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Ashrei

Sefard · Weekday · Weekday Shacharit · Ashrei

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

Ashrei

Fortunate are those who dwell in Your house; may they continue to praise You, Selah. Fortunate is the people whose lot is thus; Fortunate is the people for whom Adonoy is their God. A praise by David! I will exalt You, my God, the King, and bless Your Name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You and extol Your Name forever and ever. Adonoy is great and highly extolled, and His greatness is unfathomable. One generation to another will praise Your works and Your mighty acts they will declare. The splendor of Your glorious majesty, and the words of Your wonders I will speak. Of Your awesome might, they will speak, and Your greatness I will recount. Mention of Your bountifulness they will express, and in Your righteousness joyfully exult. Adonoy is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in kindliness. Adonoy is good to all, His mercy encompasses all His works. All Your works will thank You, Adonoy, and Your pious ones will bless You. Of the honor of Your kingship, they will speak and Your might they will declare. To reveal to men His mighty acts, and the glorious splendor of His kingship. Your kingship is the kingship for all times, and Your dominion is in every generation. Adonoy supports all the fallen, and straightens all the bent. The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food at its proper time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living being. Adonoy is just in all His ways, and benevolent in all His deeds. Adonoy is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. The will of those who fear Him He fulfills; He hears their cry and delivers them. Adonoy watches over all those who love Him, and will destroy all the wicked. Praise of Adonoy, my mouth will declare, and all flesh will bless His holy Name forever and ever. And we will bless God from now on forever. Praise God.

Psalm 20 is omitted on the following days: Rosh Chodesh, the day before Yom Kippur, Chanukah, both days of Purim, the day before Passover, the intermediate days of the Festivals (Chol HaMoed), and Tisha b'Av. It is also omitted when prayers are recited in the house of a mourner, the entire month of Nisssan, Pesach Sheni (14th of Iyar) Lag-b'omer, from Rosh Codesh Sivan through the twelfth of the month i.e., 5 days after Shavuoth, the Fifteenth of av, from Erev Yom Kippur until the end of Tishre, the Fifteenth of Shevat, when there is a circumcision in the Synagogue, or when a bride groom during the seven days of his wedding celebration is present.

According to Rabbi S.R. Hirsch, this psalm is addressed to David by the people of Israel. It is a testimonial of trust that the people have in the Divinely-appointed king, who is accustomed to victory and triumph. At the same time, it proclaims the eternal truth that the victories which our king wins for our people are to be attributed not to his bravery, nor to his sword, nor to his soldiers, but solely to his relationship with God, His Sanctuary, and His Law.

To Him Who grants victory, a Psalm of David May Adonoy answer you on the day of distress; May the Name of Jacob's God fortify you. May He send your help from the Sanctuary, and support you from Zion. May He remember all your meal-offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifices, Selah. May He grant you what your heart desires, and fulfill all your plans. We will sing at Your deliverance, and in the Name of our God, raise our banners; May Adonoy fulfill all your wishes. Now I know that Adonoy has delivered His anointed one, He will answer him from His holy heavens with the mighty deliverance of His right hand. Some [rely] upon chariots and some upon horses, but as for us, upon the Name of Adonoy, our God, we call. They have bowed down and fallen, but we have risen and stand firm. Adonoy, deliver [us], the King will answer us on the day we call.

Jacob's entire life was filled with trials and distress, and he has thus become the symbol for his descendants throughout their periods of exile and distress.—Radak; S.R. Hirsch

May God help you because of your dedication to the Sanctuary. David's entire being was consecrated to God's Sanctuary.—S.R. Hirsch

Rashi maintains that “offerings” and “sacrifices” refer to David's prayers rather than to his real-offerings.

This portion, known as Kedushas d'Sidra, was introduced at the conclusion of the morning service to accomodate those who came to the synagogue too late to hear the Kedushah in Shemoneh Esrei. The Talmud (Maseches Sotah 49a) declares that the world is preserved solely by virtue of this Kedushah, and by the virtue of our answering, "May His great Name," which is part of the Kaddish recited following the study of the Aggadah. Because of its importance, a vernacular translation in Aramaic was added, so that even those ignorant of Hebrew would understand the sacred words.

The Redeemer shall come to Zion and to those of Jacob who repent from sin, says Adonoy. As for Me, this is My covenant with them, said Adonoy: My spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your children, nor from the mouth of your children's children, said Adonoy— from now to eternity.

