Morning Blessings

birchot hashachar

ברכות השחר

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

Prayers upon Entering the Synagogue

Hebrew

מַה טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב, מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל.
וַאֲנִי בְּרֹב חַסְדְּךָ אָבוֹא בֵיתֶךָ,
אֶשְׁתַּחֲוֶה אֶל הֵיכַל קָדְשְׁךָ בְּיִרְאָתֶךָ.
יְהֹוָה אָהַבְתִּי מְעוֹן בֵּיתֶךָ, וּמְקוֹם מִשְׁכַּן כְּבוֹדֶךָ.
וַאֲנִי אֶשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְאֶכְרָעָה, אֶבְרְכָה לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה עֹשִׂי.
וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּתִי לְךָ יְהֹוָה, עֵת רָצוֹן,
אֱלֹהִים בְּרָב־חַסְדֶּךָ, עֲנֵנִי בֶּאֱמֶת יִשְׁעֶךָ.

Israeli

mah tovu ohalecha Ya-akov, mishkenotecha Yisra-el.
va-ani b'rov chasdecha avo veitecha,
eshtachaveh El heichal kodshcha b'yiratecha.
Adonai ahavti me-on beitecha, umekom mishkan k'vodecha.
va-ani eshtachaveh ve-echra-ah, evrechah lifnei Adonai osi.
va-ani t'filati lecha Adonai, et ratzon,
Elohim b'rav-chasdecha, aneni be-emet yishecha.

English

How lovely are your dwellings, Jacob; your sanctuaries, people of Israel! As for me, through Your great kindness I enter Your house; in awe of You, I bow toward Your holy sanctuary. Adonai, I love Your house, the place where Your glory dwells. I will bow and prostrate myself, kneel before Adonai my creator. My prayers are to You, Adonai, in the hope that this is a favorable time; God, in Your abundant love, respond to me with faithful deliverance.

A MEDITATION BEFORE PRAYER

Hebrew

שַׁחַר אֲבַקֶּשְׁךָ צוּרִי וּמִשְׂגַּבִּי
אֶעֱרֹךְ לְפָנֶיךָ שַׁחֲרִי וְגַם עַרְבִּי.
לִפְנֵי גְדֻלָּתְךָ אֶעֱמֹד וְאֶבָּהֵל
כִּי עֵינְךָ תִרְאֶה כָל מַחְשְׁבוֹת לִבִּי.
מַה זֶּה אֲשֶׁר יוּכַל הַלֵּב וְהַלָּשׁוֹן
לַעֲשׂוֹת וּמַה כֹּחַ רוּחִי בְּתוֹךְ קִרְבִּי.
הִנֵּה לְךָ תִּיטַב זִמְרַת אֱנוֹשׁ עַל כֵּן
אוֹדְךָ בְּעוֹד תִּהְיֶה נִשְׁמַת אֱלוֹהַּ בִּי.

Israeli

shachar avakeshcha tzuri umisgabi
e-eroch lefanecha shachari vegam arbi.
lifnei g'dulatcha e-emod ve-ebahel
ki einecha tireh chol machshevot libi.
mah zeh asher yuchal halev vehalashon
la-asot umah koach ruchi b'toch kirbi.
hineh lecha titav zimrat enosh al ken
odcha be-od tihyeh nishmat Eloah bi.

English

At dawn I seek You, my refuge, my haven; morning and evening, to You I pray, though facing Your greatness, I am awed and confused, for You know already what I would think and say. What might in thought and speech can there be? What power the spirit within me? Yet, You treasure the sound of human song; and so would I thank You, as long as Your soul is in me.

Commentary

HOW LOVELY מַה־טֹּבוּ. Numbers 24:5. These words were uttered by the gentile prophet Balaam, who had been hired to curse Israel but instead blessed them. Many rabbinic readings of this verse understood the “dwellings of Jacob” (literally, “tents of Jacob”) and the “sanctuaries of Israel” to refer to houses of study and prayer houses (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 105b, for instance). Interestingly, we enter the synagogue with the words of a non-Jew, here used to praise the synagogue. This verse was added to the service in the late Middle Ages, when European royal courts became more formal, which warranted a similarly formal introduction to our worship of the Sovereign of All.

AS FOR ME וַאֲנִי. Three of the verses quoted here begin with the word ani, “I.” The worshipper enters the synagogue as an individual and then joins the community. The first verse mentions bowing toward the sanctuary; some people bow in the direction of the ark upon entering the synagogue.

I ENTER YOUR HOUSE אָבוֹא בֵיתֶךָ. Psalm 5:8. Although the verse originally referred to the Temple in Jerusalem, references describing the Temple came to be applied to the synagogue, which the sages called a mikdash m’at, “a minor sanctuary.” In this, they were interpreting the prophet Ezekiel, who assures the exiles in Babylonia that God is with them in the “small sanctuaries” of foreign lands (Ezekiel 11:16).

I LOVE YOUR HOUSE אָהַבְתִּי מְעוֹן בֵּיתֶךָ. Psalm 26:8. Here again, the original reference was to the Temple, but it was later understood to describe the synagogue.

I WILL BOW AND PROSTRATE MYSELF וַאֲנִי אֶשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְאֶכְרָעָה. The liturgy recasts Psalm 95:6 from the plural to the singular, as all the passages opening the service are phrased in the singular. The ancient rabbis declared that the bowing performed during the Amidah fulfilled the function of kneeling and prostration. Today, prostration takes place in the synagogue only on the High Holy Days, though some medieval pietistic practices emphasized kneeling while praying at home.

RESPOND TO ME עֲנֵנִי. Psalm 69:14. Perhaps the most primal prayer: may our words be heard and responded to.

AT DAWN I SEEK YOU שַׁחַר אֲבַקֶּשְׁךָ. This poem was written by Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058, Spain) as a morning meditation to be recited by the prayer leader. It begins with a confession of human inadequacy, even to offer prayers, but ends by evoking the soul—the spirit of God in each human being, and the source of human inspiration.

Prayer We enter the synagogue in conversation with ourselves. And as we engage in prayer, this conversation becomes one conducted with God.

Worship with Joy A person does not experience the presence of God through sadness or laziness, but through joy, as is written regarding Elisha, the prophet: “[He said:] ‘Now bring a musician to me’—and when the musician played, the hand of God was upon him” (2 Kings 3:15). —MIDRASH ON PSALMS …

A Prayer When Entering the Synagogue May the offerings of my lips be acceptable to You. May my thoughts be clear, may I be instructed in Your ways, and may I be at peace with myself and my neighbors. —based on THE ZOHAR …