Shacharit
Encyclopedia
Shacharit is the the daily morning Tefillah (prayer) of the Jewish people
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

, one of the three times there is prayer each day.

Shacharit is said to have been established by the patriarch Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...

 when he prayed in the morning. Prayer is done in the place of animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as part of a religion. It is practised by many religions as a means of appeasing a god or gods or changing the course of nature...

 as established by the prophet Hosea
Hosea
Hosea was the son of Beeri and a prophet in Israel in the 8th century BC. He is one of the Twelve Prophets of the Jewish Hebrew Bible, also known as the Minor Prophets of the Christian Old Testament. Hosea is often seen as a "prophet of doom", but underneath his message of destruction is a promise...

 in Hosea 14, "And we will render the prayer of our lips in place of the sacrifice of bullocks," to still fulfill the Biblical commandment
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...

 (Mitzvah) of serving God.

There are five major components of Shacharit: Pesukei dezimra, the Shema and its blessings, the Amidah
Amidah
The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...

, Tachanun
Tachanun
Tachanun or , also called nefillat apayim is part of Judaism's morning and afternoon services, after the recitation of the Amidah, the central part of the daily Jewish prayer services...

, and the concluding blessings. On certain days, there are additional prayers and services added to Shacharit, including mussaf
Mussaf
Mussaf is an additional service that is recited on Shabbat, Yom Tov, Chol Hamoed, and Rosh Chodesh. The service, which is traditionally combined with the Shacharit in synagogues, is considered to be additional to the regular services of Shacharit, Mincha, and Maariv.During the days of the Holy...

 and a Torah service.

Origin

Shacharit is said to be started by Abraham, as Genesis 22:3 states, "Abraham arose early in the morning," which traditionally is the first Shacharit. The sages of the Great Assembly
Great Assembly
The Great Assembly or Anshei Knesset HaGedolah , also known as the Great Synagogue, was, according to Jewish tradition, an assembly of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, in the period from the end of the Biblical prophets to the time of the development of Rabbinic Judaism, marking a transition from...

 standardized many of the prayers for Shacharit and assembled them into siddurim
Siddur
A siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as it is known today has developed...

. The prayers said vary among congregations and sects of Judaism.

Service

Praying is identified by the verb davening, which comes from the same Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 root as the English word divine. Davening Shacharit is the term for doing the service.

Due the the numerous traditions by men before starting prayer when they awake in the morning, during or before Shacharit Jews put on their tefillin
Tefillin
Tefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...

 and or tallit
Tallit
A tallit pl. tallitot is a Jewish prayer shawl. The tallit is worn over the outer clothes during the morning prayers on weekdays, Shabbat and holidays...

. Both actions are accompanied by blessings. Some do not eat until they have prayed.

Traditionally, a series of introductory prayers are said as the start of Shacharit. The main pieces of these prayers are Pesukei dezimra, consisting of numerous psalms, hymns, and prayers. Pesukei dezimra is said so that an individual will have praised God before making requests, which might be considered rude.

The Shema and its related blessings are said. One should, "concentrate on fulfilling the positive commandment of reciting the Shema" before reciting it. One should be sure to say it clearly and not to slur words together.

On certain days, there is a Torah heading
Torah reading
Torah reading is a Jewish religious ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll to...

 at this point in the service. On most days, three aliyot
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...

 are given out as honors. Seven are given out on Shabbat.

Shemoneh Esrei
Amidah
The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...

 (The Amidah), a series of 19 blessings is recited. On Shabbat and Yom Tov, only 7 blessings are said. The blessings cover a variety of issues and ethics such as Jerusalem, crops, and prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...

.

Tachanun
Tachanun
Tachanun or , also called nefillat apayim is part of Judaism's morning and afternoon services, after the recitation of the Amidah, the central part of the daily Jewish prayer services...

 is said. On Mondays and Thursdays, a longer version is recited. On other days, the extra parts are omitted. Tachanun is traditionally said with ones head resting on their arm. Tachanun is a collection of passages from the Hebrew bible
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...

 (Tanakh). The service concludes, typically with Adon Olam
Adon Olam
Adon Olam is a strictly metrical hymn in the Jewish liturgy. It has been a regular part of the daily and Sabbath liturgy since the 15th century...

, Psalm of the Day, and Prayer for Peace
Prayer for Peace
Prayer for Peace may represent:* A prayer for peace* "A Prayer for Peace", a Sufi prayer developed by Hazrat Inayat Khan, see Prayer for Peace * Prayer for Peace in the World, a Sufi prayer developed by Hazrat Inayat Khan...

.
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