Tefilat HaBanim — The Blessing of the Children
On the eve of Yom Kippur, before departing for synagogue, Jewish parents traditionally place their hands on their children's heads and recite this blessing. The practice draws on the biblical model of Jacob blessing his grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 48), and incorporates the Priestly Blessing from Numbers 6. The prayer asks that children grow in love and reverence for God, in Torah, and in upright living. Whoever you are, you are welcome to read, reflect on, and be moved by these words.
The Blessing of the Children — Eve of Yom Kippur
It is customary to bless one's children and family members
according to the text printed in the High Holiday prayer books,
adding further blessings and personal requests
according to the eloquence of the one who blesses.
The heart of the blessing is that they may serve Adonai all their days,
that God grant them peace and long life,
and that the parent may merit to see from them children and grandchildren
occupied with Torah and mitzvot all the days of their lives.
And one should gently guide them to walk in reverence of Adonai all their lives,
and should intend through this guidance to bring contentment to the Creator, may His name be blessed.
Some have the custom of also going to their relatives and acquaintances
known to be righteous and people of good deeds,
to receive blessings from their lips.
One should do this early, while the day is still long,
so as to be free afterward to receive the holiness of the day with a settled mind.
One places one's hands on the child's head and says:
May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.
May Adonai bless you and keep you.
May Adonai cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May Adonai lift His face toward you and grant you peace.
May it be the will of our Father in Heaven
that my beloved children live and endure
and not be seized, God forbid, by poverty.
May Adonai place within your hearts His love and His awe,
and may the reverence of Adonai be ever upon your faces, so that you do not sin.
May your desire be for Torah and for mitzvot,
and to do the will of your Father in Heaven.
May God grant me a livelihood freely, permissibly, and with ease,
from His open and generous hand,
and not through the gifts of flesh and blood,
so that I may feed you and provide for you
and raise you and guide you in good and upright ways
and lead you to the wedding canopy.
May Adonai pour upon you an abundance of blessing and success
in all the work of your hands,
and may you be written and sealed for a good and long life
among all the righteous and among all Israel.
Amen.
An additional version of the Blessing of the Children:
May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.
May Adonai bless you and keep you.
May Adonai cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May Adonai lift His face toward you and grant you peace.
May it be the will of our Father in Heaven
that He place within your heart His love and His awe,
and may the reverence of Adonai be upon your face all your days, so that you do not sin,
and may your desire be for Torah and for mitzvot.
May your eyes look straight ahead,
may your mouth speak wisdom,
and may your heart contemplate awe of God,
may your hands be engaged in mitzvot,
may your feet run to do the will of your Father in Heaven.
May He grant you sons and daughters, righteous men and women,
occupied with Torah and mitzvot all their days,
may your source be blessed,
and may He provide your livelihood permissibly, with ease and with grace,
from His open and generous hand,
and not through the gifts of flesh and blood —
a livelihood that leaves you free for the service of God.
May you be written and sealed for a good and long life
among all the righteous of Israel.
Amen.
Tefilat HaBanim — erev Yom HaKippurim
Nohagim levarech et habanim ve'et bnei hamishpacha
kfi hanoسach hamudpas bamachzorim,
ulehosif od kaha vechaha brachot uvakashot
kfi tzachut leshon hamvarech.
Ikar habrachah yihyeh sheyihyu ovdei Adonai kol yemeihem,
veyiten lahem shalom vechayim aruchim,
veyizkeh lirot mehem banim ubnei vanim
oskim baTorah uvamitzvot kol yemei chayeihem.
Veyochi'ach otam shelchu beyir'at Adonai kol yemei chayeihem,
veyechaven betochachah zo latet nachat ru'ach laBore yitbarach shemo.
Veyesh hanohagim lalechet gam likroveihem umeyuda'eihem
hayedu'im bitor tzadikim ve'anshei ma'aseh,
lehitbarech mibirchot pihem.
Veyesh lehakadem vela'asot zot be'od hayom gadol,
bechedi lihyot panu'im achar kach lekabel kedushat hayom beyishuv hada'at.
Yasim yadav al rosham veyomar:
Yesimcha Elohim ke'Efrayim veChi'Menashe.
Yevarechecha Adonai veyishmerecha.
Ya'er Adonai panav elecha vichuneka.
Yisa Adonai panav elecha veyasem lecha shalom.
