Shulchan Aruch: Chapter 51 - Laws Relating to Prayers from Baruch SheAmar until Yishtabach

The recitation of Pesukei DeZimrah was ordained by the Men of the Great Assembly. These Sages instituted the daily prayer services when the people returned to Eretz Yisrael after the Babylonian exile that followed the destruction of the First Beis HaMikdash. See Shabbos 118b (as explained by Rashi and Rif); Rambam, Hilchos Tefillah 7:12 (and footnote 12 there, in the Rambam LaAm edition); subsection 2 below; and footnote 49 below.

The term Pesukei DeZimrah literally means “verses of song.” As will be explained, it refers to a bracket of joyous hymns of praise from the Book of Tehillim and other Scriptural readings.

Psalm 145. The passage as a whole in the form in which it appears in the Siddur is commonly known as Ashrei, the initial word of the two verses that introduce Psalm 145 wherever it appears there.

I.e., until the end of Psalm 150, whose last verse begins with these words.

In the language of the Sages, the term tefillah (“prayer”) when unqualified commonly refers to the prayer par excellence, i.e., Shemoneh Esreh.

Devarim 3:24, as quoted by Berachos 32a.

I.e., to cross the Jordan River and enter the Holy Land; Devarim 3:25.

Berachos 4b.

Pesachim 117a.

The inclusion of these passages has become universal. Their sequence, however, varies. The custom of the Sephardic community (and of the prayer rite called Nussach Ari as defined by the Alter Rebbe in his Siddur) is to recite this passage (popularly known as Hodu) before Baruch SheAmar, while the Ashkenazic custom is to recite it afterwards.

To briefly clarify the terms: Sephardim are Jews originating from Spain (“Sepharad”) or the Orient, as distinct from Ashkenazim (“Ashkenaz” being the classical Hebrew word for Germany), who originate from other European countries. However, the prayer rites known as Nussach Sephard and Nussach Ashkenaz do not coincide with these “ethnic” categories. True, Nussach Ashkenaz is the prayer rite that developed in German-speaking and other European lands. But most of the worshipers whose Siddurim follow Nussach Sephard are not of Spanish or Oriental origin; they include many chassidim and non-chassidim of Ashkenazic background, both in Eretz Yisrael and the Diaspora. And the prayer rite followed by the Sephardim proper, basically of North African origin, is different again.

The prayer rite sometimes referred to in these footnotes as “the Lubavitch custom” is the version laid down by the AriZal — a variant of Nussach Sephard — as defined by the Alter Rebbe in his Siddur.

I Divrei HaYamim 16:8-36. In all Siddurim, several verses from Tehillim are appended to it.

Seder Olam Rabba, sec. 14, as quoted by Beis Yosef (Orach Chayim 50).

Cf. Vayikra Rabbah 9:7, 27:12; Midrash Tanchuma, Parshas Emor, sec. 14. In Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 12, pp. 28-29, the Rebbe juxtaposes this rationale for the recitation of this psalm with the fact that it recalls the Todah (“thanksgiving”) sacrifice. (On the above transliteration, see sec. 46, footnote 18 above.)

This practice is in fact universal.

In sec. 429:13, the Alter Rebbe states that we do not recite Mizmor LeTodah on the day preceding Pesach, but does not specify the reason.

The Todah offering was not offered on the day preceding Pesach (nor on the day preceding Yom Kippur). The rationale is that sacrifices are not offered when it is known that it will not be permitted to partake of them throughout the time granted by the Torah. For it is possible that the sacrifice will not be consumed entirely and thus sacrificial food will become disqualified unnecessarily.

Ordinarily, a thanksgiving offering can be eaten on the day it was offered and the following night, until midnight. Were the sacrifice to be offered on the day preceding Pesach, it would be impossible to partake of all the bread that accompanied the offering past midday, because several of the loaves were chametz. (As to the day preceding Yom Kippur, it is forbidden to eat at all from the approach of sunset.) In Igros Kodesh, Vol. 3, p. 71, the Rebbe discusses related concepts.

