The Shabbat Morning Service

The Shabbat morning service is the lengthiest of the week and the service which, in many traditional congregations, is the most well attended. Shabbat morning services in actuality consist of three distinct prayer services—Pesukei Dezimra or verses of praise, Shacharit, the morning service and Musaf, the additional service.

Pesukei Dezimra consists of a series of blessings and Biblical passages, most of which are from the Book of Psalms. The overarching goal of this series of prayers is to get us mentally and spiritually prepared for the prayers to follow. In some congregations, the service will begin with the recitation of Birkat HaShachar, which are the morning blessings traditionally said upon awakening and readying oneself for the day. The core of these blessings is a series of fifteen blessings in which we thank G-d for a variety of our human needs. We also thank G-d for giving us the Torah and for enabling us to study it. In essence, Birkat HaShachar is an expression of our immense and unending gratitude to G-d for all that He does for us.

Pesukei Dezimra, which immediately follows Birkat HaShachar, is a series of blessings, biblical passages and psalms. The included psalms differ between Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities and their number is significantly expanded on Shabbat and the holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, Pesach and Shavuot. In many congregations, the majority of these are said silently. On Shabbat morning, it is common to sing psalm 136, also known as the Great Hallel as well as Ashrei (Psalm 145) and Psalm 150, although there are popular melodies for many of the psalms. Pesukei Dezimra concludes on Shabbat morning with Nishmat and on weekdays, we conclude with Shirat HaYam, the Song at the Sea, also said on Shabbat morning.

Following Pesukei Dezimra, the congregation moves into Shacharit, and the morning service. The term Shacharit is derived from the Hebrew word for dawn or morning, shachar. On Shabbat and the holidays, the person who will be leading Shacharit that morning begins with Shochen Ad and Yishtabach, prayers in which focus on the importance of praising G-d. It is customary to stand from Yishtabach through the Barchu, the formal call to worship.

If a minyan is present, Yishtabach is followed by the Half Kaddish, followed by the Barchu.

The Shema and its blessings

After Barchu, two blessings are said prior to Kriat HaShema, or the recitation of the Shema, one of Judaism’s most important prayers. The first blessing, Yotzer Ohr focuses on creation and is significantly expanded on Shabbat. El Adon, a liturgical poem is included as part of this blessing and is typically sung in unison by the congregation. There are multiple popular melodies for El Adon. The focus of Ahava Raba, the second blessing before the Shema is our privilege in being able to study Torah and do mitzvot. Towards the end of this blessing, those who are wearing a tallit, a four-cornered prayer shawl gather the tzitzit, or fringes on each of the four corners together.

Kriat HaShema

When saying the Shema, it is customary for people to cover their eyes for the first line as a sign of increased focus and concentration. The first line is as follows: “Hear O Israel, the L-rd our G-d, the L-rd is one.” During Shacharit, when tallitot are worn, some people will cover their face with their tallit at this point. The Shema consists of three paragraphs which are taken directly from the Torah—the first two are from the Book of Deuteronomy and the third from the Book of Numbers. It is customary for people to kiss their tzitzit each time tzitzit are mentioned in the third paragraph of the Shema, which is an explanation of the mitzvah of wearing tzitzit.

Following the Shema, we recite a lengthy blessing which focuses upon the Exodus from Egypt and our redemption. The Exodus from Egypt is a central motif in Jewish life and liturgy and it is a mitzvah to remember it daily. Mi Kamochah, who is like you, G-d, is part of this blessing and is typically sung by the congregation.

The Amidah

The Amidah, or standing prayer, is Judaism’s most central and important prayer. We recite the Shacharit Amidah following this blessing. The Amidah consists of nineteen blessings on weekdays and seven blessings on Shabbat and holidays. The first three and last three blessings are the same in every Amidah and the middle blessings change depending upon whether it is a normal weekday, Shabbat or a holiday. The Amidah has numerous additions which are added depending upon the day of the year as well. As Shabbat is a day on which petitionary prayers are omitted, the middle blessings of the weekday Amidah, which are petitionary are substituted for a single blessing, called Kidushat HaYom, in which we sanctify the day. The wording and content of this blessing is different in each of the four Amidot we recite on Shabbat.

The Amidah in a nutshell

The first blessing of every Amidah is often called Avot as it focuses on our ancestors. The second blessing, Gevurot, centers on G-d’s might and power. The third blessing concerns itself with G-d’s holiness. The fourth blessing on Shabbat is a sanctification of the Shabbat. The fifth blessing, often called R’tzei concerns itself with asking that our worship be acceptable to G-d. The sixth blessing, Modim, is an expression of gratitude to G-d and the final blessing, Sim Shalom, is a prayer for peace. The Amidah is actually recited twice at Shacharit—first silently by each individual and then aloud by the person leading Shacharit. When the individual is praying their Amidah, they add a personal meditation after the blessing of Sim Shalom. When the repetition of the Amidah is taking place, the congregation says an expanded version of the third blessing, called Kedushah and also recites a different version of Modim silently as the leader is chanting Modim aloud. There are numerous popular melodies for sections of Kedushah as well as for Sim Shalom.

Following the repetition of the Amidah, Full Kaddish—Kaddish Shalem—is said. On most Shabbatot, this is then followed by the Torah service which is then followed by Musaf, the additional service.