Tefillah la-Avot al Banim — A Prayer for Parents Over Their Children
This beautiful prayer for parents — asking that their children be blessed with long life, wisdom, and deep engagement with Torah — is drawn from the classic Sephardic and Eastern prayer compendium *Otzar ha-Tefillot* ('Treasury of Prayers'), where it is noted as having been brought from the Holy Land. It may be recited by a parent at any time, though moments of personal supplication — such as after the Amidah or in times of worry for one's children — are especially fitting. Wherever you come from, if you carry love for a child in your heart, this prayer speaks for you.
Master of all worlds, merciful King,
have compassion on me and on my children who were born to me
from my wife / my husband (so-and-so, son / daughter of so-and-so).
Open their hearts like the opening of the Ulam —
so that they may understand the depths, the reasons, and the secrets of Your holy Torah,
and may they engage in Your Torah for its own sake.
Grant them long life and blessed years;
may their days and their years be lengthened.
May they be worthy of upright offspring, living and enduring for length of days;
may they be filled with Torah, with wisdom, and with fear of sin;
may they be beloved above and cherished below,
and may they carry grace and good understanding in the eyes of God and of people.
Protect them from the evil eye and from the evil inclination,
and from every kind of affliction that surges and comes into the world.
May we raise them — I and my wife / my husband —
so that they do not die in my lifetime, nor in the lifetime of my wife / my husband.
Do not send me away from Your presence empty-handed,
for You hear the prayer of every mouth with compassion.
Blessed are You, who hears prayer.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before You,
Adonai, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Ribon kol ha-olamim, Melech rachaman,
rachem alai ve-al banai ha-noldim li
me-ishti / mi-ba'ali (peloni / pelonit ben / bat peloni)
U-ftach libam ke-fitcho shel Ulam,
kedei she-yavinu amukei ve-ta'amei ve-sodei Toratcha ha-kedoshah,
ve-yiheyu oskim be-Toratcha lishmah.
Ve-ten lahem chayyim arukhim ve-shanim berukhim,
ve-ya'arikhu yemeihem ve-shnotehem.
Ve-yizkhu le-zera kasher, chayyim ve-kayamim le-orekh yamim,
ve-yiheyu mele'im be-Torah u-ve-chokhmah u-ve-yir'at chet,
ve-yiheyu ahuvim le-ma'alah ve-nechmadim le-matah,
ve-yiheyu nos'im chen ve-sechel tov be-einei Elohim ve-adam.
Ve-tatzilim me-ayin ha-ra u-mi-yetzer ha-ra
u-mi-kol minei par'aniyyot ha-mitrag'shot u-va'ot la-olam.
Ve-nagdelem ani ve-ishti / ba'ali
she-lo yamutu be-chayyai ve-lo be-chayyei ishti / ba'ali,
ve-al teshiveni reikam mi-lefanecha,
ki Atah shome'a tefillat kol peh be-rachamim.
Baruch Atah, shome'a tefillah.
Yiheyu le-ratzon imrei fi ve-hegyon libi lefanecha,
Adonai tzuri ve-go'ali.
Common Questions
The *Otzar ha-Tefillot* ('Treasury of Prayers') is a widely used compilation of Jewish prayers, liturgical texts, and devotional supplications, published in multiple editions and particularly beloved in Sephardic and Mizrachi communities. It gathered prayers from diverse sources, including folk traditions and texts circulating in the Land of Israel. The note that this prayer was 'brought from the Holy Land' reflects a long-standing Jewish practice of treating prayers originating in Eretz Yisrael as carrying special spiritual weight.
The prayer asks God to open the children's hearts to Torah — using the striking image of 'the opening of the Ulam,' the great entrance hall of the Temple — so that they may understand its depths, its reasons, and its secrets. Beyond spiritual gifts, the parent also asks for long life, blessed years, worthy offspring, protection from the evil eye and the evil inclination, and that the children find favor in the eyes of both God and people. It is a prayer that weaves together the sacred and the deeply human.
The 'evil eye' (*ayin ha-ra*) is a concept with ancient roots in Jewish tradition and many other cultures: the belief that harmful spiritual harm can come to a person through the envious or malicious gaze of others. In Jewish thought, it is taken seriously as a genuine spiritual danger, and many prayers, blessings, and folk customs exist to ward it off. Praying for a child's protection from the evil eye reflects a parent's deep instinct to shield their child from every form of harm, seen and unseen.
The Hebrew phrase *lishma* — literally 'for its own sake' — describes the ideal of studying Torah not for reward, status, or external gain, but purely out of love for God and the wisdom itself. Jewish tradition considers Torah *lishma* to be among the highest spiritual attainments. By asking that her children engage in Torah *lishma*, the parent is praying not just that they be learned, but that their learning be inwardly pure and rooted in genuine devotion.
The closing line — 'May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before You, Adonai, my Rock and my Redeemer' (Psalm 19:15) — is one of the most beloved verses in Jewish liturgy and is traditionally recited at the conclusion of the Amidah, the central standing prayer. Ending a personal supplication with this verse is a way of offering one's own words back to God with humility, acknowledging that even our most heartfelt prayers are imperfect, and asking that they be received with grace.
This prayer was composed within the Jewish tradition and speaks from within it — its references to Torah, the Temple, and Jewish spiritual life are authentic and should not be set aside. That said, the love of a parent for a child crosses every boundary of faith and culture, and the longing expressed here — for children who are wise, good, protected, and beloved — is universal. A non-Jewish reader who finds meaning in these words is welcome to pray them as a guest in this tradition, holding its specific references with respect rather than substituting them. Many people of different faiths have found Jewish prayer a doorway into deeper conversation with God.