Morning Prayer

Tefillat shacharit

תְּפִלַּת שַׁחֲרִית

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Hebrew

וַיִּשָּׂא אַבְרָהָם אֶת עֵינָיו
וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה אַיִל, אַחַר נֶאֱחַז
בַּסְּבַךְ בְּקַרְנָיו, וַיֵּלֶךְ אַבְרָהָם
וַיִּקַּח אֶת הָאַיִל, וַיַּעֲלֵהוּ לְעֹלָה
תַּחַת בְּנוֹ: וַיִּקְרָא אַבְרָהָם שֵׁם
הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא, יְיָ יִרְאֶה, אֲשֶׁר
יֵאָמֵר הַיּוֹם, בְּהַר יְיָ יֵרָאֶה:
וַיִּקְרָא מַלְאַךְ יְיָ אֶל
אַבְרָהָם שֵׁנִית מִן הַשָּׁמָיִם:
וַיֹּאמֶר, בִּי נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי נְאֻם יְיָ,
כִּי יַעַן אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ אֶת הַדָּבָר
הַזֶּה, וְלֹא חָשַׂכְתָּ אֶת בִּנְךָ
אֶת יְחִידְךָ: כִּי בָרֵךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ,
וְהַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה אֶת זַרְעֲךָ
כְּכוֹכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם וְכַחוֹל אֲשֶׁר
עַל שְׂפַת הַיָּם, וְיִרַשׁ זַרְעֲךָ אֵת
שַׁעַר אֹיְבָיו: וְהִתְבָּרְכוּ בְזַרְעֲךָ
כֹּל גּוֹיֵי הָאָרֶץ, עֵקֶב1 אֲשֶׁר
שָׁמַעְתָּ בְּקֹלִי: וַיָּשָׁב אַבְרָהָם
אֶל נְעָרָיו, וַיָּקֻמוּ וַיֵּלְכוּ יַחְדָּו
אֶל בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, וַיֵּשֶׁב אַבְרָהָם
בִּבְאֵר שָׁבַע:

Sephardi

Vayisa Avraham et einav
vayar v'hineh ayil, achar ne'echaz
bas'vach b'karnav, vayeilech Avraham
vayikach et ha'ayil, vaya'alehu l'olah
tachat beno: Vayikra Avraham shem
hamakom hahu, Adonai yir'eh, asher
ye'amer hayom, b'har Adonai yera'eh:
Vayikra mal'ach Adonai el
Avraham shenit min hashamayim:
Vayomer, bi nishba'ti n'um Adonai,
ki ya'an asher asita et hadavar
hazeh, v'lo chasachta et bincha
et yechidecha: Ki varech avarech'cha,
v'harbeh arbeh et zar'acha
k'chochvei hashamayim v'chachol asher
al sefat hayam, v'yirash zar'acha et
sha'ar oyvav: V'hitbarchu v'zar'acha
kol goyei ha'aretz, eikev1 asher
shamata b'koli: Vayashav Avraham
el n'arav, vayakumu vayeilchu yachdav
el Be'er Shava, vayeshev Avraham
biv'eir Shava:

English

After the angel finished speaking, Abraham looked up and saw a ram that was trapped; it was caught by its horns in the branches. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering instead of his son. Abraham called the name of that place "The Lord Will See," because in the future, God will see that His presence rests there. To this day, people say about this place, "On this mountain, the Lord will appear to the Jewish Nation." An angel of the Lord called out to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, "The Lord says: I have made an oath in My name that because you did this thing—because you were ready to offer Isaac as a sacrifice in My honor, and you did not keep your only son from Me—I will bless you greatly and I will multiply your descendants. They will be so numerous that it will be impossible to count them, just as it is impossible to count the stars in the heavens and the sand on the seashore. Your children will conquer and inherit the cities of their enemies and control the cities' gates. All the nations of the earth will bless themselves that they should be like your children, because they will see that your children are blessed. This will happen because1 you listened to My voice and followed My instructions." Abraham then returned to his helpers, Eliezer and Ishmael, and they got up and went together to Beersheba, and Abraham stayed for a short time in Beersheba before returning home to Hebron.

On days when Tachanun is not said (see page 108), the following is not said:

May God be kind to us and redeem us from exile in the merit of the Binding of Isaac

Hebrew

רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּבַשׁ
אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ אֶת
רַחֲמָיו מֵעַל בֶּן יְחִידוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹת
רְצוֹנְךָ בְּלֵבָב שָׁלֵם, כֵּן יִכְבְּשׁוּ

Sephardi

Ribono shel olam, kemo shekavash
Avraham avinu et
rachamav mei'al ben yechido la'asot
retzonekha b'levav shalem, ken yichbeshu

English

Master of the universe! Just as Abraham our forefather suppressed his feelings of mercy toward his only son, Isaac, during the Binding of Isaac, in order to wholeheartedly carry out Your will, so may Your feelings of mercy toward us suppress Your anger against us, and may Your

