Many people observe a custom to recite each day a verse that begins with the first letter of one's name, and ends with the last letter. For example, a man named Eliyahu – a name that begins with an "Alef" and ends with a "Vav" – would recite the verse, "Ashrei Ha'am She'kacha Lo Ashrei Ha'am She'Hashem Elokav" (Tehillim 144:15). The source of this practice is a parenthetical remark added to Rashi's commentary to the Book of Micha (6:9), which claims that one who recites a verse each day corresponding to his name will be saved from the punishments of Gehinam. The work "Reishit Chochma" cites an explanation claiming that as one stands in judgment in the next world, he will be asked to say his name, and a person who does not remember his name will be punished. By reciting a verse corresponding to his name, a person ensures that he will remember his name in the next world and thereby escape punishment.
The Arizal (famed Kabbalist, Israel, 1534-1572; listen to audio for precise citation) challenged this rationale. Why, he asked, would a person be asked his name in the next world, and why might a person forget his name? Furthermore, why would a person deserve punishment for forgetting his name as he stands in judgment? The Arizal therefore did not accept this practice of reciting each day a verse corresponding to one's name.
Nevertheless, this practice appears in the writings of numerous authoritative Halachic works, including both Kaf Ha'chayim Sofer (by Rabbi Yaakov Chayim Sofer, Iraq-Israel, 1870-1939) and Kaf Ha'chayim Palachi (by Rabbi Chayim Palachi, Turkey, 1788-1868), and it is therefore proper to observe this custom.
When should a person recite this verse?
Most Halachic works advise adding this verse immediately before reciting the final "Yiheyu Le'ratzon Imrei Fi" towards the end of the Amida. However, this would entail interrupting in between the verses of "Le'ma'an Yeichaletzun Yedidecha" and "Yiheyu Le'ratzon," and the Arizal wrote that one must recite "Yiheyu Le'ratzon" immediately following "Le'ma'an Yeichaletzun." Therefore, it is preferable to add the verse corresponding to one's name just prior to the recitation of the verse "Le'ma'an Yeichaletzun," and this is the view followed in the "Od Yosef Chai" edition of the Siddur.
Summary: It is proper to recite each a day a verse that begins and ends with the same letters with which one's name begins and ends. The verse should be added towards the end of the Amida, before the verse "Le'ma'an Yeichaletzun Yedidecha."
