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The New Jew
← Siddur Tehillat Hashem, Weiss Edition / Contents
Print pages
pp. 248-249
Shema Prayer before Going to Bed

Shema

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Tefillin and mezuzah

Hebrew
בַּדֶּרֶךְ, וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ, וּבְקוּמֶךָ:
וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת עַל יָדֶךָ, וְהָיוּ
לְטֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ: וּכְתַבְתָּם
עַל מְזוּזוֹת בֵּיתֶךָ, וּבִשְׁעָרֶיךָ:
Sephardi
Baderech, uveshochebecha, uvekumecha:
Ukeshartam le'ot al yadecha, vehayu
letotafot bein einecha: uchetavtam
al mezuzot beitecha, uvisha'arecha:
English
should be engraved on your heart; you should always be thinking about them. You should teach Torah to your children and students until they know it well enough to answer any question about it. You should be involved in the words of Torah and speak them whenever you can: when you sit in your house, when you go on the way, when you lie down at night, and when you get up in the morning. These words, the words of the Shema, should be written in tefillin. You should tie the hand-tefillin on your arm as a sign to remember God, and the head-tefillin should be put on your head, above the area between your eyes. You should write these words of the Shema on mezuzot, which you should put up on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Rewards for keeping God’s commandments

Hebrew
וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶל
מִצְוֹתַי<sup>1</sup> אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי
מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם הַיּוֹם, לְאַהֲבָה
אֶת יְיָ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וּלְעָבְדוֹ,
בְּכָל | לְבַבְכֶם וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁכֶם:
וְנָתַתִּי מְטַר אַרְצְכֶם | בְּעִתּוֹ
יוֹרֶה וּמַלְקוֹשׁ, וְאָסַפְתָּ דְגָנֶךָ
וְתִירֹשְׁךָ וְיִצְהָרֶךָ: וְנָתַתִּי
עֵשֶׂב | בְּשָׂדְךָ לִבְהֶמְתֶּךָ,
וְאָכַלְתָּ וְשָׂבָעְתָּ:
Sephardi
Vehayah im shamoa tishme'u el
mitzvotai<sup>1</sup> asher anochi
metzaveh etchem hayom, le'ahavah
et Adonai Eloheichem ule'ovdo,
bechol | levavkhem uvechol nafshkhem:
v'natati metar artz'chem | be'ito
yoreh umalkosh, ve'asafta deganekha
ve-tiroshkha v'yitzharecha: v'natati
esev | besadcha livhemtecha,
v'achalta vesavata:
English
God tells the Jewish Nation in the Torah: It will be that if you listen to Me and keep all of My<sup>1</sup> commandments that I am commanding you today, to love the Lord, your God, and to serve Him by praying properly with all of your heart and all of your soul; then I will bless you with the following blessings: I will give rain for your land at the right times—when people are not outside, such as on Friday night. I will bring you the early rain, which falls right after the seeds have been planted, and also the late rain, which falls after the plants have sprouted, to help them grow well. You will collect all of your grain, wine, and oil, and none will be taken by your enemies. I will put plenty of grass in your fields, so you will not have to move your animals to another place to feed them. Not only will you be blessed with food, but you will eat it and you will be satisfied by it.

Punishments for idolatry

Hebrew
הִשָּׁמְרוּ לָכֶם פֶּן יִפְתֶּה
לְבַבְכֶם, וְסַרְתֶּם וַעֲבַדְתֶּם
אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים<sup>2</sup> וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶם
לָהֶם: וְחָרָה | אַף יְיָ בָּכֶם
וְעָצַר אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְלֹא יִהְיֶה
מָטָר וְהָאֲדָמָה לֹא תִתֵּן אֶת
יְבוּלָהּ, וַאֲבַדְתֶּם | מְהֵרָה
מֵעַל הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה אֲשֶׁר יְיָ
נֹתֵן לָכֶם:
Sephardi
Hishameru lachem pen yifteh
levavkhem, vesartem va-avadtem
elohim acherim<sup>2</sup> vehishtachavitem
lahem: vecharah | af Adonai bachem
ve-atzar et hashamayim v'lo yihyeh
matar ve-ha-adamah lo titen et
yevulah, va-avadtem | meherah
mei'al ha'aretz hatovah asher Adonai
noten lachem:
English
However, you should be very careful and guard yourselves, in case your hearts become tempted to rebel against God, and you turn away from His ways. If this happens, you will become involved in idolatry and start to serve false gods that are foreign to their makers because they do not help them,<sup>2</sup> and you will foolishly bow down to these false gods. The Lord’s anger will then rage against you. God will close up the heavens, and there will be no rain; the ground will not give its produce because nothing will grow. You will quickly be destroyed, and you will be sent out from the good land—the Land of Israel—which the Lord gives to you.

Tefillin

Hebrew
וְשַׂמְתֶּם | אֶת דְּבָרַי אֵלֶּה
עַל | לְבַבְכֶם וְעַל נַפְשְׁכֶם,
וּקְשַׁרְתֶּם | אֹתָם לְאוֹת עַל
יֶדְכֶם וְהָיוּ לְטוֹטָפֹת בֵּין
עֵינֵיכֶם:
Sephardi
Vesamtem | et devarai eleh
al | levavkhem ve'al nafshkhem,
u-kshartem | otam le'ot al
yedchem vehayu letotafot bein
eineichem:
English
Even when you are in exile, you should put these words of Mine, written in the Torah, in your hearts and souls; pay attention to them. You should do this by putting on tefillin, which contain the words of the Shema. You should tie the hand-tefillin on your arm as a sign to remember God, and the head-tefillin should be put on your head, above the area between your eyes.

Learn and teach Torah

Hebrew
וְלִמַּדְתֶּם | אֹתָם |
אֶת בְּנֵיכֶם לְדַבֵּר בָּם, בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ
בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַּדֶּרֶךְ
וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ:
Sephardi
Velimadtem | otam |
et beneichem ledaber bam, beshivtecha
beveitecha uvelechtecha baderech
uveshochebecha uvekumecha:
English
You should teach the words of Torah to your children, so that they speak about them and continually discuss them: when you sit in your house, when you go on the way, when you lie down at night, and when you get up in the morning.

Mezuzah

Hebrew
וּכְתַבְתָּם
עַל מְזוּזוֹת בֵּיתֶךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶיךָ:
Sephardi
Uchetavtam
al mezuzot beitecha uvisha'arecha:
English
You should write these words of the Shema on mezuzot, which you should put up on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Hebrew
לְמַעַן יִרְבּוּ יְמֵיכֶם וִימֵי בְנֵיכֶם
עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע יְיָ
לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶם לָתֵת לָהֶם, כִּימֵי
הַשָּׁמַיִם עַל הָאָרֶץ:
Sephardi
Lema'an yirbu yemeichem vimei veneichem
al ha'adamah asher nishba Adonai
la'avoteichem latet lahem, kimei
hashamayim al ha'aretz:
English
You should keep all of these commandments in order to increase the number of days that you and your children will live on the land—the Land of Israel—which the Lord promised to give to your fathers for as long as the days that the heavens are above the earth, which is forever.