Shacharit For Shabbat And Festivals

Visible layers

Hebrew

בִּרְצוֹנוֹ,1 בָּעֶרֶב יָלִין בֶּכִי
וְלַבֹּקֶר רִנָּה: וַאֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי
בְשַׁלְוִי, בַּל אֶמּוֹט לְעוֹלָם:
יְיָ בִּרְצוֹנְךָ הֶעֱמַדְתָּה
לְהַרְרִי עֹז, הִסְתַּרְתָּ פָנֶיךָ
הָיִיתִי נִבְהָל: אֵלֶיךָ יְיָ אֶקְרָא,
וְאֶל יְיָ אֶתְחַנָּן: מַה בֶּצַע
בְּדָמִי בְּרִדְתִּי אֶל שָׁחַת,
הֲיוֹדְךָ עָפָר הֲיַגִּיד אֲמִתֶּךָ:2
שְׁמַע יְיָ וְחָנֵּנִי, יְיָ הֱיֵה עֹזֵר
לִי: הָפַכְתָּ מִסְפְּדִי לְמָחוֹל
לִי,3 פִּתַּחְתָּ שַׂקִּי וַתְּאַזְּרֵנִי
שִׂמְחָה: לְמַעַן יְזַמֶּרְךָ כָבוֹד
וְלֹא יִדֹּם,4 יְיָ אֱלֹהַי לְעוֹלָם
אוֹדֶךָ:

Sephardi

Birtzono,1 ba'erev yalin bechi
ve-laboker rinah: va'ani amarti
ve-shalvi, bal emot le'olam:
Adonai birtzonecha he-emadtah
le-hareri oz, histarta paneicha
hayiti nivhal: eilecha Adonai ekra,
ve-el Adonai etchanan: mah betza
bedami beridti el shachat,
ha-yodcha afar ha-yaggid amitecha:2
Shema Adonai ve-chonneni, Adonai heyeh ozer
li: hafachta mispedi le-machol
li,3 pitachta sakki va-te'azzereni
simchah: lema'an yezammercha kavod
v'lo yidom,4 Adonai Elohai le'olam
odecha:

English

to, He gives us long life.1 When a person goes to bed at night crying because he regrets his sins, God accepts his repentance, and he will get up in the morning with joy. When life was calm for me and my evil inclination had no control over me, I said to myself that I would never falter and sin. But Lord, it is only through Your favor that You supported my mountain of strength—my ability to stand strong. When You hid Your face from me, I was alarmed and afraid of the troubles that might happen to me. I called out to You, Lord; I begged the Lord: What will You gain by my death, by my going down to be buried in a grave? After I pass away, my body will become dust. Can dust praise You or tell of Your truth? It is better that I remain, so that I can praise You.2 Lord, please listen to me and be gracious to me. Lord, be my Helper. You turned my mourning into dancing;3 You loosened the strings of my sackcloth, and You clothed me in joy. You took away my sadness and made me happy with the news that You had forgiven my sins. Therefore, my soul will always sing to You; it will not be quiet.4 Lord, my God, I will praise You forever.

The following paragraph is said while standing.

God is King

Hebrew

״ יְיָ מֶלֶךְ, יְיָ מָלָךְ, יְיָ יִמְלֹךְ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד:
יְיָ מֶלֶךְ, יְיָ מָלָךְ, יְיָ יִמְלֹךְ לְעוֹלָם
וָעֶד: וְהָיָה יְיָ לְמֶלֶךְ עַל כָּל הָאָרֶץ,
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה יְיָ אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד:

Sephardi

" Adonai Melech, Adonai Malach, Adonai yimloch le'olam va'ed:
Adonai Melech, Adonai Malach, Adonai yimloch le'olam
va'ed: vehayah Adonai le-Melech al kol ha'aretz,
bayom hahu yihyeh Adonai echad ushemo echad:

English

“ The Lord is King, the Lord was always King, and the Lord will always be King, forever and ever. The Lord is King, the Lord was always King, and the Lord will always be King, forever and ever. The Lord will be King over the entire earth. On that day, when the Redemption arrives, the Lord will be One, and His name will be One.

