Prayer for Health, Safety and Protection
Rabbi Aryel Nachman ben Chaim – 5773
Avinu Malkeinu, watch over us and protect us from anything or anyone who would do us any kind of harm at all. Get us to and from our destinations in safety and without incident. Keep us safe under the wings of the Shechinah and send Thy holy angles to walk before us this and all the days of our lives. I know that all that happens to us is for our own good, please make the lessons clear to our minds that we may cling to You, adhere to Your precepts and do Thy will in joy.
Let’s break this down to understand what the prayer is asking:
… watch over us and protect us … Keep us on the right path veering neither to the right nor to the left.
… from anything … Including physical sickness, mental confusion, the spirit of foolishness.
… or anyone … Those who would speak lashon hara against us, those who would physically hurt us, those would take advantage of us monetarily.
… who would do us any kind of harm at all. … Including all those things that are known and those that are unknown to us.
Get us to and from our destinations in safety and without incident. … Whether that destination is a physical or spiritual destination.
Keep us safe under the wings of the Shechinah … Just as You kept Israel safe under the Shechinah while we received the Torah. No one came to attack us.
… and send Thy holy angles to walk before us this and all the days of our lives. … Just as we ask during the bedtime Shema.
I know that all that happens to us is for our own good, … Everything that happens to us is for our own good. Even what appears to be bad is for our good.
… please make the lessons clear to our minds … Remove confusion from us that we may see what You desire of us, or what needs to be corrected within us.
… that we may cling to You, adhere to Your precepts and do Thy will in joy. … The plain meaning of the text.