Ashrei - A Guaranteed Spot in Heaven?

“Ashrei” “on one foot”

“Ashrei” is a prayer that we say at the beginning and end of the morning service and the beginning of the afternoon service. It is primarily composed of Psalm 145.

Context: This is from the Babylonian Talmud, Masechet (Tractate) Brachot, which is about blessings and prayers. In the very first mishnah of the Talmud, it says that one can say the evening Shema up until dawn, but it is better to do it before midnight so as not to go to sleep and forget to do it at all. The rabbis talk about what else one needs to say when saying the evening Shema, and conclude that if you connect “redemption” (i.e. Mi Chamocha) with your Amidah, then you get a spot in the World-to-Come (Hashkiveinu counts as part of Mi Chamocha for this purpose in the evening service). This then leads to a further discussion of other things that assure one of a spot in the World-to-Come. While the Talmud is vague on details on the World-to-Come (which makes sense, because nobody has been there for a long time and then come back to give a report), Maimonides thinks it refers to the afterlife while Nachmonides thinks it refers to the Messianic Era (https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-world-to-come/).

Ashrei is primarily composed of Psalm 145, preceded by two other verses from Psalms (84:5 and 144:15) and followed by one more verse from Psalms (115:18). This means that it starts with the very first word in the Book of Psalms, “Ashrei”, and ends with the very last word in the Book of Psalms, “Halleluyah”. This enhances Psalm 145’s role as the “title track” of the Book of Psalms, because although in Hebrew the book is called Tehilim, only Psalm 145 actually starts with the word “Tehila”.

Ashrei is at the beginning of the morning service (in P’sukei D’zimra, after Baruch She’amar), at the end of the morning service (after the Amidah as well as the Torah reading when the Torah is read), and at the start of Mincha (the afternoon service).

If prayer is meant to lead to action, what action could be derived from Ashrei which would guarantee a person a place in the World-to-Come?

So why does Ashrei have this power?

Context: This is from Maseschet Brachot, right after the previous text. It posits that perhaps the special powers of Ashrei come from the fact that Psalm 145 is an alphabetical acrostic, though it counters that Psalm 119 is also an alphabetical acrostic with 8 verses for each letter.

Ashrei is primarily an alphabetical acrostic, probably to make it easier to remember pre-printing press. Why might a prayer that incorporates every sound of the alphabet help guarantee a spot in the World-to-Come?

Context: This comes right after the previous text in Masechet Brachot. It posits that the Pey line of Ashrei, which says that G-d opens G-d’s metaphorical hand to satisfy the needs of all that live, is the reason why this prayer gets you a spot in the World-to-Come. It follows this this idea by noticing that the same idea is in Psalm 136. The text also points out that while Psalm 119 is also alphabetical and Psalm 136 has the same idea as this line in Ashrei (Psalm 145), only Psalm 145 has both aspects.

Why might being reminded to be generous 3 times a day guarantee you a spot in the World-to-Come?

Context: This is from the Shulchan Aruch, Rabbi Joseph Caro’s 1563 law code of rules for living a Jewish life. Here he is saying that if you don’t focus while saying the Pey line of Ashrei, then you have to go back and say it again. This may be why some people have the custom of literally opening their hand when they get to this line.

If the Pey line reminds us to be generous, why might it be important to actual focus while saying these words instead of just mechanically reciting them while your mind is elsewhere?

But what about the Nun line?

Context: This is from the next part of Masechet Brachot. It is noticed, by 500 CE, that Psalm 145 (Ashrei) is an alphabetical acrostic yet the Nun line is missing. It is assumed that since there’s a verse in the Bible which talks about Israel as having fallen, that King David didn’t want to include it and yet made subtle reference to this in the next line (the Samech line) which talks about G-d supporting the fallen.

Why else might the Nun line not be there?

Dead Sea Scroll 11Q5 Psalms^a, including Psalm 145.

תהילים קמה:יג1

Ne’eman Elohim bidevarav, vechasid bechol maasav

God is faithful in all His words, and loving in all His deeds.

Context: The Dead Sea Scrolls were a set of Biblical texts (and communal rules) written by the Essenes near the Dead Sea prior to 70 CE. They were found preserved in a cave in 1947 by a Bedouin boy chasing his goat. One of the major discoveries in the Dead Sea Scrolls is that Psalm 145 did have a Nun line once - starting with the word “Faithful” (referring to G-d), not “fallen” (referring to the Jewish people). It is thought that a scribe must have copied the Mem line, gotten distracted, and picked up again in the wrong place. The next scribe copied off of that erroneous text and the Nun line got lost.

