“The amount of sleep required by the average person is five minutes more.”

Wilson Mizener – American Playwright

“Kriat Shema al Hamitah” continues with chapter 91 from Tehillim: “One who dwells in the refuge of the Most High – shall dwell in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Hashem: He is my shelter and my fortress, my G-d in Whom I trust. For He will save you from the snare that traps from devastating pestilence. With His wing He will cover you, and under His wings you will be protected; His truth is a shield and armor. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day. Nor the pestilence that walks in the gloom, nor the destroyer who destroys at noon. A thousand will fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not approach you. You will but gaze with your eyes, and you will see the annihilation of the wicked. Because you have said, “Hashem is my refuge,” you have made the Most High your dwelling. No harm will befall you, nor will a plague draw near to your tent. He will command His angels on your behalf to protect you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you, lest your foot stumble on a stone. You will tread on the lion and the viper; you will trample the young lion and the serpent. For he yearns for Me, and I shall rescue him; I shall elevate him because he knows My name. He will call Me and I shall answer him; I am with him in distress; I will release him and I shall honor him. I will satisfy him with long life and show him My salvation.”

The Talmud (Shavuot 15b) relates that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi would recite chapter 91 of Tehillim before going to sleep. Our Sages call this chapter “Shir shel Pegaim – Song Against Evil Occurrences” because it is a request that Hashem protect us from the destructive powers and influences that constantly surround us and try to overwhelm us. When we are asleep, we are not conscious of the potential dangers around us so we recite chapter 91 as a protection.

Rashi, in describing what it means to “dwell in the refuge of the Most High,” writes that if a person takes shelter under the “wings” of Hashem – that is, if a person truly believes that Hashem will protect them – they will be shielded by Hashem.

Rashi’s beautiful portrayal of living with Hashem always reminds me of a lady who lived nearby to us. She settled in Israel as a widow in her late eighties, living alone but close to her son and his family. On reaching ninety, the family decided that she needed to have some kind of help during the day. A female companion who could keep her company when she was home and who would accompany her when she went out. So they turned to the government office that deals with these kinds of matters with a request for help to find an aide for her. The department sent a social worker to assess their mother’s general physical and mental wellbeing to see if she was eligible for government assistance. Arriving at the mother’s apartment, the social worker was invited in. After being offered a drink, she began to ask a series of questions. At one point, she asked the mother if she lives alone, to which the mother answered with an emphatic, “No!” The social worker, being perfectly aware that the mother lived by herself, was surprised at this answer. When she pointed out to the nonagenarian that her family had made it clear that she lived alone, she answered, “But, I don’t. Hashem is with me every single minute of the day!” And, on hearing her absolutely pure and sincere reply, the not-yet-religious social worker began to cry.

Sometimes we imagine that dwelling in the “refuge of the Most High” is something reserved for only the most righteous and saintly among us. Rashi is teaching us that this is not so. Living with Hashem is something that is attainable for everybody. That it is perfectly reasonable for all of us, from the least spiritually-sophisticated to the most, to truly believe that Hashem is with us at all times and in every place. Just like the mother, we all have the ability and the potential to include Hashem in our lives “every single minute of the day.”

So potent is our chapter that my Rebbe told me to recite it at least three times a day. Together with that, he told me that I should recite it at times when I feel any kind of danger around me. And, since then, that is what I do. And, by doing so, I truly feel protected.

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