Let us praise God’s name

Hebrew

הוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וְקַבְּצֵנוּ
מִן הַגּוֹיִם, לְהוֹדוֹת
לְשֵׁם קָדְשֶׁךָ, לְהִשְׁתַּבֵּחַ
בִּתְהִלָּתֶךָ: בָּרוּךְ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵי
יִשְׂרָאֵל מִן הָעוֹלָם וְעַד
הָעוֹלָם, וְאָמַר כָּל הָעָם אָמֵן,
הַלְלוּיָהּ: כָּל הַנְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּל
יָהּ הַלְלוּיָהּ:5

Sephardi

Hoshienu Adonai Eloheinu ve-kabbetzenu
min hagoyim, lehodot
l'shem kodshecha, le-hishtabbeach
bitehilatecha: Baruch Adonai Elohei
Yisrael min ha-olam ve'ad
ha-olam, ve-amar kol ha'am amen,
Halleluyah: kol haneshamah tehallel
Yah Halleluyah:5

English

Save us, Lord, our God. Gather us together from among all the nations across the world, so that we can give thanks to Your holy name and be glorified by praising You. When we praise You, we become glorious, because other nations see that we are Your nation. We should praise God by saying, “The Lord, the God of the Children of Israel, is blessed forever, from this world to the next world.” All the people should say, “Amen,” showing that they agree with everything that was just said. Praise the Lord! All creations that have a soul should praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!5

The wonders of the heavens show God’s greatness

Hebrew

לַמְנַצֵּחַ מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד:
הַשָּׁמַיִם מְסַפְּרִים
כְּבוֹד אֵל, וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו מַגִּיד
הָרָקִיעַ:6 יוֹם לְיוֹם7 יַבִּיעַ
אֹמֶר,8 וְלַיְלָה לְּלַיְלָה יְחַוֶּה
דָּעַת: אֵין אֹמֶר וְאֵין דְּבָרִים,
בְּלִי נִשְׁמָע קוֹלָם: בְּכָל הָאָרֶץ
יָצָא קַוָּם וּבִקְצֵה תֵבֵל מִלֵּיהֶם,
לַשֶּׁמֶשׁ שָׂם אֹהֶל בָּהֶם: וְהוּא
כְּחָתָן יֹצֵא מֵחֻפָּתוֹ, יָשִׂישׂ

Sephardi

Lamnatzei'ach mizmor ledavid:
Hashamayim mesapperim
kevod El, uma'aseh yadav magid
ha-rakia:6 yom l'yom7 yabbia
omer,8 ve-laylah le-laylah yechavveh
da'at: ein omer ve-ein devarim,
beli nishma kolam: bechol ha'aretz
yatza kavam u-viktze tevel milleihem,
la-shemesh sam ohel bahem: vehu
ke-chatan yotze me-chuppato, yasis

English

This is a song that King David wrote for the choirmaster of the Levites, to be sung in the Holy Temple: The amazing things in the heavens tell us about the honor and greatness of the Lord,6 Who created them. The stars and planets in the sky proclaim and show God’s great handiwork. Day to day,7 the sun rising is like speech8 streaming forth, telling of God’s greatness. Night to night, the shining moon and stars express understanding of God’s greatness. There is no speech and no words from these creations; their voices are not heard. Rather, they reveal God’s greatness through, for example, their orbit around the entire earth, and they spread their message of God’s greatness to the end of the world.

Commentary

1 This verse can be interpreted as follows, “When we take a moment” to think about God, we will realize that “in His anger, there is life.” Unlike human anger, which tends to be destructive, God’s anger—and the punishments that mankind receive as a result—is constructive. It prompts us to repent and forge a closer connection to God, which gives us true life.

2 Although the earth, like all creations, praises God, its praises cannot be compared to the level of understanding and appreciation of God that a human being can reach …

3 The transformation of King David’s mourning into happiness is symbolic of the transformation of evil into good, which we can achieve through dedication and self-sacrifice. A historic example of such a transformation is the story of Purim, in which the evil plot of Haman was overturned, and “mourning was turned into joy” as a result of the self-sacrifice of Esther and the Jewish Nation. The ultimate transformation will occur in the era of the Redemption, when all bitterness will turn into joy and evil will be transformed to good.

4 The word כָבוֹד, translated here as “soul,” literally means “glory.” It also refers to God’s glorious Divine Presence, which descends into the world and is constantly yearning to return to its source.

5 Literally, “all of the soul.” In addition to praising God with our mouths, we must do so with all the faculties of our soul—our thoughts, words, and actions.

6 The heavenly creations (the planets and stars) each have their own specific orbit, yet they exist in perfect balance and harmony despite their differences. With this, the “heavens speak” to us, displaying the wonders of the universe and infinite power of God their creator.

7 Each day is like a proud soldier returning from victory, praising his general. When a person does a good deed on a particular day, that day prides itself and “tells” the others about it.

8 The word אֹמֶר is the acronym for אֵשׁ, מַיִם, רוּחַ (fire, water, and air). Fire represents prayer—rising above our material concerns and reaching up to God, just as fire reaches upward. Water represents kindness—caring about those who are less fortunate and in low spirits, just as the nature of water is to flow to the lowest place. Air represents Torah study—the breath of Torah study—reciting words of Torah.