Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

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Prayer before relations

19 July, 2004
Question:

I heard about a special prayer to be recited before intercourse. It is not in my siddur. Where do I find it and what are the laws regarding its recitation?
Thank you in advance and thanks for your wonderful webside!


Answer:

Thank you for the compliment.

There are no prayers established by the Sages to be recited before marital relations, so there are also no laws about such prayers. Different individuals or communities may well have composed prayers of this sort, but they are local initiatives and have not found their way into the prayerbooks.

In the area of blessings rather than prayers, the Shulchan Aruch does mention a blessing that is made after intercourse the first time with a virgin bride. However, others indicate that this blessing should not be recited. It depends on the local custom. For marital relations on other occasions, there is, to the best of my knowledge, no specific blessing. There are recommendations to think holy thoughts as part of the preparation for marital relations but this can be done without a blessing.

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