Tefillot Lizman HaHerayon — Prayers During Pregnancy

PRAYER FOR A WOMAN DURING PREGNANCY

 

AT THE BEGINNING OF PREGNANCY

 

Praise we give to You, our Father in heaven,

for the grace and kindness You have bestowed upon us,

and for the hope You have given me to feel within my heart —

new life,

new possibilities opening before me,

to fill and enrich my life.

 

May it be Your will, Adonai,

that You look with favor

upon the sacred act I am performing in the depths of my soul.

It is my desire to dedicate this child

to nurturing within them a love of Your commandments

and the keeping of Your Torah,

so that they may grow up in its light.

 

Hear my prayer.

Bless now the fruit of my womb.

Watch over the child and over me.

Strengthen my spirit

against the urges that might bring harm,

and guard my body from misfortune and illness

that could cause damage,

so that this child may enter the world whole and healthy in body and in soul,

with wisdom and Torah.

 

In trust in You and in Your help,

I will wait in peace until the day the child arrives,

for You have already consoled me from the beginning

against the pains,

through the joy and hope

that will come to me afterward.

 

I am certain that

"Adonai is close to all who call upon Him,

to all who call upon Him in truth."

 

May the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before You,

Adonai, my Rock and my Redeemer.

 

FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE SEVENTH MONTH OF PREGNANCY

 

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

that You lighten for me (this woman, daughter of her mother)

the suffering of my pregnancy,

and continue to grant me strength throughout all the days of the pregnancy,

that my strength may not be drained,

nor my energy diminished in any way whatsoever.

 

Deliver me from the decree of Eve,

and when the time comes for me to give birth —

may my labor pains not overwhelm me,

and may the child come forth into the open air of the world

in an instant, as easily as a hen lays an egg,

with ease, without any harm —

neither to me nor to the child.

 

And may the child be born in a good hour and under a good sign,

for a good life, for peace, for blessing, and for health,

for grace, for kindness, and for compassion,

for wealth and for honor.

 

And may I not give birth on Shabbat,

so that no one should need to desecrate the Shabbat,

God forbid, on my account.

 

And fulfill all my desires for good,

for Your service,

in a good measure, with salvation and compassion,

and do not send me away empty from before You —

Amen, selah, and forever.

 

PRAYER FOR THE NINTH MONTH OF PREGNANCY

 

A prayer to be recited in the ninth month of pregnancy,

brought by our teacher the holy Shelah HaKadosh, may his memory be a blessing,

in his book (Tractate Tamid, chapter Ner Mitzvah, 103).

 

And he wrote:

When a woman enters her ninth month of pregnancy,

it is fitting that they observe a fast day,

and toward evening, before eating —

let them give tzedakah to worthy poor people,

examine their deeds and set them right,

and turn their faces to the wall —

each one in their corner —

and pray:

 

Answer us, Adonai, answer us

on this day of our fasting,

for we are in great distress.

Do not look upon our wickedness,

do not hide Your face from us,

do not turn away from our plea.

Be near, we beseech You, to our cry.

May Your kindness be our comfort.

Before we call to You, answer us,

as it is said:

"And it shall be that before they call, I will answer;

while they are still speaking, I will hear."

 

Answer us, Adonai, answer us.

Answer us, our God, answer us.

Answer us, our Father, answer us.

Answer us, our Creator, answer us.

Answer us, our Redeemer, answer us.

Answer us, You who seek us, answer us.

Answer us, faithful God, answer us.

Answer us, steadfast and devoted One, answer us.

Answer us, pure and upright One, answer us.

Answer us, living and enduring One, answer us.

Answer us, good One who does good, answer us.

Answer us, knower of our nature, answer us.

Answer us, subduer of wrath, answer us.

Answer us, clothed in righteousness, answer us.

Answer us, King of kings, answer us.

Answer us, awesome and exalted One, answer us.

Answer us, forgiving and pardoning One, answer us.

Answer us, One who answers in time of distress, answer us.

Answer us, One who redeems and saves, answer us.

Answer us, righteous and upright One, answer us.

Answer us, close to those who call upon You, answer us.

Answer us, compassionate and gracious One, answer us.

Answer us, One who hears the poor, answer us.

Answer us, supporter of the wholehearted, answer us.

