ON THE EVE OF ROSH HASHANAH:
If Rosh Hashanah occurs on Shabbat, the words in brackets are added.
Hebrew
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ
הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ
בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל
(שַׁבָּת וְשֶׁל) יוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן:
Sephardi
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech
ha-olam, asher kidshanu
b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu lehadlik ner shel
(Shabbat v'shel) Yom HaZikaron:
English
Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the universe, Who made us holy with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the light of (Shabbat and) the Day of Remembrance.
Continue with the blessing of שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ at the bottom of the page.
ON THE EVE OF YOM KIPPUR:
If Yom Kippur occurs on Shabbat, the words in parentheses are added.
Hebrew
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ
הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ
בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל
(שַׁבָּת וְשֶׁל) יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים:
Sephardi
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech
ha-olam, asher kidshanu
b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu lehadlik ner shel
(Shabbat v'shel) Yom HaKippurim:
English
Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the universe, Who made us holy with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the light of (Shabbat and) Yom Kippur.
Continue with the blessing of שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ below.
The following blessing is said on every festival except for the last two days of Pesach.
Hebrew
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ
הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ
וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה:
Sephardi
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech
ha-olam, shehecheyanu v'kiyemanu
v'higianu lazman hazeh:
English
Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the universe, Who has given us life, kept us alive, and enabled us to reach this special time.
WELCOMING THE SHABBAT
When a festival, the conclusion of the festival, or Chol Hamoed occurs on Friday night, begin with מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד, page 276. When a festival occurs on a weeknight, begin Maariv with שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת, page 286.
Let us sing to God, Who controls everything
Hebrew
לְכוּ נְרַנְּנָה לַיְיָ, נָרִיעָה
לְצוּר יִשְׁעֵנוּ: נְקַדְּמָה
פָנָיו בְּתוֹדָה, בִּזְמִרוֹת נָרִיעַ
לוֹ: כִּי אֵל גָּדוֹל יְיָ, וּמֶלֶךְ
גָּדוֹל עַל כָּל אֱלֹהִים: אֲשֶׁר
בְּיָדוֹ מֶחְקְרֵי אָרֶץ, וְתוֹעֲפוֹת
הָרִים לוֹ: אֲשֶׁר לוֹ הַיָּם וְהוּא
עָשָׂהוּ, וְיַבֶּשֶׁת יָדָיו יָצָרוּ:
בֹּאוּ נִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְנִכְרָעָה,
נִבְרְכָה לִפְנֵי יְיָ עֹשֵׂנוּ: כִּי
הוּא אֱלֹהֵינוּ וַאֲנַחְנוּ עַם
מַרְעִיתוֹ וְצֹאן<sup>1</sup> יָדוֹ, הַיּוֹם
אִם בְּקֹלוֹ תִשְׁמָעוּ:
Sephardi
Lekhu nerannenah la-Adonai, nari'ah
le-tzur yish'einu: nekaddemah
fanav betodah, bi-zemirot nari'a
lo: ki El gadol Adonai, umelech
gadol al kol elohim: asher
b'yado mehkerei aretz, ve-to'afot
harim lo: asher lo hayam vehu
asahu, ve-yabbeshet yadav yatzaru:
Bo'u nishtahaveh ve-nikhra'ah,
nivrekhah lifnei Adonai osenu: ki
hu Eloheinu va'anachnu am
mar'ito vetzon<sup>1</sup> yado, hayom
im be-kolo tishma'u:
English
Come, let us sing to the Lord before the arrival of Shabbat. Let us raise our voices in joy to God, the strong Rock Who is our salvation. Let us approach Him with thanks. Let us raise our voices to Him in song, because the Lord is a great God and a great King over all heavenly beings. God rules everything; the secrets buried in the depths of the earth are in His hands, and the mountain peaks are His. The sea is His, because He made it; His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us prostrate, bow down, and bend our knees before the Lord, our Maker, because He is our God, and we are the nation that He tends. We are like sheep<sup>1</sup> that are guided gently by God’s caring hands. Moses says to the Jewish Nation: God will be kind to you immediately, today, if you listen to His voice.
We shouldn’t test God as we did in the desert
Hebrew
אַל תַּקְשׁוּ לְבַבְכֶם
כִּמְרִיבָה, כְּיוֹם מַסָּה בַּמִּדְבָּר:
אֲשֶׁר נִסּוּנִי אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם,
בְּחָנוּנִי, גַּם רָאוּ פָעֳלִי:
אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה אָקוּט בְּדוֹר
וָאֹמַר עַם תֹּעֵי לֵבָב הֵם,
וְהֵם לֹא יָדְעוּ דְרָכָי: אֲשֶׁר
נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי בְאַפִּי, אִם יְבֹאוּן
אֶל מְנוּחָתִי:
Sephardi
Al takshu levavkhem
ki-merivah, k’yom massah bamidbar:
asher nissuni avoteikhem,
behanuni, gam ra'u fo'oli:
arba'im shanah akut be-dor
va'omar am to'ei levav hem,
ve-hem lo yad'u derakhai: asher
nishba'ti ve-api, im yevo'un
el menuhati:
English
God says to the Jewish Nation: Do not harden your hearts as you did on the day you were at Meribah—also known as Massah—in the desert. That was the place where your ancestors tested Me; they tested My ability, to see whether I could provide them with water, even though they had seen My miraculous deeds in Egypt, during the splitting of the Sea of Reeds and throughout their travels in the desert. For forty years I quarreled with the generation that left Egypt as they traveled through the desert. I said that they are a nation of people whose hearts are misguided; they make bad choices and they do not know My ways. I was so upset that I angrily promised that the people of that generation would not come to My resting place, the Land of Israel.