Hebrew Daily Prayer Book. Jonathan Sacks

Hebrew Daily Prayer Book

underlies all that exists. The Psalms tell this story not in scientific prose but majestic poetry, not proving but proclaiming the One at the heart of all.

LAWS OF VERSES OF PRAISE:

1. From the beginning of the Verses of Praise to the end of the Amidah, there should be no talking. It is permitted, however, to answer Amen and to respond to BarChu, Kaddish and Kedushah.

2. One who arrives late and finds the congregation already saying the Verses of Praise should do the following so as to be able to say BarChu and subsequent prayers together with the congregation: 1. put on tallit and tefillin, saying the appropriate blessings; 2. make the blessings over washing hands, “who formed man in wisdom”, and “My GOD, the soul You placed in me is pure”; 3. say the blessings over the Torah (page 14); 4. say “Blessed is He who spoke” and “Happy are those”; 5. on weekdays, say “May Your name be praised for ever”, and on Shabbat and Festivals, “The soul of all that lives”. If there is more time, one should say other passages in the following order of priority: 1. Psalm 148; 2. Psalm 150; 3. Psalms 146, 147, 149; 4. th “David blessed”; 5. “Thank the Lord“; 6. Psalm 100. On Shabbat, the daily psalms take priority over those added on Shabbat.

3. If there is no time to say any of the Verses of Praise before BarChu, one should say prayers with the congregation, and at the end of the service go back and say the full Verses of Praise except for “Blessed is He who spoke” and “May Your name be praised for ever”.

The core elements of Pesukei de-Zimra are: 1. Psalm 145 (Ashrei), a prayer to which the Sages attached particular significance, specifying that it should be said three times daily; and 2. Psalms 146–150 which form the culmination and crescendo of the Book of Psalms as a whole. These six psalms correspond to the six days of creation; others are added on Shabbat and Festivals. Around this inner core other passages have been woven: some from other biblical books and others from selected verses in the Book of Psalms. The section begins and ends with a paragraph of blessings: “Blessed is He who spoke” (Baruch She’amar) at the beginning, and “May Your Name be praised for ever” (Yishtabach) at the end.

Blessed is He: An introductory blessing to the Verses of Praise, in two parts. The first is a ten-part litany of praise to GOD as Creator, each phrase introduced with the word Blessed (the second phrase, “Blessed is He”, is not a separate verse but was originally a congregational response). The number ten corresponds to the ten times the word Vayomer, “And He said’, appears in the story of creation in Genesis 1, hence the rabbinic saying that “With ten utterances the world was created.”

Blessed are You: The second half of the blessing is a prelude to the biblical verses that follow, mainly from the Book of Psalms (“With the songs of Your servant David we will exalt You”) but also from the books of Chronicles and Nehemiah (“extolled by the mouth of His people”). To emphasise the significance of this declaration, we recite it standing and, at the end, kiss the two front fringes of the tallit.

VERSES OF PRAISE

The following is recited standing, while holding the two front tzitziot of the tallit. They are kissed and released at the end of the blessing.

Blessed is He who spoke and the world came into being, blessed is He.

Blessed is He who creates the universe.

Blessed is He who speaks and acts.

Blessed is He who decrees and fulfils.

Blessed is He who shows compassion to the earth.

Blessed is He who shows compassion to all creatures.

Blessed is He who gives a good reward to those who fear Him.

Blessed is He who lives for ever and exists to eternity.

Blessed is He who redeems and saves.

Blessed is His name.

Blessed are You, LORD our GOD, King of the Universe, GOD, compassionate Father, extolled by the mouth of His people, praised and glorified by the tongue of His devoted ones and those who serve Him. With the songs of Your servant David we will praise You, O LORD our GOD. With praises and psalms we will magnify and praise You, glorify You and make mention of Your name. We will proclaim Your kingship, our King, our GOD, the only One, life of the universe, the King whose great name is praised and glorified to all eternity. Blessed are You, LORD, the King extolled with songs of praise.

I CHRONICLES 16:8–36

Thank the LORD, call on His name, make His acts known among the peoples. Sing to Him, make music to Him, tell of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Search out the LORD and His strength; seek His presence at all times. Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the judgements He pronounced. O descendants of Israel His servant, sons of Jacob His chosen ones: He is the LORD our GOD. His judgements are throughout the earth. Remember His covenant for ever, the word He commanded for a thousand generations. He made it

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