''Shacharit'' ( he, שַחֲרִית ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in
Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning ''
tefillah
Jewish prayer ( he, תְּפִלָּה, ; plural ; yi, תּפֿלה, tfile , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with i ...
'' (prayer) of
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...
, one of the three daily prayers.
Different traditions identify different primary components of ''Shacharit''. Essentially all agree that ''
pesukei dezimra'', the
Shema Yisrael and its
blessings, and the ''
Amidah'' are major sections. Some identify the preliminary blessings and readings, as a first, distinct section. Others say that
Tachanun is a separate section, as well as the concluding blessings. On certain days, there are additional prayers and services added to shacharit, including
Mussaf and a
Torah reading
Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting th ...
.
Etymology
''Shacharit'' comes from the Hebrew root (''shaħar''), meaning
dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's ...
.
Origin
According to tradition, ''Shacharit'' was identified as a time of prayer by
Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...
, as states, "Abraham arose early in the morning," which traditionally is the first ''Shacharit''. However, Abraham's prayer did not become a standardized prayer.
''Shacharit'' was also instituted in part as a replacement of the daily morning
Temple service after the destruction of the
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
. The sages of the
Great Assembly
According to Jewish tradition the Men of the Great Assembly ( he, כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה) or Anshei Knesset HaGedolah (, "The Men of the Great Assembly"), also known as the Great Synagogue, or ''Synod'', was an assembly of 120 s ...
may have formulated blessings and prayers that later became part of ''Shacharit'', however the
siddur, or prayerbook as we know it, was not fully formed until around the 7th century
CE. The prayers said still vary among congregations and
Jewish communities.
Service
Weekdays
During or before ''Shacharit'', Jews put on their
tefillin
Tefillin (; Modern Hebrew language, Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazim, Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Te ...
and/or
tallit, according to their tradition. Both actions are accompanied by
blessings. Some do not eat until they have prayed.
Traditionally, a series of introductory prayers are said as the start of ''Shacharit''. The main pieces of these prayers are ''
pesukei dezimra'', consisting of numerous psalms, hymns, and prayers. ''Pesukei dezimra'' is said so that an individual will have praised God before making requests, which might be considered rude.
The ''
Shema Yisrael'' and its related blessings are said. One should "concentrate on fulfilling the positive commandment of reciting the ''Shema''" before reciting it. One should be sure to say it clearly and not to slur words together.
Shemoneh Esrei (The Amidah), a series of 19 blessings is recited. On Shabbat and Yom Tov, only 7 blessings are said. The blessings cover a variety of issues and ethics such as
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, crops, and prayer.
Tachanun, a supplication consisting of a collection of passages from the
Hebrew bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' Torah reading
Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting th ...
at this point in the service. On most weekdays, three aliyot are given as honors; on
Rosh Chodesh and
Chol hamoed there are four aliyot.
The service concludes with the recitation of more verses and
Aleinu.
Shabbat
The service commences as on week-days. In ''
pesukei dezimra'', most communities omit Psalm 100 (''Mizmor LeTodah'', the psalm for the Thanksgiving offering), because the ''todah'' or Thanksgiving
offering
Offering may refer to:
In religion
* A religious offering or sacrifice
* Alms, voluntary gifts to others, especially poor people, as an act of virtue
* Tithe, the tenth part of something, such as income, paid to a religious organization or gover ...
could not be offered on
Shabbat in the days of the
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...
. Its place is taken in the
Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
tradition by Psalms , , , , , , , , .
Sephardi
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
c Jews maintain a different order, add several psalms and two religious poems. The ''
Nishmat
Nishmat ( he, נִשְׁמַת or 'the soul of every living thing') is a Jewish prayer that is recited during Pesukei D'Zimrah between the Song of the Sea and Yishtabach on Shabbat and Yom Tov. It is also recited during the Passover seder.
Sh ...
'' prayer is recited at the end of the ''Pesukei D'Zimrah''. The blessings before ''Shema'' are expanded, and include the hymn ''El Adon'', which is often sung communally.
The intermediary blessing of the ''Shacharit
Amidah'' begins with ''Yismach Moshe'' and discusses Moses' receiving of the Torah (which according to tradition took place on Shabbat morning). In
Nusach Ashkenaz (and
Nusach Sefard) the
Kedushah Kedushah may refer to:
* Holiness in Judaism
* Kedushah (prayer)
''Kedushah'' (Holiness) is the name of several prayers recited during Jewish prayer services. They have in common the recitation of two Biblical verses - and . These verses come ...
, which is always recited during the
Hazzan's repetition of the third blessing, is significantly expanded; in the Sephardic rite, it is recited in the same form as on weekdays. After the repetition is concluded, some recite the
Psalm of the Day (other recite it at the end of the service) and the Torah scroll is taken out of the Ark. In the Eastern Ashkenazic rite, this ritual much longer than the ritual during the week, but in the Western Ashkenazic rite, the ritual is almost identical to that of the weekdays. The
weekly portion
It is a custom among religious Jewish communities for a weekly Torah portion to be read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' ( he, פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ), is po ...
is
read, divided into at least seven Aliyot (plus a "maftir" Aliyah), followed by the ''
haftarah''.
In
Nusach Ashkenaz (and
Nusach Sefard), three prayers for the community are recited after the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
reading. Two prayers starting with ''
Yekum Purkan'', composed in Babylon in
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...
, are similar to the subsequent ''
Mi sheberakh'', a blessing for the leaders and patrons of the synagogue. In the Western Ashkenazic rite, the ''Mi sheberakh'' is omitted on ''Shabbat meverkhim''.
In some communities, prayers are then recited for the government of the country, for peace, and/or for the State of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. On the shabbat before
Rosh Chodesh (''Shabbat meverkhim'') a special prayer blessing the new month.
After these prayers,
Ashrei is repeated and the Torah scroll is returned to the Ark in a procession through the Synagogue. Many congregations allow children to come to the front in order to kiss the scroll as it passes. This is followed by the
Mussaf service.
The service concludes with
Ein Keloheinu,
Pitum Haketoret and
Aleinu. Those who didn't recite it earlier recite the
Psalm of the Day here, many Ashkenazic communities recite
Anim Zemirot (either before or after the
Psalm of the Day), and many conclude the services with
Adon Olam.
Timing
According to
Jewish law, the earliest time to recite the morning service is when there is enough natural light "one can see a familiar acquaintance six feet away." It is a subjective standard. The usual time for this prayer service is between sunrise and a third of the day. If one missed a third of the day, it may be recited until astronomical noon, referred to as ''chatzot.''
After that (technically, half an hour after ''chatzot''), the afternoon service (
mincha) can be recited.
See also
*
Mandaean prayer at dawn
* ''
Fajr''
*
List of Jewish prayers and blessings
* ''
Suhur''
References
External links
*
{{Authority control