Kriat Shema Al HaMitah

Understanding Krias Shema Al HaMitah

Krias shema al hamita is the last tefillah a Yid says before closing their eyes each night. It is a remarkable moment — a final reckoning with the day, a declaration of emunah in the darkness, and a conscious act of placing one’s neshamah into the safekeeping of the Creator. The bedtime Shema includes the prayer of Shema, the bracha of Hamapil, selections of Tehillim, and pesukim asking Hashem for protection through the night.

Krias shema al hamita, literally, “the reading of Shema upon the bed”, is the collection of tefillos and pesukim recited before sleep. Its core is the recitation of Shema together with the bracha of Hamapil. In common siddurim and later halachic practice, this bedtime order also includes Tehillim 91, additional pesukim for protection, and material for nightly introspection and forgiveness.

What makes this tefillah different from the daily Shema of Shacharis and Maariv is the moment in which it is said. Krias Shema al HaMitah is recited at the threshold between waking consciousness and sleep, when the neshamah is preparing to depart from the body and ascend Above. Chazal teach in Brachos 57b that sleep is one-sixtieth of death — a partial separation of the soul. The bedtime Shema is therefore a final declaration of emunah, a re-acceptance of ol malchus Shamayim before letting go of waking awareness.

It is also the last protected moment of the day. The words a person speaks before sleep shape the spiritual atmosphere they enter as they drift off. The Shulchan Aruch and Mishnah Berurah rule emphatically that nothing should come between Krias Shema al HaMitah and the actual moment of falling asleep — no food, no drink, no idle conversation. The bedtime Shema is meant to be the seal on the day, the last words on the lips, the final note that carries the neshamah into the safekeeping of Hashem.

The History and Origins of Krias Shema Al HaMitah

The practice of reciting Shema before sleep has its roots in the words of Dovid HaMelech himself. Tehillim 4:5 states, “Tremble and do not sin; reflect in your hearts upon your beds, and be still, Selah.” The Gemara in Brachos 4b understands this pasuk as a basis for reciting Shema upon one’s bed, as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi teaches that even if a person already recited Shema in shul, it is still a mitzvah to recite it before sleep. Brachos 60b further teaches that one who retires for the night should recite Shema and the bracha of Hamapil, establishing the basic framework of krias shema al hamita. Later authorities expanded this practice beyond the bare minimum: the Tur (Orach Chaim 239) records the recitation of Tehillim 91, “Yoshev BeSeiser Elyon,” along with additional pesukim and mizmorim of protection. The Arizal further developed the kabbalistic dimensions of the bedtime Shema, and Chazal themselves describe sleep as “one-sixtieth of death” (Brachos 57b). In that light, krias shema al hamita became understood not only as a nightly mitzvah of protection and faith, but also as a moment of spiritual entrustment before sleep.

The Rosh and the Tur both codify the practice. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 239:1) rules that a Yid should recite Shema before retiring, and the Mishnah Berurah clarifies that the obligation includes the bracha of Hamapil, which is recited only at this moment of the day. The Arizal in Sefer HaKavanos developed this further, expanding the bedtime Shema with selections from Tehillim — including all of Tehillim 91 (Yoshev B’seser), known as the shir shel pega’im for its protective power against harmful spiritual forces during sleep.

By the time of the Geonim, krias Shema al hamita had taken on the form preserved in our siddurim today: forgiveness, the bracha of Hamapil, the first paragraph of Shema, Yoshev B’seser, and a series of pesukim asking Hashem for protection through the night. Different communities and nuschaos add their own selections, but the spine of the bedtime Shema — Hamapil, Shema, Yoshev B’seser, and protection pesukim — is universal across Klal Yisrael.

Before You Say This Tefillah

Before you begin, take a moment to look back on the day. Who did you hurt? Where did you fall short? What gratitude did you forget to express? Then say this short tefillah:

Ribono Shel Olam, I come to You at the close of this day. I forgive all those who wronged me, and I ask You to forgive me for where I fell short. Lay me down in peace and raise me up in peace. Watch over my neshamah while I sleep, and return it to me renewed. In the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, please hear my tefillah. Elokah d’Meir aneni.

If giving tzedakah, add:

In the zechus of the tzedakah I am giving for Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, please let me rest in peace tonight, and let my home be sheltered beneath Your wings. Ribono Shel Olam, I am caring for Your children in Eretz Yisrael. Please watch over us.