(This next section is the actual Kedushah d'Sidra) And You, Holy One, are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. And [the angels] call one to another and say: Holy, holy, holy is Adonoy of Hosts: the fullness of all the earth is His glory."

God waits to hear the praises of Israel before He listens to the praises of the angels.—Etz Yosef God waits until the very last congregation of Jews has completed its prayers and then accepts the prayers of all Israel at one time.—Avudraham

According to the Targum interpretation, the thrice “holy” in the Kedushah does not indicate three ascending degrees of sanctification. Instead, it implies a declaration that He Who is holy in the loftiest regions of His heavenly abode is holy not only there but also on earth, the creation of His Almighty power; and that He was not only holy in the past, but that He is holy even now and will be holy throughout all the ages.—S.R. Hirsch

Isaiah 6:3

And they receive [sanction] one from another, and say, Holy in the highest heights of heaven, the abode of His Divine Presence; holy upon earth, the work of His mighty power; holy forever and to all eternity— is Adonoy of hosts; the whole earth is filled with the radiance of His glory.

And a wind lifted me; and I heard behind me the sound of a great rushing; Blessed is the glory of Adonoy from His place.

Ezekiel 3:12.

See note 00 on Page 00.

And a wind lifted me and I heard behind me a sound of a great rushing of those who uttered praises and said, ‘Blessed is the glory of Adonoy from the place, the abode of His Divine Presence.

Adonoy will reign forever and ever.

Exodus 15:18.

Adonoy, His kingdom is established forever and to all eternity.

Adonoy, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever as the intention of the hearts of Your people, and direct their hearts to You. And He, the merciful One, atones iniquity and does not destroy; He frequently withdraws His anger and does not arouse all His rage. For You, my Master, are good and forgiving, and abounding in kindness to all who call upon You. Your righteousness is everlasting and Your Torah is truth. You will grant truth to Jacob, kindliness to Abraham, as You have sworn to our fathers from the days of old. Blessed is my Master day by day; He loads us [with blessings], the Almighty Who is our deliverance, forever. Adonoy of Hosts is with us a stronghold for us is the God of Jacob, Selah. Adonoy of Hosts, fortunate is the man who trusts in You. Adonoy, deliver [us]; the King will answer us on the day we call.

I Chronicles 29:18.

May our recitation of the Kedushah inspire our thoughts and direct our hearts to serve You.—Avudraham

Psalms 78:38.

Psalms 86:5.

Psalms 119:142.

The patriarchs symbolize the three pillars of the universe—Torah, avodah,— the Temple service and gemilas chasadim—kindliness. Jacob epitomized Torah, which is the ultimate truth; Isaac personified Divine service in his readiness to be offered as a sacrifice to God; and Abraham exemplified the ideal and practice of kindliness throughout his life. We thus pray to be granted a share in the Divine truth of Torah in Jacob's merit, and to receive God's kindliness in Abraham's merit.

Micah 7:20.

Etz Yosef interprets the verse in this manner: “Blessed is Adonoy who loads us each day with His blessings and goodness.”

Psalms 68:20.

Psalms 46:8.

Psalms 84:13.

Psalms 20:10.

Blessed is He, our God, Who created us for His glory, and set us apart from those who go astray; and gave us the Torah of truth, and eternal life He implanted within us. May He open our heart to His Torah, and instill in our heart love and awe of Him, to do His will and serve Him with a perfect heart, so that we shall not labor in vain nor bring forth that which causes dismay.

This phrase is based on Isaiah 43:7, “Everything that is called by My Name, I have created it for My glory.”

This prayer is based on Joshua 24:2-3, “Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the river—and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river.” See Genesis 20:13 as interpreted by Onkelos.

Some women are barren; they cannot bear children at all. Others have children who are unable to live. Similarly, there arc those who study Torah only to criticize and ridicule what they learn, while others learn sincerely but later rebel against its teachings. Those who study to ridicule are comparable to the barren women who are unable to give birth. But those who later rebel are like those who bear children and bury them. We pray to God to instill His love and fear in our hearts so that our learning will bear fruit and have a lasting influence on our lives.—Siddur HaGra

May it be Your will, Adonoy, our God, and God of our fathers, that we keep Your statutes in this world, and [thus] be privileged to live and behold, and to inherit the goodness and blessing of the Messianic days, and in the life of the World to Come. In order that my soul sing to You and not be stilled; Adonoy, my God, forever will I thank You. Blessed is the man who trusts in Adonoy, so that Adonoy is his security. Trust in Adonoy until the end of days, for in God, Adonoy, is the strength of the worlds. And they will trust in You— those who know your Name, for You have never forsaken those who seek You, Adonoy. Adonoy desired, for the sake of His righteousness, to make the Torah great and to glorify it.

Psalms 30:13.

God alone is the source of his trust; he relies on none other than God. One who puts his trust in God, while also relying upon a great many other factors, which he considers essential supports of his life and happiness, is not truly trusting in God.—S.R. Hirsch

Jeremiah 17:7.

Isaiah 26:4.

These are men of the highest caliber who perceive God's ways with undistorted clarity. They discern God's hand guiding the world in its constant, miraculous operation and they know with certainty that all is directed by God.—Malbim

Psalms 9:11.

Isaiah 42:21.

(Adonoy, our Master, how mighty is Your Name over all the earth. Be strong and take courage, all who wait for Adonoy.)

On Rosh Chodesh the Chazzan recites the half-Kaddish, the Tefillin are then removed and the congregation says the Musaf Amidah; and on Chol Hamoed the Chazzan recites the half-Kaddish, and the congregation says the Mussaf Amidah. On regular weekdays the Chazzan recites the following Kaddish:

Exalted and sanctified be His great Name in the world which He created according to His will and may He rule His kingdom bring forth His redemption and hasten the coming if His Messiah in your lifetime and in your days, and in the lifetime of the entire House of Israel, speedily and in the near future— and say Amein.

May His great Name be blessed forever and for all eternity.

Blessed and praised, glorified, and exalted and uplifted, honored and elevated and extolled be the Name of the Holy One, blessed is He; above (Ten Days of Penitence: far above) all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations which we utter in the world—and say Amein.

May there be acceptance of the prayers and supplications of the entire House of Israel before their Father in heaven. And say, Amein.

May there be abundant peace from heaven and life for us and for all Israel, —and say Amein.

He Who makes peace (Ten Days of Penitence: the peace) in His high heavens may He, make peace for us and for all Israel, and say, Amen.

On Mondays, Thursdays and other days when the Torah is read, as the Sefer Torah is returned to the Ark the Chazzan takes the Torah and says:

They will praise the Name of Adonoy for His Name alone is exalted.

Chazzan and congregation:

His majesty is over the earth and the skies. He will raise the might of His people, [which is] praise for all His pious ones, for the children of Israel, the people near to Him. Praise God.

A psalm of David: the earth is Adonoy's and the fullness thereof, the inhabited world and those who dwell in it. For He founded it upon the seas, and established it upon rivers. Who may ascend the mountain of Adonoy, and who may stand in the place of His holiness? The clean of hands and the pure of heart, who has not borne My soul in vain, and has not sworn deceitfully. He will bear Adonoy's blessing and righteousness from the God of his deliverance. This is the generation of those who seek Him, and seekers of Your Presence, [God of] Jacob, selah. Lift up your heads, gates, and be uplifted [you] entranceways to eternity, so that the King of Glory may enter. Who is this King of Glory? Adonoy, strong and mighty; Adonoy, the Mighty One in battle. Lift up your heads, gates, and lift, entranceways to eternity, so that the King of Glory may enter. Who is He, this King of Glory? Adonoy of hosts, He is the King of Glory, selah.

See notes for this Psalm on page 000.

Psalms 24.

As the Torah is returned to the Ark the following is said:

And when it rested, he would say: Return, Adonoy, to the myriads and thousands of Israel. Arise, Adonoy unto Your resting place, You and the Ark of Your strength. Let Your priests clothe themselves in righteousness, and let Your devoted ones sing in joy. For the sake of David, Your servant, do not reject Your anointed. For I have given you good instruction, do not forsake My Torah. It is a tree of life to those who grasp it, and those who support it are fortunate. Its ways are ways of pleasantness and all its paths are peace. Cause us to return to you, Adonoy, and we shall return; renew our days as of old.

The Ark.

Moses.

Numbers 10:36.

Psalms 132:8-10.

Proverbs 4:2.

Proverbs 3:18.

Proverbs 3:17.

Lamentations 5:21.

Where it comes in the siddur

In the other nusachs

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.