Chapter I
1. QADDISH†
The qaddish (kaddish), a term deriving from the Aramaic word qadosh, meaning “holy,” is a prayer of sanctification whereby God’s holiness is proclaimed, his power is praised, and his consolation and peace are requested. The history of the text is complex. According to some commentators the most important and original section of the prayer is the response, “Let his great …” The formula has variations according to its use, whether prayed by a group studying the Talmud (called “the scholar’s qaddish”); whether concluding a structural element, e.g., the tefillah in the synagogue liturgy (the first mention of its synagogue use dates from about the sixth century); or whether used in the cemetery for the burial of a loved one (the mourner’s qaddish), the latter practice dating from thirteenth-century Germany. It has been suggested that the first two petitions of the Lord’s Prayer may have been inspired by the qaddish.
Deiss 17–19 * Idelsohn 84–88 * Di Sante 19–23, 171–73 * Millgram 153–57 * Oesterley (1925) 72–73, 151–52
J.J. Petuchowski and M. Brocke, eds., The Lord’s Prayer and Jewish Liturgy (London and New York, 1978).
May his great Name be magnified and sanctified in the world which he created according to his will; may his kingdom rule and redemption take seed; may he lead his Messiah into your paths during your days and through the life of the whole house of Israel, doing so quickly and soon, and let them say Amen. (1)
Response: Let his great Name be blessed forever and for all eternity. (2)
May it be blessed, praised, made known, exalted, elevated, and honored; and may the blessed Name of the Holy One be above all blessings and hymns, praises and consolation that are given in the world. Amen. (3)
May your prayer be accepted and your petitions be efficacious, joined to the prayer of the whole house of Israel, before our Father in heaven. (4)
May it bring for us heaven, great peace, help, redemption, abundance, life, fullness, health, consolation, freedom, healing, propagation, for you, for us, and for the whole house of Israel, unto life and peace, and let them say Amen.a (5)
2. QIDDUSH FOR SABBATHS AND FEASTS†
Each week on Friday, once the table has been covered with a handsome cloth, the mother of the family places two loaves upon it, and then the wine, a cup, and two candles that she lights at the appropriate time. Afterwards, the father of the family, having returned from the evening synagogue service, says the blessing, the Qiddush (kiddush), namely, the domestic rite by which the Sabbath and feast days are consecrated to God.
This ceremony, with roots perhaps going back to the fifth century B.C., contains three blessings or berakoth: the first over the wine, the second praising God for the Sabbath, and a third over the bread.
Deiss 5–6 * Di Sante 154–57 * Elbogen (1962) 107, 110–12 * Jeremias (1960) 20–23 * Jeremias (1966) 26–29 * Millgram 297–99 * Oesterley (1911) 374–83 * Oesterley (1925) 79–81
I. Elbogen, “Eingang und Ausgang des Sabbats nach talmudischen Quellen,” in Festschrift zu Israel Lewy’s siebzigstem Geburtstag (Breslau, 1911) 173–87.
1. Blessing over the wine
First, the head of the family, taking the cup of wine in his right hand, reads Genesis 1:31b–2:3; he does so standing and with eyes upraised. (6)
(In a low voice) And evening and morning were made (then in a loud voice) on the sixth day. Thus heaven and earth and all their ornaments were completed. And on the seventh day God completed the work he had done; and God rested on the seventh day from all the work he had accomplished. And he blessed it on the seventh day and sanctified it because on this day he ceased from all his work, a day God created for this purpose.
Having asked permission from the honored guests and looking toward the cup, he says the blessing over it; our lords, teachers, and doctors approve. (7)
O Lord our God, blessed are you, King of the universe; you created the fruit of the vine.
And he adds this blessing for sanctifying the Sabbath day or the feastday: (8)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe. By your commandments you sanctified us, took great delight in us, and give us the holy Sabbath as an inheritance, doing so out of love and kindness to be a memorial of the works of your creation. Wherefore this is a day of holy convocations,1 a memorial of the exodus out of Egypt. You chose and sanctified us above all peoples, and in love and goodness you gave us the holy Sabbath as an inheritance. Blessed are you, O Lord, for making holy the Sabbath.
All present then receive some wine from the cup to drink, doing so after the father of the family. (9)
2. Blessing over the bread
The father of the family begins, his hand being placed on what covers the bread. When he comes to the words “bring forth,” he uncovers the loaves of bread [lèhèmisnèh]; then, when he comes to the word “bread,” he holds the loaves up and then places them on the table. (10)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe. You bring forth bread from the earth.
Having finished the blessing, he breaks one of the loaves and takes some for himself and distributes a portion to the others, enough for the whole meal, which is then eaten. (11)
3. Zemirot
They eat the meal, prolonging it as they rejoice and sing the zemirot.a (12)
3. BIRKAT HA-MAZON†
For the pious Jew the daily meal shared with family members was the focal point of the individual’s prayer to and praise of God. Thus it is no surprise that the prayer formulas connected with this meal are among the most venerable of the Jewish heritage of worship texts.
The meal begins with a very short blessing known as the birkat ha-motsi, whose text, taken from Psalm 104:14, thanks God for bringing forth bread from the earth.
It is at the conclusion of the meal that the most cherished blessing, known as the birkat ha-mazon (mazon = “food”), occurs. After an initial dialogue (called the birkat ha-zimmun) three (now four) prayers of blessing are said: the first (the birkat ha-zan) blesses the Creator who provides food for all creation; the second (the birkat ha-ʾarets) gives thanks for the land, the covenant, and the Law; the third (the birkat Ierušalayim) intercedes on behalf of Jerusalem and the house of David; the fourth blessing (the birkat ha-tov we-ha-metiv) brings the prayer to an end.
As to the dates of these formulas, many believe that the first and second are the oldest, the third perhaps going back to the second century before Christ, with the fourth being added after the destruction of the temple in the second century after Christ.
Included below are the formulas proposed by A.L. Finkelsteina as original, as well as more developed, forms of these texts coming from the ninth and tenth centuries. It should be noted that the prayers allow for embolisms or insertions on certain feasts.
Bouyer 78–83 * Deiss 6–9 * Di Sante 145–50 * Hänggi 8–12 * Jasper 10–11 * Millgram 293–95
L. Finkelstein, “The Birkat Ha-Mazon,” JQR 19 (1928–29) 211–62. * G. Dix, The Shape of the Liturgy, 4th ed. (Westminster, 1949) 50–56, 214–25. * B. Fraigneau-Julien, “Elements de la structure fundamentaler de l’eucharistie. I. Bénédiction, anamnèse et action de grâces,” RevSR 34 (1960) 35–61. * J. Heinemann, Prayer in the Period of the Tanna’im and the Amora’im: Its Nature and Its Patterns (Jerusalem, 1964) 31, 37–39, 49, 73, 102, 138, 180. * L. Ligier, “De la cène de Jésus à l’anaphore de l’Eglise,” LMD, no. 87 (1966) 30–33, 50–51; also in RL (1966) 503–6, 521–22.
When the meal is finished, Psalm 137, “By the rivers of Babylon,” is said on ordinary days, and on the Sabbath and feasts there is Psalm 126, “When the Lord delivered Sion from captivity.” Then one of those reclining at table (A.), designated because of that person’s dignity, begins the “birkat ha-zimmun,” the blessing of invitation, namely, the invitation to bless God, to which the others (R.), reclining, respond. (13)
1. Birkat ha-zimmun (14)
A. My lords, let us bless.
R. May the Name of the Lord be blessed now and forever.
A. With the approval of our lords, teachers, and doctors, let us bless what we eat of his (If there are ten who are reclining, he says: “… let us bless our God that …” and he adds other names, if there are a hundred or a thousand, etc.).
