Morning Prayer

Tefillat shacharit

תְּפִלַּת שַׁחֲרִית

Visible layers

Hebrew

גְּבוּרָתֵנוּ. מַה נֹּאמַר לְפָנֶיךָ
יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ,
הֲלֹא כָּל הַגִּבּוֹרִים כְּאַיִן
לְפָנֶיךָ, וְאַנְשֵׁי הַשֵּׁם כְּלֹא
הָיוּ, וַחֲכָמִים כִּבְלִי מַדָּע,
וּנְבוֹנִים כִּבְלִי הַשְׂכֵּל, כִּי רֹב
מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם תֹּהוּ, וִימֵי חַיֵּיהֶם
הֶבֶל לְפָנֶיךָ, וּמוֹתַר הָאָדָם מִן
הַבְּהֵמָה1 אָיִן,2 כִּי הַכֹּל הָבֶל:
לְבַד הַנְּשָׁמָה הַטְּהוֹרָה שֶׁהִיא
עֲתִידָה לָתֵן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן לְפָנֵי
כִּסֵּא כְבוֹדֶךָ, וְכָל הַגּוֹיִם כְּאַיִן
נֶגְדֶּךָ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: הֵן גּוֹיִם כְּמַר
מִדְּלִי וּכְשַׁחַק מֹאזְנַיִם
נֶחְשָׁבוּ, הֵן אִיִּים כַּדַּק יִטּוֹל:

Sephardi

gevurateinu. Mah nomar lefanecha
Adonai Eloheinu veilohei avoteinu,
halo kol hagibborim ke'ayin
lefanecha, ve'anshei hashem kelo
hayu, vachachamim kivli mada,
uvonim kivli haskeil, ki rov
ma'aseihem tohu, vimei chayeihem
hevel lefanecha, umotar ha'adam min
habeheimah1 ayin,2 ki hakol havel:
l'vad haneshamah hatehorah shehi
atidah laten din vecheshbon lifnei
kisei kevodecha, vechol hagoyim ke'ayin
negdecha, shene'emar: hen goyim kemar
midli ucheshachak moznayim
nechshavu, hen iyim kadak yitol:

English

What can we say as we stand before You, Lord, our God and the God of our fathers? Isn't it true that all the strong men of the world are like nothing to You, and that the famous people of the world are worthless—as if they never existed? Isn't it true that wise men are like people who have no knowledge, and men of great understanding are as if they have no intelligence? Because, really, most of their actions are nothing; the days of their lives have no value to You, because they are involved in empty, meaningless things, and the advantage of man over animal1 is non-existent.2 This is because everything in this world is worthless, except for the pure soul of a person, which will eventually have to give a detailed report of everything it has done in this world when it comes before Your Throne of Glory. All the nations of the world are like nothing before You. As the prophet Isaiah said: Indeed, the nations are like a drop that's left over from the bottom of a bucket of water, which people don't bother to collect. They are considered as meaningless as the dust on scales, which people don't bother to wipe off before weighing something. Indeed, all the islands of the sea are like flying dust to God.

We are God's chosen nation

Hebrew

אֲבָל אֲנַחְנוּ עַמְּךָ בְּנֵי בְרִיתֶךָ,
בְּנֵי אַבְרָהָם אֹהַבְךָ,
שֶׁנִּשְׁבַּעְתָּ לּוֹ בְּהַר הַמּוֹרִיָּה;
זֶרַע יִצְחָק יְחִידוֹ, שֶׁנֶּעֱקַד
עַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ; עֲדַת יַעֲקֹב
בִּנְךָ בְּכוֹרֶךָ, שֶׁמֵּאַהֲבָתְךָ
שֶׁאָהַבְתָּ אוֹתוֹ, וּמִשִּׂמְחָתְךָ
שֶׁשָּׂמַחְתָּ בּוֹ, קָרָאתָ אֶת
שְׁמוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל וִישֻׁרוּן:

Sephardi

Aval anachnu amecha b'nei veritecha,
b'nei Avraham ohavcha,
shenishba'ta lo b'har hamoriyah;
zera Yitzchak yechido, shene'ekad
al gabei hamizbe'ach; adat Ya'akov
bincha bechorecha, shemei'ahavatecha
she'ahavta oto, umisimchatecha
shesamachta bo, karata et
shemo Yisrael vishurun:

English

However, although we—the Jewish Nation—have nothing, we are still worthy because we are Your nation; we are the people of Your Covenant that You made with Abraham, which connects us to You forever, even if we are not worthy. We are the children of Abraham, whom You loved so much, and to whom You promised on Mount Moriah that You would be kind to his children. We are the descendants of Isaac, the only son of Abraham and Sarah, who was tied on top of the altar to be offered as a sacrifice to You. We are the community of Jacob, whom You considered Your firstborn son. Out of Your great love for him and the great joy You received from him, You changed his name and called him Israel, a name that comes from the Hebrew word "sar," which means "ruler," and Yeshurun, a name that comes from the Hebrew word "yashar," which means "straightforward."

