Awaken

The first section of the traditional Morning Prayer service begins with the Birchot HaShachar (the Blessing of the Dawn) section which contains:

·         Mah Tovu

·         [donning the] Tallit [prayer shawl]

·         [donning] Tefillin [phylacteries]

·         Adon Olam

·         Yigdal

·         Asher Yatzar

·         Brachot for Torah study

·         Torah Study
Numbers 6:24-26
Mishnah Peah 1:1
Talmud Shabbat 127a

·         Elohai N'shama

·         Birchot HaShachar

·         Vihi Ratzon

·         Ribon Kol HaOlamim

·         Readings
Numbers 28:1-8
Leviticus 1:11
Mishnah Zevachim 5

·         Rabbi Ishmael's thirteen rules for interpreting Torah

·         Kaddish d'Rabbanan

·         Psalm 30

·         Kaddish Yatom

The morning ritual was at one time performed at home but as this was observed more infrequently this ritual was adopted into the morning synagogue services. The liturgy varies by denomination such as the 15 blessings that make up the "Birchot HaShachar" contain controversial brachot such as for "not making me a woman". Conservative liturgy changes this to "who made me in God's image" whereas Reform liturgy simply omits the bracha altogether.

As the first of six sections that make up the prayer cycle not only does this section apply to the morning ritual of waking up from slumber but also metaphorically to a spiritual awakening. Prayer is distinguished fundamentally from our rational thinking processes that consider the physical world by focusing on the spiritual realm. Chasidic tradition relates to living in a universe that is composed of a physical world and a spiritual world under one God (where the ideal is a balance of the two). The Birchot HaShachar section is thus an ideal way to begin the day reminding us of the two worlds we can choose to function in by recognizing the awakening of our physical and spiritual beings.

If prayer is our vehicle to communicate with God then Birkat HaShahar is the first step in preparing our consciousness to open our minds.

In class I presented the Book of Ruth as an example of how to deliver a project. Since the book is in narrative form with a lot of dialog and very short I chose to have the students act out the whole book with a script I put together. At the end of the story one of the students blurted out, “you mean Ruth is going to marry that old guy [Boaz]?”! I think they got it.

Afterwards the students worked on researching their books by using the Internet (Wikipedia, iTunes, YouTube) and the Temple library.

We then studied Birchot HaShachar including comparing different siddurim and practiced putting on the Tallit.

Extended commentary on the components of this section:

1. Mah Tovu
   The customary prayer upon entering the synagogue (Numbers 24:5, Psalms 5:8, 28:8, 95:6 & 69:14) The first part is a reference to Bila'am's curse turned blessing mentioned already, followed by the idea of prayer as worship of God.
2. Tallit
   The tallit represents the fulfillment of the commandment to wear fringes on our clothing and is used in morning prayers. Women traditionally did not wear the tallit since the it was considered obligatory only for men above the age of 13, but it is also no prohibited and often worn by women in Reform and Conservative congregations.
3. Tefillin
   Also traditionally worn by men above the age of 13 during morning prayers except Shabbat and Holydays and are used to fulfill the commandment to bind the teachings of God upon our arms and between our eyes (Deut 6:8)
4. Adon Olam
   Is one of the most popular of Jewish songs and contains the Jewish definition of God often considered to have been authored in the 11th century.
5. Yigdal
   Is a 14th Century poem containing the 13 principles of Jewish faith by Maimonides.
6. Asher Yatzar
   Is a blessing of health that essentially deals with toiletry.
7. Brachot for Torah study
   This section helps us fulfill the obligation for daily Torah study.
8. Elohai N'shama
   This blessing reminds us that God has given each of us a pure soul from birth and our existence is in His hands.
9. Birchot HaShachar
   The 15 blessings that originally were used as a "get out of bed" ritual.
10. Vihi Ratzon
    Two petitions to protect us from evil (from ourselves and others)
11. Ribon Kol HaOlamim
    "Master of All Worlds" was written in response to 5th Century Persian religious persecution.
12. Readings
    Describes Temple sacrificial system.
13. 13 rules
    From Midrash Sifra describing out to interpret Torah.
14. Kaddish d'Rabbanan
    The "Rabbi's" Kaddish which traditionally concludes study sessions.
15. Psalm 30
    A song of dedication for the house.
16. Kaddish Yatom
    A Mourner's Kaddish (Kaddish being a sanctification of God and used to delineate service sections)

Extended commentary on the components of this section:

1. Mah Tovu
   The customary prayer upon entering the synagogue (Numbers 24:5, Psalms 5:8, 28:8, 95:6 & 69:14) The first part is a reference to Bila'am's curse turned blessing mentioned already, followed by the idea of prayer as worship of God.
2. Tallit
   The tallit represents the fulfillment of the commandment to wear fringes on our clothing and is used in morning prayers. Women traditionally did not wear the tallit since the it was considered obligatory only for men above the age of 13, but it is also no prohibited and often worn by women in Reform and Conservative congregations.
3. Tefillin
   Also traditionally worn by men above the age of 13 during morning prayers except Shabbat and Holydays and are used to fulfill the commandment to bind the teachings of God upon our arms and between our eyes (Deut 6:8)
4. Adon Olam
   Is one of the most popular of Jewish songs and contains the Jewish definition of God often considered to have been authored in the 11th century.
5. Yigdal
   Is a 14th Century poem containing the 13 principles of Jewish faith by Maimonides.
6. Asher Yatzar
   Is a blessing of health that essentially deals with toiletry.
7. Brachot for Torah study
   This section helps us fulfill the obligation for daily Torah study.
8. Elohai N'shama
   This blessing reminds us that God has given each of us a pure soul from birth and our existence is in His hands.
9. Birchot HaShachar
   The 15 blessings that originally were used as a "get out of bed" ritual.
10. Vihi Ratzon
    Two petitions to protect us from evil (from ourselves and others)
11. Ribon Kol HaOlamim
    "Master of All Worlds" was written in response to 5th Century Persian religious persecution.
12. Readings
    Describes Temple sacrificial system.
13. 13 rules
    From Midrash Sifra describing out to interpret Torah.
14. Kaddish d'Rabbanan
    The "Rabbi's" Kaddish which traditionally concludes study sessions.
15. Psalm 30
    A song of dedication for the house.
16. Kaddish Yatom
    A Mourner's Kaddish (Kaddish being a sanctification of God and used to delineate service sections)

Comments

[Chaye Netzach]

BS"D

It is called "Kaddish Yatom" (Orphan's Kaddish) even though it is not always pronounced by an orphan, because Kaddish is also said on a brother and on other deceased family members. It can also be said by a volunteer who never met the dead person.
May we always have good news... http://www.shabes.net/netzach/english.htm

[Stu]

Thanks for the clarification!

[Aaron Vitells]

Knowing the details of the services is helpful only if the kavanah is clear. The Kavanah is clear only if your concept of God is clear.The concept of God is clear only when one is shown the experience of the Unity of God.

[Stu]

Aaron it sounds like you are saying that one needs some kind of perfection to experience God. I say you experience God if your heart is in the right place with or without any kind of clear conception of God.

[Aaron Vitells]

But what do you mean by "the heart in the right place"? What is this "right place" that your heart should be in?
Knowing the "place"is knowing the real meaning of "Makom" in "Baruch Kevod Hashem mimkomo"
It is also said " Ve'yadata ha'yom ve'hashevota el lvavcha".In order to be able to do a real Teshuva you must know Hashem. Otherwise you may find yourself in a different place (Satra ahara...)