Ahava rabbah (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: אהבה רבה, ''

ith an The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

abundant love'', also Ahavah raba and other variant English spellings) is a prayer and blessing that is recited by followers of

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 ...

Judaism during

Shacharit ''Shacharit'' ( he, שַחֲרִית ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning ''tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components of ...

(the morning religious services 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 the ...

) immediately prior to the

Shema ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewis ...

, the "Hear O Israel..." prayer.

Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

Jews, as well as many of those whose follow Nusach Sefard, begin this blessing with the words "Ahavat Olam" instead of ''Ahava rabbah''; which is not to be confused with the shorter blessing of

Ahavat Olam Ahavat Olam ( he, אהבת עולם, ''Eternal love'') is the second prayer that is recited during Maariv. It is the parallel blessing to Ahava Rabbah that is recited during Shacharit, and likewise, is an expression to God for the gift of the Tora ...

recited by both Sefardim and Ashkenazim during Maariv (with slight differences in their form). The text of this prayer was fixed in the period of the Geonim.Higher and higher : making Jewish prayer part of us By Steven Brown

Content

This prayer is an expression of thanks for the love God has given the people. It thanks God for the gift of 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 s ...

, which provides life,From ideology to liturgy: Reconstructionist worship and American liberal Judaism By Eric Caplan and for making the Jewish people the chosen nation. The prayer contains multiple requests to God. One of them is to be enlightened with the Torah. Another is for God to protect us from

shame Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness. Definition Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...

; it is stated that those who cleave to a life of

mitzvot In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...

will not be shamed. Another is that the Jewish people be gathered from the four corners of the world and returned to Israel. Hebrew text: English translation:

Practices and laws

Ahava rabbah is recited during Shacharit, and

during Maariv. The

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

provides differing views on which one should be recited. As a compromise, Ahava Rabbah (being the longer of the two) is recited in the morning, and Ahavat Olam in the evening.The JPS guide to Jewish traditions By Ronald L. Eisenberg, Jewish Publication Society In many communities, during Ahava rabbah, at the words "Bring us in peace from the four corners of the earth o our land, the four corners of the

tzitzit ''Tzitzit'' ( he, ''ṣīṣīṯ'', ; plural ''ṣīṣiyyōṯ'', Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazi: '; and Samaritan Hebrew, Samaritan: ') are specially knotted ritual Fringe (trim), fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and toda ...

are gathered in one's hand. They are held throughout the

and kissed four times during the third paragraph of the Shema and once during

Emet Veyatziv Emet Veyatziv ( he, אמת ויציב, , true and certain) is a blessing recited by Jews during Shacharit, the daily morning prayer. It immediately follows the Shema and precedes the Amidah. Themes It is a recognition of God's kingship and God as ...

(the paragraph following the Shema) and then released. The gathering of the tzitzit on these words is symbolic of the gathering of the Jewish people to its land. Ahava rabbah is recited immediately before the Shema because its recital brings on the obligation to immediately learn, or at the very least, recite verses from the Torah. Since the Shema is composed of verses from the Torah, its recital fulfills that obligation. The recitation of Ahava Rabbah fulfills the mitzvah of saying a blessing before

study. Normally, verses from the Torah are recited during

Birkat HaShachar Birkot hashachar or Birkot haShachar ( he, ברכות השחר, , morning blessings' or 'blessings fthe dawn) are a series of blessings that are recited at the beginning of Jewish morning services. The blessings represent thanks to God for a re ...

. But if one forgets to recite these verses then, the obligation is met through the recitation of Ahava Rabbah. However, the recitation of the Shema does ''not'' meet the requirement for learning after reciting the blessing on Torah study, even though it is composed of verses from the Torah,Meoros hadaf hayomi, Volume 1 By Bet ha-midrash di-Ḥaside Sokhaṭshov (Bene Beraḳ, Israel), page 33-35 and one must learn something immediately following prayers in order for Ahava Rabbah to work in this capacity.

References

{{Jewish prayers Shacharit Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings Siddur of Orthodox Judaism