Prayer for the Traveler - What Happened to the Robbers and Wild Animals?

We Are Off on Our Next Adventure!

Every time we start on one of our trips, whoever is not driving always reads the "Prayer for the Traveler" (Tefilat HaDerech) soon after starting out. (Or as soon as we remember, which is when we see an accident, or someone cuts us off, etc.) Or on takeoff, for those kinds of trips.

This is a prayer we always say with a lot of Kavanah (very sincerely).

I have a card with a printout of this prayer in my pocketbook, but on our last trip, my pocketbook was locked up. So I figured it would be easier to just read Tefilat HaDerech from the Siddur (Prayerbook) app on my phone. Which I did.

But Bob and I immediately realized something was very wrong with the wording!

This is a translation of the defective text from the app:

May it be Your will, G d, our G d and the G d of our fathers, that You should lead us in peace and direct our steps in peace, and guide us in peace, and support us in peace, and cause us to reach our destination in life, joy, and peace (If one intends to return the same day, one adds: and return us in peace). Save us from every enemy and ambush and may You confer blessing upon the work of our hands and grant us grace, kindness, and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see us and listen to the voice of our prayer. For You hear the prayers of all. Blessed are You G d, who hears prayer.

What happened to the Robbers and Wild Animals? And Pooraniyot*?

Protection is generally asked for these in Tefilat HaDerech. Given the types of trips we take, we definitely need it!

Try my phone, said Bob. But his read same as mine. Duh - he had recommended the app I used.

Then I remembered I had downloaded a printout of Tefilat HaDerech. Checked my downloads folder, and there it was!

I read it out loud, and whew, now we were covered!

Here is the version of Tefilat HaDerech we use -

יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְפָנֶיךָ יְ-יָ אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ וֵא-לֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ. שֶׁתּוֹלִיכֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם. וְתַצְעִידֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם. וְתַדְרִיכֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם. וְתִסְמְכֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם. וְתַגִּיעֵנוּ לִמְחוֹז חֶפְצֵנוּ לְחַיִּים וּלְשִׂמְחָה וּלְשָׁלוֹם. (ואם דעתו לחזור מיד אומר: וְתַחֲזִירֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם). וְתַצִילֵנוּ מִכַּף כָּל-אוֹיֵב וְאוֹרֵב וְלִסְטִים וְחַיּוֹת רָעוֹת בַּדֶּרֶך. וּמִכָּל פֻּרְעָנִיּוֹת הַמִּתְרַגְּשׁוֹת וּבָאוֹת לָעוֹלָם. וְתִשְׁלַח בְּרָכָה בְּכָל מַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ. וְתִתְּנֵנִוּּ לְחֵן וּלְחֶסֶד וּלְרַחֲמִים בְּעֵינֶיךָ וּבְעֵינֵי כָל רוֹאֵינוּ. וְתִגְמְלֵנוּ חֲסָדִים טוֹבִים. וְתִשְׁמַע קוֹל תְּפִלָּתֵינוּ. כִּי אַתָּה שׁוֹמֵעַ תְּפִלַת כָּל פֶּה: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְ-יָ שׁוֹמֵעַ תְּפִלָה:

Bolded words translated as:

Save us from every enemy and ambush, from robbers and wild beasts on the trip, and from all kinds of punishments that rage and come to the world. 

*This wording of “all types of punishments that rage to come to the world ” (in other translations given as “all manner of punishments that assemble to come to earth”) is a translation for the words פֻּרְעָנֻיּוֹת and הַמִּתְרַגְּשׁוֹת לָבוֹא לָעוֹלָם

Google translate defines the word פֻּרְעָנִיּוֹת as Atrocities. I translate the phrase as “all of the bad stuff”.

We got a very late start yesterday (Wednesday)...

This was one of the weirder things we have ever seen driving on the road...

It was a long slog down I95...

Our home for the night. Santee State Park, Lakeshore Campground, SC

Hope to be in Savannah for Shabbos!