List of Jewish prayers and blessings
Listed below are some Hebrew prayers and blessings that are part of Judaism that are recited by many Jews. Most prayers and blessings can be found in the Siddur, or prayer book. This article addresses Jewish liturgical blessings, which generally begin with the formula:
Transliteration: Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam...
Translation: "Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe..."
Pronunciation
In the transliterations below, ' is used to refer to the sh'vah, which is similar/equivalent to ə; a mid-word aleph, a glottal stop; and a mid-word ayin, a voiced pharyngeal fricative ʕ similar/equivalent to Arabic ع. Whenever ` is used, it refers to ayin whether word-initial, medial, or final. 'H/h' are used to represent both he, an English h sound as in "hat"; and ḥes, a voiceless pharyngeal fricative ħ equivalent to Arabic ح. Whenever 'ḥ' is used, it refers to ḥet. Resh is represented by an 'r,' though it's equivalent to Spanish 'r,' Spanish 'rr,' or French 'r,' depending on one's dialect. In all other regards, transliterations are according to the Sephardi tradition, with modern Hebrew pronunciation.Daily prayers
Waking up
Pesukei d'zimra
This portion of the prayers acts as an introduction to the morning prayers.Shema and its blessings
The Shema prayers is said every day in Shacharit and Maariv. There are always two blessings before the Shema, but after the Shema in the day there is only one blessing, and at night there are two.Amida
The "standing ", also known as the Shemoneh Esreh, consisting of 19 strophes on weekdays and seven on Sabbath days and 9 on Rosh haShana Mussaf. It is the essential component of Jewish services, and is the only service that the Talmud calls prayer. It is said three times a day.The source for the Amida is either as a parallel to the sacrifices in the Temple, or in honor of the Jewish forefathers.
The prayer is divided into 3 sections, blessings of praise for God, requests for our needs and finally blessings of thanksgiving.
Praise
Middle blessings
On a regular weekday there are 13 blessings that ask God for our needs. A small number of rabbis, such as David Bar-Hayim based on fragments from the Cairo Geniza say only 12 blessings here.On fast days in the times of the Talmud there were a number of additional blessings, and in communities today a 14th blessing is added to the Chazzan's repetition on fast days.
On Shabbat and Yom Tov there is only a single blessing.
During Mussaf of Rosh HaShana there are 3 blessings in the middle, each built around 10 verses from the Tanach around a particular theme.
Thanksgiving
Additions during the repetition
Concluding prayers
Kaddish
An Aramaic prayer which focuses on the idea of magnification and sanctification of God's name. There are five versions of kaddish for different purposes.Additional poetry used regularly in prayers
Other prayers
Blessings on the mitzvot
Shabbat
These blessings are also relevant to the festivals with some minor changes to the wording.| Blessing | Hebrew | Transliteration | English |
| Lighting candles | Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, Melekh ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Shabbat. | Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to light the Shabbat candle. | |
| Kiddush | Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, asher kideshanu be'mitzvotav ve'ratza banu, ve'shabbat kodsho be'ahava u've'ratzon hinchilanu, zikaron le'ma'ase vereshit. Ki hu yom techila le'mik'raei kodesh, zecher li'yziat mitzrayim. Ki vanu vacharta ve'otanu kidashta mi'kol ha'amim, ve'shabbat kodshecha be'ahava u've'ratzon hinchaltanu. Barukh ata Adonai mekadesh ha'shabbat. | Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments, and hoped for us, and with love and intent invested us with His sacred Sabbath, as a memorial to the deed of Creation. It is the first among the holy festivals, commemorating the exodus from Egypt. For You chose us, and sanctified us, out of all nations, and with love and intent You invested us with Your Holy Sabbath. Blessed are You, Adonai, Sanctifier of the Sabbath. | |
| Main blessing of Havdalah | Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, ha'mavdil bein kodesh l'hol, bein or l'hoshekh, bein yisra'el la'amim, bein yom ha'sh'vi'i l'sheshet y'mei ha'ma'a'se. Barukh ata Adonai, ha'mavdil bein kodesh l'hol. | Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe, Who distinguishes between the sacred and the secular, between light and dark, between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the six days of labor. Blessed are You,, Who distinguishes between the sacred and the secular. |
Holiday blessings
When any of these blessings are done for the first time that year, the blessing of she'he'cheyanu is said.| Festival | Blessing | Hebrew | Transliteration | English |
| Rosh haShana | For blowing the shofar | Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu li'shmoa kol shofar. | Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to hear the sound of the shofar. | |
| Succot | For sitting in the succa for a meal | Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu leishev ba'succa. | Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to sit in the succa. | |
| Pesach | For eating the matzah at the seder | Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al achilat matzah. | Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to eat matzah. | |
| Pesach | For eating the maror at the seder | Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al achilat maror. | Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to eat maror. | |
| Succot | For taking the lulav | Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al netilat lulav. | Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to take up the lulav. | |
| Purim | For reading the megilla | Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al mikra megilla. | Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to read the megilla. | |
| Hanukkah | For the lighting the candles | Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Hanukkah. | Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah light. | |
| Hanukkah, Purim | Remembering the miracle of the day | Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, she'asa nisim la'avoteinu ba'yamim ha'heim ba'z'man ha'ze. | Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe, Who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days at this time... |
Mitzvot not associated with festivals
Blessings on pleasures, sights and sounds
Blessings during a meal
''N'tilat Yadayim'' (Ritual washing of hands)
The hands are ritually washed before partaking of certain staples of life.In the Ashkenazic tradition and some Sephardic and other communities, it is done before eating bread. In some Sephardic rites and in the German community originating in Frankfurt it is done before drinking wine and or eating bread, alone or with the wine at which time this blessing is said:
After washing but before drying the hands, the following blessing below is said.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English |
| Barukh ata Adonai Elohenu, melekh ha`olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu `al netilat yadayim. | Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the taking of hands. |
Blessing prior to food
After the meal
The combined blessing of Birkat Hamazon is made only after eating a meal containing bread made from one or all of wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt.After Birkat Hamazon, many Sephardic Jews of the Spanish and Portuguese rite recite Ya Comimos or sing Bendigamos. These prayers are similar in content to Birkat Hamazon.
Blessings for smells
Blessings on sights and sounds
Blessings on special occasions
| Name | Hebrew | Transliteration | English | Occasion |
| Sheheheyanu | Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu, melekh ha'olam, shehecheyanu vekiymanu vehigi'anu lazman hazeh. | Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion. | For positive new experiences, including the first time a mitzvah is being done, new clothes or a new annual fruit. | |
| Ha'tov ve'hametiv | Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu, melekh ha'olam, ha'tov ve'ha'metiv. | Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who is good and does good. | For good news and positive experiences. | |
| Dayan ha'emet | Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu, melekh ha'olam, dayan ha'emet. | Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the Universe, the just judge. | For bad news and negative experiences. Also said at a funeral by the mourners prior to tearing the clothes. | |
| Hagomel | Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, hagomel lahayavim tovot, sheg'molani kol tov. | Blessed are You, our God, King of the Universe, Who bestows good things upon the unworthy, and has bestowed upon me every goodness. | For surviving life-threatening situations, such as illness or childbirth. |