Tefillah le-Arichut Yamim — The Prayer for Long Life
This prayer for long life and wellbeing was composed by Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai — known by his acronym the Chida — one of the most celebrated Sephardic scholars and kabbalists of the eighteenth century. It appears in his work Avodat HaKodesh and is recommended to be recited every day. The prayer weaves together original supplication with biblical verses, asking God for health, protection, clarity of mind, and length of days. Whether you come to this prayer as a lifelong practitioner or as someone new to Hebrew devotion, you are welcome here.
She is a tree of life to those who hold fast to her, and those who support her are made happy.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
The name of Adonai is a tower of strength — the righteous run to it and are lifted high.
May it be Your will, Adonai our God and God of our forefathers,
that You fill Yourself with mercy toward us,
and act for the sake of our holy forefathers:
Abraham, man of loving-kindness,
Isaac, girded with strength,
Jacob, the very embodiment of beauty.
Annul from upon us all harsh and evil decrees,
and in the shadow of Your wings conceal us,
that we may be healthy in all our limbs and sinews,
and guard us from all distress, all fear, and all illness,
and rescue us from all forms of sorcery and from confusion of mind,
and let our hearts not grieve and let our eyes not grow dim.
May we be settled in our minds,
and grant us strength and health for Your service and Your reverence.
Extend our days in goodness and in pleasantness,
and in all that we turn to may we act wisely, and in all that we do may we succeed.
Amen, so may it be Your will.
May Your kindness, Adonai, be upon us, as we have hoped in You.
Show us Your kindness, Adonai, and grant us Your salvation.
As for me, I have trusted in Your kindness — my heart will rejoice in Your salvation;
I will sing to Adonai, for He has dealt bountifully with me.
Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid,
for my strength and my song is Yah Adonai, and He has become my salvation.
Etz chayyim hi la-machazikim bah, ve-tome'cheyha me'ushar.
Deracheyha darchei no'am, ve-chol netivoteyha shalom.
Migdal oz shem Adonai, bo yarutz tzaddik ve-nisgav.
Yehi ratzon milfanecha, Adonai Eloheinu ve-Elohei avoteinu,
she-titmalei rachamim aleinu,
va-aseh le-ma'an avoteinu ha-kedoshim:
Avraham ish ha-chesed,
Yitzhak ne'ezar bi-gevurah,
Ya'akov kelil tiferet.
U-vatel me'aleinu kol gezeirot kashot ve-ra'ot,
uve-tzel kenafecha tastirenu,
ve-nihyeh beri'im be-chol evarenu ve-gidenu,
ve-tishmerenu mi-kol tzarah u-mi-kol pachad u-mi-kol choli,
ve-tatzilenu mi-kol minei keshuf u-mi-bilbul ha-da'at,
ve-al yedaveh libenu ve-al yechashechu eineinu.
Ve-nihyeh meyushavim be-da'atenu,
ve-ten banu ko'ach u-veri'ut la-avodatecha ve-yir'atecha.
Ve-ta'arich yameinu be-tov u-ve-ne'imim,
uve-chol asher nifneh naskil u-ve-chol asher na'aseh natzbliach.
Amen, ken yehi ratzon.
Yehi chasdecha, Adonai, aleinu, ka'asher yichalnu lach.
Hare'enu Adonai chasdecha, ve-yish'echa titen lanu.
Va-ani be-chasdecha vatachti, yagel libbi bi-shu'atecha,
ashirah l'Adonai ki gamal alai.
Hinei El yeshu'ati, evtach ve-lo efchad,
ki ozi ve-zimrat Yah Adonai, va-yehi li li-shu'ah.
Common Questions
Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai (1724–1806), known as the Chida, was a prolific Sephardic rabbinic authority, kabbalist, and bibliographer who traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East. He authored dozens of works spanning halakhic commentary, kabbalah, and liturgy. Prayers bearing his name carry particular weight in Sephardic communities, where he is regarded as one of the towering figures of the modern era.
The prayer opens with two verses from Proverbs (3:18 and 3:17) describing the Torah as a 'tree of life,' followed by a verse from Proverbs (18:10) about God's name as a tower of strength for the righteous. It closes with verses from Psalms 33, 85, 13, and Isaiah 12 — all expressing trust in God's kindness and salvation. Anchoring personal petition within scripture is a classic feature of Jewish liturgy, grounding the worshipper's words in the shared language of the tradition.
Appealing to the merit of the forefathers — a practice known in Hebrew as zekhut avot, 'the merit of the ancestors' — is a recurring feature of Jewish prayer. The prayer describes each patriarch through a distinct spiritual quality: Abraham embodies chesed (loving-kindness), Isaac is associated with gevurah (strength or restraint), and Jacob is called the embodiment of tiferet (beauty or harmony). Invoking them is a way of asking God to act toward their descendants with the same compassion shown to them.
The prayer asks for the annulment of harsh decrees, physical health in every limb and sinew, protection from fear and illness, and deliverance from sorcery and confusion of mind. It also asks that the worshipper's heart not grieve and that their eyes not grow dim — requests that speak to both bodily and emotional wellbeing. Finally, it asks for strength and health in the service and reverence of God, and for length of days filled with goodness and pleasantness.
This prayer was composed within and for the Jewish tradition, and it speaks in the first-person plural of 'us' and 'our forefathers' — voices rooted in a specific covenant community. A non-Jewish reader can engage with it meaningfully: as a window into Jewish spirituality, as an inspiration for personal prayer, or as a meditation on universal hopes like health, clarity, and long life. Those who feel drawn to address these words to God in their own way are welcome to do so, even while recognizing that the prayer's full resonance belongs to its native tradition.
The instruction to say the prayer every day reflects a common principle in Jewish devotion: that spiritual protection and divine blessing are not one-time requests but ongoing needs. Daily repetition also trains the heart to remain conscious of one's dependence on God and gratitude for life. The Chida's placement of this prayer in Avodat HaKodesh, a work concerned with the inner life of religious practice, suggests he saw it as part of a daily discipline of mindfulness and trust.