Morning Blessings

birchot hashachar

ברכות השחר

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Israeli: ' marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). - separates syllables that would otherwise run together.

How to read the transliterations

שִׁיר שֶׁל יוֹם לְשַׁבָּת, רֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ, וְהָרְגָלִים

Psalms for Shabbat, New Moon, and Festivals

From the following pages, psalms may be recited, as suits the occasion. Further weekday psalms may be found on pages 433–438.

FOR SHABBAT: PSALM 92

Hebrew

הַיּוֹם יוֹם שַׁבָּת קֹדֶשׁ, שֶׁבּוֹ הָיוּ הַלְוִיִּם אוֹמְרִים בְּבֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ:

Israeli

hayom yom Shabat kodesh, shebo hayu haleviyim omerim beveit hamikdash:

English

This day is Shabbat, when the Levites would chant this psalm in the Temple:

Hebrew

מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת
טוֹב לְהֹדוֹת לַיהֹוָה, וּלְזַמֵּר לְשִׁמְךָ עֶלְיוֹן.
לְהַגִּיד בַּבֹּקֶר חַסְדֶּךָ, וֶאֱמוּנָתְךָ בַּלֵּילוֹת.
עֲלֵי עָשׂוֹר וַעֲלֵי נָבֶל, עֲלֵי הִגָּיוֹן בְּכִנּוֹר.
כִּי שִׂמַּחְתַּנִי יְהֹוָה בְּפָעֳלֶךָ, בְּמַעֲשֵׂי יָדֶיךָ אֲרַנֵּן.
מַה גָּדְלוּ מַעֲשֶׂיךָ יְהֹוָה, מְאֹד עָמְקוּ מַחְשְׁבֹתֶיךָ.
אִישׁ בַּעַר לֹא יֵדָע, וּכְסִיל לֹא יָבִין אֶת זֹאת.
בִּפְרֹחַ רְשָׁעִים כְּמוֹ עֵשֶׂב וַיָּצִיצוּ כָּל פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן,
לְהִשָּׁמְדָם עֲדֵי עַד.
וְאַתָּה מָרוֹם לְעֹלָם יְהֹוָה.
כִּי הִנֵּה אֹיְבֶיךָ יְהֹוָה, כִּי הִנֵּה אֹיְבֶיךָ יֹאבֵדוּ,
יִתְפָּרְדוּ כָּל פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן.
וַתָּרֶם כִּרְאֵים קַרְנִי, בַּלֹּתִי בְּשֶׁמֶן רַעֲנָן.
וַתַּבֵּט עֵינִי בְּשׁוּרָי, בַּקָּמִים עָלַי מְרֵעִים תִּשְׁמַעְנָה אָזְנָי.

Israeli

mizmor shir leyom hashabat
tov lehodot ladonai, ulezamer leshimcha Elyon.
lehagid baboker chasdecha, ve-emunatcha baleilot.
alei asor va-alei navel, alei higayon b'chinor.
ki simachtani Adonai b'fo-olecha, b'ma-asei yadecha aranen.
mah godlu ma-asecha Adonai, me-od ameku machshevotecha.
ish ba-ar lo yeda, uchsil lo yavin et zot.
bifroach resha-im k'mo esev vayatzitzu kol po-alei aven,
lehishamedam adei ad.
ve-atah marom le-olam Adonai.
ki hineh oyvecha Adonai, ki hineh oyvecha yovedu,
yitparedu kol po-alei aven.
vatarem kireim karni, baloti b'shemen ra-anan.
vatabet eini b'shurai, bakamim alai mere-im tishmanah oznai.

English

A PSALM: SONG FOR THE DAY OF SHABBAT Good it is to give You thanks, Adonai, and to chant unto Your name, Most High; to declare Your love at dawn, Your faithfulness through each night. Play the lute, pluck the harp, let the lyre’s sound rise up. With Your deeds You gladdened me, Adonai, and of Your handiwork I shall sing. How magnificent Your works, Adonai, how profound Your designs! The arrogant cannot understand, the fool cannot grasp this: the wicked spring up like grass and every doer of evil blossoms, only to be destroyed forever—but You, Adonai, remain exalted for all time. Surely Your foes, Adonai, surely Your foes shall perish; all who commit evil shall be scattered. As a wild bull lifts up its horn, so You lifted my head high, anointing it with fresh oil. When my enemies gather against me, my gaze stays steady, for my ears attend and hear:

Psalm 92

Hebrew

צַדִּיק כַּתָּמָר יִפְרָח, כְּאֶרֶז בַּלְּבָנוֹן יִשְׂגֶּה.
שְׁתוּלִים בְּבֵית יְהֹוָה, בְּחַצְרוֹת אֱלֹהֵינוּ יַפְרִיחוּ.
עוֹד יְנוּבוּן בְּשֵׂיבָה, דְּשֵׁנִים וְרַעֲנַנִּים יִהְיוּ.
לְהַגִּיד כִּי יָשָׁר יְהֹוָה, צוּרִי, וְלֹא עַוְלָתָה בּוֹ.

Israeli

tzadik katamar yifrach, ke-erez balevanon yisgeh.
sh'tulim beveit Adonai, b'chatzrot Eloheinu yafrichu.
od yenuvun b'seivah, d'shenim vera-ananim yihyu.
lehagid ki yashar Adonai, tzuri, velo avlatah bo.

English

Like the date palm the righteous flourish, like a cedar in Lebanon they thrive; set in Adonai’s house, they bloom in our God’s courtyards. Even in old age they stay fruitful, yet fresh and bountiful, declaring: Adonai is upright, my rock in whom no flaw is found.

Here some congregations recite Mourner’s Kaddish; see page 121.

Commentary

SHABBAT AND FESTIVAL PSALMS. Since the late Middle Ages, it has been customary to recite a special psalm for each day of the week, a custom based on the Mishnah’s report that these psalms were recited in the Temple by the Levites (Tamid 7:4). Tractate Sofrim (18:3–4), a minor tractate of the Talmud, records that on festivals, other psalms appropriate to these occasions were recited. Accordingly, we include here the traditional psalm for Shabbat and the New Moon, as well as a psalm for each of the festivals.

PSALM 92 begins by contemplating the wonder of creation and ends with a vision of the righteous flourishing in God’s house. It thus celebrates two themes of Shabbat: Shabbat as the day of appreciating creation and Shabbat as a taste of redemption.

ALL WHO COMMIT EVIL WILL BE SCATTERED יִתְפָּרְדוּ כָּל־פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן. In this specific vision of the end-time, enemies are not destroyed, but simply made ineffective.

ANOINTED IT WITH FRESH OIL בַּלֹּתִי בְּשֶׁמֶן רַעֲנָן. The Hebrew may be translated “You anointed me with fresh oil,” but Radak (David Kimhi, 1160–1235, Provence) suggests that the object of the verb is the speaker’s head mentioned in the first part of the verse; the anointing is ceremonial, giving the speaker a special divine function and blessing. The faithful thus become God’s royal entourage.