Barukh she'amar ( he, בָּרוּךְ שֶׁאָמַר, baruch sheamar, or other variant English spellings), is the opening blessing to pesukei dezimra. The prominent version of Barukh sheamar contains 87 words. This is the

gematria Gematria (; he, גמטריא or gimatria , plural or , ''gimatriot'') is the practice of assigning a numerical value to a name, word or phrase according to an alphanumerical cipher. A single word can yield several values depending on the cipher ...

of the Hebrew word ''paz'' () meaning "refined gold.". An alternative text is printed in some

Sephardic 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 ), ...

prayer books, often alongside the more common version.

Purpose

Barukh she'amar acts as a ''transition'' in the prayer service. In the

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

tradition, the common melody for the prayer is derived from that of

Hatikvah Hatikvah ( he, הַתִּקְוָה, haTīqvā, ; ) is the national anthem of the State of Israel. Part of 19th-century Jewish poetry, the theme of the Romantic composition reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jewish people to return t ...

Origin

Initially,

Saadya Gaon Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...

instituted the recitation of barukh she'amar for

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

, but in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, it became a custom to recite this prayer daily. Saadya Gaon wrote in his siddur two Barukh she'amars: weekdays version has one "barukh" and Shabbath version has 12 "barukhs". The modern version combined two Barukh she'amars versions together with 13 "barukhs" interpreting it qabbalistically like "echad" gematria. In the

and Oriental liturgy, as well as

Nusach Sefard Nusach Sefard, Nusach Sepharad, or Nusach Sfard is the name for various forms of the Jewish ''siddurim'', designed to reconcile Ashkenazi customs ( he, מנהג "Custom", pl. ''minhagim'') with the kabbalistic customs of Isaac Luria. To this end ...

, the custom is to recite most of the additional psalms of Shabbat (except for Psalms 92 and 93) prior to Barukh sheamar on Shabbat.

Aspects of God

There are seven aspects of

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

mentioned in Barukh she'amar. These are: #God spoke and the world came to be. #God speaks, does, decrees, and fulfills. #God is merciful. #God rewards those who fear Him. #God is eternal. #God rescues and redeems people. #Blessed is God's name.

Halakhah

Barukh she'amar becomes the initial part of the daily Jewish morning prayer, in "history-periods" of serious difficulty for the whole Jewish people; when there are not persecutions, ongoing

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

s or anything else serious for the Jews,

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 o ...

begins as always.Compendio dello "SHULCHAN 'ARUKH". Meqor Chajim (-VOLUME PRIMO- et -VOLUME SECONDO-) Kefar Chasidim/Rekhasim, Israel 1992

References

External links

A nonliteral translation of the prayer
Pesukei dezimra Jewish blessings Siddur of Orthodox Judaism Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings {{Judaism-stub