Lehametakat HaDinim — The Prayer for the Sweetening of Harsh Decrees
This prayer for the softening of divine judgments was composed by Rabbi Aharon Rota (1894–1947), the Shomer Emunim Rebbe, a Hasidic master renowned for his teachings on faith and divine providence. It is designed to be recited at any time — especially in moments of pain, hardship, or suffering — as an act of accepting one's circumstances with love and trusting in God's care. Rabbi Rota wrote that reciting it regularly, even for small difficulties, brings immeasurable spiritual benefit. Whoever you are, you are welcome to pray these words.
A prayer for the sweetening of harsh decrees — a prayer composed by our holy master Rabbi Aharon Rota, author of the Shomer Emunim, to be recited at any time.
I believe with complete faith that this pain and suffering that has come upon me comes by individual divine providence from Adonai,
and I hereby accept it upon myself with love.
All of this has come to me on account of my many sins.
You are righteous, Adonai, in all that has come upon me, for You have acted in truth and I have done wrong.
May it be Your will that this suffering serve as atonement for my many sins.
(And if recited in a time of favor, one may also add: and may this ease, as it were, the sorrow of the Divine Presence in its might, and the sorrow of Israel.)
Now, by the law of strict judgment, I ought to enumerate and confess the specific sin and transgression on whose account this suffering has come upon me,
but it is revealed and known before You that I do not know enough to do so.
Therefore, may it be Your will, my Father in Heaven,
that You blot out and uproot the sin, iniquity, and transgression that caused this suffering to come upon me,
and may all harsh decrees be sweetened from upon me and from upon all Israel,
and may all the letter-combinations be turned to good,
and may good and revealed lovingkindness flow to us and to all the House of Israel forever.
Amen.
Tefillah lehametakat hadinim — tefillah shechiber Rabbeinu HaKadosh Rabbi Aharon Rota, ba'al "Shomer Emunim", lom'rah bechol zman.
Ani ma'amin be'emunah shleimah, shezeh hatz'ar vehayisurim sheba li hu behashgachah peratit me'im Adonai,
vehineni mekabel alai be'ahavah,
vechol zeh ba li misvivot avonotai harabim,
vetzaddik Atah Adonai al kol haba alai, ki emet asita va'ani hirsha'ti.
Vihi ratzon sheyiheyu elu hayisurim lechapparah al avonotai harabim.
(Ve'im be'et ratzon yomar gam ken: ulechakel bezeh tza'ar Shekhinat Uzeinu kiveyachol, vetza'aran shel Yisrael.)
Vehineh mitzad hadin hayiti tzarich lefaret velashuv lehitvaddot al hachet vehe'avon shebisivotam ba li elu hayisurim,
aval galui veyadu'a lefanecha she'ein itti yode'a ad mah.
Lachen yehi ratzon milfanecha Avi shebashamayim,
shetime'chek vetashrish hachet vehe'avon vehapesha shegaram li elu hayisurim,
veyimteku kol hadinim me'alai ume'al kol Yisrael,
veyithafechu kol hatzirufim letovah,
veyimashech chasadim tovim umegulim lanu ulechol beit Yisrael ad olam.
Amen.
Common Questions
In Kabbalistic and Hasidic thought, divine judgment (din) governs the consequences of human actions. 'Sweetening' (hamtakat hadin) refers to the spiritual process by which harsh decrees are transformed or softened through sincere repentance, acceptance, and faith. This prayer is a structured act of that transformation — the one praying does not merely endure suffering but actively reframes it as purposeful and redemptive.
Rabbi Aharon Rota was a Hasidic Rebbe who lived in Hungary, Galicia, and later Jerusalem, and was known for his intense piety and mystical depth. His foundational work, Shomer Emunim (Guardian of Faith), is a lengthy treatise on the importance of complete, unwavering faith in God's providence. The title 'Shomer Emunim' also became the name of the Hasidic dynasty he founded, which continues today.
Hashgacha peratit — individual divine providence — is the belief that God is not only involved in world events at a grand scale, but that every detail of each person's life is guided by God's direct attention. This prayer opens with a declaration of that belief and proceeds from it: because suffering comes from God and not from mere chance, it can be accepted with love, and it can carry meaning, atonement, and transformation.
The prayer explicitly acknowledges that the one praying does not know which specific sin has brought about their suffering. This is a spiritually honest posture: rather than performing a rote confession of sins one cannot identify, the person asks God — who knows all — to uproot whatever transgression is at the root of their pain. Rabbi Rota's framing reflects a deep humility before God's knowledge versus human self-knowledge.
This phrase, marked in the text as optional and recited 'in a time of favor,' draws on the rabbinic and Kabbalistic concept that God's presence — the Shekhinah — shares in the suffering of Israel. When the Jewish people are in pain or exile, the Divine Presence is said to be, as it were (kiv'yakhol), in pain alongside them. Praying to alleviate that divine sorrow adds a theocentric dimension to the prayer: it is not only about personal relief, but about restoring harmony in the spiritual world.
Yes. While the prayer contains specifically Jewish references — such as 'all of Israel' and 'all the House of Israel' — its core act is universal: accepting suffering with faith, trusting in God's individual care, and asking for forgiveness and transformation. A non-Jewish reader who believes in a personal God who guides their life can pray these words sincerely, understanding the Jewish communal phrases as the prayer's original context rather than as an exclusion. The door of prayer is open to all who seek it.