 From an unkown preganant woman's  siddur written in Germany in the 17th century.
- It is a harsh lesson for all who fear G-d that in their minds and hearts they must accept that they will die. So, mercifully, they must remember that they should sin no more and should address themselves like this:
My heart, my heart,
Do you not know
That you were created to die,
And return again to the earth?
Since the first moment you entered the world
Why have you not thought about
The end of your life?
You must know full well
That in this world
You are as a shadow on a wall,
Like rain on the wind,
Like a puff of smoke
That quickly disperses.
Your days have a measure,
And your life has a reckoning,
And each and every day
Drops away, leaving you
Closer to death and to your grave,
Into which you will fly
Not on wings, but carried by others.
So why do you not consider
Yourself to be a sinner?
Why do you not remember
That you are ash and earth?
Why do you not think about
Your bitter death,
When you and your senses
Will be lost?
On that day your tongue
Will cleave to your palate.
It is a day when you will be carried
By your elbows and thrown underground,
And all your deeds will be recalled,
And like the dew
You will evaporate,
But your fire will not be extinguished.
And then day on which the book is opened
And you will see your sins measured.
A toll of good and bad deeds
Will be calculated,
And there will be a goblet
In G-d's Hands,
From which you must drink,
And you will eat the fruits of your works
And answer for what you have done.
And if you should die like an animal
And make no reckoning,
You will go from here
Not as you should,
But to a place in the darkness
Of the shadow of death
Where death is bitter.
And fear and anxiety
Will engulf you,
And you will be covered with shame,
And your body will be earth and worms,
And sulphur and pitch will be spread on you
And set on fire,
So nothing of you
Will remain.
G-d Almighty, answer me here.
My body and soul are in Your Hands.
You are praised,
And Your Holy Name is praised.
Lord of all the world,
I am a humble being
Who comes before You.
May my prayer fly to You,
And may You grant mercy
From Your holy seat of judgement,
And when the time comes
For You to claim me from this world,
Take my soul
So that satan shall not have it,
And let no evil spirits be of hindrance
From today until the day I die,
May I observe the Commandments
That are commanded to be done,
And those which are forbidden to be done.
The sins of which I am guilty
May, G-d forbid, condemn me to die within the year
Such a death as the Court of Law decrees
For the sages declared that man
Should not transgress from the Commandments.
May my soul be virtuous and pure
When it leaves me,
So I may enter the Kingdom
Among the holy souls of other saintly men and women,
And with the souls of our forefathers,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
In the place that I desire.
And, G-d forbid, if satan comes to tell
That I have, G-d forbid, not observed
Even one of Your Commandments
That You commanded in Your beloved Torah,
Heaven forbid, and G-d forbid, that I should deny
Your Torah, and Your Holy Name,
For from the very moment when a person dies,
Great fear and anxiety descend upon him.
He is lost and does not know what he says.
But such is death.
I make confession with all my senses,
With my will and my reason,
And implore that whatever I, G-d forbid,
May say, that is not correct,
Let it become null and void,
Like a broken skull.
And I declare that the Holy One, Blessed Be He,
Is true and One over the whole world,
And the Torah of Moshe our teacher,
May his soul rest in peace,
Is true, and You are One Alone,
And there is no one above You.
You always were, and will remain forever,
G-d the One King Who rules,
And will rule eternally,
Amein, Selah.
G-d, He is The G-d
G-d, He is the True G-d
And His Torah is true
And Moshe the prophet is true
The blessed Name of His glorious kingdom is true.
Then say Tehillim (Psalm) 21, 87, 4, and 120.
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