Tefillah al HaParnasah — The Prayer for Livelihood

A Prayer for Livelihood, from the book Margaritot Tovot

May it be Your will, Adonai my God and God of my fathers,

that You prepare for me all that I lack and provide for me all that I need —

for each and every day, enough to meet its wants,

for each and every hour of my years, enough to fill it,

and for every limb of my body, enough to sustain it —

according to Your good and open hand,

and not according to the smallness of my deeds, the poverty of my kindness, or the meagerness of my merit.

May my sustenance and the sustenance of my household, my children, and my children's children

be entrusted to Your hand and not to the hand of flesh and blood.

Master of the Universe,

You are called the Shepherd of Israel,

and it is the way of the good shepherd to seek for the flock he loves

rich and ample pasture in every riverbed, every valley, and on the hills.

So too for me — Your servant, the sheep of Your pasture —

shepherd me, feed me, sustain me, and let nothing be lacking for me:

"Adonai is my shepherd; I shall not want."

May my sustenance and the sustenance of my household come with ease and not with anguish,

with bright faces and not with darkness.

"In green pastures He lays me down; beside still waters He leads me."

Please, Adonai —

give me neither poverty nor riches;

provide me with my daily bread,

lest I be sated and deny You and say, "Who is Adonai?"

or lest I be impoverished and steal and take the name of my God in vain,

for over a piece of bread a man may transgress.

Therefore: "He restores my soul; He guides me in paths of righteousness for the sake of His name."

And though You decreed death upon Adam and upon his descendants after him,

am I not the work of Your hands?

While I am yet alive,

provide me with my sustenance in abundance and blessing.

"Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,

for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff — they comfort me."

Just as it is the way of the beloved shepherd to tend his flock

even in places prowling with wild beasts and bandits, saving them from their mouths,

so grant me that I not suffer shameful want among the nations and among my enemies —

"For You set a table before me in the presence of my foes;

You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows."

Let my livelihood not be hard to come by,

and let my days not be evil for want of sustenance,

but good in Your service, filled with abundance,

for the sake of Your goodness and Your loving-kindness —

"Surely goodness and loving-kindness will pursue me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of Adonai for the length of my days."

For You are the compassionate Father and we are Your children.

Break Your bread for those who hunger,

do not give over the life of Your Torah to the beasts,

never abandon the life of Your poor —

but sustain them with bread to eat and clothing to wear.

Master of the Universe,

You are the merciful God who sustains all Your creatures,

from the horns of the wild ox to the eggs of lice,

who gives food to the cattle and to the young ravens when they cry out.

"The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God —

all of them look to You

to give them their food in its season; You give to them and they gather it;

You open Your hand and they are satisfied with goodness,

for Adonai is good to all and His compassion is over all His works."

You are the One who gives bread to all flesh —

therefore, I too, Your servant,

sustain me as one among Your creatures,

like the beasts and the birds, who are fed without anguish.

Whether as children or as servants —

if as children, have compassion on us as a father has compassion on his children;

if as servants,

then the eyes of me and of my household look to You

until You be gracious to us,

as it is said: "The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in its season."

Master of the Universe,

there is but one blessing, from You, my Father in Heaven,

and You are the source and the spring of all blessings.

You blessed our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

with everything, from everything, all things.

Bless me as well, my Father in Heaven, with everything, from everything, all things, as You blessed them,

for I am of their seed — act toward me for the sake of their righteousness.

And even though You cursed Adam: "By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread" —

behold, You have annulled that curse from the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

when You blessed them and their descendants after them with abundant food and plenty,

as it is said: "And you shall eat your bread to satiation,"

and likewise: "And you shall eat and be satisfied and bless" — and so on.

Master of the Universe,

You distanced two nations because they did not come forward to meet us with bread and water —

for You are compassionate and have no desire for cruelty.

Therefore, do for us what You would have wished that Ammon and Moab had done for us —

to come forward to meet us with bread and water.

So bless our bread and our water

and deal with us in the measure of loving-kindness and compassion.

Sustain us with grace and kindness and compassion,

and let not the cruelty of others or of enemies block my livelihood,

for all depends upon Your hand.

For You commanded the ravens to bring Elijah — may his memory be for a blessing —

bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening.

So may You command that through Your creatures You carry out Your mission,

to provide for me and for my household.

Have not Your pious ones said: "One who comes to purify himself is given help from above?"

And I have taken a wife for the fulfillment of the commandment to be fruitful,

as You commanded: "Be fruitful and multiply,"

and I have become obligated in food, clothing, and conjugal rights, as written in Your Torah.

Therefore help me to fulfill these obligations;

fill my hands with Your blessings and with the richness of Your gifts.

Decree upon me: "Go and eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a glad heart,

for God has already found your deeds acceptable,"

and fulfill in me the verse that is written:

"He shall dwell on the heights; his stronghold the crags of the rock;

his bread is given; his water unfailing."

Master of the Universe,

open Your eyes and see my poverty and want,

for before I have bread, my sighs arrive first.

See that my livelihood weighs upon me exceedingly, with great toil and pain.

Please, my God, lighten from me this anguish and this great hardship,

and let my sustenance not come through struggle,

but through ease and lightness —

for You did not create Your world through toil and labor, but through a word.

So too satisfy me with ease and not with anguish, not with toil and trouble.

Act for the sake of my ancestors,

for "You have not abandoned those who seek You, Adonai,"

and as it is said:

"I was young and now I am old, and I have never seen a righteous man forsaken, nor his children seeking bread,"

and it is further said: "All day he shows grace and lends, and his children are a blessing."

And Your servant Solomon said in Your holy spirit:

"If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink."

Even though I have multiplied transgression before You,

do not withhold my sustenance from me —

deal with me in kindness,

for it is Your way to show undeserved kindness in every generation,

as it is said: "And Your manna You did not withhold from their mouths" —

for even on the day that Israel made the Golden Calf, You sent down the manna for them.

For You are a merciful and gracious God,

and You know that the inclination of the human heart is evil from its youth,

and You have no wish to destroy Your world on account of the foolish.

Master of the Universe,

why should we die before You — God forbid —

both we and our little ones?

Acquire us with bread and we shall all be servants sold to You forever;

from this moment we are Yours as servants.

And just as it is the way of a person to provide for his servants,

so provide for us with generosity and a kind eye.

For even Pharaoh, who was a king of flesh and blood,

did not diminish the portion of his priests

even in time of scarcity and famine;

he did not corrupt his compassion or harden his heart toward them because of the famine.

How much more so You, our King —

for all is in Your hand and all comes from You,

and Your compassion has no limit and no end —

it is fitting that You sustain us for the sake of the honor of Your name,

for You called us "a kingdom of priests,"

and You said to us: "You are children of Adonai your God."

Therefore our eyes look to You until You be gracious to us.

Please, our God in Heaven,

give bread to each little mouth.

"You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with what it desires."

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart find favor before You,

Adonai, my rock and my redeemer.