Nishmat
Nishmat(Hebrew:נִשְׁמַתorNishmat Kol Chai'the soul of every living thing') is aJewishprayer that is recited duringPesukei D'Zimrahbetween theSong of the SeaandYishtabachonShabbatandYom Tov.It is also recited during thePassover seder.[1]
Shochen Ad
[edit]Shochen Ad,שׁוֹכֵן עַד(Translated asHe Who abides foreverorHe Who dwells in eternity) is a short prayer which is embedded inAshkenazitexts of Nishmat. Its text is based onIsaiah 57:15.[2]
Shochen Ad is notable because it marks the beginning of the service for thechazzanof the Shacharit on Shabbat. (In the Sephardic tradition, which does not recite Shochen Ad, the chazzan begins at Shav'at Aniyim (שַׁוְעַת עֲנִיִים) instead.)
On theShalosh regalim,there are a variety of customs: According to the Eastern Ashkenazic rite, the chazzan begins the service on the previous verse known asHakel B'tzatzumoton all regalim, signifying miracles God performed associated with these holidays. According to the Western Ashkenazic rite, the chazzan beginsha-gibur la-nezachon Passover,Hakel B'tzatzumoton Shavuot andha-gadol bi-khvot shemechaon Sukkot.[3]On theHigh Holidays,the chazzan begins on the wordHamelekh(המלך) within that verse, as during these days, an emphasis is placed on recognition of God as King.[4]It is also described inSefer HaChaimthat loudly chanting the wordHamelekhhas the effect of driving away accusers from the throne of judgement.[5]Additionally, the letter ה is dropped off the word היושב, alluding to the fact thatnowGod is sitting on the throne.[6]
Befi Yesharim
[edit]After Shochen Ad are four lines of three verses each. The second word in each of these verses begin with the Hebrew letters י,צ,ח,ק, forming the acronym יצחק (Yitzchak,Isaac). Furthermore, in the Sephardic siddur, and onRosh HashanahandYom Kippuramong Ashkenazim, the third words from each verse are ordered so the third letters of each of these words in order spell the name רבקה (Rivka,Rebecca). According to some, these acronyms suggest that the author of the text was a man named Yitzchak married to a Rivkah.[7]According to others, the references are to the BiblicalIsaacandRebecca,[8]alluding to howIsaacandRebecca(from theBook of Genesis) prayed together to have children.[9]WhileMachzor Vitrydoes not have the Rivkah acronym,[8]surviving texts from theCairo Genizado have it.[10]
Themes and ideas
[edit]It is prized by halakhic authorities because the concepts covered in this prayer are basic tohalakha.[11]Nishmat is considered one of the masterpieces of Jewish liturgy. It is seen as a journey of self-discovery, describing God as a source of prayer.[12]
Nishmat andYishtabachare in some ways considered to be one long blessing, abridged just to Yishtabach on weekdays when there is no time to recite the entire prayer.[13]
In this prayer, the wordNishmat(the combining form ofNishmahנִשְׁמָה 'breath') that begins the prayer is related to the wordneshama(נְשָׁמָה 'soul'), suggesting that the soul is part of the breath of all life.[14]The theme of the prayer is the uniqueness of God.[15]
Some hold that answers to certain issues of Jewish law (halakha) can be derived from the prayer Nishmat. The commandment "Do not lie idly by the blood of your neighbor" requires a person to rescue another s/he sees is in danger. But from Nishmat, it can be seen that one who is not physically present where the danger is taking place is exempt from performing any rescue action.[16]Some examples of this include the obligation to rescue a person from a burning building in one's own location, but an exemption from the obligation to donate an organ when doing so can save a life (though doing so is still permitted).[17]
The opening words of Nishmat ( "the soul of every living thing" ), as well as the phrase "creator of all souls" in some versions of Yishtabach, allude toPsalms 150:6( "All souls shall praise God..." ), which was once the final verse of Pesukei Dezimra recited before Nishmat and Yishtabach.