R. May he be blessed (if fitting: our God) that we may eat of his gifts and live from his goodness.
A. May he be blessed (if fitting: our God) that we may eat of his gifts and live from his goodness.
R. May he be blessed, and may his name be blessed.
2. Birkat ha-mazon (15)
With two hands he holds the cup of wine and, when he begins the blessing, he takes it with his right hand, raising it a little. When he says the second part, he mixes the cup with water.
a) Text proposed by A.L. Finkelstein as original.
1. Birkat ha-zan (Blessing of the one who nourishes) (16)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe. You feed the whole world with goodness, kindness, and mercy. Blessed are you, O Lord, for you feed the universe.
2. Birkat ha-ʾarets (Blessing of the earth) (17)
O Lord our God, we give thanks to you because you have given to us a desirable earth [that we might eat of its fruits and be filled with its goodness]. Blessed are you, O lord our God, because of the earth and because of food.
3. Birkat Ierušalayim (Blessing for Jerusalem) (18)
O Lord our God, have mercy on your people Israel and upon your city Jerusalem and upon Sion the dwelling place of your glory and of your altar and your sanctuary.
Blessed are you, Lord, the builder of Jerusalem.b
b) Liturgical Recensions
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According to the Seder Amram ( 9th century) |
According to the Seder Rav Saadja (10th century) |
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1. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, for you nourish the whole world with your goodness, kindness, and mercy; you give bread to all flesh, because you nourish and feed all things and provide food for all creatures. |
1. Blessed are you, O Lord, our God, King of the universe, for you nourish us and the whole world with goodness, grace, kindness, and mercy. (19) |
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Blessed are you, O Lord, for you nourish the universe. |
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you nourish the universe. |
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2. We give thanks to you, Lord, our God, because of the land—desirable, good, and widespread—which you loved and gave to our fathers as an inheritance and because of your covenant which you have placed in our flesh, and because of the Law which you have given us, and because of the life, kindness, grace, and food, which you provide for us. |
2. We give thanks to you, O Lord our God, because you have given us as an inheritance the land—desirable, good, and widespread—together with the covenant and the Law, life and food. (20) |
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Here occurs the embolism used on Hannukah and Purim. |
Here occurs the embolism used on Hannukah and Purim. |
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And, O Lord our God, for all these things we thank you and bless your Name. May your Name be blessed continually forever and ever. |
For all these things we thank you and bless your Name forever and ever. |
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Blessed are you, O Lord, because of the earth and because of the food. |
Blessed are you, O Lord, because of the earth and because of the food. |
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3. O Lord our God, have mercy on Israel your people, on your city Jerusalem, and on Sion, the dwelling place of your glory and of the kingdom of the house of David your Anointed One, and on the great and holy abode called by your Name. [our Father, our King] our shepherd, our nourisher, our feeder, our sustenance, quickly free us from our difficulties. Nor do you [Lord, our God] allow us to be without the gifts of flesh and blood, of which duties are few and insults are many: because we trust in the great and fearful name of your holiness. And may Elias and the Messiah, the son of David, come in our lifetime and quickly restore the |
3. O Lord, our God, have mercy on Israel your people, on your city Jerusalem, on your sanctuary, on your dwelling place, on Sion the dwelling place of your glory, and on the great and holy abode where you can be called by your Name. |
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kingdom of the house of David [our Anointed One] to its place and may he rule over us [because] you alone [are] and save us for your Name’s sake. And have us ascend into its middle, and gladden us in it, and console us in Sion, your city. (21) |
Restore the kingdom of David to its place and build up Jerusalem quickly. |
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Here occurs the embolism “Yaʾalèh we-yavo. |
Here occurs the embolism “Yaʾalèh we-yavo. |
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Blessed are you, O Lord, who builds Jerusalem. Amen. |
Blessed are you, O Lord, who builds Jerusalem. Amen. |
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4. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, our Father, our King, our Redeemer, our protector, our Creator; the ruler of our souls, our holy one, the holy one of Jacob, the good and kind king, who does good to us day after day; he enriches us and will forever enrich us with grace, kindness, mercy, and with all that is good. |
4. Blessed are you, Lord, our God, King of the universe, God, our Father, our King, our Creator, our Redeemer, the good and kind King, who day after day takes care to do good for us in many different ways and who enriches us with grace, kindness, spirit, mercy, and with all that is good. (22) |
4. PASSOVER HAGGADAH†
The Hebrew word Haggadah literally means a “telling,” a “narrating,” a “recital.” In one sense it refers to the “telling” of the events connected with the passage of the Jewish people out of Egypt. In another sense the word is applied to the book or instruction manual detailing the steps to be followed during the meal—called the Seder (Aramaic for “order”) Meal—which commemorated or celebrated this deliverance.
The texts used come from various time periods and represent various literary genres, e.g., selections from the Hebrew Scriptures, explanations from Jewish literature, prayers, blessings, etc. Some elements are of a late origin, composed after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 A.D. by the Romans. Other elements belong to an earlier tradition, one originating before the time of Christ. It was in the ninth century that the Haggadah began to appear in Jewish prayer books, whereas the first separately printed Haggadah date from Spain (ca. 1482) and Italy (1505). Well over four thousand such books, often beautifully decorated, have come down to us.
Historically, the Passover Haggadah exists in various versions or traditions, often reflecting the country of use, e.g., Spain, Germany, Italy, etc. Although the basic framework remains the same, precise details of the prayer texts and the ritual gestures vary depending on particular religious and ethnic traditions. Today, rabbis encourage adapting the service to contemporary situations, and as a result there are feminist Haggadahs, military Haggadahs, children’s Haggadahs, even atheist Haggadahs.
Oesterley (1925) 157–93 * Millgram 301–13 * Hänggi 13–34
H.L. Strack, Pesahim, Der Mischnatrakat Passafest mit Berücksichtigung des Neuen Testaments und der Jetzigen Passafeier der Juden (Leipzig, 1911). * H.L. Strack and P. Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch IV/1 (Munich, 1956) 41–76. * L. Finkelstein, “The Oldest Midrash: Pre-Rabbinic Ideals and Teachings in the Passover Haggadah,” HThR 31 (1938) 291–317. * L. Finkelstein, “Pre-Maccabean Documents in the Passover Haggadah,” HThR 33 (1942) 291–332; 30 (1943) 1–38. * S. Stein, “The Influence of Symposia Literature on the Literary Form of the Pesah Haggadah,” The Journal of Jewish Studies 8 (1937) 13–44. * E.D. Goldschmidt, Die Pessach Haggada (Berlin, 1937). * T.H. Gastner, Passover: Its History and Traditions (New York, 1949). * E.D. Goldschmidt, The Passover Haggadah: Its Sources and History (Jerusalem, 1960; Philadelphia, 1961). * A. Yaari, Bibliography of the Passover Haggadah from the Earliest Printed Edition to 1960 (Jerusalem, 1960). * J. Jeremias, Die Abendmahlsworte Jesu (Göttingen, 1960) 35–83, 229–46. * H. Kosmala, Hebräer – Essener – Christen. Studien zur Voggeschichte der frühchristlichen Verkündigung (Leiden, 1959) 174–91, 393–97. * K. Kosmala, “‘Das tut in meinem Gedächtnis,’” NTes 4 (1960) 81–94. * L. Ligier, “L’hymne christologique de Philippiens 2:6–11, la liturgie eucharistique et la bénédiction synagogale ‘Nishmat kol hays,’” Analecta Biblica 18 (1963) 63–74. * L. Ligier, “L’action de grâces de la communion et la ‘Birkat Ha-Shir’ de la Pâques,” PrOChr 13 (1963) 99–111. * J.B. Segal, The Hebrew Passover: From the Earliest Times to A.D. 70, London Oriental Series 12 (London, 1963). * L. Ligier, “De la cène de Jesus à l’anaphore de l’Eglise,” LMD, no. 87 (1966) 7–49; RL, n.s., 4 (1966) 480–522. * E. Le Déaut, La nuit pascale: essai sur la signification de la Páque juive à partir du Targum d’Exode XII:42 (Rome, 1963). * J.B. Segal, The Hebrew Passover (London and New York, 1963). * J. Sloan, trans., The Passover Haggadah, with English translation; Introduction and Commentary, Based on the Commentaries of E.D. Goldschmidt, ed. N.N. Glatzer (New York, 1979). * L.A. Hoffman and D. Arnow, eds., My People’s Passover Haggadah, 2 vols. (Woodstock, VT, 2008).
