TRANSLITERATION
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu laasok b’divrei Torah.
TRANSLATION
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who hallows us with mitzvot, commanding us to engage with words of Torah.
Ashrei is a mash-up of material from 4 different Psalms (Bible poems), mostly Psalm 145
Bible = T(A)N(A)KH
T = Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
N = Nevi'im (Prophets), Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 12 minor prophets
KH = Ketuvim (Writings), Psalms, Proverbs, Job, 5 Scrolls, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles
- Psalms are a big part of our daily and holiday prayers
- They express the full range of human emotions: happiness/sadness, confidence/uncertainty, unity/disunity, hope/despair...
- Ashrei is made up of pieces from Psalm 84:5, 144:15, 145, and 115:18
- We recite it 3 times a day, why?
Rather, the reason why tehilla leDavid is accorded preference is because it contains both an alphabetic acrostic as well as mention of God’s provision of blessing and nourishment to all creation.
Ashrei is an acrostic (each line starts with the next letter of the alphabet), except for...
Additionally, with regard to this psalm, Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Why is there no verse beginning with the letter nun in ashrei? Because it contains an allusion to the downfall of the enemies of Israel, meaning Israel itself. As it is written: “Israel has fallen and she will rise no more; abandoned in her land, none will raise her up” (Amos 5:2), which begins with the letter nun. Due to this verse, ashrei does not include a verse beginning with the letter nun. In order to ease the harsh meaning of this verse, in the West, in Eretz Yisrael, they interpreted it with a slight adjustment: “She has fallen but she shall fall no more; rise, Israel!” Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak adds: Even so, David went and provided support, through divine inspiration. Although King David did not include a verse beginning with the letter nun alluding to Israel’s downfall, he foresaw the verse that would be written by Amos through divine inspiration; and the very next verse, which begins with the letter samekh, reads: “The Lord upholds the fallen and raises up those who are bowed down” (Psalms 145:14). Therefore, through divine inspiration, David offered hope and encouragement; although Israel may have fallen, the Lord upholds the fallen.
Posner, Raphael. "Ashrei." Encyclopaedia Judaica, edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 2nd ed., vol. 2, Macmillan Reference USA, 2007, p. 580. Encyclopedia Judaica, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2587501489/GVRL.judaica?u=grjc&sid=bookmark-GVRL.judaica&xid=3cd27d15. Accessed 17 May 2022.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ashrei-pslam-145/ article by Reuven Kimmelman
Prelude: vv. 1-2
I: vv. 3-6
II: vv. 7-9
Interlude: v. 10
III: vv. 11-13
IV: vv. 14-20
Postlude: v. 21
Intro:
We're happy to be here in God's Temple, in God's world, happy to be the People of Israel who have a relationship with God over time
Part I: God's greatness, then, God's goodness
Aromimcha - Yevarchucha
Greatness - beyond what we can know or measure, through all time, and we'd like to tell everyone about it!
Goodness - God is good to all, loving, compassionate, God is known by God's lovingkindness
Part 2:
Kevod...
How God shows goodness to all - what does God offer to us as human beings?
- God is a King/Ruler through all time, don't have to worry God will not be there - What type of Ruler is God?
- Somekh - lifts us up when we fall, straightens us up when we're bent over - what could this mean?
- Eynay - Keeps an eye on us, makes sure we have enough food to eat (or maybe, makes sure there's the potential to be enough food for everyone...we have to make sure it gets to people in need)
- Pot-e-ach - Some have custom of opening up their hands to show that we keep our hands open to receive blessings from God and to imitate God by helping others
- Tzadik - God operates on justice and lovingkindness to all of us
- Karov - God listens to our prayers, especially the prayers that are from the heart
- Retzon - God 'knows' what we're hoping for, hears when we cry out for help
- Shomer - God guards us by helping us contain enemies, people who want to do us harm
- I/He-She/We
- We're individuals, each of us, praying, and there are also others like us, and then finally we're a "we"
- We're not just praying, giving thanks now, but we're hoping to do this regularly, forever
- Hallelujah - Praise Yah/God
The language of Ashrei - what do the words mean?
Using root words to open up the Hebrew text
ברך ברכ bless
גדל great/immense
טוב טב good(ness)
גבר power, strength, might
מלכ מלך ruler/sovereignty/authority
הלל praise
רחם kindness, compassion
עשה עש action, doing