תְּפִלַּת הַדֶּרֶךְ לְטַיָּס | Traveler's Prayer of a Fighter Pilot, by Rabbi Shlomo Goren (IDF, 1963)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=43431

Date: 2022-03-25

Last Updated: 2025-04-15

Categories: Travel, Military Personnel & Veterans

Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., air travel, מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, צה״ל IDF, תפילת הדרך tefilat haderekh

Excerpt: "Tefilat haDerekh l'Tayas," a prayer for sorties by military aviators in the service of the IDF by Rabbi Shlomo Goren was first published in his Siddur Tefilot l’Ḥayyal. . . .

Content:

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֶאֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ הַשָּׂם עָבִים רְכוּבוֹ הַמְּהַלֵּךְ עַל־כַּנְפֵי־רוּחַ (תהלים קד:ג) שֶׁתִּשָּׂאֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם וְתוֹלִיכֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם וְתַגִּיעֵנוּ לִמְחוֹז חֶפְצֵנוּ לְחַיִּים לְשִׂמְחָה וּלְשָׁלוֹם	May it be your will, Hashem our elo’ah and elo’ah of our ancestors who makes clouds his mount, who travels on winged-wind, (Psalms 104:3) that you have us travel peacefully, and reach our destiny in peace, and have us reach our goal alive, joyous, and in peace.
וְתַצִּילֵנוּ מִכַּף כׇּל אוֹיֵב וְאוֹרֵב בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ, וּמֵרוּחוֹת שֶׁאֵינָן מְצוּיוֹת וּמִכׇּל מִינֵי תַּקָּלוֹת בַּהַמְרָאָה בָּאֲוִיר וּבַנְּחִיתָה וּמִמִּינֵי פֻרְעָנוּיוֹת הַמִּתְרַגְּשׁוֹת לָבֹא.	Rescue us from the grasp of all our enemies whether we encounter them on land or in the skies, and against unexpected windy conditions, and from other mishaps in the air during lift off and landing and from any other dangers that may be lurking.
הֱיֵה נָא מַצְלִיחַ דַּרְכֵּנוּ, חַזְּקֵנוּ וְאַמְּצֵנוּ לְהָגֵן בְּאֶבְרַת קָדְשֶׁךָ עַל שְׁמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל	May you please grant success to our sorties, strengthen and encourage us, under your holy pinions, to defend the skies of Yisrael.
וּתְעַטְּרֵנוּ בְּמָגֵן יְשׁוּעָה וּבַעֲטֶרֶת נִצָּחוֹן, כִּי אַתָּה תִשְׁמַע מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם תְּפִלַּת עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּרַחֲמִים, בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ שׁוֹמֵעַ תְּפִלָּה.	Envelope us with the shield of deliverance and the laurel wreath of victory because you will heed from Heaven the prayers of your people, Yisrael, with compassion. Blessed are you Hashem who listens to prayer.

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“Tefilat haDerekh l’Tayas,” a prayer for sorties by military aviators in the service of the IDF by Rabbi Shlomo Goren was first published in his Siddur Tefilot l’Ḥayyal (p. 74 in the 1963 printing). The earliest edition of the siddur that we have seen is from 1963 but there may be an earlier publication of this prayer. (If you know, please leave a comment or contact us.)

Abe Katz prepared a working draft of this prayer (shared over the Passages of Rite Facebook group), which I edited. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

 

Contributor: Abe Katz (translation)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Abe Katz (translation)
  Bio: Abe Katz is the director of the Burei HaTefila Institute. The Beurei Hatefila Institute was established in order to encourage the study of the words of the Siddur as a Jewish text in Jewish schools. To assist educators developing courses on Tefila, the Institute publishes a weekly e-mail newsletter in which it traces the sources for the words and structure of the prayers within the Siddur. These and other resources can be downloaded on PDF from the Burei HaTefila Institute website.

  Mr. Katz is also available to teach courses on Tefila at your synagogue or Jewish Community Center and as a scholar-in-residence. He is available to meet with school administrators to assist them in establishing a course in Beurei Hatefila at their schools and to train teachers on using Hebrew-English word processing and Judaic libraries on CD-ROM.
  Website: http://www.beureihatefila.com/
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/abe-katz

• 
  Name: Shlomo Goren
  Bio: Shlomo Goren (Hebrew: שלמה גורן) (February 3, 1917 – October 29, 1994), was an Orthodox Religious Zionist rabbi in Israel, a Talmudic scholar and foremost authority on Jewish law. Following the establishment of the State of Israel, Goren was appointed Chief Rabbi of the Military Rabbinate of the IDF with the rank of Major-General, a position he held until 1968 when he was chosen as Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv. Later he served as the third Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, after which he established a yeshiva in Jerusalem, which he headed until his death. He served in the Israel Defense Forces during three wars, wrote several award-winning books on Jewish law. (via wikipedia)
  Website:
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/shlomo-goren
• 
  Name: Tsva ha-Haganah l'Yisrael
  Bio: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; Hebrew: צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל Tsva ha-Haganah l'Yisrael, lit. 'The Army of Defense for Israel'), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym Tsahal (צה״ל), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and the Israeli Navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security apparatus, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel. The IDF is headed by the Chief of the General Staff, who is subordinate to the Israeli Defense Minister.
  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Defense_Forces
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/tsva-hahaganah-lyisrael
• 
  Name: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
  Bio: Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)
  Website: https://aharon.varady.net
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-varady-transcription

Featured Image:

Title: D376-105
Caption: Gloster Meteor (Israeli Air Force 1954)