Tefillah liShlom Bayit — The Prayer for Domestic Peace
The Tefillah liShlom Bayit — Prayer for Peace in the Home — is a traditional supplication recited by a woman for harmony, love, and blessing between herself and her husband (the prayer notes that a husband may recite it with appropriate changes). It draws on biblical verses and classical divine epithets, weaving together heartfelt personal petition with timeless scriptural language. It is traditionally said in private devotion, often at moments of strain or simply as an ongoing spiritual practice. Whoever you are and wherever you come from, you are welcome to open this prayer and let its words carry your longing for peace.
A remarkable prayer for a woman, for peace in the home and love between her and her husband.
(A husband may likewise recite this prayer, with the necessary adjustments.)
May it be Your will, Adonai our God and God of our forefathers,
Master of Peace, King to whom all peace belongs,
That You cause love and kinship, peace and friendship to dwell
Between me — (here say your own name and your mother's name: So-and-so daughter of So-and-so) —
And my husband — (here say his name and his mother's name: So-and-so son of So-and-so) —
From this time forth and forever.
Deliver us swiftly for the sake of Your name,
Shield us and rescue us from every evil person,
From every adversary and source of harm,
And all who devise against us and against Your people, the house of Israel
A plan that is not good, or a thought that is not good —
Foil and nullify their counsel,
As it is written: "Devise a plan — it shall be foiled; speak a word — it shall not stand, for God is with us."
Remove from us all discord, jealousy, hatred, and rivalry.
And for the sake of Your name, El Shaddai,
Annul against us all accusers and prosecutors,
Whether above or below,
So that they have no power to accuse or bring charges against us.
And command Your angels to help us and support us,
As it is written: "No harm shall befall you, no plague come near your tent,
For He will command His angels to guard you in all your ways."
Please, Adonai — God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and truth,
Who forms light and creates darkness, who makes peace and creates all things —
Let not our wrongdoings hold back what is good from us.
Incline our hearts so that we honor one another,
And cause Your Presence to dwell between us,
And let there be between us love and kinship, peace and friendship, light and joy,
From this time forth and forever.
Fulfill in us what is written: "He makes your borders peace; with the finest wheat He satisfies you,"
And what is written: "May there be peace within your walls, tranquility in your citadels."
Bless me, I pray, with the blessing written in Your Torah:
"May Adonai bless you and keep you;
May Adonai make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
May Adonai lift His face toward you and grant you peace."
Be filled with great compassion for us,
And fulfill all the wishes of our hearts for good and for blessing.
Fulfill in my husband what is written: "And you shall have peace, and your house shall have peace, and all that is yours shall have peace,"
And what is written: "The spirit of Adonai shall rest upon him —
A spirit of wisdom and understanding,
A spirit of counsel and might,
A spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Adonai."
Amen — so may it be His will, forever, selah, and evermore.
Adonai will give strength to His people; Adonai will bless His people with peace.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before You, Adonai, my rock and my redeemer.
Adonai of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold, selah.
Adonai of Hosts — happy is the one who trusts in You.
Adonai, save! May the King answer us on the day we call.
Tefillah nifla'ah le'ishah, lishlom bayit ve'ahavah beinah uvein ba'alah.
(Kamo'vhen, gam haba'al yakhol lomar et haTefillah, beshinuim hanechutzim)
Yehi ratzon milfanecha, Adonai Eloheinu vElohei avoteinu,
Adon haShalom, Melech shehashalom shelo,
Shetishreh ahavah ve'achvah, shalom vere'ut
Beini — (vetomar et shemah veshem imah: Pelonit bat Pelonit) —
Levein ba'ali — (vetomar et shemo veshem imo: Ploni ben Pelonit) —
Me'atah ve'ad olam.
Vehoshi'enu meheirah lema'an shemecha,
Vehagen be'adeinu vetatzileinu mikol adam ra
Umikol tzar umazik,
Vekhol haYo'etz aleinu ve'al amcha beit Yisrael
Etzah she'einah tovah umachashavah she'einah tovah —
Hafer uvatel atzato,
Kidkhetiv: "Utzu etzah vetufar, dabru davar velo yakum, ki imanu El."
Vehaser me'iteinu kol machlokhet, kin'ah, sin'ah vetachrut.
Uva'avur shimcha El Shaddai,
Batel me'aleinu kol mastinim umkitregim,
Bein lema'alah bein lematah,
Velo yihyeh vahem koach lehashtin velekitreg aleinu.
Vetztaveh lemal'akhecha la'azor lanu ulesaye'enu,
Kidkhetiv: "Lo te'uneh elecha ra'ah, vanegah lo yikrav be'aholecha,
Ki mal'akhav yetzaveh lakh lishmorkha bekhol derakhecha."
