Tefillah LeHatzlachat HaBanim — A Prayer for the Success of One’s Children
This is a traditional Jewish supplication recited by parents on behalf of their children, asking God for their spiritual, physical, and moral flourishing. Found in collections of techinnot and bakkashot — personal petitionary prayers — it reflects the deep parental longing that children grow in Torah, character, health, and happiness, and ultimately build their own Jewish homes. It is often said after morning or Shabbat prayers, or at any moment of heartfelt need. Whatever your background or tradition, you are welcome to bring your own parental love and hope to these words.
Master of the Universe: grant us the merit that our children may shine in Torah,
that they be healthy in body and mind, of good character, engaged in Torah for its own sake.
Give them long and good lives,
and may they be filled with Torah, with wisdom, and with the fear of Heaven,
beloved above and cherished below.
Protect them from the evil eye, from the evil inclination, and from all manner of harm,
and may they have healthy senses in Your service.
Grant us, in Your great compassion — (and my wife, and my husband) —
that You fill the measure of our days with length of days and years in goodness and pleasantness,
with love and with peace,
and may we merit to raise each one of our sons and each one of our daughters to Torah, to the wedding canopy, and to good deeds.
Appoint for each of our sons his destined partner, and for each of our daughters her destined partner,
and may they not be passed over in favor of others, God forbid.
Bless the work of our hands so that we may give to them generously and with a good eye,
and may we be able to fulfill what we promise to give them without formal vow,
and to bring them to their marriages in their youth with ease, with tranquility, and with joy,
and from them may there come forth good fruit — righteous children who attain merit and bring merit to all Israel.
May Your great Name not be profaned through us,
nor through our descendants, God forbid.
Fulfill all the desires of our hearts for good — in health, in success, and in all blessing —
and may the glory of Your great Name and the glory of Your Torah be magnified through us and through our descendants and the descendants of our descendants,
Amen, may this be Your will.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before You, Adonai, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Ribono shel olam: zakenu sheyiheyu baneinu me'irim baTorah,
veyiheyu bri'im begufam uvsichlam, ba'alei midot tovot, oskin baTorah lishmah.
Uten lahem chayyim arukhim vetovim,
veyiheyu mele'im baTorah uvechochmah uveyir'at shamayim,
veyiheyu ahuvim lema'alah venechemadim lematah.
Vetatzilam me'ayin hara umiyetzer hara umikol miney par'aniyyot,
veyiheyu lahem chushim bri'im la'avodatecha.
Vezkenu berachamecha harabim, (ve'et ishti, ve'et ba'ali),
shetemaleh mispar yameinu be'arichut yamim veshanim betov uvane'imim,
ve'ahavah veshalom,
venizke legadel kol echad mibanai vekol achat mibenotai leTorah, lechuppah ulema'asim tovim.
Vetazmin lekol echad mibanai et bat zivugo ulekol achat mibenotai et ben zivugah,
velo yidachu lifney acherim chas veshalom.
Uvarech ma'aseh yadeinu laten lahem mahar umatan be'ayin yafah,
evnuchal lekayem mah she'anachnu mevtichim laten lahem beli neder,
velehas'em im zivugam biymey hane'urim benachat uveru'ach uvesimchah,
umehem yetz'u perot tovim uvanim tzaddikim zokhim umazkim lechol Yisrael.
Velo yitchalel shimcha hagadol al yadenu,
velo al yad zar'enu chas veshalom.
Umaleh kol mish'alot libenu letovah bivri'ut, behatzlachah vechol tov,
veyitgadel kevod shimcha hagadol uchevod Toratecha al yadenu ve'al yad zar'enu vezera zar'enu,
Amen, ken yehi ratzon.
Yiheyu leratzon imrei fi vehegyon libi lefanecha, Adonai tzuri vego'ali.
Common Questions
In this context, Torah refers both to the Five Books of Moses and, more broadly, to the entire body of Jewish sacred learning and the way of life it shapes. It appears repeatedly because in Jewish tradition, Torah study is not merely academic — it is considered the highest form of worship and the foundation of a meaningful, ethical life. When the prayer asks that children engage in Torah 'lishmah' (for its own sake), it is asking for learning motivated by love of God and truth, not by personal gain or social prestige.
This phrase expresses a dual blessing: that the children be loved in the eyes of God (in the heavenly realm, 'above') and beloved to other people (in the earthly realm, 'below'). It echoes a concept found in the Talmud and rabbinic literature, where the ideal person earns the approval of both Heaven and their fellow human beings. The prayer thus asks not only for piety but for the kind of warm, trustworthy character that draws others close.
Zivug (זיווג) means a destined match or soul-partner. Jewish tradition teaches that even before a child is born, God designates the person they are meant to marry. The prayer asks God to arrange these matches and not let any child be passed over or delayed. The line 'may they not be passed over in favor of others, God forbid' reflects an anxious parental hope that each child find their partner in good time and not be left waiting.
The chuppah (חופה) is the wedding canopy under which a Jewish marriage ceremony takes place. In Jewish law and custom, it symbolizes the new home the couple will build together. When the prayer asks to raise each child 'to Torah, to chuppah, and to good deeds,' it is invoking a classical rabbinic formula for a complete and blessed life — one rooted in learning, sanctified by marriage, and expressed in ethical action.
Yes — with an open heart and an honest awareness of its origin. This is an authentically Jewish prayer, drawing on specifically Jewish hopes: that children grow in Torah, marry under a chuppah, and bring blessing to the people of Israel. A non-Jewish parent who prays these words is not adopting Jewish identity, but is tapping into one of the most universal human experiences — the longing to see one's children flourish in goodness. You are welcome to read it as a fellow human being standing before the same God, offering the same love.
The final line — 'May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before You, Adonai, my Rock and my Redeemer' — is a verse from Psalm 19:15. It is one of the most frequently quoted verses in Jewish liturgy, traditionally recited at the close of the Amidah (the central standing prayer). By ending with this verse, the prayer places itself humbly before God: all these requests, however heartfelt, are offered as a petition, trusting that God hears and accepts them according to His wisdom.