Origin
[edit]Nishmat is believed to have been composed in the earlyAmoraicera or earlier. In theTalmud,Rabbi Yochanan bar Nafcha(180-279 CE) states that Nishmat should be recited during thePassover SederafterHallel.[18]This has been current practice at least since theGeonic period(c. 800-1000 CE).[19]While this is the earliest known reference to the prayer, there are opinions that it may be older.[20]The second part of the Nishmat prayer, from the words "If our mouths were as full of song as the sea...we could not sufficiently praise You O Lord our God" is cited as the text of a thanksgiving prayer for rain, attributed toRabbi Yochanan(Talmud,b.Berakhot 59b).[21]
Nishmat became a standard part of the liturgy by the time ofSaadia Gaon.[22]The earliest mention of it as part of the Sabbath morning service is inSeder Rav Amramwritten by RavAmram Gaonin the ninth century CE.[23]InMishneh Torah,Maimonides(12th century CE) states that it was recited on the Sabbath inSephardicpractice. Its use on Sabbath morning was controversial in Europe during the early medieval period. SeveralAshkenazicrabbinic works explicitly defended its use, includingMahzor VitryandKol Bo.[24]
The exact author of the prayer is not known. Based on theacrosticarrangement inBefi Yesharim,some scholars have suggested that Nishmat was authored by a man named Yitzchak with a wife named Rivka, but others have dismissed this idea.[25]
Some scholars have suggested that the author's name may have beenShimon(שמעון, Simon) from an acrostic within the prayer, and have considered this could beShimon ben Shetachor perhaps theApostle Peter,whose Hebrew name was Shimon, which would place the date of authorship in the first century C.E.[26][27]The latter theory is often cited in conjunction with a rabbinic legend that Simon Peter was an agent of the Sanhedrin who infiltrated early Christianity in order to differentiate it from Judaism so that Jews would not be easily attracted to it.[28]
References
[edit]- ^Preparing your heart for Passover: a guide for spiritual readiness By Kerry M. Olitzky, page 82
- ^Mishkan T'filah: Weekdays/Festivals, non-transliterated By Elyse Frishman, editor, page 185
- ^Sefer Maharil, Spitzer edition,page 141,footnote B1 (in bottom right corner).
- ^Rite and reason: 1050 Jewish customs and their sources By Shmuel Pinchas Gelbard, page 246
- ^The Complete Artscroll Machzor for Rosh Hashanah, page 404
- ^A guide to Jewish religious practice By Isaac Klein, page 185. Note that the hey appears like the rest of the year in all manuscripts and was dropped later, see Daniel Goldschmidt, Rosh Hashanah Machzor,page 43.
- ^Sefer Abudirham,Shacharit shel Shabbat
- ^abTHE LINES THAT FOLLOW שוכן עד
- ^The Complete Artscroll Machzor for Rosh Hashanah, page 405
- ^Cairo Geniza Ms Vienna 96 in Ezra Fleischer,Eretz Yisrael Prayer and Prayer Customs,(1988) Magnes.
- ^My People's Prayer Book: Shabbat morning: Shacharit and Musaf By Lawrence A. Hoffman, page 45, 58
- ^Finding our way: Jewish texts and the lives we lead today By Barry W. Holtz, page 115
- ^Festival of freedom: essays on Pesah and the Haggadah By Joseph Dov Soloveitchik,Joel B. Wolowelsky,Reuven Ziegler,page 112
- ^The Book of Blessings: New Jewish Prayers for Daily Life, the Sabbath, and... By Marcia Falk, page 490
- ^1,001 Questions and Answers on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur By Jeffrey M. Cohen, page 166
- ^J. David Bleich,Contemporary Halakhic Problems,volume 4 page 310
- ^J. David Bleich,Contemporary Halakhic Problems,volume 4 page 314
- ^Talmud BavliPesahim118a
- ^Why We Pray What We Pray By Rabbi Dr. Barry Freundel, page 84
- ^My People's Prayer Book: Shabbat morning: Shacharit and Musaf By Lawrence A. Hoffman, page 59
- ^Sacks, Jonathan,ed. (2009).The Koren Siddur(1st ed.). Israel: Koren Publishers. pp. 30–31.ISBN9789653010673.
- ^The contemplative soul: Hebrew poetry and philosophical theory in medieval Spain By Adena Tanenbaum, pages 17-18
- ^Why We Pray What We Pray By Rabbi Dr. Barry Freundel, page 91
- ^Why We Pray What We Pray By Rabbi Dr. Barry Freundel, page 93
- ^1,001 Questions and Answers on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur By Jeffrey M. Cohen, page 167
- ^"Remembering Simon Peter".
- ^"Zutot 2003 [electronic resource]".2005.
- ^Breitowitz, Rabbi Dr Yitzchak (2018-12-17)."Three Days of Darkness: The Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth of Tevet".Jewish Holidays.Retrieved2023-06-27.
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