Mishneh Torah (Rambam) משנה תורה

When the Sages instituted [a text for] these prayers, they [also] established other blessings to be recited every day. These are: When a person gets into bed to sleep at night, he says: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who causes the bonds of sleep to fall upon my eyes, who sinks [one into] restful slumber, and illuminates the pupil of the eye. May it be Your will, God, our Lord, to save me from the evil inclination and from a bad occurrence. May I not be disturbed by bad dreams or evil thoughts. Let my bed be perfect before You and may You raise me up from it to life and peace and illuminate my eyes lest I sleep a sleep of death. Blessed are You, God, who illuminates the whole world in His glory.

[Then,] one reads the first section of Kri'at Shema and goes to sleep. [This applies] even if his wife is sleeping with him. If he is overcome by sleep, he should read the first verse [of Kri'at Shema] or verses of mercy and afterwards, he may go to sleep.

When a person awakes after concluding his sleep, while still in bed, he says: My Lord, the soul that You have placed within me is pure. You have created it, You have formed it, You have breathed it into me and You preserve it within me. You will ultimately take it from me and restore it to me in the Time to Come. As long as the soul is lodged within me, I am thankful before You, O God, my Lord, Master of all works. Blessed are You, God, who restores souls to dead bodies.

When one hears the crow of a rooster, he recites: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who gives the rooster understanding to distinguish between day and night. When he puts on his clothes, he recites: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who clothes the naked. When he puts his cloth on his head, he recites: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who crowns Israel in glory. When he passes his hands over his eyes, he recites: [Blessed...] who opens the eyes of the blind. When he sits up in his bed, he recites: [Blessed...] who unties those bound. When he lowers his feet from the bed and rests them on the ground, he recites: [Blessed...] who spreads the earth over the waters. When he stands up, he recites: [Blessed...] who straightens the bowed. When he washes his hands, he recites: [Blessed...] who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us regarding the washing of hands. When he washes his face, he recites: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who removes the bonds of sleep from my eyes and slumber from my eyelids. May it be Your will, God, my Lord and Lord of my fathers, that You accustom me to the performance of [Your] commandments and do not accustom me to sins or transgressions. Cause the positive inclination to rule over me and not the evil inclination. Strengthen me in Your commandments and grant my portion in Your Torah. Allow me to find favor, lovingkindness, and mercy in Your eyes and the eyes of all who see me and bestow upon me benevolent kindnesses. Blessed are You, God, who bestows benevolent kindnesses.

Whenever one enters the toilet, before entering, he says: Be honored, holy honorable ones, servants of the Most High. Help me. Help me. Guard me. Guard me. Wait for me until I enter and come out, as this is the way of humans. After he comes out, he recites: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who formed man in wisdom and created within him many openings and cavities. It is revealed and known before the throne of Your glory that if one of them were to be blocked or if one of them were to be opened, it would be impossible to exist for even one moment. Blessed are You, God, who heals all flesh and works wonders.

When one fastens his belt, he recites: [Blessed...universe,] who girds Israel with strength. When he puts on his shoes, he recites: [Blessed...universe,] for You have provided me with all my needs. When he walks to depart on his way, he recites: [Blessed... universe,] who prepares the steps of man. [Also,] every day, a person should recite: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has not made me a non-Jew. Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has not made me a woman. Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has not made me a servant.

These eighteen blessings do not have a particular order. Rather, one recites each of them in response to the condition for which the blessing was instituted, at the appropriate time. What is implied? One who fastens his belt while still in his bed recites [the blessing] "who girds Israel with strength." One who hears the voice of the rooster recites [the blessing] "who gives understanding to the rooster." Any blessing in which one is not obligated should not be recited.

What is implied? One who sleeps in his outer garment should not recite the blessing "who clothes the naked" upon rising. One who walks barefoot does not recite the blessing, "for You have provided me with all my needs." On Yom Kippur and the ninth of Av, when one does not wash, one does not recite the blessing al netilat yadayim, nor the blessing "who removes the bonds of sleep...." One who does not relieve himself does not recite the blessing, "who created man in wisdom...." The same applies regarding the remainder of the blessings.

It is the custom of the people in the majority of our cities to recite these blessings one after another in the synagogue, whether or not they are obligated in them. This is a mistake and it is not proper to follow this practice. One should not recite a blessing unless he is obligated to.

