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May it be thy will to put an end to war and bloodshed
on earth, and to spread a great and wonderful peace over
the whole world, so that nation shall not lift up sword
against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
Help us and save us all, and let us cling tightly to
the virtue of peace. Let there be a truly great peace
between every person and their fellow, and between husband
and wife, and let there be no discord between people even
in their hearts.
Let us never shame any person on earth, great or small.
May it be granted unto us to fulfill Thy Commandment to
"Love thy neighbor as thyself," with all our hearts and
souls and bodies and possessions.
And let it come to pass in our time as it is written, "And
I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down and
none shall make you afraid. I will drive the wild beasts
from the land, and neither shall the sword go through your land.
God who is peace, bless us with peace !!!
(Attributed to Rabbi Nachman ben Feiga of Breslov, 1773-1810)
Rebbe Nachman's Prayer for Peace
Lord of Peace, Divine Ruler, to whom peace belongs!
Master of Peace, Creator of all things!
Rebbe Nachman also recommended reciting the following Psalms as a General Remedy for all kinds of problems, grief, and needs:
16--32--41--42--59--77--90--105--137--150
They are traditionally recited as one long prayer service without interruptions. This is known as the Tikkun K'lali (General Remedy) and is used by many Breslover Hasidim and others. Non-Jews may use it too, since the Psalms are open to everyone. The General Remedy may be recited anywhere, i.e., at home, in synagogue, at a gravesite, on the road, etc. for any reason that needs prayer.
Book on Jewish teachings about peace and justice issues
Webmaster's note on source(s) for this prayer: Rebbe Nachman, known as the Breslover Rebbe, lived in what is now the Ukrainian Republic. He wrote this prayer during the time of the Napoleonic Wars. I do not know the original textual source -- I got it from artwork sold at a yeshiva in Israel, brought to me in the USA by a friend. Unfortunately, my friend does not remember which yeshiva (it was a long time ago) so I can't ask there for the source.
January 2001 update: Regarding the source of this prayer, Mitchel Ginsburg (whose paternal grandparents came from Shpola, just east of Uman, Ukraine, where Rebbe Nachman is buried) writes that there is no such single prayer, i.e., this text is made up from bits and pieces taken from Likutei Tefillot by Reb Nosson of Nemirov (scribe and chief disciple of Rebbe Nachman.) If so, then the prayer is similar in style to prayers made up of lines taken from Psalms and Torah, such as those we find in the regular Jewish prayerbooks. Anybody know who compiled this one in the name of Rebbe Nachman?
February 2002 Update: Rabbi David Sears of The Breslov Center emailed me the following: " I translated a similar prayer from Likutei Tefilot (I:409), which may be found in my anthology Compassion For Humanity in the Jewish Tradition (Jason Aronson 1998) and in a small collection of excerpts from Reb Noson's tefilot [prayers] called The Flame of the Heart: Prayers of a Chasidic Mystic (Breslov Research Institute 1999). The latter contains several other prayers on the themes of inner peace and world peace."
Do you have more notes on this discussion? If yes,
please email them to me at:
gershom613@yahoo.com and I'll add them here.