As mentioned above, this is the Sephardic (and chassidic) custom, and it is followed in the Alter Rebbe’s Siddur.

I Divrei HaYamim 29:10-13.

Nechemiah 9:5-11.

In the Siddur, the Song of the Sea (Shmos 15:1-19) is framed by related verses.

See Mechilta, Parshas Beshalach, Parshas HaShirah.

According to the Ashkenazic version. The Sephardic version contains several more.

Shir HaShirim 5:11. The numerical equivalent of פז (“finest gold”) is 87, intimating that the beginning, or head, of the Morning Service (i.e., the blessing Baruch SheAmar) comprises 87 words (Mishnah Berurah 51:1).

The latter form is normally used whenever this noun appears in the construct state (bismichus), as in 187:9.

In the original, tav; the above transliteration reflects the more common pronunciation.

Sefer HaMinhagim: The Book of Chabad-Lubavitch Customs (p. 22) states: “While saying Baruch SheAmar one holds the two front tzitzis with the left hand. At the conclusion of the blessing one passes them over the eyes and kisses them.”

See subsection 5 and footnote 49 below.

See subsection 5 and footnote 48 below.

Berachos 45b.

I.e., when a number of blessings are recited in sequence, some have the custom of concluding with Amen. In sec. 54:1 the Alter Rebbe cites both of the above-cited opinions and states that “in these countries” it is customary to conclude with Amen only at the end of the third blessing of the Grace after Meals, in order to distinguish between the three blessings prescribed by Scripture and the fourth blessing which was ordained by the Sages. This would not apply to a different series of blessings, all of which were ordained by the Sages.

Pri Megadim: Eshel Avraham (51:3-4) mentions the possibility that a person who made an interruption by speaking between Baruch SheAmar and Yishtabach may be required to repeat Baruch SheAmar. This requirement is not implied by the Alter Rebbe’s wording.

On days when Tachanun is recited, one should refrain from talking until the end of Tachanun. (See sec. 131:1.) Needless to say, what is permitted thereafter is not conversation, but a few words in time of necessity. In Tanya — Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 24, the Alter Rebbe writes that one should refrain from idle talk until the end of the final Kaddish at each of the three daily prayer services.

See sec. 53:3 and sec. 66.

Devarim 20:8 states that before the Jewish army would enter into battle, the officers would declare: “Whoever is fearful and faint of heart let him go and return home.” According to one view (Sotah 44a), this verse relates not to a soldier who fears the battlefield simply for physical reasons, but to one who fears that retribution will be visited upon him for his transgressions. Our Sages state that speaking between Yishtabach and Yotzer Or is one of the transgressions that would warrant such fear.

The Tur (Orach Chayim 51) quotes this statement in the name of the Talmud Yerushalmi, but it is not found in the standard text. Hashmatos Yerushalmi, which supplies the passages deleted by ecclesiastical and other censors, cites it in Tractate Berachos, ch. 5.

See sec. 66:9 and 111:1 below, based on Berachos 4b and 9b and Rashi there.

As the Alter Rebbe writes in sec. 66:1, when failure to respond to greetings would not irritate a person, one should not respond (nor greet him if he is a person who commands honor). In the present age, it is generally assumed that people will not be irritated by a failure to extend or respond to greetings.

As the Alter Rebbe proceeds to explain, certain passages in Pesukei DeZimrah are collections of verses assembled from various sources.

As mentioned above, it is Ashkenazic custom to recite these verses after Baruch SheAmar.

Tehillim 68:35-36; they are included in the long series of verses beginning Hodu L’A-donai.

Ibid. 94:1-2; they, too, are included in the above series.

Ibid. 33:20-22; as above.

Ibid. 113:2-4; they are included in the series of verses beginning Yehi Chevod.

Ibid. 72:18-19; they are included in the brief bracket of verses beginning Baruch A-donai LeOlam that are recited after the last of the psalms.

I Divrei HaYamim 29:10-13.

Nechemiah 9:5-11.

Shmos 14:30-31; 15:1-18.

