Birthday — Prayers and Segulot for the Most Important Day

Prayers and Segulot for a Birthday

  A Birthday Is a Special Day 1. The mekubalim teach that a birthday is a special and very auspicious day, a day of great good fortune, capable of elevating one's prayers; 2. It is not customary to hold a wedding or another joyous occasion on this day, so as not to combine two joyful events; 3. Rabbi Yechiel of Kozhnitz (may his merit protect us) taught that on this day the Gates of Prayer are open, and it is good to go to tzadikim to ask for their blessings. It is also beneficial to go to the sea or to a mikveh in order to purify oneself; 4. Rav Chaim Kanievsky (may his merit protect us) said that it is permissible to reschedule an important operation for one's birthday, because this day brings great good fortune; 5. On one's birthday, it is good to accept upon oneself a fast — Taanit (abstaining from food and drink), as well as a Taanit Dibbur (abstaining from idle speech); 6. Rabbi Chaim Palagi said that it is customary to give charity according to the number of years one has completed; 7. According to the Baal Shem Tov, a person who has reached an age such as 64 should recite Psalm 64 on that day, and beginning the following day, Psalm 65 throughout the entire year, as a segula for good fortune; 8. It is good to recite the Shehecheyanu blessing on one's birthday, which is recited when doing something for the first time in the current year (for example, eating a particular fruit or putting on new clothing); 9. It is beneficial for those celebrating their birthday to bless everyone on that day, as the saying goes: “Blessed is the one who blesses”; 10. Every person has three important stages in life: one's birthday, Bar Mitzvah/Bat Mitzvah, and one's twentieth birthday. These are times when a person can renew themselves and achieve something greater during the years that remain. He falls asleep and awakens with a pure and holy soul that influences his entire way of life, beginning on the night before his birthday at these three stages; According to the Kabbalistic tradition handed down by our rabbis, on this night, before going to sleep, it is beneficial to study Torah. Michael the Angel then sends an angel to escort this soul to the entrance of the first chamber of life and places it there, as stated in the book “Chesed Le-Avraham”; 12. The book “Ohavi Nachal” reveals that when a person reaches the ages of 13 and 20, on this night Michael the Angel, as it were, elevates the soul to a very high level. This is a very important time for that person and must not be missed through inaction; 13. “Pele Yoetz” likewise advised studying Torah and observing the mitzvot on the night of one's twentieth birthday; 14. Every 19 years, the Hebrew date of a person's birthday coincides with the secular date; 15. Or HaChaim HaKadosh said that every fourteenth year, a person receives from Hashem beauty, wealth, a pure and holy soul, and the strength to walk with dignity toward their purpose; 16. There is a saying that someone born on the 14th day of the month has greater good fortune than those born from the 14th day through the end of the month; 17. Every year, Avraham Avinu celebrated the birthday of Yitzchak, our forefather, on the day of his circumcision — the day he entered into the covenant with G-d. Both the Chatam Sofer and the Ben Ish Chai wrote about this. The Ben Ish Chai even includes a special prayer for the day of circumcision; 18. The ages of 60, 70, and 80 should be marked, and one should thank Hashem for having lived to these years. Special prayers exist for these ages; 19. The Bobover Rebbe, in the book “Imrei Noam”, writes that age 83 is a second Bar Mitzvah; 20. “Isha Chasida” (the book of the elders of Israel) writes that those who reach the ages of 60 and 70 should recite a special prayer. This should also be done by those who pass the age of 80 and reach the age of 90; 21. At the age of 80, a person's yetzer hara leaves them forever; 22. Rabbi Ephraim of Sudilkov (the Besht's grandson) taught that every person must pass through 42 stations; 23. The tzadik Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra wrote a piyyut for a birthday in the book “A Son of Man Remembers the Place of His Birth.” It is also recited on the eve of Yom Kippur; 24. A person's birthday is the day on which Heaven announces: “The world cannot exist without you; this entire world was created for you”; 25. Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin, the great-grandfather of the Rebbe of Shtefanesht, wrote that a person's birthday is their private Rosh Hashanah, on which their good fortune increases; 26. The month of Shevat is the month of Israel's birth, meaning that everyone has a birthday; 27. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi had a notebook in which he recorded everyone who was born on Sunday morning; 28. At Bar Mitzvah age, it is good to hold a Seudat Mitzvah; 29. On a birthday, the home should be clean, fresh, and festive — both in one's clothing and in the food. It is customary to make a “L'chaim”, sing, and relate stories of tzadikim; 30. It is beneficial to review each past year and accept new resolutions for the coming year; 31. It is beneficial to refrain from speaking for an hour or longer on this day; 32. A good tradition is to travel to the Kotel, close to the Shechinah, in order to receive G-d's blessing; 33. It is beneficial to travel to the Kivrei Tzadikim, light candles, and pray for all the Jewish people, for the general redemption, and for one's personal redemption; 34. Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu would customarily ask for blessings from the people who came to him for a blessing on their birthday, so that they would bless him; 35. It is not customary among Jews to light candles on a cake and then blow them out. Kaf HaChaim, based on Chuppat Eliyahu, writes: “Our teachers of blessed memory say: A person should not extinguish a candle with his mouth, (otherwise) his blood is upon his own head.” The sages explain that when a person extinguishes a candle with his mouth (any candle, not only on a birthday), his nefesh is burned; (Rav Alex Tzvi Sypkow)  

