or three-year-old. We say together with him, Another important life goal is referred to in hamapil in the words, hand, may He be blessed, when you recite the verse,
“May my bed be perfect before You.” And that is something that “Rescue me from the evil inclination.” When you say this, have in “In Your hand I deposit my spirit,” analogous to the
we pray for all our lives (Avnei Shlomo). (You may bear this idea in mind that you, your spouse and your children should be spared true sleep, of which it is said, “The spirit will return
mind when saying the words, “and may my bed be perfect,” in the the evil inclination. Our sages state, “The evil inclination is harsh,
Sabbath melody, Chai Hashem Uvarukh Tzuri.) and even its Creator calls it evil. “Rabbi Yitzchak said: A person’s to God….” Indeed, now give Him this small sleep as
inclination renews itself against him every day. And R. Yehoshua a deposit, to return [your spirit] to you, new in the
When you recite the words, “Place my portion in Your Torah,” ben Levi said: A person’s evil inclination rises up against him every mornings, [as spirits are returned] to dead bodies. Lie
pray that you and your children will succeed in learning the Torah, day and seeks to kill him, and if not for the fact that the Holy One, down in terror and fear, because your spirit is rising
knowing the Torah and constantly clinging to the Torah. We must blessed be He, helps him, he could not prevail” (Kiddushin 30b). to give a judgment and accounting before Your Maker
attain this because it is the foundation of life. And in order to Rabbi Yechezkel Levinstein taught that a person’s greatest enemy is for all of your actions, words and thoughts of that day.
do that, we need a powerful, strong will—a multitude of wills. the evil inclination, which wants to remove him from both worlds Therefore, do not distract your heart with speech
Therefore, it is very important that we pray for this the entire day. (Avot Yisrael). Therefore, we must pray to Hashem with great deep or empty thoughts, but sleep and doze off in the
To facilitate that, our sages instituted many requests for learning feeling to rescue us and our children from the evil inclination. As midst of the above-mentioned fear.
Torah—at least 22 each day!—in the daily prayers. The following Sefer Hayashar states, “Every person must fear for his life, and
appear in the morning prayers. Before kaddish: “Make sweet, pray every day to his God to rescue him from the might of the evil This personal accounting is simple and easy. As Chayei Moharan
please,” “Accustom us to Your Torah,” “Place our portion in Your inclination.” tells (587):
Torah.” Then: “Our Father, compassionate Father … place in our
heart understanding to understand and to be wise…,” “Illumine A person must cry out every day, asking Hashem to rescue him I heard how one of the quite young people would lie
our eyes in Your Torah.” In the Shemoneh Esrei: “You graciously from the evil inclination—in particular when he recites all of the down to sleep in Rabbeinu’s room. Once this person
grant,” “Return us, our Father, to Your Torah,” “Open my heart parts of the prayer service in which we ask Hashem to rescue us
from the evil inclination. He must repeat the phrases a number of approached Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, and as he