The Jewish prayer of the morning – is called Shacharit

This prayer is the longest prayer in Judaism. It begins with the sunrise or the first moments of daylight (at dawn) even before the sun is visible. During prayer it is forbidden to speak, work or eat until the end of the standing prayer. This is an important prayer in Judaism that is prayed every morning by many of the world’s Jewish population world Jewish population There are also various practices in the Jewish diaspora around the world.

According to some opinions, Shacharit, morning prayer, Jewish replaces the dawn/morning sacrifice that was customary in the Temple. If one manages to get up at sunrise to pray, it is considered the best time for the morning prayer – Jewish prayer morning, and this prayer is called the Vatikin prayer. According to the law, the prayer time is up to four hours from sunrise, but those who do not manage within that time frame can complete it by midday. The time is not the usual time known to us but a part of the time out of 12, according to Yemenites and the Sephardi Jewish community – Sephardic Jews divide the time from when it gets light (dawn) to the rising of the stars into 12 parts and each part is considered an hour. According to Ashkenazi Jewish custom – Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jewry divides the time between sunrise and its setting into 12 parts and each part is an hour. However, many Ashkenazi Jews are strict and get up to pray early before sunrise

Jewish prayers morning The morning prayers/morning prayers in Judaism

On weekdays it is customary to divide the morning prayer into seven main prayers or blessings. The first part of this unit is the dawn blessings that are said before the morning prayer and include thanksgiving for the morning activities such as opening eyes and clothing, for example, “Blessed is he who opens the blind,” blessed is he dresses the naked, ” Or during the washing of the hands “Blessed are we who have sanctified in His commandments on the washing of hands.”

Then come the blessings of the Torah. These are blessings that are said before the Torah study. A person is not allowed to study Torah unless he has blessed them. Then passages from the Torah, the Mishnah, and the Talmud are read, for example, Parshas HaTamid or Breita Derabi Ishmael. Some people also read from the Book of Isaac, in the Sephardic sect – Sephardic Jewish there are congregations that insert passages added by Tanna Derabi Eliyahu 19. This part ends with the Kaddish prayer.

The second hour or the second part consists of verses from the verses of Deuteronomy, songs קמ”ה וק”נ from the book of Psalms. Prior to the hymns, they recite “Blessed be He who said and was the world”, “Thank God called in his name”, Psalm ‘ק (“Psalm of thanksgiving”), and “May the glory of God be forever”. After the psalms, they recite “And David shall bless the Lord”, the song of the sea, “May your name be praised forever”. The order before the hymns and the content is slightly different between the different denominations. This section is also closed with the Kaddish prayer.

The third part is the recitation of Shema and the blessings associated with it. The passage of Shema Yisrael consists of a number of things, chapter six, verses 4-9. After that, the passage is read and there was if who heard (Deuteronomy, 11:11, 13-21 and then “And he said” (Book of numbers, ט”ו, ל”ז-מ”א).). These three paragraphs connect together to form the Shema recitation, recited in a whisper by the worshiping public and then aloud by the cantor. According to the custom of the Shema, the eyes are covered with the palm and the tassels are held, and when the word tassel is mentioned, they kiss them. Two blessings are said before reciting Shema, the blessing of ‘the creator of light’ (from Isaiah) and a blessing of love (from the Talmud). There are several versions of this blessing. The shorter one is the Ashkenazi Jewish version of Ashkenazi Jewish. The blessing after the recitation of Shema is a blessing of redemption that ends after the words “Blessed are you, O Lord, the Redeemer of Israel.” Before the first blessings, the cantor says “Bless the blessed God” and the audience responds “Blessed be the world forever and ever.”

The Shmonei Esrei Prayer

The fourth part of the morning prayer Jewish prayer is the Shemonei Esrei prayer. This is a prayer said in each of the great prayers on weekdays: Shacharit, Mincha, Aravit. The prayer is said standing and in a whisper, as the worshiper stands straight with his legs close together.

These consist of 19 blessings, but in the past, there were only eighteen blessings, hence the name of the prayer. Sages only named the Shmonei Esrei prayer. Yemenite Jews recite the prayer with spread legs. The sacred verse is recited before the third blessing in the standing prayer, and the priestly blessing, which the priests recite before the last blessing and bless the public. If there is no priest,  or in some congregations, the blessing is not said by the priests but by a cantor.

Praying and reading the Torah

The fifth part “Supplication” was originally a single prayer not intended for the general public but for each person to address his own personal pleas. Over the years it has become a public prayer and has a variety of verses and regular blessings. The Supplication is not recited on Shabbat, holidays, festivals or Rosh Chodesh.

The sixth part is the reading of the Torah that is done on Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Hanukkah, Purim, Rosh Chodesh, and on other fasts.  The reading of the Torah is done before the prayer section called Kadusha Desidra.

End of prayer

The part that ends the Shacharit, after the sacred section of Desidera is called Additions (Tosfot). Additions include the “incense fattening”, “song of the day” and “we must praise” prayers. These additions are said on weekdays. There are different communities with different additions, like putting on tefillin. In some communities, the Haman Story is added. In others, the thirteen principles, are the principles of Judaism. And there are many other additions, each community, and its way. But there is a custom that is common in most Jewish communities and that is to read Psalm 27 from the Book of Psalms “to David, Uri, and Yishai.” This hymn is added from Rosh Chodesh Elul to Hoshana Raba.

Prohibitions before the morning prayer

There are some things that must not be done before we begin the morning prayer, the first being eating and drinking according to the verse “Thou shalt not eat of the blood.” There is controversy as to whether it is permissible to drink water before prayer. Of those who allow water before prayer, there are those who allow even coffee and tea without sugar. And there are those who allow coffee and tea with sugar, provided the sugar is not mixed. There is also controversy as to whether one may greet another before prayer. According to one opinion, it is forbidden to greet in a planned manner, but in a random meeting, it is permissible to greet with shalom. According to another opinion, the word “Shalom” should not be used but one may greet with other blessings such as “good morning” because shalom is one of the names of God. According to another opinion,  those who have planned to meet are not allowed to say hello or greet at all, but if they have met for another purpose, they may greet with “good morning”.

Saturday morning

Shacharit Jewish prayer in the morning of Shabbat is different from the weekday prayer because it includes many passages of poetry (verses of Deuteronomy), additions, and as mentioned reading from the Torah. At the end of the prayer, there is a Shabbat supplement (Mussaf). Another difference is that Shacharit of Shabbat begins later since Shabbat is a day of rest. The “additional sacrifice of Shabbat.” is added to the beginning of the prayer. 

The additional hymns on Shabbat are recited in the Ashkenazi community after the “Baruch Sheamer” blessing but in most of the communities before it.  The psalms “conductor in psalms” and the “psalm in thanksgiving” are not recited on Shabbat. The hymns in the Shema are also different. We will also note that the standing prayer is shorter and after the recitation of the Shatz the Torah scroll is taken out in order to read from it, then there is Haftarah – a passage from the books of the prophets that is usually read on Shabbat and then comes the end of the prayer.  On weekdays, the prayer “Prayer for the Peace of the Kingdom” is also recited. Jews who are looking for a place of prayer and are interested in learning more about Judaism can get help from the various Jewish community organizations in the United States American Jewish committee.