![]() ![]() Why? Is it because it is an alphabetic acrostic? But Psalm 119 is an eight-fold alphabetic acrostic. Rabbi Eliezer said in the name of Rabbi Avina: Whoever says Psalm 145 thrice daily is assured of a place in the world to come. Probably because of its popularity and the prominent absence of a verse with the letter nun, the Talmud has the following discussion (Berachot 4b my loose translation): Ashrei is said thrice daily (twice in shacharit, the morning service, and once at minchah, the evening service) and is always preceded by two verses from Psalms (84:5 and the last verse of the preceding Psalm ) and concludes with another verse from Psalms (115:18). Psalm 145 is better known as Ashrei, because of the way it appears in the siddur. Finally, Psalm 145 is famously missing a nun verse. Psalm 37 begins every other verse with a succeeding letter of the alphabet, except that the daled and heh verses immediately follow each other, there are two vav and chet verses, there is no ayin verse, the peh verse follows immediately after what should have been the ayin verse (instead of skipping a verse), and the tav verse begins with a vav. For example, Psalm 25 begins each verse with a succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet except for the letters bet (although the second word of verse 2 starts with a bet), vav and kuf (possessing a second resh verse instead). Psalms 25, 37 and 145 are also defective acrostics, in that they are missing at least one letter each (and may also have other irregularities). Psalm 34 is portrayed as a complete alphabetic acrostic in the ArtScroll siddur however, that is a misrepresentation as there is no verse that begins with the letter vav the letter vav appears in the last half of verse 6, as it does in the last half of verses 1, 4, 5, 7, 11, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 23, and is therefore not part of the acrostic. Psalm 119 is an eight-fold alphabetic acrostic with 176 verses. Psalms 111 and 112 begin each half verse with the succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet following the psalm’s first word ( Halleluyah). Only three of these are complete acrostics – i.e., acrostics in which every letter of the alphabet is represented. Sunday Religious School, 10:00am, Hadassah Walk for Women's Health at Blackstone Blvd.There are several alphabetic acrostics in the book of Psalms. ![]() ![]() Tomorrow Morning Service, 9:00am, B Mitzvah of Julianna Danko, child of Kristin Konnyu, 10:30am, Afternoon Service, 5:45pm.In our prayer book Mishkan T'filah, Ashrei can be found on: The specific words of the prayer are not as important as the pleasure of joining with other voices in familiar song. Reciting Ashrei can be a meditative experience. There is a familiar call-and-response melody for chanting Ashrei that emphasizes joy and rhythm. (One letter is missing – there is no verse for the letter Nun.) The prayer may have been favored by the early rabbis because it was a joyful and popular way of singing God's praises. Because the prayer is composed as an acrostic – with lines beginning with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order – it is easy for Hebrew speakers to memorize. The words of Ashrei mostly praise God for making our lives joyful when we are close to God, for ruling the world with justice, and for providing for all our needs. It includes verses from other psalms at the beginning and the end. (In the prayerbook of the Reform movement, Ashrei is recited only once in the morning service, before the Barchu in the section called " P'sukei D'zimra.")Īshrei is made up mostly of Psalm 145. In traditional practice, a person recites Ashrei at least three times a day – twice in the morning service and once in the afternoon service. Ashrei (literally, "Happy") is one of the most often repeated prayers in Jewish tradition. ![]()
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