One who rises to study Torah, whether the Written or Oral Law, before he recites the Shema, should wash his hands beforehand, recite [the following] three blessings, and then study. [These blessings] are: [Blessed... universe,] who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the words of Torah. And please, God, our Lord, make pleasant the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of Your people, the entire House of Israel. May we, our offspring, and the offspring of Your people, be knowers of Your name and among those who occupy themselves with Your Torah. Blessed are You, God, who teaches Torah to His people, Israel. Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has chosen us from among all the nations and given us His Torah. Blessed are You, God, who gives the Torah.

One is obligated to recite these three blessings every day. Afterwards, one should read a few words of Torah. [To fulfill this obligation,] the people adopted the custom of reading the Priestly Blessing. In certain places, they recite [the passage, (Numbers 28: 1-9)]: "Command the children of Israel...," and there are places where they read both of them. Also, [it is proper] to read chapters or laws from the Mishnah and the Beraitot.

The Sages praised those who recite songs from the Book of Psalms every day; from "A song of praise by David... (Tehillah l'David)" (Psalms 145) until the end of the Book [of Psalms]. It has become customary to read verses before and after them. They instituted a blessing before the [recitation of the] songs, Baruch She'amar..., and a blessing after [concluding] them, Yishtabach. Afterwards, one recites the blessings for Kri'at Shema and recites the Shema.

There are places where they are accustomed to recite the Song of the Sea (Exodus 14:30-15:26) each day after they recite Yishtabach. Afterwards, they recite the blessings for theShema. There are places where they recite the song, Ha'azinu (Deuteronomy 32:1-43), and there are individuals who recite both of them. Everything is dependent on custom.

A person is obligated to recite 100 blessings [in the period of one] day and night. What are these 100 blessings? The twenty-three blessings that we have counted in this chapter, the seven blessings before and after Kri'at Shema in the morning and in the evening; When one wraps himself in tzitzit, he recites: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to wrap ourselves in tzitzit. When he puts on his Tefilin, he recites: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to put on Tefilin. [One recites] three Amidot, each of which contains eighteen blessings. Behold, this is 86 blessings. When one eats two meals, [one] during the day and [one] at night, one recites 14 blessings, seven for each meal: one when he washes his hands before eating, and, on the food itself, one before and three afterwards, on the wine, one before and one afterwards, [a total] of seven. Thus, there are 100 blessings all told.

At present, since the [Sages] established the blessing [cursing] the heretics in prayer and added hatov v'hameitiv in the grace after meals, there are five more blessings. On Sabbaths and holidays, when the Amidah contains [only] seven blessings, and similarly, on other days, if one is not obligated in all of these blessings - e.g., one did not sleep at night, nor loosen his belt, nor go to the bathroom, or the like - he must complete the 100 blessings by [reciting blessings over] fruits.

What is implied? [When] one eats a small amount of vegetables, he recites a blessing before and after it. [When] he eats a small amount of a particular fruit, he recites a blessing before and after it. He should count all the blessings [he recites] until he completes [the requirement of] 100 each day.

The order of prayer is as follows: In the morning, a person should rise early and recite the blessings [mentioned above]. [Then,] he recites the songs [of praise] and the blessings before and after them. [Afterwards,] he recites the Shema, [together with] the blessings before and after it. He should omit the Kedushah from the first blessing before [the Shema] because an individual does not recite Kedushah. When he concludes [the blessing,] ga'al Yisrael, he should stand immediately to connect [the blessing of] redemption to prayer. He should pray standing, as we have said. When he concludes, he should sit, fall on his face and recite the supplication prayer. [Afterwards,] he should lift up his head and recite a few [additional] supplications while sitting amid supplication. Afterwards, while sitting, he recites Tehillah l'David (Psalms 145), adds supplications according to his ability and departs to his own affairs.

One begins the Minchah service by reciting Tehillah l'David (Psalm 145) while sitting. Afterwards, one stands and recites the Minchah prayer. When he finishes, he falls on his face and recites the supplication prayer, raises his head and utters [more] supplication according to his ability and departs to his own matters. In the evening service, he recites the Shema together with the blessings before and after it, connects [the blessing of] redemption to prayer and prays standing. When he finishes, he sits a short while and departs. One who offers prayers of supplication after the evening service is praiseworthy. Even though one recites the blessing hashkiveinu afterga'al Yisrael, it is not considered as an interruption between [the blessing of] redemption and prayer, for they are both considered as one long blessing.