THE QIDDUSH
The first cup of wine is prepared, and the father of the family recites the Sanctification (qiddush).a (23)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, creator of the fruit of the vine. (24)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who chose us from every people and exalted us among every tongue and sanctified us by his commandments. With love you have given us, O Lord our God, holidays for gladness, festivals and seasons for rejoicing, this day of the festival of unleavened bread, the season of our deliverance, a holy convocation in remembrance of the departure from Egypt. For us have you chosen, and us have you sanctified from all the people. And the holidays of your sanctification you have given us, with gladness and joy to inherit. Blessed are you, O Lord, who sanctifies Israel and the seasons. (25)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who has kept us alive, who sustained us, and who enabled us to reach this season. (26)
The first cup of wine is drunk in a reclining position. (27)
Pitcher, basin, and towel are offered to the participants in the Seder to wash their hands, though without saying the usual blessing over the washing of hands. (28)
The father of the family dips some celery or other vegetable in salt water (or vinegar) and then offers a piece of the vegetable to each participant. The following blessing is spoken before eating the karpas. (29)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who creates the fruit of the earth. (30)
The father of the family breaks in two the middle of the three wafers of unleavened bread on the platter, wraps up the larger half in a cloth, and sets it aside for the afikoman. (31)
The father of the family removes the shankbone (zeroa) and the egg from the platter; those sitting near him lift up the platter and all recite: (32)
This is the bread of poverty which our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry enter and eat; let all who are needy come to our Passover feast. This year we are here; next year may we be in the Land of Israel. This year we are slaves; next year may we be free men. (33)
The platter is put back on the table, and the second cup of wine is poured. The youngest child or another participant asks the four questions. (34)
THE FOUR QUESTIONS
Why does this night differ from all other nights? For on all other nights we eat either leavened or unleavened bread; why on this night only unleavened bread? (35)
On other nights we eat all kinds of herbs; why on this night only bitter herbs? (36)
On all other nights we need not dip our herbs even once; why on this night must we dip them twice?b (37)
On all other nights we eat either sitting up or reclining; why on this night do we all recline? (38)
The head of the family and all the participants recite the reply. (39)
We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, and the Lord our God brought us forth from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. And if the Holy One, blessed be he, had not brought our forefathers forth from Egypt, then we, our children, and our children’s children would still be Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. So, even though all of us were wise, all of us full of understanding, all of us elders, all of us knowing in the Torah, we should still be under the commandment to tell the story of the departure from Egypt. And the more one tells the story of the departure from Egypt, the more praiseworthy he is. (40)
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PASSOVER>
A tale is told of Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Joshua, Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Akiba, and Rabbi Tarfon, who once reclined together at Bene Berak telling about the departure from Egypt all night, until their disciples came to them and said, “Masters, the time has come to read the morning shema.”c (41)
Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah said: “Lo, I am like a man of seventy years, yet I never understood why the story concerning the departure from Egypt should be recited at night until Ben Zoma interpreted it so. So it is said, ‘That you may remember the day when you came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.’1 Had it been written ‘the days of your life,’ it would have meant the days only; but ‘all the days of your life’ means the nights as well.” The other sages explain the verse differently: “Had it been written ‘all the days of your life,’ it would have meant this world only; ‘all the days of your life’ means that the times of the Messiah are included as well.” (42)
THE FOUR SONS
Blessed be the Omnipresent, blessed be he, who gave the Torah to his people Israel. (43)
The Torah has four children in mind: one, intelligent; a second, wicked; a third, simple; and a fourth, a child that does not yet know how to ask. (44)
What does the intelligent child say, “What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances which the Lord our God has commanded you?”2 And you instruct him in the precepts of the Passover, to wit, “One may not conclude after the Pascha meal (by saying), ‘Now to the entertainment!’” (45)
What does the wicked child say, “What is this service to you?”3 “To you,” and not to him. Since he removes himself from the group, and so denies God, you in return must set his teeth on edge and answer him: “It is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came forth from Egypt.”4 “For me,” not for him. Had he been there, he would not have been redeemed. (46)
What does the simple child say? “What is this?” And you shall say to him, “By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage.”5 (47)
And with him who does not know how to ask you must open and begin yourself. “And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, It is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt.”6 (48)
“And you shall tell your son …”: It might have been thought that the telling should begin on the first day of the month [of Nisan]: therefore the text teaches us “in that day.” But since it says, “in that day,” we might have thought that we should begin while it is still day; therefore the Scripture also teaches us “because of that.” You could not say “because of that” if it were not referring to the time when unleavened bread and bitter herbs were lying before you. (49)
In the beginning our fathers were idolaters, but now the Omnipresent has drawn us to his service, as it is said, “And Joshua said to all the people: ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor; and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. And I gave to Isaac, Jacob, and Esau; and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it; and Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.’”7 (50)
Blessed is he who keeps his promise to Israel, blessed is he. For the Holy One, blessed be he, premeditated the end of the bondage, thus doing that which he said to Abraham in the covenant between the sections: “And he said to Abram, ‘Know for certain that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also the nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance.’”8 (51)
The participants lift up their cups of wine and say: (52)
And it is this promise which has stood by our fathers and by us. For it was not one man only who stood up against us to destroy us; in every generation they stand up against us to destroy us, and the Holy One, blessed be he, saves us from their hand. (53)
The cups are put back on the table. (54)
Go forth and learn what Laban, the Aramean, sought to do to Jacob, our father. While Pharaoh decreed death only for the male children, Laban sought to uproot all. (55)
For it is said, “An Aramean would have destroyed my father, and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.”9 (56)
“And he went down into Egypt,” compelled by the word of God. “And sojourned there,”10 teaching us that Jacob did not go down to Egypt to settle but to sojourn there. As it is said, “And they said to Pharaoh, ‘To sojourn in the land are we come; for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, we pray to you, let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.’”11 “Few in number,” as it is said, “Your fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the Lord your God has made you as the stars of heaven for multitudes.”12 “And he became there a nation,” teaching us that the Israelites were distinguishable there. “Great and powerful”: as it is said, “And the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and grew exceedingly strong; and the land was filled with them.”13 “And populous”: as it is said, “I caused you to increase even as the growth of the field. And you did increase and grow up, and you came to excellent beauty; your breasts were fashioned, and your hair was grown; yet you were naked and bare.”14 (57)
“And the Egyptians considered us evil; they afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage.”15 (58)
“And the Egyptians considered us evil”: as it is said, “Come let us deal wisely with them lest they multiply, and it come to pass that, when there befalls us any war, they also join themselves to our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of the land.”16 “And afflicted us”: as it is said, “Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they build for Pharoah store-cities, Pithom and Raamses.”17 “And laid upon us heavy bondage”: as it is said, “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor.”18 (59)
“And we cried unto the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression.”19 (60)
“And we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers”: as it is written, “And it came to pass in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died; and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to God by reason of the bondage.”20 (61)
“And the Lord heard our voice”: as it is said, “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.”21 “And saw our affliction.” This is enforced marital continence. As it is said, “And God saw the children of Israel, and God knew.”22 “And our travail.” This is the sons, as it is said, “Every son that is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”23 “And our oppression.” This is the vexation of which it is said, “Moreover I have seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.”24 (62)
“And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs and with wonders.”25 (63)
“And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt,” not by the hands of an angel, and not by the hands of a seraph, and not by the hands of a messenger, but the Holy One, blessed be he, himself, in his own glory and in his own person. As it is said: “For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord.”26 (64)
