Service at the Consecration of a House

obipn 113) Master of the Universe, look down from Your holy dwelling place, and in compassion and favor accept the prayer and plea of Your children, who are gathered here to consecrate this house, and to offer You their thanksgiving for all the kindness and truth You have shown them. Please do let not Your kindness depart, nor Your covenant of Your peace be removed from them. Shield this their home so that no evil befalls it. May illness and sad- ness never come near it, nor the sound of sorrow be heard within its walls. May the members of this household live together in this home in fellowship and friendship. May they love and revere You, hold fast to You, meditating in Your Torah, and living faithfully by its commandments. Where appropriate, add the words in parentheses: PV Bestow Your blessings on the owner of this house. Lorn bless Dew'.ss his resources and find favor in the work of his hands. Keep him far from sin and transgression. May Your tender love be upon him, and establish the work of our hands. May Your kindness be with his wife, she who watches over the affairs of her household, know- Prov. 3: ing that it is the God-fearing woman who deserves praise. (Bestow on their sons and daughters a spirit of wisdom and understanding. Lead them in the path of Your commandments, so that all who 5% see them recognize that they are children blessed by the Lorn, knowing Your Torah and revering You.) Protect them from all evil; protect their lives. May this [Your promise] be fulfilled in them: “You will be blessed when you come in, and blessed when you go Deut. 28 out.” And as we have been able to consecrate the house, so together may we witness the consecration of the great and holy Temple in Jerusalem Your city, city of our sacred assemblies, swiftly in our days. Amen. greater than receiving the Divine Presence. And it is where we create shelom bayit, “peace in the home,” from which, we believe, flows peace to the world (See Maimonides, Laws of Hanukka 4:14).