Tefilat Haderech: What Is the Jewish Traveler’s Prayer?
TRENDING
11 min read
8 min read
8 min read
7 min read
Learn more about the deeper significance of the Jewish Traveler’s prayer called Tefilat Haderech..
The Jewish Traveler’s prayer, Tefilat Haderech in Hebrew, is a short prayer that is recited while starting a journey to pray for the safety and success of the trip. Its origins are found in the Talmud.1
The text of the prayer is:
May it be Your will, God, our God and the God of our fathers, that You should lead us in peace and direct our steps in peace, and guide us in peace, and support us in peace, and cause us to reach our destination in life, joy, and peace (If one intends to return immediately, one adds: and return us in peace). Save us from every enemy and ambush, from robbers and wild beasts on the trip, and from all kinds of punishments that rage and come to the world. May You confer blessing upon the work of our hands and grant me grace, kindness, and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see us and bestow upon us abundant kindness and hearken to the voice of our prayer, for You hear the prayers of all. Blessed are You God, who hearkens to prayer.
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְפָנֶיךָ יְ-יָ אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ וֵא-לֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ. שֶׁתּוֹלִיכֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם. וְתַצְעִידֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם. וְתַדְרִיכֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם. וְתִסְמְכֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם. וְתַגִּיעֵנוּ לִמְחוֹז חֶפְצֵנוּ לְחַיִּים וּלְשִׂמְחָה וּלְשָׁלוֹם. (ואם דעתו לחזור מיד אומר: וְתַחֲזִירֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם). וְתַצִילֵנוּ מִכַּף כָּל-אוֹיֵב וְאוֹרֵב וְלִסְטִים וְחַיּוֹת רָעוֹת בַּדֶּרֶך. וּמִכָּל פֻּרְעָנִיּוֹת הַמִּתְרַגְּשׁוֹת וּבָאוֹת לָעוֹלָם. וְתִשְׁלַח בְּרָכָה בְּכָל מַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ. וְתִתְּנֵנִיּ (בל' יחיד) לְחֵן וּלְחֶסֶד וּלְרַחֲמִים בְּעֵינֶיךָ וּבְעֵינֵי כָל רוֹאֵינוּ. וְתִגְמְלֵנוּ חֲסָדִים טוֹבִים. וְתִשְׁמַע קוֹל תְּפִלָּתֵינוּ. כִּי אַתָּה שׁוֹמֵעַ תְּפִלַת כָּל פֶּה: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְ-יָ שׁוֹמֵעַ תְּפִלָה:
The Wayfarer’s Prayer is recited when traveling on a journey that is approximately 4 kilometers or 2.5 miles2 out of a settled area, or any other journey that potentially can be dangerous. Ideally the prayer should be said after traveling shortly after passing the last structure in the settled area, when the journey is considered to have begun.3
One should recite the prayer while standing,4 unless this is inconvenient, such as a trip taken in a car or airplane. If one is traveling multiple times on a single day, the prayer is only recited once, but on a multi-day journey, it should be said every day.5
Jewish liturgy can broadly be divided into blessings and prayers. Blessings are recited before eating, performing a commandment, or when observing something striking in nature. Prayer includes the three daily services, Shacharit (Morning), Mincha (Afternoon), and Ma’ariv (Evening), when we stand before God and make all of our requests to Him, and praise and thank Him. One technical distinction between these two categories is that one can discharge their reciting of a blessing by hearing someone else say it. This is why each individual at a Shabbat meal fulfills their obligation to recite Kiddush simply by listening to one person read the blessing.6 But one needs to personally recite their own full prayer, unless one is unable to do so.7The significance of a full prayer requires the supplicant to personally recite the service, and not simply listen to it.
Although the Traveler’s Prayer is a rather short paragraph, it was given the status of a full prayer. As a result, ideally it should be read by everyone undertaking the journey.8
Deeper Significance of This Prayer
An understanding of the significance of this prayer will help understand why it was given this more substantial status.