“For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night.” I and not an angel. “I will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.” I and not a seraph. “And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments.” I and not a messenger. “I am the Lord.” I am he and no other. (65)
“With a mighty hand.” This is the blight, as it is said, “Behold the hand of the Lord is upon your cattle which are in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the herds, and upon the flocks; there shall be a very grievous blight.”27 “And with an out-stretched arm.” This is the sword, as it is said, “Having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem.”28 “And with great terribleness.” This is the revelation of the Divine Presence, as it is said, “Or has God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?”29 “And with signs.” This is the rod of Moses, as it is said, “And you shall take in your hand this rod, wherewith you shall do the signs.”30 “And with wonders.” This is the blood, as it is said, “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.”31 (66)
Another explanation is: “A mighty hand” makes two, “an outstretched arm” makes two, “and with great terribleness” makes two, “and with signs” makes two, “and with wonders” makes two. These make up the ten plagues which the Holy One, blessed be he, brought upon the Egyptians in Egypt, and they are these: blood, frogs, lice, beasts, blight, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, the slaying of the firstborn. Rabbi Judah made a mnemonic (out of the first letters of the Hebrew words for the plagues), thus: DeTZaKh AdaSH BeAHaB. (67)
THE TEN PLAGUES
Rabbi Jose the Galilean said: “Whence do we learn that the Egyptians were smitten with ten plagues in Egypt and were smitten with fifty plagues on the Sea? With regard to Egypt, what does it say? ‘Then the magicians said to Pharoah: This is the finger of God.’32 And with regard to the sea, what does it say? ‘And Israel saw the great hand which the Lord laid upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.’33 With how many were they smitten where it says one finger? Ten plagues. We can say from this that in Egypt they were smitten with ten plagues while at sea they were smitten with fifty plagues.” (68)
Rabbi Eliezer said: “Whence do we learn that each and every plague that the Holy One, blessed be he, brought upon the Egyptians in Egypt was the same as four plagues? For it is said, ‘He sent forth upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, a legation of messengers of evil.’34 ‘Wrath’ makes one, ‘indignation’ two, ‘trouble’ three, ‘a legation of messengers of evil’ four. You can say from this that they were smitten with forty plagues in Egypt, and at sea they were smitten with two hundred plagues.” (69)
Rabbi Akiba said: “Whence do we learn that each and every plague that the Holy One, blessed be he, brought upon the Egyptians in Egypt was the same as the five plagues? For it is said: ‘He sent forth upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, a legation of messengers of evil.’35 ‘The fierceness of his anger’ makes one, ‘wrath’ two, ‘indignation’ three, ‘trouble’ four, ‘a legation of messengers of evil’ five. You can say from this that they were smitten with fifty plagues in Egypt, and at sea they were smitten with two hundred and fifty plagues.” (70)
How many are the claims of the Omnipresent upon our thankfulness! (71)
Had he taken us out of Egypt
but not executed judgments on them,
We should have been content!
Had he executed judgements on them,
but not upon their gods,
We should have been content!
Had he executed judgements on their gods,
but not slain their firstborn,
We should have been content!
Had he slain their firstborn,
but not given us their substance,
We should have been content!
Had he given us their substance,
but not torn the Sea apart for us,
We should have been content!
Had he torn the Sea apart for us,
but not brought us through it dry,
We should have been content!
Had he brought us through it dry,
but not sunk our oppressors in the midst of it,
We should have been content!
Had he sunk our oppressors in the midst of it,
but not satisfied our needs in the desert for forty years,
We should have been content!
Had he satisfied our needs in the desert for forty years,
but not fed us manna,
We should have been content!
Had he fed us manna,
but not given us the Sabbath,
We should have been content!
Had he given us the Sabbath,
but not brought us to Mount Sinai,
We should have been content!
Had he brought us to Mount Sinai,
but not given us the Torah,
We should have been content!
Had he given us the Torah,
but not brought us into the Land of Israel,
We should have been content!
Had he brought us into the Land of Israel,
but not built us the House of his choosing,
We should have been content!
Then how much more, doubled and redoubled, is the claim the Omni-present has upon our thankfulness! For he did take us out of Egypt, and execute judgments on them, and judgments on their gods, and slay their firstborn, and give us their substance, and tear the Sea apart for us, and bring us through it dry, and sink our oppressors in the midst of it, and satisfy our needs in the desert for forty years, and feed us manna, and give us the Sabbath, and bring us to Mount Sinai, and give us the Torah, and bring us into the Land of Israel, and build us the House of his choosing to atone for all our sins. (72a)
PASSOVER SACRIFICE, UNLEAVENED BREAD, AND BITTER HERBS
Rabban Gamaliel used to say, “Whoever does not make mention of the following three things on Passover has not fulfilled his obligation: namely, the Passover Sacrifice, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs.” (72b)
The Passover Sacrifice which our fathers used to eat at the time when the Holy Temple still stood—what was the reason for it? Because the Holy One, blessed be he, passed over the houses of our fathers in Egypt. As it is said: “It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover, for that he passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshiped.”36 (72c)
The father of the family lifts up the matzot, showing them to the participants. (72d)
The matzah which we eat, what is the reason for it? Because the dough of our fathers had not yet leavened when the King over all kings, the Holy One, blessed be he, revealed himself to them and redeemed them. As it is said: “And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.”37 (73)
The father of the family lifts up the bitter herbs, showing them to the participants. (74)
These bitter herbs we eat, what is the reason for them? Because the Egyptians made the lives of our forefathers bitter in Egypt. As it is said: “And they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor.”38 (75)
IN EVERY GENERATION
In every generation let each man look on himself as if he came forth out of Egypt. (76)
As it is said: “And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, It is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt.”39 It was not only our fathers that the Holy One, blessed be he, redeemed, but us as well did he redeem along with them. As it is said: “And he brought us out from thence that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he swore unto our fathers.”40 (77)
Therefore we are bound to thank, praise, laud, glorify, exalt, honor, bless, extol, and adore him who performed all these miracles for our fathers and for us. He has brought us forth from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to holiday, from darkness to great light, and from bondage to redemption. Let us then recite before him a new song: Alleluia. (78)
The cups are put back on the table. (79)
THE HALLEL: FIRST PARTd
Alleluia. Praise, O servants of the Lord … (Psalm 113) (80)
When Israel came forth out of Egypt … (Psalm 114:1–8)
BLESSING FOR REDEMPTION
The participants lift up their cups of wine and say: (81)
Blessed are you, O Lord, our God, King of the universe, who redeemed us and who redeemed our fathers from Egypt, and has brought us to this night, to eat thereon unleavened bread and bitter herbs. So, Lord our God and God of our fathers, bring us to other festivals and holy days that come toward us in peace, happy in the building of your city and joyous in your service. And there may we eat of the sacrifices and the paschal offerings, whose blood will come unto the walls of your altar for acceptance. Then shall we give thanks to you with a new song, for our redemption and the liberation of our soul. Blessed are you, O Lord, Redeemer of Israel. (82)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, creator of the fruit of the vine. (83)
The second cup of wine is drunk in a reclining position. (84)
The participants wash their hands and say the following blessing: (85)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us concerning the washing of hands. (86)
The father of the family breaks pieces from the upper and middle wafers and distributes them; the following blessings are recited: (87)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth. (88)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us concerning the eating of unleavened bread. (89)
The matzah is eaten in a reclining position. (90)
The father of the family dips some bitter herbs in the haroset and offers a piece to each participant. The following blessing is spoken before eating the bitter herbs: (91)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us concerning the eating of bitter herbs. (92)
The father of the family breaks the bottom matzah, puts some bitter herb sandwich-fashion between two pieces of matzah. The following is recited before eating: (93)
In memory of the Temple, according to the custom of Hillel.e (94)
Thus did Hillel when the Holy Temple still stood: he used to combine unleavened bread and bitter herbs and eat them together to fulfill that which is said, “They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.”41 (95)
The Seder platter is removed. At this point the Seder meal is eaten. (96)
After the meal the Seder platter is again placed on the table. The matzah which has been set aside for afikomanf is distributed among the Seder company. (97)
Before Grace the third cup is filled. If three or more men are present, the following introductory phrases are recited. If ten or more are present, the words in brackets are also recited. (Grace is customarily preceded by the singing of Psalm 126.) (98)
The master of the Seder: (99)
Gentlemen, let us say the blessing.
