''Shir Shel Yom'' (שִׁיר שֶׁל יוֹם), meaning "'song' .e. Psalm">Psalm.html" ;"title=".e. Psalm">.e. Psalmof [the">Psalm">.e._Psalm<_a>.html" ;"title="Psalm.html" ;"title=".e. Psalm">.e. Psalm">Psalm.html" ;"title=".e. Psalm">.e. Psalmof [theday [of the week]" consists of one psalm recited daily at the end of the Jewish morning prayer services known as shacharit; in the Italian rite they are recited also at Mincha and before Birkat Hamazon. Each day of the week possesses a distinct psalm that is referred to by its Hebrew name as the ''shir shel yom'' and each day's ''shir shel yom'' is a different paragraph of

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

. Although fundamentally similar to the Levite's song that was sung at the Holy Temple in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

in ancient times, there are some differences between the two.

Songs for the days of the week

* Sunday: Psalm 24Rabbi Nosson Sherman, ''The Complete Artscroll Siddur'',

Mesorah Publications ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Rahway, New Jersey. Rabbi Nosson Scherman is the general editor. ArtScr ...

, 1984, pp. 162-169
Marcia Falk, ''Sefer Ha-berakhot'', Beacon Press, 1999, p. 438 * Monday: Psalm 48. * Tuesday:

Psalm 82 Psalm 82 is the 82nd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Sept ...

. * Wednesday:

Psalm 94 Psalm 94 is the 94th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations ...

, followed (in many communities) by the first or first three verses of Psalm 95. * Thursday: Psalm 81. * Friday: Psalm 93. * Saturday: Psalm 92.

Rationale

Each day's ''shir shel yom'' was chosen for its ties to that day's significance in the week of Creation, as explained by the

Baraita ''Baraita'' ( "external" or "outside"; pl. ''bārayāṯā'' or in Hebrew ''baraitot''; also baraitha, beraita; Ashkenazi pronunciation: berayse) designates a tradition in the Oral Torah of Rabbinical Judaism that is not incorporated in the Mi ...

that quotes Rabbi Yehuda in the name of

Rabbi Akiva Akiva ben Joseph (Mishnaic Hebrew: ; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second. Rabbi Akiva was a leadin ...

: *On Sunday, Psalm 24 ("For God is the land and its fullness...") is recited, in reference to the first day of Creation, on which God acquired the universe, bequeathed it to mankind and ruled over His world by Himself. *On Monday, Psalm 48 ("Great is God and much praised...") is recited, in reference to the second day of Creation, on which He separated the things that he made (the heavens from the earth) and reigned over them. *On Tuesday, Psalm 82 ("God stands in the divine assembly...") is recited, in reference to the third day of Creation, on which He exposed the land with His wisdom, thus preparing the world for His assembly. *On Wednesday, Psalm 94 ("Hashem is a God of vengeance...") is recited, in reference to the fourth day of Creation, on which He created the sun and the moon and how he will ultimately exact punishment from those who worship them. *On Thursday, Psalm 81 ("Sing joyously to the God of our might...") is recited, in reference to the fifth day of Creation, on which He created the birds and the fish to give praise to his name. *On Friday, Psalm 93 ("Hashem has reigned, he had donned grandeur...") is recited, in reference to the sixth day of Creation, on which He completed his work and reigned over his creations. *On the Sabbath, Psalm 92 ("A song, a hymn for the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

day") is recited, in reference to the seventh day of Creation, which is a day that is entirely Sabbath. The

Zohar The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...

provides an alternative rationale, linking the seven psalms to seven 1000-year periods. Contemporary scholar Dr Rachel Reich finds logic in the style of the Psalms: the psalm for the first day has "God" in its first (Hebrew) word, the psalm for the second day has "God" in its second word, and so on.

Other days

On holidays, including

Chol Hamoed ''Chol HaMoed'' (), a Hebrew phrase meaning "mundane of the festival", refers to the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot. As the name implies, these days mix features of ''chol'' (mundane) and ''moed'' (festival). On Passover, ''Chol HaMoe ...

and

Rosh Chodesh In Judaism, Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh (; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is a minor holiday observed at the beginning of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. Rosh Chodesh is obs ...

, the Levites would replace the regular song with one appropriate to the day. However, it is customary to recite only the standard song after Shacharit. The exception being that followers of the

Vilna Gaon Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman''), also known as the Vilna Gaon ( ''Der Vilner Goen''; ; or Elijah of Vilna, or by his Hebrew acronym Gr"a ("Gaon Rabbenu Eliyahu": "Our great teacher Elijah"; Sialiec, April 23, 172 ...

, including most

Nusach Ashkenaz Nusach Ashkenaz is a style of Jewish liturgy conducted by Ashkenazi Jews. It is primarily a way to order and include prayers, and differs from Nusach Sefard (as used by the Hasidim) and Baladi-rite prayer, and still more from the Sephardic rit ...

communities in Jerusalem recite all of the special songs for special days instead of the regular Psalms. On Rosh Chodesh, however, most congregations who do not follow the practices of the Gaon recite the special song ( Psalm 104) after the regular shir shel yom. Since in the times of the Temple, the song for the Sabbath would override any other song, many do not recite Psalm 104 if Rosh Chodesh falls out on the Sabbath, although many others do; the

and others would recite each holiday instead of the regular weekday Psalm.Maaseh Rav
157-158
/ref>

References

{{Jewish prayers Shacharit Jewish liturgical poems Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings Siddurim of Orthodox Judaism