Answer us, slow to anger, answer us.

Answer us, easy to appease, answer us.

Answer us, God of our fathers, answer us.

Answer us, God of Abraham, answer us.

Answer us, Awe of Isaac, answer us.

Answer us, Mighty One of Jacob, answer us.

Answer us, Helper of the tribes, answer us.

Answer us, Stronghold of the mothers, answer us.

Answer us, One who answers at a time of favor, answer us.

Answer us, Father of orphans, answer us.

Answer us, Judge of widows, answer us.

 

He who answered Abraham our father on Mount Moriah — may He answer us.

He who answered his son Isaac when he was bound upon the altar — may He answer us.

He who answered Jacob at Bethel — may He answer us.

He who answered Joseph in the prison house — may He answer us.

He who answered our ancestors at the Sea of Reeds — may He answer us.

He who answered Moses at Horeb — may He answer us.

He who answered Aaron with the fire-pan — may He answer us.

He who answered Pinchas when he rose from amid the congregation — may He answer us.

He who answered Joshua at Gilgal — may He answer us.

He who answered Samuel at Mizpah — may He answer us.

He who answered David and his son Solomon in Jerusalem — may He answer us.

He who answered Elijah on Mount Carmel — may He answer us.

He who answered Elisha at Jericho — may He answer us.

He who answered Jonah in the belly of the fish — may He answer us.

He who answered Hezekiah king of Judah in his illness — may He answer us.

He who answered Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah in the fiery furnace — may He answer us.

He who answered Daniel in the den of lions — may He answer us.

He who answered Mordechai and Esther in Shushan the capital — may He answer us.

He who answered Ezra in the exile — may He answer us.

He who answered all the righteous, the devout, the wholehearted, and the upright — may He answer us.

 

Merciful One who answers the poor — answer us.

Merciful One who answers the brokenhearted — answer us.

Merciful One who answers the humble of spirit — answer us.

Merciful One — answer us.

Merciful One — have compassion.

Merciful One — redeem us.

Merciful One — deliver us.

Merciful One — have mercy upon us.

Now, swiftly and soon.

 

Merciful One, have mercy upon all women of Israel who are giving birth,

and among them Your servant, my wife, (this woman) —

we cast our supplications before You,

compassionate and gracious One,

for Your mercies are many,

and in Your hand, Adonai,

is this key of birth,

which You have not entrusted to any messenger.

 

Therefore, remember Your mercies, Adonai,

and Your kindnesses, Adonai our God, who desires life —

to remember her with salvation and compassion,

that she may give birth with ease,

to enduring, wholesome offspring from the side of holiness.

 

And she says:

Remember me and let me give birth.

 

David the King, peace be upon him, the sweet singer, said:

"Out of the straits I called to God;

He answered me with the wide-open space of God."

"Adonai is with me, I shall not fear."

 

For the conductor, a psalm of David.

May Adonai answer you on the day of distress;

may the name of the God of Jacob lift you high.

May He send you help from the holy place,

and from Zion may He sustain you.

May He remember all your offerings

and accept your burnt offering, selah.

May He grant you your heart's desire

and fulfill all your counsel.

We will sing for joy at Your salvation,

and in the name of our God we will raise a banner —

may Adonai fulfill all your requests.

Now I know that Adonai has saved His anointed one;

He will answer him from His holy heavens

with the saving might of His right hand.

These with chariots and these with horses,

but we call on the name of Adonai our God.

They have stumbled and fallen,

but we have risen and stood firm.

Adonai, save —

may the King answer us on the day we call.

 

He who heard the prayer of David —

may He hear our prayer

by the merit of the fathers and the mothers.

He who answered our holy mothers —

Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, and Hannah,

and every righteous, devoted, and worthy woman —

may He answer us.

 

May the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before You,

Adonai, my Rock and my Redeemer.

 

PRAYER AFTER GIVING BIRTH

 

Wash hands and say:

 

May it be Your will before You,

Adonai my God and God of my fathers,

compassionate King who has compassion —

just as You have saved me

from this great distress,

so may Your mercies be stirred

to deliver from this danger

all the daughters of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Your beloved.

And just as You have saved me now,

so act with me as a sign for good

every time that I give birth.

Amen, so may it be Your will.