The participants: (100)
May the Name of the Lord be blessed from now unto eternity.
The master of the Seder: (101)
Let us bless Him [our God] of whose food we have eaten.
The participants: (102)
Blessed be he [our God] of whose food we have eaten and through whose goodness we live.
All: (103)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the world, who feeds the entire world in his goodness, with grace, loving kindness, and compassion. He gives bread to all flesh, for his mercy is forever. And through his great goodness food has never failed us, and may it never fail us, for his great Name’s sake. For he feeds and sustains all, and does good unto all, and prepares food for all his creatures which he did create. Blessed are you, O Lord, who feeds all.
Let us give thanks to you, O Lord our God, because you have given our fathers to inherit a pleasant land, goodly and broad, and because you have brought us forth, O Lord our God, from the land of Egypt and redeemed us out of the house of slaves; and for your covenant which you have sealed in our flesh; and for your Torah which you have taught us; and for your laws which you have informed us; and for the life, grace, and mercy which you have graciously given us; and for the eating of the food with which you feed and sustain us continually, every day, at all times and at every hour. And for all this, O Lord our God, we give thanks to you and give blessing to you; blessed be your name in the mouth of each living thing forever, continually. As it is written: “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless the Lord your God for the good land which he has given you.”42 Blessed are you, O Lord, for the land and for the food. (104)
Take pity, O Lord our God, on Israel, your folk, and on Jerusalem, your city, and on Zion, the habitation of your glory, and on the kingdom of the House of David, your anointed, and upon the great and holy House over which your name is called. Our God, our Father, shepherd us, feed us, maintain us, sustain us, and ease us. Ease us, O Lord our God, speedily from all our troubles. And let us not be needing, O Lord, our God, gifts at the hands of flesh and blood, or their loins, but only at your hand, that is full and open, holy and broad, so that we be never ashamed or disgraced at all. (105)
Our God and God of our fathers, may there rise, and come, and come unto, be seen, accepted, heard, recollected and remembered, the remembrance of us and the recollection of us, and the remembrance of our fathers, and the remembrance of Jerusalem, your holy city, and the remembrance of all your people, the house of Israel. May their remembrance come before you, for rescue, goodness, grace, mercy, and compassion, for life and for peace, on this the Festival of Unleavened Bread. (106)
Remember us, O Lord our God, thereon for good, and recollect us thereon for a blessing, and save us thereon to live. And with word of salvation and compassion spare us and be gracious with us; have compassion on us and save us—for to you are our eyes, for you are a God gracious and compassionate. (107)
And build Jerusalem, the sacred city, speedily in our days. Blessed are you, O Lord, who builds in his compassion Jerusalem. Amen. (108)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, O God, our Father, our King, our Mighty One, our Creator, our Redeemer, our Maker, our Sacred One, the Sacred One of Jacob, our Shepherd, the Shepherd of Israel, the King, who is good and does good to all, he who every day did, does, and will do good to us. He has favored, he favors, he will favor us forever: for grace, for mercy, and for compassion and for ease, rescue, and success, blessing and salvation, consolation, maintenance and sustenance, and compassion and life and peace, and all that is good; may he not let us lack of all that is good. (109)
The Compassionate One—may he reign over us forever and ever. (110)
The Compassionate One—may he be blessed in the heavens and on the earth.
The Compassionate One—may he be lauded throughout all the generations, and glory in us forever and for all eternity, and be honored in us forever and ever.
The Compassionate One—may he sustain us with honor.
The Compassionate One—may he break our yoke from off our neck and may he lead us upright to our land.
The Compassionate One—may he send much blessing to us in this house and to this table from which we have eaten.
The Compassionate One—may he send Elijah, the prophet (may he be remembered for good) to us that he may bring us good tidings of salvations and consolations.
The Compassionate One—may he bless the master of this house, and the mistress of this house, and their household and their seed and all they have, us and all we have. As our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were blessed in all, of all, all—so bless us altogether with a perfect blessing, and let us say, Amen.
On high, may the merits of their case and ours be pleaded successfully, that it may become a guardian of peace. And may we bear away a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of our salvation. May we find grace and good favor in the eyes of God and man.
The Compassionate One—may he cause us to inherit a day that is all good.
The Compassionate One—may he find us worthy of the days of the Messiah and of the life of the world to come.
“A tower of salvation is he to his king; and he shows mercy to his anointed, to David and to his seed for evermore.”43 He who makes peace in his high places, he shall make peace for us and for all Israel, and say to you, Amen.