We are fortunate to be God's nation and must praise Him

Hebrew

לְפִיכָךְ אֲנַחְנוּ חַיָּבִים לְהוֹדוֹת
לְךָ, וּלְשַׁבֵּחֲךָ וּלְפָאֶרְךָ
וּלְבָרֵךְ וּלְקַדֵּשׁ וְלָתֵת שֶׁבַח
וְהוֹדָיָה לְשִׁמְךָ: אַשְׁרֵינוּ, מַה
טּוֹב חֶלְקֵנוּ, וּמַה נָּעִים גּוֹרָלֵנוּ,
וּמָה יָפָה יְרֻשָּׁתֵנוּ; אַשְׁרֵינוּ,
שֶׁאָנוּ מַשְׁכִּימִים וּמַעֲרִיבִים
עֶרֶב וָבֹקֶר וְאוֹמְרִים פַּעֲמַיִם
בְּכָל יוֹם:

Sephardi

Lefichach anachnu chayavim lehodot
lecha, uleshabechacha ulefa'erecha
ulevarech ulekadesh velatet shevach
vehodyah leshimcha: ashreinu, mah
tov chelkeinu, umah na'im goralenu,
umah yafah yerushatenu; ashreinu,
she'anu mashkimim uma'arivim
erev vavoker ve'omrim pa'amayim
bechol yom:

English

Therefore—because of all these things mentioned above—we must thank You, praise You, and glorify You. We must bless, make holy, and give praise and thanks to Your name for all of these good things. We are so fortunate! How good is our portion and how pleasant is our lot; how fortunate we are that You chose us to be Your nation! How beautiful is the Torah, our inheritance! We are fortunate because we wake up early in the morning and stay up at night to say twice each day:

For transliteration of these words, see page 943.

We declare God's Oneness

Hebrew

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, יְיָ | אֶחָד:

Sephardi

Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai | Echad:

English

Every Jew should listen and understand that the Lord is our God, and that the Lord is the One and only Ruler and King in the seven heavens, the earth, and the four corners of the universe.

Say the following line quietly.

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד:

Sephardi

Baruch shem kevod malchuto le'olam va'ed:

English

The name of God's glorious kingdom is blessed forever and ever.

Love God

Hebrew

וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְיָ אֱלֹהֶיךָ,3
בְּכָל | לְבָבְךָ, וּבְכָל
נַפְשְׁךָ, וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ: וְהָיוּ
הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי

Sephardi

Ve'ahavta et Adonai Elohecha,3
bechol | levavcha, uvechol
nafshecha, uvechol me'odecha: vehayu
hadevarim ha'eleh asher anochi

English

You should love the Lord,3 your God, and keep His commandments with all of your heart, as one does when fulfilling his beloved's request. Love God with all of your soul. Be ready to fulfill all of His commandments, even if you might lose your life. Love God with all of your might. Be ready to fulfill all

Commentary

1 An alternative translation: "The improvement of man comes from the animal." The key to self-improvement lies in the way we deal with our animal instinct. If we make a conscious effort to subdue it, we will reach a higher level of Divine service.

2 When we declare that "man" has no advantage over animals, we are referring only to the physical body of man. The soul that we have and the spiritual connection that we have with God, indeed gives us an advantage over animals. For this reason we add in the following paragraph, "However, we are Your nation, the children of Abraham"—to teach us that it is by doing what God wants, in the tradition of our forefathers, that we strengthen our connection to God and elevate ourselves to a level higher than animals.

3 This can be interpreted as both a command and a promise: we are commanded to love God on a basic level, and we are promised that we will love Him on a deeper, more profound level. When we achieve a feeling of basic love for God by contemplating His Oneness and greatness, He responds by arousing this deeper love within us.