Shema and Its Blessings

Keriat Shema uvirchotehah

קריאת שמע וברכותיה

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Ps. 104

Hebrew

הַמֵּאִיר לָאָרֶץ וְלַדָּרִים עָלֶיהָ בְּרַחֲמִים
וּבְטוּבוֹ מְחַדֵּשׁ בְּכָל יוֹם תָּמִיד מַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית.
מָה־רַבּוּ מַעֲשֶׂיךָ יְהֹוָה, כֻּלָּם בְּחָכְמָה עָשִׂיתָ
מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ קִנְיָנֶךָ:
הַמֶּלֶךְ הַמְרוֹמָם לְבַדּוֹ מֵאָז
הַמְשֻׁבָּח וְהַמְפֹאָר וְהַמִּתְנַשֵּׂא מִימוֹת עוֹלָם.
אֱלֹהֵי עוֹלָם, בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים רַחֵם עָלֵינוּ
אֲדוֹן עֻזֵּנוּ, צוּר מִשְׂגַּבֵּנוּ, מָגֵן יִשְׁעֵנוּ, מִשְׂגָּב בַּעֲדֵנוּ:

Sephardi

Hame'ir la'aretz veladarim aleihah berachamim
Uvetuvo mechadesh bechol yom tamid ma'aseh vereshit.
Mah-rabu ma'asecha Adonai, kulam bechochmah asita
Male'ah ha'aretz kinyanecha:
Hamelech hameromam levado me'az
Hameshubach vehamefo'ar vehamitnasei mimot olam.
Elohei olam, berachamecha harabim rachem aleinu
Adon uzenu, tzur misgabenu, magen yish'einu, misgav ba'adenu:

English

In compassion He gives light to the earth and its inhabitants, and in His goodness daily, continually, renews the work of creation. How numerous are Your works LORD; You made them all in wisdom; the earth is full of Your creations. He is the King who alone was exalted since time began, praised, glorified and raised high from days of old. Eternal God, in Your great compassion, have compassion on us, LORD of our strength, Rock of our refuge, Shield of our salvation, Stronghold of our safety.

Hebrew

אֵין עֲרוֹךְ לָךְ
וְאֵין זוּלָתֶךָ
אֶפֶס בִּלְתֶּךָ
וּמִי דּוֹמֶה לָךְ:

Sephardi

Ein aroch lach
Ve'ein zulatecha
Efes biltecha
Umi domeh lach:

English

None can be compared to You, there is none besides You; None without You. Who is like You?

Hebrew

אֵין עֲרוֹךְ לְךָ, יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ, בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה
וְאֵין זוּלָתְךָ, מַלְכֵּנוּ, לְחַיֵּי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא
אֶפֶס בִּלְתְּךָ, גּוֹאֲלֵנוּ, לִימוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ
וְאֵין דּוֹמֶה לְךָ, מוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ, לִתְחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים.

Sephardi

Ein aroch lecha, Adonai Eloheinu, ba'olam hazeh
Ve'ein zulatecha, malkeinu, lechayei ha'olam haba
Efes biltecha, go'alenu, limot hamashiach
Ve'ein domeh lecha, moshi'enu, litchiyat hameitim.

English

None can be compared to You, LORD our God – in this world. There is none besides You, our King – in the life of the World to Come. There is none but You, our Redeemer – in the days of the Messiah. There is none like You, our Savior – at the resurrection of the dead.

Commentary

אֵין עֲרוֹךְ לָךְ None can be compared to You: a fourfold statement of the uniqueness of God, each phrase of which is then expanded in the following lines. The fourfold structure of many early rabbinic prayers reflects the influence of Jewish mysticism, which saw reality in terms of four dimensions of increasing spirituality: the world of action, Asiya; the world of formation, Yetzira; the world of creation, Beria; and the world of Emanation, Atzilut.

This world ... the World to Come: the prayer itemizes four time-zones: (1) this world that we inhabit now; (2) the World to Come, according to Maimonides, the realm of the soul after death; (3) the days of the Messiah, when the Temple will be rebuilt, the rule of David will be restored and peace and justice will prevail in the affairs of mankind; and (4) the resurrection of the dead, the final denouement of history, when those who have died will live again.

… before the Shema. The first, but not the other blessings, is enlarged in honor of the Shabbat, because its theme is creation, and Shabbat is “a remembrance of the work of creation.”

מְחַדֵּשׁ בְּכָל יוֹם תָּמִיד Daily, continually, renews the work of creation: Rabbi Judah HaLevi explained the difference between creation-from-something (Yetzira) and creation-from-nothing (Beria). When a carpenter makes a table from wood, the table continues to exist after the creative act is finished. When one makes something from nothing, however, the creative act must be continually renewed, otherwise the creation would cease to be. Divine creation is creation-from-nothing, and is thus perpetually reenacted. This prayer invites us to a sense of wonder at the fact of existence: “It is not how the world is, but that it is, which is the mystical” (Wittgenstein).