That subsection states that it is forbidden to make an interruption during the recitation of a verse of the Shema, except at the end of a concept within that verse. If one does make an interruption, when he returns to his prayers he should recommence the interrupted verse from the beginning, for otherwise the remaining words will be meaningless.

The same applies to responding to the full text of Kedushah and of Modim. In the case of Kaddish, however, one does not respond to any Amen beyond the one that follows DaAmiran BeAlma. (See Sefer HaMinhagim: The Book of Chabad-Lubavitch Customs, p. 9.)

I.e., Baruch SheAmar. As Badei HaShulchan 18:5 points out, (a) though it would appear that Yishtabach ought to be in the same category as Baruch SheAmar (and other authorities rule accordingly), the wording of the Alter Rebbe in our text indicates that this ruling does not apply to Yishtabach; (b) the wording of the Alter Rebbe’s later ruling in Piskei HaSiddur implies that one should not interrupt the recitation of Baruch SheAmar to respond Amen even during Baruch SheAmar.

A marginal note appended (apparently by the Tzemach Tzedek) to the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch questions this statement. It observes that Baruch SheAmar was commonly recited in the Talmudic era, as is apparent from the Zohar, Vol. II, p. 132a and p. 215b) and Sefer Heichalos. Moreover, other classical sources state that the daily recitation of Baruch SheAmar — like the blessings in general — was ordained by the Men of the Great Assembly, the last of whom lived in the early Mishnaic era.

Tehillim 89:53; 135:21; 72:18-19. These are the four verses normally recited after the last of the psalms in Pesukei DeZimrah.

This applies when the interruption is addressed to another individual, but not when it consists of a response to the prayers of the sheliach tzibbur (Maamar Mordechai 51:3).

Hence, despite its disruption, his earlier recitation of Pesukei DeZimrah may still be considered to have been closed by a blessing, and his resumed recitation may be still considered as having been introduced by a blessing.

Regarding this sequence, see footnote 10 above.

Tehillim 106:2.

For it implies that the verses beginning Hodu L’A-donai exhaust His praises.

I.e., the last word of the opening phrase of the verse: “For all the gods of the nations are naught....”

I.e., the latter half of the verse: “...but G‑d made the heavens.”

Rather than a chaf; since this initial consonant begins a new phrase, it is vocalized with a dagesh.

In light of the Alter Rebbe’s explicit reference to sec. 61, it could be argued that the end of the second-last sentence of our text (lit., “so that the final mem will not be swallowed”) means to say, “so that the final mem not swallow [the alef that follows it].”

Tehillim 145:16; it is included in the passage of Pesukei DeZimrah beginning Ashrei.

Needless to say, one should preferably concentrate on the meaning of all the words of prayer. Nevertheless, if one failed to do so, his recitation of the remainder of Pesukei DeZimrah is acceptable after the fact. This verse, however, is an exception, as the Alter Rebbe proceeds to explain.

In Igros Kodesh, Vol. 18, p. 265, the Rebbe writes that one should touch his arm-tefillin when reciting the phrase Poseiach Es Yadecha, and his head-tefillin when reciting the phrase U’Masbia LeChol Chai Ratzon, and adds that the custom of some chassidim in each case is to touch the tefillin with the tefillin straps and then to kiss the straps. The Rebbe’s custom was to touch both tefillin with his fingers. (See Kovetz Minhagei Melech, p. 16.)

See Berachos 4b and subsection 1 above.

“And we will praise G‑d from now to eternity; praise G‑d” (Tehillim 115:18).

Ibid. 150:6.

Shmos 15:18.

Based on the teachings of the AriZal, we also recite that verse in its Aramaic paraphrase.

Shmos 15:19. This addition in fact is almost universal. For a detailed discussion of other additions, see Siddur Otzar HaTefillos, p. 247.

This section is not extant in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch. The Shulchan Aruch of R. Yosef Caro (sec. 275:3-4) describes the unique manner in which the Song of the Sea should be set out in a Torah scroll. From the gloss of Rama (loc. cit., subsection 6), it is evident that this verse, too, is part of the Song. See also Rambam, Hilchos Sefer Torah 8:4.