Elijah the Prophet said to Rav Yehuda brother of Rav Sala Chasida: Do not get angry and you will not sin. Do not get drunk and you will not sin. And when you set out on a journey, consult with your Creator, and then set out. The Talmud asks: What is the meaning of: Consult with your Creator, and then set out? Rabbi Yaakov said that Rav Chisda said: That is the traveler’s prayer. And Rabbi Yaakov said that Rav Ḥisda said: It is not only good advice, but established law that anyone who sets out on a journey must recite the traveler’s prayer prior to embarking on his journey. (Talmud, Berachot 29b)
This passage, which contains the origins of the Wayfarer’s Prayer, starts with a difficult teaching from Elijah the Prophet. Elijah exhorts, “Do not get angry, do not get drunk, and pray before traveling.” What do these three pieces of advice have in common? Why does Elijah describe this prayer as “consulting with your Creator?”
The great Torah scholar Rabbi Yehuda Loew (1512-1609), known as the Maharal, offers the following approach.9 People generally have good intentions and want to be kind and moral. The cause of much inappropriate behavior is when people become unbalanced and are unable to control themselves, and act in ways they regret. The two most common causes of this are anger and drunkenness, when a person becomes uninhibited and behaves improperly. A third, more subtle lack of balance is when one’s environment changes, making one feel uncomfortable and unsettled. The most common cause of this is travel. The change of routine and lack of familiarity can throw a person off balance, which can inadvertently lead to improper behavior.
To allow one to maintain the emotional balance required to act as one wishes to, Elijah offers two pieces of advice. Don’t get angry or drunk, two situations that can generally be avoided. But travel is often necessary or advantageous and shouldn’t be avoided. Therefore, Elijah teaches, “Consult with your Creator,” meaning stay focused on the benefits of your journey by praying to God to be successful and safe, which will allow you to maintain focus on your goals and values even during a turbulent journey.
Perhaps because of the broad message of this prayer, which teaches us to maintain a steady grip on ourselves through the vicissitudes of life, the Sages gave it the more significant status of a full prayer, indicating the importance of this idea.
Grace, Kindness and Mercy
One final message which can be derived from the language of the prayer is as follows. Although the Talmud10 teaches one should recite the prayer in the plural, so as to include other travelers in the prayer and add a dimension of societal sensitivity to one’s own needs, one sentence is recited in the singular tense.11 The phrase “grant me grace, kindness and mercy” uses the word “me, “not “us.” Why is this?
The phrase “grace, kindness, and mercy” (חן וחסד ורחמים) is also found in the 19th blessing of the Amidah, the Silent Prayer that is the central component of the three daily prayers. In the context of that blessing the phrase is interpreted to be a request from God that we be granted the recognition that God loves us and acts towards us with “grace, kindness and mercy.” We don’t merely want God to care for us, we wish to be cognizant of his care, and achieve inner peace through this.12
Although we can pray for others to be safe and successful on their journeys and include everyone in such requests, one can only feel a connection to God and achieve a peace of mind by doing so if one desires to have a relationship with God. Perhaps this is why when we pray for the safety and success of our journey, we include everyone, but the feeling of being cared for by God can only be accomplished through self-development.
- Berachot 29b-30a
- Tur Orach Chaim 110:5
- Mishna Berura 110:29
- Shulchan Aruch 110:4
- Shulchan Aruch 110:5
- See Shulchan Aruch 167:19-20, 213, 273:4 for more details.
- Mishna Berura 124:1
- Emes L’Yaaakov on Shulchan Aruch by Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, page 65. Biur Halacha 110:3 end also seems to follow this reasoning. He writes Tefilat Haderech can be used to fulfill one’s obligation to pray if reciting an entire prayer is not possible, similar to Tefilla Ketzarah. See Eishel Avraham (Butchatch) 110:4. Others disagree with this. See Ishei Yisrael 50:1 page 583
- Nesivos Olam, Nesiv Ha’Avodah chapter 13
- Berachot 30a
- Magen Avraham 110:10 citing kabbalistic sources. However others have the entirety of the passage in the plural form.
- Rav Schwab on Prayer page 532-533
Posts
