Verses of Song

p'sukei d'zimra

פסוקי דזמרא

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

פסוקי דזמרא

P’sukei D’zimra: Verses of Song

It is customary to stand for the opening and closing b’rakhot of P’sukei D’zimra.

Introductory B’rakhah

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ שֶׁאָמַר וְהָיָה הָעוֹלָם, בָּרוּךְ הוּא.
בָּרוּךְ עוֹשֶׂה בְרֵאשִׁית, בָּרוּךְ שְׁמוֹ.
בָּרוּךְ אוֹמֵר וְעוֹשֶׂה, בָּרוּךְ הוּא.
בָּרוּךְ גּוֹזֵר וּמְקַיֵּם, בָּרוּךְ שְׁמוֹ.
בָּרוּךְ מְרַחֵם עַל הָאָרֶץ, בָּרוּךְ הוּא.
בָּרוּךְ מְרַחֵם עַל הַבְּרִיּוֹת, בָּרוּךְ שְׁמוֹ.
בָּרוּךְ מְשַׁלֵּם שָׂכָר טוֹב לִירֵאָיו, בָּרוּךְ הוּא.
בָּרוּךְ חַי לָעַד וְקַיָּם לָנֶצַח, בָּרוּךְ שְׁמוֹ.
בָּרוּךְ פּוֹדֶה וּמַצִּיל, בָּרוּךְ הוּא וּבָרוּךְ שְׁמוֹ.

Israeli

baruch she-amar vehayah ha-olam, baruch hu.
baruch oseh v'reishit, baruch sh'mo.
baruch omer ve-oseh, baruch hu.
baruch gozer umekayem, baruch sh'mo.
baruch merachem al ha-aretz, baruch hu.
baruch merachem al habriyot, baruch sh'mo.
baruch meshalem sachar tov lire-av, baruch hu.
baruch chai la-ad vekayam lanetzach, baruch sh'mo.
baruch podeh umatzil, baruch hu uvaruch sh'mo.

English

Blessed is the one whose word called the world into being. Blessed be the One. Blessed is the one who created the world. Blessed be the divine name. Blessed is the one who speaks and it is done. Blessed is the one who decrees and fulfills. Blessed is the one who has compassion for the earth. Blessed is the one who has compassion for all creatures. Blessed is the one who sends a just reward to those who revere the Divine. Blessed is the one who is eternal, who exists forever. Blessed is the one who redeems and rescues.

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם,
הָאֵל הָאָב הָרַחֲמָן, הַמְהֻלָּל בְּפִי עַמּוֹ,
מְשֻׁבָּח וּמְפֹאָר בִּלְשׁוֹן חֲסִידָיו וַעֲבָדָיו,
וּבְשִׁירֵי דָוִד עַבְדֶּךָ. נְהַלֶּלְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ,
בִּשְׁבָחוֹת וּבִזְמִירוֹת, נְגַדֶּלְךָ וּנְשַׁבֵּחֲךָ וּנְפָאֶרְךָ
וְנַזְכִּיר שִׁמְךָ וְנַמְלִיכְךָ מַלְכֵּנוּ אֱלֹהֵינוּ.
יָחִיד חֵי הָעוֹלָמִים, מֶלֶךְ מְשֻׁבָּח וּמְפֹאָר עֲדֵי עַד
שְׁמוֹ הַגָּדוֹל. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה, מֶלֶךְ מְהֻלָּל בַּתִּשְׁבָּחוֹת.

Israeli

baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam,
ha-El ha-av harachaman, hamehulal b'fi amo,
meshubach umefo-ar bilshon chasidav va-avadav,
uvshirei David avdecha. nehalelcha Adonai Eloheinu,
bishvachot uvizmirot, negadelcha uneshabechacha unefa-ercha
venazkir shimcha venamlichecha malkenu Eloheinu.
yachid chei ha-olamim, melech meshubach umefo-ar adei ad
sh'mo hagadol. baruch atah Adonai, melech mehulal batishbachot.

English

Barukh atah Adonai, our God, sovereign of time and space, compassionate creator celebrated in Your people’s voices, praised and glorified by the words of Your faithful servants and in Your servant David’s songs. We will celebrate You, Adonai our God, with praise and song; we will extol, acclaim, and glorify You, honoring Your name and declaring that You are our sovereign God. The singular one who gives life to the world—the sovereign, who is praised and glorified, forever and ever—this is Your great name. Barukh atah Adonai, Sovereign, celebrated with songs of praise.

Some congregations select from among the psalms and biblical texts that follow.

Commentary

BARUKH SHE-AMAR. Once the inclusion of P’sukei D’zimra (“Verses of Song”) was codified by the geonim (the rabbinic leaders of the influential Babylonian Jewish community in the latter half of the 1st millennium), they ordained that it be preceded and followed with formal blessings: the opening blessing recited here and the blessing at the section’s conclusion (page 148). Most of the passages recited in this section are biblical and, therefore, this prayer calls them “the words of Your faithful servants.” “David’s songs” refers to the psalms, which constitute the bulk of this section; many scholars believe that Psalms 145–150 (pages 136–141) constituted the original core of P’sukei D’zimra.

CALLED THE WORLD INTO BEING וְהָיָה הָעוֹלָם. God is often referred to by the sages as “the one whose word called the world into being.” This is based on the story in Genesis 1, in which all of creation emanates from God’s spoken fiat. For example, on the very first day, “God said, ‘Let there be light’—and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).

BARUKH HU, BLESSED BE THE ONE בָּרוּךְ הוּא. The last line of the introductory call and response reads barukh sh’mo, “blessed be the divine name.” Taken together, the first two words of response and the last two words of the series form the phrase barukh hu u-varukh sh’mo, “blessed be the One and blessed be the divine name,” which is commonly used as a response to hearing the name of God. Practices differ as to the call and response during the recitation of this poem. A version that has recently become popular includes reciting the words printed here in gray.

COMPASSIONATE CREATOR הָאֵל הָאָב הָרַחֲמָן. The word translated here as “compassionate” comes from the root r-ḥ-m, which also means “womb.” Thus, this particular phrase can be understood as “the fatherly womb,” and wonderfully captures the way that God transcends gender.

EXTOL, ACCLAIM, AND GLORIFY YOU נְגַדֶּלְךָ וּנְשַׁבֵּחֲךָ וּנְפָאֶרְךָ. The blessing announces that the psalms to be recited in this section will be those that acclaim God, not those that express the personal plight of the psalmist. Repetition of similar sounding verbal synonyms in Hebrew is a means of creating a meditative atmosphere.

Thanking God Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai: From the day that the Holy One created the world, there was no one who praised and thanked (hodeh) the Holy One, until Leah came and praised God. For she said: “This time will I praise and thank (odeh) Adonai” (Genesis 29:35), giving the name “Judah” (y’hudah) to her newborn son. Thus, the name “Jew,” derived from “Judah,” means “thankful.” —BABYLONIAN TALMUD …

Creating Through Speech Just as divine speech created the world, so too with human speech: what we give voice to becomes more substantive, more real. Prayer, like all human speech, is a creative act. The prayers that we utter shape our inner lives. Our new consciousness causes us to relate differently to the world around us, and it thus prompts us to shape a different external reality.