Blessings of the Shema

k'ri-at sh'ma uvirchoteha

קריאת שמע וברכותיה

Speed

Section 1: 0:00

Reader

Israeli: ' marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). - separates syllables that would otherwise run together.

How to read the transliterations

Ps. 78Ps. 20

Hebrew

וְהוּא רַחוּם, יְכַפֵּר עָוֹן וְלֹא־יַשְׁחִית,
וְהִרְבָּה לְהָשִׁיב אַפּוֹ, וְלֹא־יָעִיר כָּל־חֲמָתוֹ:
יְהוָה הוֹשִׁיעָה, הַמֶּלֶךְ יַעֲנֵנוּ בְיוֹם־קָרְאֵנוּ:

Israeli

vehu rachum, yechaper avon velo-yashchit,
vehirbah lehashiv apo, velo-ya-ir kol-chamato:
Adonai hoshi-ah, hamelech ya-anenu v'yom-korenu:

קריאת שמע וברכותיה

BLESSINGS OF THE SHEMA

The Leader says the following, bowing at "Bless," standing straight at "the LORD"; the congregation, followed by the Leader, responds, bowing at "Bless," standing straight at "the LORD":

Hebrew

בָּרְכוּ
אֶת יְהוָה הַמְּבֹרָךְ.
בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה הַמְּבֹרָךְ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד.
בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה הַמְּבֹרָךְ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד.

Israeli

barechu
et Adonai hamevorach.
baruch Adonai hamevorach le-olam va-ed.
baruch Adonai hamevorach le-olam va-ed.

Commentary

… you wherever you go" (Gen. 28:15). The evening service represents our trust in God during the dark and dangers of night.

וְהוּא רַחוּם He is compassionate: A prelude to prayer, from the book of Psalms, that serves as a brief equivalent to the Verses of Praise in the morning service. The verse (Psalm 78:38) contains thirteen words that are reminiscent of the thirteen attributes of divine mercy.

בָּרְכוּ אֶת יְהוָה Bless the LORD: As in the morning service, a call to the congregation to join in communal prayer, derived from the verse: "Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together" (Psalm 34:4).

… there was no daily sacrifice to which it corresponded (Berakhot 27b–28a). So widespread was its observance, however, that it was eventually deemed obligatory. Notwithstanding, since the Amida at night does not correspond to a sacrifice, it is not repeated by the Leader.

Tradition identifies the evening prayer with Jacob, who had his most intense religious experiences at night, especially the vision most associated with prayer: the ladder stretching from earth to heaven on which angels ascended and descended. During that vision, God promised Jacob that "I will protect …