Many tzaddikim emphasized declaring forgiveness before saying Hamapil. The Sefer Chasidim and the Arizal both stressed that a Yid should not go to sleep while holding a grudge against another Jew. The traditional bedtime Shema therefore opens with Ribono Shel Olam, hareini mochel l’chol mi shehichis v’shehiknit oti — “Master of the Universe, I hereby forgive everyone who has angered or provoked me.” This is not a casual line. It is a deliberate releasing of resentment, so the neshamah can ascend without the burden of negative middos.

Some have the minhag to add a small kabbalah for the next day — one specific mitzvah, one piece of Torah they want to learn, one act of chesed they want to do. The cheshbon hanefesh of one day becomes the spiritual momentum of the next. This is what the Mishnah Berurah and the baalei mussar describe as the daily tikkun: ending the day with self-honesty, beginning the next with renewed kavanah.

Krias Shema Al HaMitah: Complete Core Text

This section has been rebuilt so the reader sees each major part of bedtime Shema separately instead of short fragments.

Pronunciation guide: ch is a soft throat sound as in “Bach.” tz as in “bits.”

What is included here: This section now gives the core bedtime Shema order: forgiveness, Shema, Hamapil, protection pesukim, and Tehillim 91. Siddurim vary by nusach and by community, so a person should follow their own siddur for additional pesukim.

Main idea: Krias Shema Al HaMitah closes the day with forgiveness, emunah, and trust that Hashem guards the neshamah through the night.

What These Words Mean for You

B’yad’cha afkid ruchi

בְּיָדְךָ אַפְקִיד רוּחִי

“Into Your hand I entrust my spirit” (Tehillim 31:6)

This pasuk, drawn from a kapitel of Dovid HaMelech, expresses the entrusting of one’s spirit to Hashem. In the broader Torah and tefillah context—especially its use in Kriat Shema al haMitah, and Chazal’s association of sleep with a partial taste of death—it can be read as a nightly act of surrender and trust. Each morning, when the neshamah is returned, our liturgy frames that awakening as a renewal of the gift of life. For the person lying in bed at the end of an exhausting day, worn down by worries they cannot resolve, this pasuk is permission to let go. You have done what you can today. Now place your spirit in the hands of the One who never sleeps, and rest.

Lo tira mipachad lailah

לֹא תִירָא מִפַּחַד לָיְלָה

“You shall not fear the terror of the night” (Tehillim 91:5)

Tehillim 91 is the great kapitel of protection, and its inclusion in the bedtime Shema addresses something fundamental about the human condition: the vulnerability of darkness. The Targum and Midrash Tehillim identify pachad lailah with harmful spiritual forces active during the nighttime hours, and Rashi (on the next verse) explains ketev and dever as names of such demons. The Metzudas Dovid broadens the interpretation to include all forms of nighttime fear: physical danger, disturbing thoughts, and the anxiety that surfaces when the distractions of the day fall away. For the person who dreads the quiet of the night, when worries grow louder and sleep feels far away, this pasuk is Hashem’s assurance: I am the shelter, I am the shadow of protection, and in My presence there is nothing to fear.

Hareini mocheil l’chol mi shehich’is v’hiknit osi

הֲרֵינִי מוֹחֵל לְכָל מִי שֶׁהִכְעִיס וְהִקְנִיט אוֹתִי

“I hereby forgive everyone who angered or provoked me”

The bedtime Shema contains one of the most quietly powerful spiritual practices in daily Jewish life — a blanket forgiveness of everyone who wronged you during the day. Before sleep, we say: “Ribono Shel Olam, hareini mochel…” — a formal declaration of mechilah for anyone who hurt, angered, or wronged us. This practice is not about minimizing genuine hurt — it is about choosing not to carry the weight of grievance into the vulnerability of sleep. Chazal praise the person who is ma’avir al middotav, one who lets go of resentment rather than clinging to it. For the person replaying a hurtful conversation, an unfair slight, a betrayal that still stings, this moment of mechilah is an act of self-liberation as much as it is an act of grace toward others.

Hamapil chevlei sheinah al einai

הַמַּפִּיל חֶבְלֵי שֵׁנָה עַל עֵינַי

“Who causes the bonds of sleep to fall upon my eyes”

The opening words of the Hamapil bracha contain a remarkable acknowledgment: sleep is not merely something we initiate; it is something Hashem brings upon us. The bracha’s language — hamapil chevlei sheinah al einai — presents sleep as descending from Him. For someone who struggles with insomnia, or who fears the loss of control that sleep represents, Hamapil can reframe the experience: sleep is not falling into emptiness, but being entrusted to the Creator for rest and renewal.

