''Tzidkatcha'' (צדקתך, "Your righteousness") is a prayer consisting of group of three verses that is recited during the afternoon prayer on ''

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

''. It is said in memory of three righteous individuals who died on ''Shabbat'':

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and

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. It is recited at this prayer in particular because these individuals died in the afternoon.

Prayer content and meaning

The three verses are: Psalms 119:142, 71:19 and 36:7. They are recited in this order by the Ashkenazic rite and Italian rite, while Sephardi tradition, Nusach Sefard,

Yemenite Jews Yemenite Jews, also known as Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ; ), are a Jewish diaspora group who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. After several waves of antisemitism, persecution, the vast majority ...

, Nusach Romania, Nusach Provence and Nusach Catalonia recite them in the opposite order, as they appear in Psalms. The ''

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

'' asserts that Moses did not die in the afternoon of ''

'' but of Friday; however, he wasn't buried until ''Shabbat'' afternoon. Some say that the recital of this is to recall just judgement because it is immediately after ''Shabbat'' that sinners return to Gehinom. The recitation of these verses represents Jewish acceptance of God's judgment, referred to as '' Tziduk HaDin'' (צידוק הדין, "the righteousness of God's judgement"). It expresses the conviction that God is just in his actions, even when they are seemingly negative in human eyes. Because the time for afternoon prayers on ''Shabbat'' is near the closing of the day, the saddened atmosphere makes it appropriate for this prayer to be said. On days on which Tachanun would be omitted had it been a weekday, ''Tzidkatcha'' is omitted on ''Shabbat'', as the added happiness of the day negates these feelings of sorrow. In the Sephardic tradition, it is recited on

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Shulchan Aruch and Rama OC 598:1. and

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Shulchan Aruch and Rama OC 622:3 when they fall on the Sabbath, but in the Ashkenazic tradition it is not. Furthermore, some Western Ashkenazic communities (including Frankfurt) omit it on Shabbat Shuvah. Because of the somber mood that is hinted to by this prayer, there is a related custom of not wishing the standard ''Shabbat'' greeting after the

Mincha Mincha (, ; sometimes spelled Minchah, Minhah, Mincho or Minchuh) is the afternoon prayer service in Judaism. Etymology The name ''Mincha'', meaning "gift" or "offering", is derived from the meal offering that accompanied each sacrifice offered ...

prayer.

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, ''Sefer haTodaa'', The Book of our Heritage

References

{{Jewish prayers Shabbat prayers Mincha Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings