Amidora

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Second Blessing before Shema

Ashkenaz · Weekday · Shacharit · Blessings of the Shema · Second Blessing before Shema

Nusach
Ashkenaz
Edition
Translation based on the Metsudah linear siddur, by Avrohom Davis, 1981

Second Blessing before Shema

[With] unbounded love You have loved us Adonoy, our God; [With] great and abundant pity have You pitied us. Our Father, our King! for the sake of our forefathers who trusted in You, and whom You taught statutes of life, so too, be gracious to us and teach us. Our Father, merciful Father, Who acts with compassion have compassion on us and put into our hearts to comprehend, and to be intellectually creative, to listen, to learn, and to teach, to preserve, to practice, and to fulfill all the words of instruction in Your Torah with love. And enlighten our eyes in Your Torah, and cause our hearts to hold fast to Your commandments, and unify our hearts to love and fear Your Name; and may we never be put to shame, for in Your holy, great, and awesome Name— have we trusted; may we exult and rejoice in Your deliverance. And bring us to peace from the four corners of the earth and lead us upright to our land. Because, You are the Almighty, Who performs acts of deliverance, and You have chosen us from among all peoples and tongues, and You have brought us close to Your great Name, forever in truth; that we may give thanks to You, and proclaim Your Oneness, with love. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Who chooses His people Yisrael with love.

The Kuzari writes, “When reciting the blessing ‘Unbounded Love’ אַהֲבָה רַבָּה, one should bear in mind that Hashem’s Divine influence is especially directed at the Jewish People who receive it as naturally as a mirror receives rays of light. He should also bear in mind that the Torah is the expression of Hashem’s will and through it He establishes His dominion on earth as in heaven. Whenever an individual or a community attains a high degree of spiritual purity, they become worthy of receiving the Divine light to guide their destiny in a miraculous manner far removed from the ordinary course of events which affect the world. This special relationship with the Creator is called love.”

Hashem bestowed His great and abundant pity on us after we sinned in making the golden calf. He not only pardoned us, but gave us the Second Tablets and ordained the construction of the Tabernacle (Mishkan) for His Divine Presence to dwell among us.—Siach Yitzchak

We preserve the Torah by not forgetting its teachings; we practice the commandments and we fulfill them by making them permanent parts of our lives.—Siach Yitzchak

Make us single-hearted and undivided in our love and reverence of Your Name. Keep us from distraction of personal thoughts and selfish motives.—Siach Yitzchak

When one has to receive a favor that is completely undeserved, he feels a sense of shame. We therefore pray to Hashem, that our redemption will not be a “hand out” without merit and cause us to be ashamed. We proclaim that since we “trusted in His Name” and accepted the bitterness of our exile, our deliverance is not totally undeserved.—Siach Yitzchak

May we return from our exile with our heads held high, not in meekness.—Siach Yitzchak

Even if we do not deserve to be saved in our own merit, save us anyhow because You perform acts of deliverance.

At the moment Hashem gave the Torah to the Jews at Sinai, we became His chosen people and were brought close to Him for eternity.—Siach Yitzchak

These final words complete the prayer begun earlier: “Bring us in peace, and lead us upright to our land, so that we may give thanks to You, and proclaim Your Oneness, with love.—Siach Yitzchak

Where it comes in the siddur

Texts and sources

Every prayer text in Amidora comes from openly licensed editions published on Sefaria. Only editions released under CC-BY, CC0 or the public domain are included.