Prayer Before the Parashah of the Akeidah

Master of the Universe, Almighty! Grant me the merit, in the merit of the Akeidah (Binding of Isaac) that I am about to recite now, to be like Rabbi Akiva, whose flesh was raked with iron combs. Through this self-sacrifice, he merited to draw down the spiritual illumination of the letter Shin of the Tefillin, as it is stated in Midrash Rabbah (Chukas 19:6): "And His eye saw every precious thing—things that were not revealed to Moshe Rabbeinu were revealed to Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues." For he would expound mounds upon mounds of halachos (Torah laws) on every single crown (tag) of the Torah's letters. This is why, on the night of the Pesach Seder, everyone traveled to Rabbi Akiva, who would expound mounds upon mounds of teachings on every single crown and every single letter. He would expound upon the letter Beis (referring to the plagues): two hundred and fifty at the sea, and fifty in Egypt, together making 300. This is the Kabbalistic secret of the Shin of the Tefillin (which has the numerical value of 300). It is also the secret of the verse, "And he shall break down (ve'karkar) all the sons of Shes" (Bamidbar 24:17)—the word karkar equals twice 300. This is the secret of Peah (corner), which shares the secret of the Divine Name Elokim in its expanded spelling (milui), equaling 300. This relates to the secret of the verse, "He shall smash the corners (pa'atei) of Moab." (The calculation: Karkar = 300 x 2; Peah = Elokim = 86; Elokim in its expanded spelling with the letter Yud: Aleph [111] + Lamed [74] + Hei [15] + Yud [20] + Mem [80] = 300). All of this is hinted at in the Shin of the Tefillin, which Rabbi Akiva drew down by having his flesh raked with iron combs. For Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues, who are the Ten Martyrs, attained all the hidden mysteries through their own akeidah (martyrdom)—all the hidden mysteries until the end of all generations. For Hashem desires loving-kindness; He wants only to bestow loving-kindness and desires life, so that a person may live for all eternity—just like Serach the daughter of Asher, Bisyah the daughter of Pharaoh, Eliezer the servant of Avraham, and the rest of the tzaddikim and tzidkaniyos (righteous men and women) who lived in every generation. And now, as I am about to recite the Parashah of the Akeidah, may I not miss a single word or letter. For at the moment I recite the Akeidah, a Bas Kol (Heavenly voice) emerges and declares: "Do not send forth your hand against the lad!" (Bereshis 22:12). Through this, may we be saved from all troubles and harsh decrees, and may we merit an abundance of bounty and blessings. May we merit to become grooms and brides, and to be blessed with tens of male children and daughters—tzaddikim and tzidkaniyos—like Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov; like Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, and Leah. May we be like Yael the wife of Chever the Kenite: Yael eishes (701) + Chever (210) + HaKeini (175) = 1086. This is the exact gematria (numerical value) of the Matriarchs: Sarah (505) + Rivkah (307) + Rachel (238) + Leah (36) = 1086. This is also the gematria of the Oral Torah: b'Shas (362) + Gemara (244) + Talmud (480) = 1086. For the holy Matriarchs correspond to the Shas, the Gemara, the Talmud Bavli, and the Oral Torah.
For the elevation of the soul of Chaim ben Orion z"l
B"H 17
PRAYER BEFORE THE PARASHAH OF THE AKEIDAH
Master of the Universe, Almighty! Grant me the merit, in the merit of the Akeidah (Binding of Isaac) that I am about to recite now, to be like Rabbi Akiva, whose flesh was raked with iron combs. Through this self-sacrifice, he merited to draw down the spiritual illumination of the letter Shin of the Tefillin, as it is stated in Midrash Rabbah (Chukas 19:6): "And His eye saw every precious thing—things that were not revealed to Moshe Rabbeinu were revealed to Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues." For he would expound mounds upon mounds of halachos (Torah laws) on every single crown (tag) of the Torah's letters. This is why, on the night of the Pesach Seder, everyone traveled to Rabbi Akiva, who would expound mounds upon mounds of teachings on every single crown and every single letter. He would expound upon the letter Beis (referring to the plagues): two hundred and fifty at the sea, and fifty in Egypt, together making 300. This is the Kabbalistic secret of the Shin of the Tefillin (which has the numerical value of 300). It is also the secret of the verse, "And he shall break down (ve'karkar) all the sons of Shes" (Bamidbar 24:17)—the word karkar equals twice 300. This is the secret of Peah (corner), which shares the secret of the Divine Name Elokim in its expanded spelling (milui), equaling 300. This relates to the secret of the verse, "He shall smash the corners (pa'atei) of Moab." (The calculation: Karkar = 300 x 2; Peah = Elokim = 86; Elokim in its expanded spelling with the letter Yud: Aleph [111] + Lamed [74] + Hei [15] + Yud [20] + Mem [80] = 300). All of this is hinted at in the Shin of the Tefillin, which Rabbi Akiva drew down by having his flesh raked with iron combs. For Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues, who are the Ten Martyrs, attained all the hidden mysteries through their own akeidah (martyrdom)—all the hidden mysteries until the end of all generations. For Hashem desires loving-kindness; He wants only to bestow loving-kindness and desires life, so that a person may live for all eternity—just like Serach the daughter of Asher, Bisyah the daughter of Pharaoh, Eliezer the servant of Avraham, and the rest of the tzaddikim and tzidkaniyos (righteous men and women) who lived in every generation. And now, as I am about to recite the Parashah of the Akeidah, may I not miss a single word or letter. For at the moment I recite the Akeidah, a Bas Kol (Heavenly voice) emerges and declares: "Do not send forth your hand against the lad!" (Bereshis 22:12). Through this, may we be saved from all troubles and harsh decrees, and may we merit an abundance of bounty and blessings. May we merit to become grooms and brides, and to be blessed with tens of male children and daughters—tzaddikim and tzidkaniyos—like Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov; like Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, and Leah. May we be like Yael the wife of Chever the Kenite: Yael eishes (701) + Chever (210) + HaKeini (175) = 1086. This is the exact gematria (numerical value) of the Matriarchs: Sarah (505) + Rivkah (307) + Rachel (238) + Leah (36) = 1086. This is also the gematria of the Oral Torah: b'Shas (362) + Gemara (244) + Talmud (480) = 1086. For the holy Matriarchs correspond to the Shas, the Gemara, the Talmud Bavli, and the Oral Torah.
For the elevation of the soul of Chaim ben Orion z"l