Tefillat Rabbenu Tam — The Prayer of Rabbenu Tam
The Prayer of Rabbenu Tam is a powerful petition for daily protection, attributed to Rabbi Yaakov ben Meir (1100–1171), known as Rabbenu Tam, one of the greatest Talmudic authorities of medieval France and a leading Tosafist. It is recorded in the Sefer Yosef Ometz with a remarkable promise: one who recites it each day will be guarded from harm and will succeed in all their ways. Traditionally said each morning, it calls upon the angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael to intercede before God on behalf of the one praying. All who seek protection and guidance are welcome to pray these words.
I beseech you, Michael and Gabriel and Raphael,
That you stand in prayer, in petition and in supplication, before the King of kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He,
That I may succeed in all my ways and in every place I go,
From bandits — that they not harm me,
From demons, from night-spirits,
From man and woman, from every evil thing,
From sword and pestilence, from famine, from all afflictions that come and go in the world.
From all these may Adonai, God of Israel, deliver me, that they have no power over me —
Neither over my body, nor over my substance, nor over my descendants.
May it be Your will, Adonai my God and God of my forefathers,
That this hour be a moment of favor before You, that You hear my prayer and my petition.
(Recite three times:)
Adonai of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold, Selah.
(Three times:)
Adonai of Hosts — happy is the one who trusts in You.
(Three times:)
Adonai, save! May the King answer us on the day we call.
(Three times:)
May the angel who redeems me from all evil bless these young ones,
And may my name be called upon them, and the name of my forefathers Abraham and Isaac,
And may they multiply like fish in the midst of the land.
(Seven times:)
For Your salvation I have hoped, O Adonai.
For Your redemption I have waited, O Adonai.
(Seven times:)
Gad — a raiding band shall raid him, yet he shall raid at their heel.
So shall I succeed in my way, as Joshua did when he crossed the Jordan with Israel in battle against the Canaanites,
And returned in peace to his land.
Be-vakasha mi-kem Micha'el ve-Gavri'el ve-Rafa'el,
She-ta'amdu be-tefilla be-vakasha u-ve-tachanunim lifnei Melech malchei ha-melachim ha-Kadosh Baruch Hu,
She-atzliach be-chol derachai u-ve-chol makom she-ani holech,
Hen mi-listim she-lo yazikuni,
Hen mi-shedim, hen mi-lilin,
Hen me-ish ve-isha mi-kol davar ra,
Hen me-cherev ve-dever, hen mi-ra'av, hen mi-kol para'aniyot ha-holchim u-va'im la-olam.
Mi-ha-kol yatzileni Adonai Elohai Yisra'el she-lo yishlet'u vi,
Lo be-gufi ve-lo bi-me'odi ve-lo be-zar'i.
Yehi ratzon milfanecha Adonai Elohai ve-Elohei avotai,
She-tehi ha-sha'ah ha-zot et ratzon lefanecha she-tishma et tefillati u-vaksahti.
(Ve-yomar shalosh pe'amim:)
Adonai Tzeva'ot immanu, misgav lanu Elohei Ya'akov, Selah.
(Ve-shalosh pe'amim:)
Adonai Tzeva'ot, ashrei adam boteach bach.
(Ve-shalosh pe'amim:)
Adonai hoshi'ah, ha-melech ya'anenu be-yom kare'nu.
(Ve-shalosh pe'amim:)
Ha-mal'ach ha-go'el oti mi-kol ra yevarech et ha-ne'arim,
Ve-yikare vahem shemi ve-shem avotai Avraham ve-Yitzchak,
Ve-yidgu la-rov be-kerev ha-aretz.
(Ve-sheva pe'amim:)
Li-yeshu'atecha kiviti Adonai.
Le-furkhanach savrit Adonai.
(Ve-sheva pe'amim:)
Gad gedud yegudenu ve-hu yagud akev,
Kach atzliach be-darki kemo she-asa Yehoshua be-ovro ha-Yarden im Yisra'el ba-milchama im ha-Kena'ani,
Ve-shav be-shalom le-artzo.
Common Questions
Rabbi Yaakov ben Meir, known as Rabbenu Tam ('our perfect teacher'), was a twelfth-century French rabbi and one of the foremost authorities of his generation. He was a grandson of Rashi and a central figure among the Tosafists, the school of scholars who produced analytical commentaries on the Talmud. The prayer is attributed to him in the Sefer Yosef Ometz, a seventeenth-century work of Jewish law and custom by Rabbi Yosef Yuzpa Hahn of Frankfurt, who records it as a tradition received from Rabbenu Tam.
The Sefer Yosef Ometz (Frankfurt, 1723) is an important compendium of Ashkenazic Jewish law, custom, and ethical instruction compiled by Rabbi Yosef Yuzpa Hahn. In section 484, the book introduces this prayer as a received tradition from Rabbenu Tam and attaches to it a striking guarantee: whoever recites it daily will not suffer any misfortune that day and will succeed in all their paths. Such promises are occasionally associated with prayers of high spiritual standing in traditional Jewish literature.
In traditional Jewish theology, God alone has ultimate power, but it has long been an accepted practice in certain prayers and liturgical poems to ask angels to serve as intercessors or advocates before the Divine throne. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael are the three angels most frequently named in Jewish tradition, associated respectively with mercy, strength, and healing. The prayer itself makes clear that the angels are being asked to bring the petitioner's case before 'the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He' — God remains the source of all protection and blessing.
'Adonai Tzeva'ot immanu, misgav lanu Elohei Yaakov, Selah' comes from Psalm 46:8. 'Adonai Tzeva'ot, ashrei adam boteach bach' comes from Psalm 84:13. 'Adonai hoshi'ah, ha-melech ya'anenu be-yom kare'nu' is drawn from Psalm 20:10. 'Ha-mal'ach ha-go'el oti mi-kol ra' is from Genesis 48:16, the blessing Jacob gave to the sons of Joseph. 'Li-yeshu'atecha kiviti Adonai' is from Genesis 49:18. These verses are not ornamental — each is a concentrated expression of trust, protection, and salvation drawn from Scripture's deepest wells.
The prayer closes with a wish that the one praying will succeed in their journey 'as Joshua did when he crossed the Jordan with Israel in battle against the Canaanites, and returned in peace to his land.' Joshua's crossing of the Jordan is a foundational moment of courage and divine assistance in the Hebrew Bible, where an entire people crossed through miraculously to enter the Promised Land. Invoking this image at the end of a prayer for daily protection gives personal errands and challenges a sense of spiritual gravity — framing every day's journey as one that God can guide to a safe and successful conclusion.
This prayer contains language specific to the Jewish people and Jewish scripture — it calls upon 'Adonai, God of Israel,' invokes the names of the patriarchs Abraham and Isaac, and asks for blessing upon one's 'descendants.' A non-Jewish reader reciting it sincerely is not doing anything forbidden, and the website warmly welcomes all who wish to pray these words. At the same time, an honest reading means understanding that the prayer speaks from within a Jewish covenantal frame — and that is part of its beauty and authenticity. Many non-Jewish readers find deep value in praying alongside a tradition, entering its language as a guest, and allowing the words to open new dimensions of their own spiritual life.