“O fear the Lord, you his holy ones; for there is no want to them that fear him.”44 (111)
“The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they that seek the Lord want not any good thing.”45
“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.”46
“You open your hand, and satisfy every living thing with favor.”47
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose trust the Lord is.”48
“I have been young and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken. Nor his seed begging bread.”49
“The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.”50
The participants lift up their cup of wine and say: (112)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
The third cup of wine is drunk while in a reclining position. (113)
[…]
The fourth cup is filled and the Hallel recital concluded. (114)
Not to us, O Lord, not to us … (Ps 115:1–11)
The Lord has been mindful of all … (Ps 115:12–18)
I love that the Lord should hear … (Ps 116:1–9 and 116:10–11)
How can I repay to the Lord … (Ps 116:12–18)
Praise the Lord, all you nations … (Ps 117)
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good … (Ps 118)
[…]
THE BREATH OF EVERY LIVING THING
The breath of every living thing shall bless your name, O Lord our God, and the spirit of all flesh shall glorify and exalt your memory, our King, forever. From the eternity of the beginning to the eternity of the end, you are God, and except for you we have no redeeming and saving king, a king who is liberating and delivering, provident and compassionate each time we are afflicted with trouble and distress. (115)
We have no king but you, O God of the first things and the last, God of all creatures, the Lord of all generations, who is lauded with many songs of praise, who conducts his universe with mercy and his creatures with compassion. The Lord slumbers not nor sleeps. It is he who awakens the sleeping, and rouses the slumbering, and makes the dumb converse, and loosens the bound, and steadies the falling, and straightens the bent. (116)
To you alone do we give thanks. Though our mouth were full of song like the sea, and our tongue of rejoicing like the multitude of its waves, and our lips of praise like the breadth of the horizon, and our eyes were shining like the sun and the moon, and our hands were spread like the eagles of the sky, and our feet light as the hinds—we should never thank you enough, O Lord our God and God of our fathers, and to bless your name, for one of the thousands of thousands and myriads of myriads of the good you have done with our fathers and us. (117)
From Egypt you have redeemed us, O Lord our God, and from the house of slaves ransomed us, in famine fed us, and in plenty provided us, from the sword saved us, and from the pest delivered us, and from evil and serious illness lifted us. Till now your compassions have helped us, and your mercies have not deserted us; and may you never, O Lord our God, desert us. Therefore, the limbs that you have distributed among us, and the spirit and breath that you have blown into our nostrils, and the tongue which you have placed in our mouths—they shall give thanks and bless, and extol, and glorify, and exalt, and reverence, and sanctify, and crown your name, our King. (118)
For every mouth shall give thanks to you, and every tongue shall swear to you, and every knee shall kneel to you, and every stature bow before you, and all hearts shall fear you, the inward parts and reins shall sing to your name. As it is written, “All my bones shall say, ‘Lord, who is like unto you, who deliver the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?’”51 (119)
Who is like you, and who is equal to you, and who is comparable to you, the God who is great, mighty, and awesome, God most high, master of heaven and earth? We shall praise you, and laud you, and glorify you, and bless your holy name. As it is said, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”52 God, in the might of your power, great in the glory of your name, mighty forever, and awesome in your awesome acts. King, who sits on a high and exalted throne! (120)
Dweller in eternity—High One and Holy One is his name. And it is written, “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous. Praise is comely for the upright.”53 In the mouth of the upright shall you be praised, in the words of the just shall you be blessed, in the tongue of the pious shall you be exalted, and in the midst of the holy shall you be hallowed. (121)
And in the assemblies of the myriads of your folk, the house of Israel, in joyful song your name will be glorified, our King, in every generation. For such is the duty of all created things to you, O Lord our God and God of our fathers, to give thanks, to praise, laud, glorify, extol, honor, bless, exalt, and commend more than all the words of the songs and praises of David the son of Jesse, your servant, your anointed one. (122)
Praised be your name forever, our King, God the King, great and holy in heaven and on earth. For unto you are becoming, O Lord our God and God of our fathers, song and praise, adoration and chant, power and dominion, victory, greatness, and strength, fame and glory, sanctity and sovereignty, blessings and thanksgivings from now until forever. Blessed are you, O Lord, God and King, who are mightily praised, God of thanksgivings, Lord of wonders, who chooses song and psalm, King, God, the life of the world. (123)
The participants lift up their cups of wine and say: (124)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
The fourth cup is drunk while reclining. The following final blessing is then recited. (125)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, for the vine and for the fruit of the vine, for the yield of the field and for the land, pleasant, goodly and broad which you favored and gave as an inheritance to our fathers, to eat of its fruit and to be sated with its goodness. Have pity, O Lord our God upon Israel, your people, upon Jerusalem, your city, upon Sion, the dwelling of your glory, upon your altar and upon your dwelling place. And build Jerusalem, the city of holiness, speedily and in our days and bring us up into its midst, and cause us to rejoice in its rebuilding; let us eat its fruit and be sated with its goodness and bless you for it in holiness and purity. And make us rejoice upon this Festival of Unleavened Bread. For you, O Lord are good and do good to all. And we shall thank you for the land and for the fruit of the vine. Blessed are you, O Lord, for the land and for the fruit of the vine. (126)
Next year in Jerusalem! (127)
5. SHEMAʾ YIŚRAʿEL AND ITS BLESSINGS†
Prayed twice each day (morning and evening), whether privately or in the synagogue, the core of the Shemaʾ Yiśraʿel is a continuous reading from three books of the Torah. Morning prayer begins with two blessings and concludes with one blessing, whereas in the evening there are two concluding blessings. This prayer, at least in its essentials, appears to date from the pre-Christian era.
Two blessings begin the morning prayer: the birkat yotser, which focuses on God as the maker of light; the birkat ahaval, which recalls God’s love shown in the gift of the Torah.
The very heart of the prayer, the Shemaʾ Yiśraʿel (= “hear”), consists of at least one (usually three) biblical passage. The first (Deut 6:4–9) begins with what have been called the most important words of Judaism, namely, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one,” and proceeds to list the most important commands God has given his people. The second passage (Deut 11:12–21) recalls the happy consequences of following God’s will. The third passage (Num 15:37–41) speaks of making tassels to remind one of the Lord’s will and includes a divine self-description in light of the Exodus event.
After the reading of the Shemaʾ Yiśraʿel comes the blessing emet we-yatsibh (“True and firm”), recalling how God’s words are lasting and how God has liberated the people from Egypt. The text concludes with praising the God “who redeems his people Israel,” and thus in the vernacular this blessing is known as the “blessing of redemption.”
Bouyer 58–70 * Di Sante 49–78 * Elbogen (1962) 16–26, 511–15 * Hänggi 35–39 * Millgram 96–101 * Oesterley (1911) 364–68 * Oesterley (1925) 2, 42–51, 121–25 * Werner 5–8
M. Liber, “La récitation du Schéma et des bénédictions,” REJ 57 (1908) 161–93; 58 (1909) 1–22. * L.J. Liebreich, “The Invocation to Prayer at the Beginning of the Yozer Service,” JQR 39 (1948–49) 285–90, 407–12. * A. Baumstark, Liturgie comparée: principes et méthodes pour l’étude historique des liturgies chrétiennes, 3rd ed., Ire 7 (Chevetogne, 1953) 56–58, 65, 73. * S. Gandz, “The Benediction over the Luminaries and the Stars,” JQR 44 (1953–54) 305–25. * A. Baumstark, Comparative Liturgy, rev. B. Botte, ed. F.L. Cross (Westminster, MD, 1958). * C.P. Price, “Jewish Morning Prayers and Early Christian Anaphoras,” AThR 43 (1961) 153–68. * D. Flusser, “Sanktus und Gloria,” in Abraham unser Vater. Juden und Christen im Gespräch über die Bibel (Leiden/Cologne, 1963) 129–52. * J. Heinemann, Prayer in the Period of the Tannaʾim and the Amoraʾim: Its Nature and Its Patterns (Jerusalem, 1964) 37, 41, 61–84, 106, 146–51, 172. * A. Mirsky, “An Ancient Example of the Yotzer Prayer,” in Third World Congress of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem 25th July–1st August 1961 (Jerusalem, 1963) 134ff. * L.J. Liebreich, “The Benediction Immediately Preceding and the One Following the Recital of the Schema,” REJ 125 (1966) 151–65.
