Barukh she'amar ( or other variant English spellings), is the opening blessing to
pesukei dezimra, a recitation in the
morning prayer in
Rabbinic Judaism
Rabbinic Judaism (), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, Rabbanite Judaism, or Talmudic Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabb ...
. As with many texts in Judaism, it takes its name from the opening words of the prayer.
According to authorities beginning with
Jacob ben Asher, the prayer must be sung to a melody; according to authorities beginning with , it should be said standing.
According to ''Or Zarua II'', the ''Barukh she'amar'' contains 87 words, which number is the
gematria
In numerology, gematria (; or , plural or ) is the practice of assigning a numerical value to a name, word, or phrase by reading it as a number, or sometimes by using an alphanumeric cipher. The letters of the alphabets involved have standar ...
of the Hebrew word ''paz'' () meaning "refined gold.". An alternative text is printed in some
Sephardic prayer books, often alongside the more common version.
Purpose
the ''Barukh she'amar'' acts as a ''transition'' in the prayer service. In the
Syrian tradition, the common melody for the prayer is derived from that of
Hatikvah
Hatikvah (, ; ) is the national anthem of the Israel, State of Israel. Part of 19th-century Jewish literature, Jewish poetry, the theme of the Romantic poetry, Romantic composition reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jews, Jewish people ...
.
Origin
According to Jacob ben Asher and
Isaac Aboab I, Barukh she-Amar is described by the
Sefer Hekhalot. However, no extant manuscript contains this reference.
Moses ben Jacob of Coucy,
Amram ben Sheshna,
Natronai ben Hilai, and
Saadia Gaon
Saʿadia ben Yosef Gaon (892–942) was a prominent rabbi, Geonim, gaon, Jews, Jewish philosopher, and exegesis, exegete who was active in the Abbasid Caliphate.
Saadia is the first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Judeo-Arabic ...
attest to its popular use by the
9th century. According to the ''
Mishneh Torah'' (), this prayer was instituted by the
Great Assembly; () claims "this is the best of the praises, because the Great Assembly did not establish it but rather was given to the wise tradents by way of a note from heaven."
In the Sephardic and Mizrahi liturgies, as well as
Nusach Sefard, the custom is to recite most of the additional psalms of Shabbat (except for Psalms 92 and 93) prior to Barukh she-Amar on Shabbat.
Aspects of God
There are seven aspects of
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
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 birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...
s or anything else serious for the Jews,
Shacharit
''Shacharit'' ( ''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 ''Shacharit''. E ...
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
Siddurim of Orthodox Judaism
Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings
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