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Prayer for Lost Object


Question:

Is there a special prayer to say when you lose something and are trying to find it?



AskTheRabbi.org answered:

Yes. There is a universal formula for finding a lost object, originating with Rabbi Meir “Ba'al Ha’nes”, the master of the miracle. There is a special short prayer that is recited and some money should be donated to charity in the merit of Rabbi Meir.

This is the prayer and its translation: "Eloha d'Meir aneini, Eloha d'Meir aneini, Eloha d'Meir aneini, b'zechut hatzadaka she’ani nodev l'ilui nishmat Rabbi Meir Ba'al Ha’nes zechto yagen aleinu, limtzo et ha'aveida she'ibaditi."

Translation: “God of Meir, answer me. God of Meir, answer me. God of Meir, answer me. In the merit of the charity that I give to the ascending of the soul of Rabbi Meir Ba’al Ha’nes, may his merit protect us, may I find the lost article that I lost.”

The Chida (Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai) states that the source for this practice is a story recorded in the Talmud regarding Rabbi Meir freeing his sister-in-law from pagan ancient Roman imprisonment and defilement. Rabbi Meir bribed a Roman guard with money to free her and told the wary guard that he would be protected by saying, “May the God of Rabbi Meir answer my prayers and save me from all evil”. Rabbi Meir even demonstrated by himself the effectiveness of this prayer to the guard. In addition, after the sister-in-law was freed, the guard was caught and sentenced to be executed. The guard said this prayer as Rabbi Meir had instructed and the execution attempt failed, to the amazement of all including the Caesar.

As can be seen from this story, the special prayer of Rabbi Meir is not specific to helping find a lost object, but to any situation of distress or for help in any aspect of one’s life.

In addition, it is the custom to recite the following Midrashic teaching prior to saying the aforementioned “God of Meir, answer me...” when searching for a lost object. Here is the Hebrew and the translation:

"Amar Rabbi Binyamin, hakol bechezkat soomin ad she’Hakadosh Baruch Hu meir et eineihem, min hacha: ‘Vayifkach Elohim et eineyha vatera be’er mayim vatelech vatimaleh et hachemet mayim, vatashk et hana’ar."

Translation: Rabbi Binyamin said, “All have the status of being blind until The Holy One, Blessed Be He, enlightens their eyes. We learn this from (Gen. 21:19), "And God opened her (Hagar) eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave drink to the lad".

Of course these prayers and donations to charity are intended to supplement human efforts to find the lost object and not intended to be a replacement for normal efforts to find the lost object.


 
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