1. Yotsera
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, forming the light and creating the darkness,1 making peace and creating the universe, with mercy giving light to the earth and to those dwelling upon it, and in your goodness daily renewing the works of creation. (128)
“How wonderful are your works, Lord. You did all things with wisdom: the earth is full of your creatures.”2 O sublime King, he alone is from then: wonderful, magnificent, exalted from “days of old.”3 (129)
God of the universe, your mercies are multitude, have mercy on us. Ruler of our strength, rock of our refuge, shield of our salvation, our refuge. (130)
Blessed God, great in wisdom, arranged and made the rays of the sun; he formed what is good for the glory of his Name. The towers of his soldiers are his holy ones. They always exalt God; they narrate the glory of the all-powerful one and his holiness. O Lord our God, you are because of the splendor of the works of your hand and because of the stars of the light which you made. They highly prize you. Sèlah. (131)
May you be blessed, our rock, our King, our Redeemer, the Creator of the holy ones. May your Name be glorified forever, our King, the maker of the holy ones. All these stand over the universe and together loudly pronounce with reverence the words of the living God and the King of the universe. All of them are chosen, all are elect, all are all-powerful, and all with awe and trembling do the will of their Creator. All open their mouths in holiness and purity, singing a melody; they bless, glorify, praise, and adore the holy King and proclaim the Name of God who is the powerful King, great and to be feared, for he is holy. And all, one to another, take upon themselves the yoke of the heavenly kingdom and devote themselves to proclaiming the holy God, the Creator, doing so with peace of soul, with refined speech; and with holy sweetness all together respond and say with awe: (132)
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of your glory.”4 (133)
And Ophanim and the holy Hayyotb with loud roaring rise up [before the Seraphim]. From opposite sides they say, Blessed be “the glory of the Lord from its place.”5 (134)
They sing melodies to the blessed God, to God the King, living and eternal; they sing songs and utter praise. He alone does wonderful deeds; he brings about new things; he rules those who do battle; he sows justice; he makes healthy things bloom; he creates healing; he is awesome to praise; he is the God of wonders. (135)
In his goodness he daily renews the works of his creation, as is said, [Give thanks to him] “who made the great lights because his mercy endures forever.”6 (136)
Let a new light shine upon Sion, and may all of us soon be made worthy of his light. (137)
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you create the luminaries. (138)
2. Ahabhah Rabbahc
O Lord, our light, you have loved us with much love. Great and abundant is the kindness you have shown to us. Our Father and our King, have mercy on us and teach us because of our fathers who trusted in you and whom you taught the commandments of life. (139)
Our Father, kind father, you are full of compassion. Have mercy on us. Grant that our hearts might understand, know, hear, learn, teach, serve, do, and fulfill in love all the teachings of your Law. Open our eyes with your love; bind our hearts to your commandments; and bring together our hearts in love and in awe of your Name so that we may never be reproached for eternity. (140)
Because we trust in your holy Name that is great and wondrous, let us rejoice and be glad because of your salvation. Lead us back in peace from the four corners of the world, and have us enter our land as a free people because you are the saving God, the God who has chosen us from among all peoples and tongues, who has led us to your holy Name so that in love we might freely confess you and your unity. (141)
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you chose your people Israel in love. (142)
3. Shemaʾ Yiśraʿel
Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (143)
Deuteronomy 11:13–21
Numbers 15:37–41
4. Emet We-yetsibhd
True and strong, impartial and stable, just and faithful, beloved and cherished, pleasing and agreeable, awesome and majestic, upright and welcome, good and beautiful, such is your word to us forever and ever. (144)
Indeed the God of the universe is our King, who is the rock of Jacob, the shield of our salvation. From generation to generation he endures and his Name remains unchanged for eternity. His words are living and stable, ever faithful and desirable. As they were for our fathers, so they are also for us, for our children, for our generation and for all generations of the seed of Israel his servants. From the first age to the last ages your word is good, enduring forever and ever; it is truth and fidelity, a law that will always endure. (145)
Truly you are the Lord our God and the God of our fathers, our King, the King of our fathers, our Redeemer, the Redeemer of our fathers, our Creator, the rock of our salvation, our liberator, our Savior. Your name exists from eternity; there is no God other than you. (146)
O Lord our God, you redeemed us from Egypt and freed us from the house of slavery. You killed all their firstborn, but you redeemed your firstborn; you divided the Red Sea and drowned the proud; you had the chosen ones pass through it “and the waters covered their adversaries, not one of them remaining.”7 Therefore the chosen ones glorified and exalted you and offered melodies, songs, praises, blessings, and thanksgivings to you, the King, the living and eternal God, the God who is high and exalted, great and highly revered, who humbles the proud and raises up the humble, who leads out the captives, frees the poor, helps the needy, and responds to the people when they cry out to him. (147)
Give praise to God on high: he is blessed and is to be blessed. Moses and the children of Israel joyfully sang a song to you, and all said: “Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you, for you are great in holiness, revered because of your praiseworthy deeds, and doing wonderful things?”8 The redeemed raised up a new song to your Name; on the seashore they were one in confessing and proclaiming your kingdom, saying, “The Lord will reign forever and ever.”9 (148)
O rock of Israel, rise up so as to help Israel and free Judah and Israel according to your promise, O Redeemer. The Lord of hosts is your name, the holy one of Israel. (149)
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you free Israel. (150)
6. SHEMONEH ESRE (THE EIGHTEEN BLESSINGS)†
The Shemoneh Esre, namely, the eighteen (nineteen) blessings that are recited three times a day (morning, afternoon, and evening), is the principal part of pious Jews’ daily prayer. Since they are prayed while one is standing, these blessings are also known as the amidah, from the word amad, meaning to “stand.” They are also called the tefillah, meaning “Prayer,” since they are considered “the” prayer of Judaism.
As to the structure of the Shemoneh Esre, the prayer begins with three blessings whose theme is praise of God. These are followed by twelve (thirteen) intermediate petitions, each ending with a short blessing. The number of petitions differs according to various recensions since blessing fourteen (IERUšALAYIM) is in some traditions divided into two requests, thus resulting in thirteen petitions that in turn result in nineteen blessings in all. Concluding the prayer are three final blessings having the theme of gratitude and thanksgiving.
A certain flexibility is characteristic of the Shemoneh Esre. Embolisms may be added: for example, the kaddish with its “Holy, holy” before the third blessing; also a request for rain added within the ninth blessing, etc. Furthermore, the petitions are not recited on the Sabbath and on feasts. And when prayed in the synagogue, the blessings are said twice: first all together and silently, then aloud with the leader adding any appropriate embolisms (i.e., insertions).
No different than numerous other prayer forms, the Shemoneh Esre is the result of a long historical development and growth. Many hands were at work. For example, the three introductory and the three final blessings go back to the pre-Christian era. On the other hand, blessings twelve (LA-MEšUMADIM) and fourteen (IERUšALAYIM) can be dated after the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. This prayer has come down to us in two main recensions, that of Palestine and that of Babylon (e.g., that of the Seder Rev Amran).
Bouyer 70–78, 121–35, 197–99 * Deiss 9–14 * Di Sante 78–112 * Elbogen (1962) 27–72, 515–23 * Hänggi 40–54 * Millgram 101–8 * Oesterley (1911) 362–64 * Oesterley (1925) 54–67, 127
K. Kohler, “The Origin and Composition of the Eighteen Benedictions,” Hebrew Union College Annual 1 (1924) 387–425. * A. Marmorstein, “The Amidah of the Public Fast Days,” JQR 15 (1924–25) 409–18. * L. Finkelstein, “The Development of the Amidah,” JQR 16 (1925–26) 1–43, 127–70. * L. Finkelstein, “La Kedouscha et les bénédictions du Schema,” REJ 93 (1932) 1–26. * A. Marmorstein, “The Oldest Form of the Eighteen Benedictions,” JQR 34 (1943–44) 137–59. * M. Liber, “Structure and History of the Tefilah,” JQR 40 (1949–50) 331–57. * L.J. Liebreich, “The Intermediate Benedictions of the Amidah,” JQR 42 (1951–52) 423–26. * F.C. Grant, “Modern Study of the Jewish Liturgy,” ZAW 65 (1953) 59–77, especially 61–72. * H.L. Strack and P. Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch IV/1, 2nd ed. (Munich, 1956) 208–49. * S. Zeitlin, “The Tefillah, the Shemoneh Esreh: An Historical Study of the First Canonization of the Hebrew Liturgy,” JQR 54 (1963–64) 208–50. * J. Heinemann, Prayer in the Period of the Tannaʾim and the Amoraʾim: Its Nature and Its Patterns (Jerusalem, 1964) 29–47, 138–48.
Palestinian Recension
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will proclaim your praise.1 (151)
1. [ABHOTH] Barukh attaha
Blessed are you, O Lord our God [and the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Jacob],b the God who is great, powerful, and revered, the God most high, the Lord of heaven and earth, our shield and the shield of our fathers, the God who increases our faithfulness [in every generation]. (152)
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you are the shield of Abraham.