How to Say This Tefillah

Krias shema al hamita is recited immediately before going to sleep, as the very last thing before closing one’s eyes. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 239:1) states that one should recite the Shema upon retiring for the night. The Mishnah Berurah clarifies that the bedtime Shema should be the last thing said before sleep — one should not eat, drink, or engage in conversation between the recitation and falling asleep.

Krias Shema al HaMitah does not usually mean saying the entire Shema. In halachic terms, Shema itself consists of three Torah paragraphs, and for bedtime the basic requirement is the first paragraph, beginning with Shema Yisrael. The Gemara presents the bedtime recitation in that narrower form, and the Shulchan Aruch likewise rules that one says the first paragraph of Shema before sleep. At the same time, many siddurim include all three paragraphs, reflecting an expanded custom brought by later authorities as an added measure of spiritual protection. Practically speaking, then, the clearest formulation is this: the minimum for Krias Shema al HaMitah is the first paragraph, while saying all three paragraphs is a widespread and meaningful custom — and if Ma’ariv was recited before nightfall, all three should be said later to fulfill the nighttime mitzvah of Shema properly.

There is a discussion among the poskim about the order of the prayers in Krias Shema al Hamitah. The widespread Ashkenazi custom is to recite Hamapil after the Shema, as the final bracha before sleep. Some authorities hold that if a person is concerned they may not fall asleep immediately, they may recite Hamapil earlier in the sequence, with the Shema being the very last words on their lips.

Women recite the bedtime Shema as well. While the recitation of Shema during Shacharis and Maariv is a time-bound mitzvah from which women are generally exempt, the bedtime Shema serves a broader purpose — spiritual protection, an act of emunah, and a nightly declaration of Hashem’s unity — and women have universally accepted this practice upon themselves. Children should be taught the bedtime Shema from a young age — even a child who knows only the first line of Shema Yisroel should say it before sleep.

If a person falls asleep before completing the bedtime Shema, they need not wake to finish it. If they wake during the night and wish to return to sleep, the widespread practice is to recite at least the first paragraph of Shema again, though the bracha of Hamapil is not repeated.

Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness

The bedtime Shema is a moment of profound spiritual receptivity — a time when the neshamah prepares to leave the physical world temporarily and draw close to its Source. The Gemara in Bava Basra 10a teaches that tzedakah saves from death, and the Midrash describes the combination of tefillah and tzedakah as two wings of a bird ascending to Heaven. At the close of the day, when a Yid has said all the tefillos, performed all the mitzvos, and is preparing to entrust their soul to Hashem, there is no more fitting moment to add the zechus of tzedakah.

Rabbi Meir Baal Haness gave his assurance: whoever gives to the poor of Eretz Yisrael in his memory and calls out Elokah d’Meir aneni will find heavenly assistance. As you recite krias shema al hamita and prepare to place your neshamah in Hashem’s hands, consider the power of combining these sacred words with an act of compassion. A gift to Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities before sleep adds a final layer of zechus to the day, ensuring that you rest not only with words of Torah on your lips, but with the merit of caring for Hashem’s children on your account.

Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities was founded in 1799. For over two centuries, the charity has upheld the sacred promise of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness. Today it continues distributing funds to Torah scholars, widows, orphans, and needy families throughout Eretz Yisrael.

Questions People Ask About the Bedtime Shema

A Brachah for Peaceful Sleep

Krias shema al hamita is the quiet crown of the Jewish day — the moment when all the noise falls away and a Yid stands (or lies) before their Creator with nothing but trust. These words have been whispered in every kind of darkness, from the security of a peaceful home to the uncertainty of exile and persecution.

As you close your eyes tonight and place your neshamah in the hands of the Shomer Yisrael, may the zechus of tzedakah accompany your tefillah. In the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, may you be blessed with peaceful sleep, restoring rest, and the gift of waking each morning to serve Hashem anew.

You can submit a prayer request to the scholars at the grave of Rebbe Meir Baal Haness in Tiberias at no cost. They will daven for you and your family by name through Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities. And if you would like to give tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir as well, your kindness will rise together with your prayer.