Anna, Adonai, El rachum vechanun, erekh apayim verav chesed ve'emet,
Yotzer or uvore choshekh, oseh shalom uvore et hakol —
Al yiheyu avonoteinu mone'im hatov me'iteinu.
Vetateh et liboteinu shenikhaved echad et hasheni,
Vetishreh et Shekhinatecha beineinu,
Viheyu veineinu ahavah ve'achvah, shalom vere'ut, orah vesimchah,
Me'atah ve'ad olam.
Vekayem banu et hakkatuv: "HaSam gevulech shalom, chelev chitim yasbi'ech,"
Ve'et hakkatuv: "Yehi shalom bechelech, shalevah be'armenotayich."
Uvarkheini na baberakhah hakketuvah beToratekhah:
"Yevarekhekhah Adonai veyishmerekha,
Ya'er Adonai panav elecha vichuneka,
Yissa Adonai panav elecha veyasem lecha shalom."
Vehitmale berachamim gedolim aleinu,
Umale kol mish'alot libeinu letovah ulivrakhah.
Vekayem beva'ali et hakkatuv: "Ve'atah shalom uveitekha shalom vekhol asher lekha shalom,"
Ve'et hakkatuv: "Venachah alav ruach Adonai,
Ruach chokhmah uvina,
Ruach etzah ugevurah,
Ruach da'at veyir'at Adonai."
Amein, ken yehi ratzon, netzach, selah va'ed.
Adonai oz le'amo yiten, Adonai yevarekh et amo vashalom.
Yiheyu leratzon imrei fi vehegyon libi lefanecha, Adonai tzuri vego'ali.
Adonai Tzeva'ot imanu, misgav lanu Elohei Ya'akov, selah.
Adonai Tzeva'ot, ashrei adam bote'ach bakh.
Adonai hoshi'ah, HaMelech ya'aneinu veyom kore'enu.
Common Questions
'Shlom bayit' (שְׁלוֹם בַּיִת) literally means 'peace of the home' and refers to the harmony, dignity, and love that should characterize a marriage and household. In Jewish tradition it is regarded as one of the highest values — the Talmud teaches that even the divine Name may be erased in water for the sake of restoring peace between a husband and wife (Sotah 17b). A home filled with shlom bayit is considered a reflection of the divine presence dwelling among human beings.
The prayer quotes or echoes several verses: Psalm 91:10–11 ('No harm shall befall you, no plague come near your tent, for He will command His angels to guard you in all your ways'), Isaiah 8:10 ('Devise a plan — it shall be foiled; speak a word — it shall not stand, for God is with us'), Psalm 122:7 ('May there be peace within your walls, tranquility in your citadels'), Psalm 147:14 ('He makes your borders peace; with the finest wheat He satisfies you'), the Priestly Blessing of Numbers 6:24–26, and Isaiah 11:2 ('The spirit of Adonai shall rest upon him — a spirit of wisdom and understanding...'). The closing verses are drawn from Psalms 29:11, 19:15, 46:8, 84:13, and 20:10.
The precise authorship and date of this prayer are not definitively documented, and it is therefore not attributed to a specific individual here. It belongs to a broad category of personal supplicatory prayers (known as tehinot or bakkashot) that developed in Jewish communities over many centuries, often composed for domestic and life-cycle moments not covered by the fixed liturgy. Its language and style reflect traditional Jewish devotional writing.
The prayer instructs the one praying to insert her own name and her mother's name, and her husband's name and his mother's name. In Jewish prayer and in the writing of legal documents such as a get (bill of divorce), individuals are traditionally identified through their mother's name rather than their father's — this emphasizes the certainty of maternal lineage and carries deep legal and spiritual weight. Using full names in personal prayer is also a way of bringing the specific, real people before God rather than speaking in generalities.
The phrase 'amecha beit Yisrael' (your people, the house of Israel) refers to the Jewish people collectively. It appears in the prayer's petition against those who 'counsel harm against us and against Your people, the house of Israel,' anchoring the personal prayer within the larger covenant community. The speaker is not praying in isolation but as a member of an ancient people who stand in ongoing relationship with God — her household's peace is bound up with the peace of her people.
Yes, with openness and awareness. This prayer was composed within and for the Jewish tradition, and it speaks explicitly of 'our forefathers,' 'Your people the house of Israel,' and the divine names central to Jewish worship. A non-Jewish reader who prays these words is entering that tradition as a respectful guest, not erasing its particularity. Many non-Jews find that praying a tradition's own words — rather than a sanitized version — creates a more genuine encounter with it. If the specifically Jewish references feel like they belong to someone else's story, you might hold them with curiosity and respect, allowing the prayer's universal longing for love, peace, and divine protection to speak to your own heart.