2. [GHEBHUROTH] Attah ghibor
You are powerful, [humbling the proud], strong, [judging tyrants,] living forever, raising the dead, bringing back the wind, pouring forth the dew. (153)
You nourish the living and give life to the dead; [in a twinkling of an eye you have salvation issue forth its shoots]. (154)
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you bring the dead to life.
3. [QEDUŠAH] Qadoš attah
You are holy, and your Name is to be revered. (155)
There is no god other than you. (156)
Blessed are you, O Lord holy God.
4. [BINAH] Hannénu
Our Father, you present us with the knowledge [which is] from you together with the understanding and discernment that comes from your Law. (157)
Blessed are you, O Lord, who graciously give us knowledge.
5. [TEŠUHBHAH] Hašbhénu
Lord, convert us to you, and we will be converted. (158)
“Renew our days as of old.”2
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you are pleased by our converting.
6. [SELIHAH] Selah
Father, forgive our sins against you. Purge [and remove] our sins from before your eyes [because your mercies are many]. (159)
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you pardon many times.
7. [GHEʾULLAH] Reʾeh
Father, look upon our affliction, take up our cause. (160)
You redeem us because of your Name.
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you redeem Israel.
8. [REPHUʾAH] Rephaʾenu
O Lord our God, cure us from the troubles of the heart [and keep dejection and groaning away from us] and apply medicine to our wounds. (161)
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you cure the sick among your people Israel.
9. [BIRKAT HA-ŠANIM] Barékh
O Lord our God, bless this year for us [so that all the fruits of the earth may be abundant. Make the year of our redemption arrive soon.] (162)
May dew and rain fall upon the surface of the earth. Fill the world with the treasures of your goodness. [And bless the work of our hands.] (163)
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you bless the years.
10. [QIBBUTS GALUYOTH] Teqa
May the trumpet sound loudly for our freedom, and lift high the standard for the gathering of our captives. (164)
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you gather the exiles [of your people] Israel.
11. [MIŚPAT] Hašibhah
“Make our judges what they once were, our counselors what they formerly were.”3 And may you alone rule over us. (165)
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you love righteousness.
12. [LA-MEŠHUMADIM] La-mešumadim
May there be no hope for the apostates. (166)
And quickly [in our days] destroy the kingdom of pride. [And may all our enemies and all heretics suddenly perish, and “may they be blotted out of the book of the living and not be written among the just.”4
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you humble the proud.
13. [LA-TSADIQIM] ʿAl gere ha-tsedeq
May your mercies move over the proselytes of justice. (167)
Give us a [good] reward with those who do your will. (168)
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you increase trust for the righteous.
14. [IERUŠALAYIM] Rahèm
O Lord our God, have mercy [in the fullness of your mercies on behalf of Israel your people and] toward Jerusalem [and toward Sion, the dwelling place of your glory, and toward your sanctuary and your house,] and toward the kingdom of David, the One Anointed with your justice. (169)
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of David [the Anointed One], the God [who builds Jerusalem].
15. [TEFILLAH] Śhema
O Lord our God, hear our prayer [and have mercy on us] because you are a gracious and merciful God. (170)
Blessed are you, O Lord, for you hear our prayers.
16. [ABHODAH] Retseh
O Lord our God, may you be pleased to dwell on Sion. (171)
May your servants serve you in Jerusalem. (172)
Blessed are you, O Lord, for we will reverently serve you.
17. [HODAAH] Modim anahnu lakh
O Lord, we give thanks to you, [for you yourself are the Lord] our God [and the God of our fathers]. (173)
We do so because of all your benefits, [for your kindness and mercies by which you have enriched us and] which you have bestowed on us and on our fathers before us. [When we said, “Our feet have strayed, O Lord, your mercy will aid us.”]5 (174)
Blessed are you, O Lord. (175)
It is good to give you thanks. (176)
18. [ŠALOM] Sim Šalom
Grant your peace to Israel [and to your city and to your inheritance]. (177)
Let all of us together bless the Lord, the giver of peace; you are blessed.
† Translated (with adaptations) from E. Lodi, Enchiridion Euchologicum Fontium Liturgicorum (Rome, 1979) 19.
a. Omitted in the qaddish for mourners.
† Translated from Hänggi 5–7.
a. Zemirot: hymns and songs not coming from the psalter but found in the ritual books for Friday and Saturday.
1. See Lev 23:3.
† The proposed primitive text of the Birkat ha-mazon is translated from Finkelstein’s article listed below. All else is translated from Hänggi 8–12.
a. See “The Birkat Ha-Mazon,” Jewish Quarterly Review 19 (1929) 243–59.
b. Finkelstein conjectures that the primitive text had only three blessings.
† Translation (with modifications) from The Passover Haggadah. With English Translation, Introduction, and Commentary based on the commentaries of E.D. Goldschmidt, ed. Nahum N. Glatzer, revised edition (New York, 1953, 1969). Headings in ʾ > are supplied by the present editor.
a. Qiddush: namely, “blessing.”
b. The reference to the “double dipping” is obscure.
c. Shema: see WEC 1:5.
1. Deut 16:3. 2. Deut 6:20. 3. Exod 12:26. 4. Exod 13:8. 5. Exod 13:14. 6. Exod 13:8.
7. Josh 24:2–4. 8. Gen 15:13–14. 9. Deut 26:5. 10. Gen 15:13–14.
11. Gen 47:4. 12. Deut 10:22. 13. Exod 1:7. 14. Ezek 16:7. 15. Deut 26:6. 16. Exod 1:10. 17. Exod 1:11. 18. Exod 1:12–13. 19. Deut 26:7. 20. Exod 2:23. 21. Exod 2:24. 22. Exod 2:25. 23. Exod 1:22. 24. Exod 3:9. 25. Deut 26:8.
26. Exod 12:12. 27. Exod 9:3. 28. 1 Chr 21:16. 29. Deut 4:34. 30. Exod 4:17. 31. Joel 3:3. 32. Exod 8:17.
33. Exod 14:31. 34. Ps 78:49. 35. Ibid.
36. Exod 12:27.
d. Hallel: the “praise” psalms, namely, Psalms 113–18.
37. Exod 12:39. 38. Exod 1:14. 39. Exod 13:8. 40. Deut 6:23.
e. Hillel: a famous rabbi who lived 30 B.C.–9 A.D.
f. Afikoman: the final eating of the matzah.
41. Num 9:11.
42. Deut 8:10.
43. 2 Sam 22:51; Ps 18:50. 44. Ps 34:19. 45. Ps 34:10. 46. Ps 118:1. 47. Ps 145:16. 48. Jer 17:7. 49. Ps 37:25. 50. Ps 29:11.
51. Ps 35:10. 52. Ps. 103:1.
53. Ps 33:1.
† Translated from Hänggi 35–39 where only the formulas for morning prayer are given.
a. The Hebrew for “forming.”
b. Ophanim and Hayyot: two classes of heavenly beings who in Jewish thought assist in watching over and supporting the throne of God.
1. See Isa 45:7. 2. Ps 104:24. 3. Deut 32:7. 4. Isa 6:3. 5. Ezek 3:12.
c. The Hebrew for “with great love.”
d. The Hebrew for “true and strong.”
6. Ps 136:7.
7. Ps 106:11. 8. Exod 15:11. 9. Exod 15:18.
† Translated from Hänggi 41–43.
a. The title in brackets is the name given to the blessing at the time of the Mishnah; the word or words in italics are the blessing’s initial words in Hebrew.
b. Text in brackets appears to have been added to the original version at a later time.
1. Ps 51:15.
2. Lam 5:21.
3. Isa 1:26. 4. Ps 69:28.
5. Ps 94:18.