Hebrew

רַחֲמֶיךָ אֶת כַּעַסְךָ מֵעָלֵינוּ,
וְיִגֹּלוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ עַל מִדּוֹתֶיךָ.
וְתִתְנַהֵג עִמָּנוּ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ בְּמִדַּת
הַחֶסֶד וּבְמִדַּת הָרַחֲמִים, וְתִכָּנֵס
לָנוּ לִפְנִים מִשּׁוּרַת הַדִּין,2
וּבְטוּבְךָ הַגָּדוֹל יָשׁוּב חֲרוֹן
אַפְּךָ מֵעַמְּךָ וּמֵעִירְךָ וּמֵאַרְצְךָ
וּמִנַּחֲלָתֶךָ,

Sephardi

Rachamecha et ka'ascha mei'aleinu,
v'yigolu rachamecha al midoteicha.
V'titnaheg imanu Adonai Eloheinu b'midat
hachesed uv'midat harachamim, v'tikanes
lanu lifnim mishurat hadin,2
uv'tuvcha hagadol yashuv charon
ap'cha mei'amcha umei'ircha umei'artzecha
uminachalatecha,

English

mercy overpower Your attribute of strictness. Lord, our God, act toward us with the attribute of kindness and the attribute of mercy and be lenient in Your judgment with us.2 In Your great goodness and kindness may You turn Your strong anger away from the Jewish Nation, Your people, from Jerusalem, Your city, from the Land of Israel, Your land, and from the Holy Temple, Your heritage.

Hebrew

וְקַיֵּם לָנוּ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֶת
הַדָּבָר שֶׁהִבְטַחְתָּנוּ בְּתוֹרָתֶךָ,
עַל יְדֵי מֹשֶׁה עַבְדֶּךָ מִפִּי
כְבוֹדֶךָ כָּאָמוּר: וְזָכַרְתִּי אֶת
בְּרִיתִי יַעֲקֹב, וְאַף אֶת בְּרִיתִי
יִצְחָק, וְאַף אֶת בְּרִיתִי אַבְרָהָם
אֶזְכֹּר וְהָאָרֶץ אֶזְכֹּר: וְנֶאֱמַר:
וְאַף גַּם זֹאת בִּהְיוֹתָם בְּאֶרֶץ
אֹיְבֵיהֶם, לֹא מְאַסְתִּים וְלֹא
גְעַלְתִּים לְכַלֹּתָם,3 לְהָפֵר בְּרִיתִי
אִתָּם, כִּי אֲנִי יְיָ אֱלֹהֵיהֶם:
וְנֶאֱמַר: וְזָכַרְתִּי לָהֶם בְּרִית

Sephardi

V'kayem lanu Adonai Eloheinu et
hadavar shehivtachtanu b'toratecha,
al yedei Moshe avdecha mipi
kevodecha ka'amur: V'zacharti et
beriti Ya'akov, v'af et beriti
Yitzchak, v'af et beriti Avraham
ezkor v'ha-aretz ezkor: Vene'emar:
V'af gam zot bihyotam b'eretz
oyveihem, lo me'astim v'lo
g'altim l'chalotam,3 l'hafer beriti
itam, ki ani Adonai Eloheihem:
Vene'emar: V'zacharti lahem berit

English

Fulfill for us, Lord, our God, that which You promised to us in Your Torah, which was told to us by Your servant Moses, who heard it from the mouth of Your glory, as it says in the Torah: I will free the Jewish Nation from exile because I will remember My Covenant with Jacob, and also My Covenant with Isaac, and My Covenant with Abraham I will remember. I will also remember the Land of Israel. And God also says in the Torah: But even then, when the Children of Israel are in exile in the land of their enemies, I promise that I will not despise them because of their sins, and I will not be disgusted with them to the point that I will want to destroy them3 and cancel My Covenant with them, because I am the Lord, their God. And God says in the Torah: I will remember for the sake of the Children of Israel the Covenant I made with their ancestors, just as I remembered and kept My promise to them when I took their children out of the land of Egypt before the eyes of the nations, in order to be their God. I am the Lord.

Commentary

1 The Hebrew word used in this instance, עֵקֶב, can be literally translated as "heel." Abraham was so spiritually attuned that his entire body—down to the heels of his feet—was able to feel and "hear" God's word.

2 An alternative translation: "And deal with us beyond the letter of the law." Here we are asking God to be lenient with us in the merit of Abraham's conduct during the Binding of Isaac, when God told him "Please take your son." Although the word "please" indicates that this was a request, not a command, Abraham went "beyond the letter of the law" and faithfully carried it out. We therefore ask God to deal with us in kind—beyond the letter of the law—in his merit.

3 The Hebrew term used here, לְכַלֹּתָם, is related to the word כַּלָּה, "bride." God assures us that He will never "hate" us nor be "disgusted" with us, because we are His "bride"—we have a powerful, unique relationship with Him.