Yehi ratzon milifnei Avinu shebaShamayim
sheyihyu banai hachavivim chayim vekayamim
velo yihyu nitpasim, chas veshalom, be'oni.
Veyiten Adonai bilvchem ahavato veyir'ato,
vetihyeh yir'at Adonai al pneichem tamid shelo techeta'u.
Viyihyeh cheshkechem baTorah uvamitzvot
ula'asot retzon Avichem shebaShamayim.
Veyiten li Elohim parnasah beruach beheter uvenahat
mitachat yado harechavah
velo al yedei matnat basar vadam,
she'uchal lezonechem ulekalkel etchem
ulegedlchem ulehadrichechem bidrachim tovim viyesharim
ulehavil'chem lechupah.
VeyiShpoch Adonai aleichem shefa brachah vehatzlachah
bechol ma'aseh yedechem,
veyikatev veyechatem etchem lechayim tovim ve'aruchim
betoch kol hatzadikim uvtoch kol Yisrael.
Amen.
Nusach nosaf levirchat habanim:
Yesimcha Elohim ke'Efrayim vechiMenashe.
Yevarechecha Adonai veyishmerecha.
Ya'er Adonai panav elecha vichuneka.
Yisa Adonai panav elecha veyasem lecha shalom.
Vihi ratzon milifnei Avinu shebaShamayim,
sheyiten belibcha ahavato veyir'ato,
vetihyeh yir'at Adonai al panecha kol yamecha shelo techeta,
viyehi cheshkecha baTorah uvamitzvot.
Einecha lenochach yabitu,
picha yedaber chachmot,
velibcha yehgeh eimot,
yadecha ya'aseku bemitzvot,
raglecha yarutzu la'asot retzon Avicha shebaShamayim.
Yiten lecha banim uvanot tzadikim vetzidkaniyot
oskim baTorah uvamitzvot kol yemeihem,
viyehi mekorcha baruch,
viyazmin lecha parnasatcha beheter uvenahat uveruach
mitachat yado harechavah
velo al yedei matnat basar vadam,
parnasah shetihyeh panu'i la'avodat HaShem.
Vetikkatev vetechatem lechayim tovim ve'aruchim
betoch kol tzadikei Yisrael.
Amen.
Common Questions
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the most solemn day of the Jewish year — a time of deep introspection, repair, and renewed commitment. Before the community enters the synagogue for the Kol Nidre service, parents pause to bless their children, grounding the holy day in the intimacy of family. The blessing also serves as a kind of spiritual inheritance: parents express their deepest hopes for their children at the very moment they themselves stand before God.
The opening words — 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh' — echo Jacob's blessing of Joseph's two sons in Genesis 48. Ephraim and Manasseh are traditionally seen as models of children who grew up outside the Land of Israel yet remained faithful to their heritage. By invoking their names, the blessing expresses hope that Jewish children in every generation and every land will do the same.
The Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim) comes from Numbers 6:24–26: 'May Adonai bless you and keep you; may Adonai shine His face upon you and be gracious to you; may Adonai lift His face toward you and grant you peace.' In Temple times it was recited daily by the priests over the Israelite community. Today it is woven into synagogue worship and private blessings alike. Its inclusion here gives the parental blessing a sacred, covenantal weight.
This phrase reflects a classical Jewish value: that a person's sustenance should come from their own honest labor and from God's provision alone, rather than from dependency on other human beings. Relying on others' charity was seen as diminishing to human dignity. The prayer asks that God provide for the family's needs directly — liberally and without hardship — so that the parent can support and raise the children with freedom and dignity.
Jewish tradition teaches that on Rosh Hashanah God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year, and on Yom Kippur that inscription is sealed. The phrase 'written and sealed' draws directly on this imagery. Asking that children be inscribed 'among all the righteous of Israel' is a plea that they be found worthy — not merely as individuals, but as part of the larger community of those who live justly and faithfully.
This is a prayer rooted in specifically Jewish covenantal life — it invokes Israel, Torah, mitzvot, and the Jewish communal destiny. A non-Jewish reader is warmly welcomed to read it, reflect on it, and draw spiritual meaning from its universal themes: parental love, the hope that children will live with integrity, and trust in a generous and caring God. If you are not Jewish, you might choose to read it as a window into another tradition's most intimate moments, or to adapt its spirit in your own words — while understanding that its particular references belong to and honor the Jewish people.