This phrase (“And now, our G‑d, we give thanks to You...”; I Divrei HaYamim 29:13) is incorporated in the daily passage beginning Vayvarech David. Though it does not mention bowing down, one does bow while reciting the same phrase (Modim Anachnu Lach — “we give thanks to You”) when it appears in Shemoneh Esreh. Hence the above statement that here one should not bow down.

This phrase (“all who stand erect shall prostrate themselves before You”) appears in the passage beginning Nishmas which is added to the Morning Service on Shabbos and festivals.

Common practice is to remain standing from Vayvarech David until having responded to Barchu. (Derech HaChayim and Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, cited in Ketzos HaShulchan 18:4, write that one should stand while reciting the Song of the Sea.)

I Divrei HaYamim 29:12.

In sec. 92:10 the Alter Rebbe quotes Bava Basra 10a: “It is desirable to give charity before prayer, as [alluded to] in the verse, ‘I will behold Your countenance with righteousness’ ” (tzedek — “righteousness,” cf. tzedakah — “charity”). Pri Megadim: Mishbetzos Zahav (92:30), on the authority of the AriZal, associates this gift with the charity given before Vayvarech David, and indeed, Vayvarech David may be considered as appearing “before prayer,” i.e., before Shemoneh Esreh (see footnote 5 above).

Nevertheless, the Alter Rebbe speaks of this practice in two separate sections (viz., here and in sec. 92) without cross-referencing them. This distinction indicates that there should be two separate donations: one before prayer (at the very beginning of the Morning Service, not directly before Shemoneh Esreh) and one when reciting the phrase VeAtah Moshel BaKol. See Igros Kodesh of the Rebbe, Vol. 19, p. 71.

This phrase and the next are both found in Shmos 15:11 as part of the Song of the Sea.

Grammatically, whenever a word beginning with the letter kaf follows in direct semantic sequence after a word (like Mi above) which ends with the letter yud, the initial letter of the second word should lose its dagesh kal and thus be pronounced as a chaf. In the above case, exceptionally, this rule is broken. In explanation, Machatzis HaShekel 51:8 points out that the two words Mi Chamochah (“Who is like unto You?”) when read in sequence would produce the Biblical name Michah. The above change was therefore introduced in order to avoid the possible implication that Michah is being likened to the A-lmighty. (This Michah, not to be confused with the prophet of a later generation bearing the same name, was personally saved by Moshe Rabbeinu during the Egyptian oppression, and later promoted idolatry. See Shoftim, ch. 17.)

Tehillim 35:10; it is included in the passage Nishmas added to the prayers on Shabbos and festivals.

Shmos 15:16, which is part of the Song of the Sea.

Shmos 15:13; this, too, is part of the Song of the Sea.

In the case of a few of the consonants, as with the above example of kaf/chaf (and so, too, with beis/veis or pei/fei), the presence of a dot (dagesh kal) within a letter substantially alters the resultant sound. This alteration applies, regardless of differences between regional accents. In the case of most of the other consonants, the presence of a dot (known in such cases as a dagesh chazak) leaves the phonetic value of the letter unaffected; it only intensifies its articulation. The latter distinction is respected in careful Sephardic pronunciation, especially in the prayers and in the Reading of the Torah; in Ashkenazic pronunciation it is generally overlooked.

Some of the distinctions made here in subsection 12 are thus merely of academic interest for the vast majority of Jews today — including those who employ the pronunciation commonly used today in Eretz Yisrael known as havarah Sephardit. There are exceptions. For example, when the letter gimmel is vocalized with a dagesh, traditional Yemenite Jews call it a jimmel and pronounce it accordingly.

In sec. 53:3 the Alter Rebbe states that the recitation of Pesukei DeZimrah should take half an hour.

I.e., in order to catch up with the minyan. As the Alter Rebbe writes in sec. 52:1, it is preferable to skip some of the passages (with the intention of reciting them later) than to hurry through them all. However, see sec. 52, footnote 3 below.

I.e., during Shemoneh Esreh.