Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Siddur Part 2 Birkoth HaTora - Amen w:amen!


If one wishes to learn Tora before reciting the Shema’,

washes hands and say the following three
declarations of appreciation:

Appreciated! You are the Sacred One, our God, Ruler of all existence,
that sanctified us with instructions
and instructed us regarding words of Tora!
Sacred One, our God,
please make the words of Your Tora agreeable in our mouths
and in the mouths of Your people, the entire house of Yisrael;
and it will be that we, our descendants,
and the descendants of Your people the house of Yisrael
will forever know the idea of You
and learn Your Tora for its own sake.
Appreciated! You are the Sacred One, giving the Tora!
Appreciated! You are the Sacred One, our God, Ruler of all existence,
that selected us from all the people and gave the Tora to us.
Appreciated! You are the Sacred One, giving the Tora!
Afterwards, one may learn both written and oral law;
there are various customs as to what to now read,
including the popular custom to read
the portion of the Priestly Promises
and/or the portion of “Instruct the Children of Yisrael.”

Priestly Promises - Bemidbar 6:22
And the Sacred One spoke to Moshe, saying,
Speak to Aaron and to his sons saying,
you will make these promises to the people of Yisrael, saying to them,
May the Sacred One bless you, and guard you;
May the Sacred One make its presence
shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
May the Sacred One lift up its presence upon you, and give you peace.
They will pronounce the idea of Me upon the people of Yisrael -
and I will bless them.

Instruct the Children of Yisrael - Bemidbar 28:1
And the Sacred One spoke to Moshe, saying,
Instruct the children of Yisrael, and say to them,
My offering, food for my fire offerings,
for a pleasant fragrance to me,
you will be careful to offer to me in their proper time.
And say to them, this is the fire offering
which you will offer to the Sacred One;
two lambs in their first year, without blemish,
two a day, for a continual burnt offering.
You will offer one lamb in the morning,
and the second lamb in the afternoon;
And a tenth-ephah of fine flour for a meal offering,
mixed with a quarter-hin of crushed olive oil.
It is a continual burnt offering,
which was done at Mount Sinai for a pleasant fragrance,
a fire offering to the Sacred One.
And its libation will be a quarter hin for one lamb;
And the second lamb you will offer in the afternoon;
you will offer it as the meal offering of the morning, and as its libation,
a fire offering, of pleasant fragrance to the Sacred One.

There is also the popular custom
to read the following Mishna:

The following things have no set measure:
The corner of the field left for the poor,
the first fruits brought to the Temple,
the pilgrimage to the Temple, and the bestowing of kindness.
The fruits of the following things are consumed in this world,
while the principle remains in the coming world:
Honoring one's parents, bestowing kindness,
and bringing peace between people –
and the study of Tora compares to them all.
R. Zeira said, “The women of Yisrael were stringent with themselves,
in that they would wait seven clean days
for even a tiny drop of blood.”
The school of Eliyahu taught,
“Anyone who reviews laws (halakhoth)
is certainly a member of the coming world,
as it says, 'The ways (halikoth) of eternity are his'(Habakkuk 3:6) –
don't read 'ways' (halikoth) but rather 'laws' (halakhoth).”
R. El'azar reported that R. Hanina said,
“Those who learn with sages increase peace in the world,
as it says, 'All your children will be students of the Sacred One
and your children will have much peace.' (Isaiah 54:13)”

Let a person always be in awe of heaven in private,
and admit to the truth, speaking it in the heart.
A person arises and says,
Master of all worlds! "We do not depend on our righteousness
in casting our supplications before You,
but rather on Your abundant mercies”. (Daniel 9:18)
What are we? What are our lives? What are our kindnesses?
What is our righteousness? What are our deeds?
What can we say before You, Sacred One, our God?
The mighty are like nothing before You,
the renowned as if nonexistent, the wise as if ignorant,
and the discerning as if unintelligent.
For all our deeds are chaotic
and the days of our lives are inconsequential before You.
As it is written in Your sacred words:
'The human being has no preeminence over the animal,
for everything is inconsequential.' (Koheleth 3:19)
But we are Your people, members of Your covenant.
We are children of Your beloved, Avraham,
to whom You swore on Mount Moriya -
the offspring of Your captive, Yishaq,
who was bound atop Your altar -
the community of Your firstborn, Ya'aqov –
that out of Your love and happiness for him,
You called him Yisrael and Yeshurun.

Therefore, we must thank You – praise You, declare You glorious,
and hold You in the highest esteem –
give thanks and praise to the idea of You.
We must say before You every day, evening and morning,
'Listen, Yisrael; the Sacred One is our God –
the Sacred One is utterly singular.' (Devarim 6:4)
Fortunate are we, how great is our portion,
how pleasant is our lot, how very nice is our inheritance.
We are fortunate that we arise and retire saying,
'Listen, Yisrael; the Sacred One is our God –
the Sacred One is utterly singular.'
It is You before the universe was created
and It is You after the universe was created.
It is You in this world and It is You for the coming world.
You are the first and You are the last.
Sanctify in Your world the great and sacred idea of You
and with Your salvation You will uplift and raise our stature.
Appreciated! -- sanctifying the idea of You among the masses.

“You alone are the Sacred One.
You made the heavens and beyond, and all their array;
the earth and all that is upon it; the seas and all that is in them.
You vivify all and the heavenly array submits itself to you.
You are the Sacred One, the God that selected Avram,
and brought him out of Ur Kasdim -
and changed his name to Avraham.” (Nehemiah 9:6-7)
It is You, and Your years will never be finished. (Tehilim 102:28)
The Sacred One reigns, (Tehilim 10:16)
the Sacred One has reigned, (Tehilim 93:1)
the Sacred One will reign for all eternity. (Exodus 15:18)
The Sacred One is forever appreciated,
Amen and Amen!” (Tehilim 89:53)

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