Have you ever lost your place when doing something? What happened as a result?

What does Ashrei actually say?

Context: This is the prayer “Ashrei”. As mentioned before, it is primarily Psalm 145, preceded by Psalm 84:5 and 144:15, and followed by Psalm 115:18. The structure of Psalm 145 is that the first section is “historical praise” (verses 1-7), then there’s a middle section of G-d’s attributes (verses 8-15), and finally a section about how G-d relates to Creation (verses 16-22). The verses themselves use parallelism, so that the second half of each verse basically restates the first half.

What reactions do you have to the text of this prayer?

Personally connecting to Ashrei

Context: This is the very first line of Ashrei.

What might “G-d’s house” be, and why would those who dwell there be happy?

Context: This is the “Daled” line of Ashrei.

Talking about what G-d has done is a multi-generation act. How have previous generations talked about G-d with you and/or how have you talked about G-d with the next generation?

Context: This is the “Tet” line of Ashrei.

How does this play out, and how can we be G-d’s partner in making this happen?

Context: This is the “Pey” line of Ashrei.

If G-d is the Ultimate Role Model, how can we emulate G-d with this?

Context: This is the “Kuf” line of Ashrei.

When has G-d felt near to you?

Context: This is the last line of Ashrei. It also also found in Hallel at the end of the “Adoshem Z’charanu Yivareich” prayer. Here we go from “I will praise G-d” to “We will praise G-d” (the “Tav” line of Psalm 145 also makes this transition).

What has G-d done for you that is deserving of praise?

​​​​​​​Context: This is a 2018 video produced by BimBam.

Some musical settings of Ashrei

Context: This is the main tune for Ashrei, though it really should only be used for Shabbat and holiday morning services before the Torah is returned to the Ark. There are other ways of chanting Ashrei at other times. This is a recording by Cantor Brian Shamash, the cantor at Temple Israel of Great Neck, NY. The text comes from Tefillah Trainer, a computer program by Kinnor Software, which Cantor Neil Schwartz did much of the work on.

What does this tune make you think of?

Context: This is the Shabbat Mincha nusach for Ashrei. Nusach is a way of chanting Jewish prayers which sets the mood and indicates the time that the prayer is being done (Shabbat or weekday, morning or evening, festival or High Holiday). This recording is done by Cantor Erica Rubin, the cantor at Congregation Sons of Israel in Nyack, NY. A good way to remember the beginning of Shabbat Mincha nusach is that it sounds like the Crispy Critters cereal commercial (“The one and only cereal that comes in the shape of animals”) from the 1960s and 1980s - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG949NeSDPk.

Why might this be the nusach for the service when Shabbat is on its way out?

Context: This recording of the Yom Kippur Neila Ashrei tune is made by 2 members of Grassroots Jews, an independent non-denominational Jewish community in London which has been meeting for High Holiday services since 2009. When they could not meet in-person in 2020 they made a set of videos, and this is one of them. For Ashrei, please see the minutes 0:27-1:39. This is the special way of doing Ashrei at Neila and also on Slichot.

Why might this be the nusach for when Yom Kippur is on its way out?

Context: This is Rabbi Shefa Gold’s tune for the beginning of Ashrei, sung by Aviva Chernick.

What mood does this setting of Ashrei evoke for you?

Context: Peri Smilow is a Jewish songwriter-singer and this is her version of the beginning of Ashrei. She is singing it at the Biennial of the Union for Reform Judaism, joined by other Jewish songwriter-singers (Peri is the one with the guitar).

What mood does this setting of Ashrei evoke for you?

Context: This is Debbie Friedman’s version of the last line of Ashrei, being sung at Neila (since Ashrei starts Neila). The meaning of the words is: “And we will praise you now and forever; halleluyah”.

What mood does this setting evoke for you?

Context: This is the Yeshiva Boys’ Choir singing their version of “Ashrei”.

What mood does this setting of Ashrei evoke for you?

With appreciation to Atara Blicker, Shmuel Perl, Yehudah Auerbach, Yonatan D, Benjamin Adler, Rabbi Daniel Victor, Deracheha, Bonnie Levine, Esther Azar, Liora Alban, Israel Friedman, Zach Mainzer, and Cantor Neil Schwartz.

Appendix: How to make P’sukei D’zimra shorter

(Hint: It still includes Ashrei)