Prayers and Segulot for a Birthday

1. “42 Masaot” of Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli It is beneficial to begin reciting “42 Masaot” 40 days before one's birthday and finish on the birthday itself. Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli (may Hashem avenge his blood) taught that every person passes through 42 Masaot (stations) during their life. If a person does not complete all the rectifications associated with these stations, which they are meant to pass through during their lifetime, they must return to this world in a new gilgul in order to complete them. However, through the power of reciting the segula of the 42 Masaot (stations), a person merits all the rectifications they must make and is purified through them. The full text is available here: 42 Encampments in the Wilderness — the Segula of Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropol   2. “Shehecheyanu” Rabbi Salman Mutzafi instructed that every year, on one's birthday, a person should immerse in a mikveh, put on new clothing, and recite the blessing of “Shehecheyanu” (while distributing tzedakah to the needy): - “Baruch Atah, Ado-nai Eloheinu Melech HaOlam, Shehecheyanu Vekiyemanu Vehigiyanu Lizman Hazeh” - (Blessed are You, G-d, our G-d, King of the universe, Who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this time). 3. Tehillim 2 The Chofetz Chaim advised reciting this verse from Tehillim (2:7) on this day: בְּנִ֥י אַ֑תָּה אֲ֝נִ֗י הַיּ֥וֹם יְלִדְתִּֽיךָ׃ שְׁאַ֤ל מִמֶּ֗נִּי וְאֶתְּנָ֣ה - “Beni atah, ani hayom yeladticha. She'al mimeni, ve'etnah...” - (My son, today I have brought you forth. Ask of Me, and I will give you...). Теилим перек 2   3. Tehillim 2 — 10 times. The Kozhnitzer Rebbe taught that one should recite Tehillim 2 — 10 times, and each time, upon reaching the seventh verse, after the words “Ask of Me, and I will give you...”, one should make one request — resulting in 10 requests.   4. “Tikkun Leah” On this night, it is beneficial to pray at Chatzot, reciting only “Tikkun Leah”; Tikun Chatzot - Tikun Leah and Tikun Rachel (Transliteration)   5. “Birkat Kohanim” After Birkat HaShachar, it is beneficial to recite “Birkat Kohanim” — 10 times: יְבָרֶכְךָ֥ ה׳ וְיִשְׁמְרֶֽךָ׃ יָאֵ֨ר ה׳ ׀ פָּנָ֛יו אֵלֶ֖יךָ וִֽיחֻנֶּֽךָּ׃ יִשָּׂ֨א ה׳ ׀ פָּנָיו֙ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְיָשֵׂ֥ם לְךָ֖ שָׁלֽוֹם׃ “Yevarechecha Ado-nai veyishmerecha! Ya'er Ado-nai panav elecha vichuneka! Yisa Ado-nai panav elecha veyasem lecha shalom!” - (May G-d bless you and guard you!                      May G-d shine His countenance upon you and be gracious to you!    May G-d turn His countenance toward you and grant you peace!) 7. Tehillim 51 It is beneficial to recite Tehillim (51:12) — 10 times on this day: לֵ֣ב טָ֭הוֹר בְּרָא־לִ֣י אֱלֹקים וְר֥וּחַ נָ֝כ֗וֹן חַדֵּ֥שׁ בְּקִרְבִּֽי - “Lev tahor bera li Elohim, veruach nachon chadesh bekirbi” - (Create for me a pure heart, O G-d, and renew within me a steadfast spirit); Теилим перек 51   8. The Prayer “Vayiten Lecha HaElohim”  It is beneficial to recite the prayer “Vayiten Lecha HaElohim” on one's birthday, in which all the blessings of our Forefathers are gathered. The full text is here: The Prayer “Vayiten Lecha Ha-Elohim” — May G-d Give You of the Dew of Heaven   9. “Pidyon Nefesh” It is beneficial to perform a “Pidyon Nefesh” — with 160 shekels of pure silver, through a knowledgeable rabbi.   (Based on a lecture by Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen, a student of “Matok MiDvash,” Rabbi Daniel Frish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENyorZZdd2o)