Uva letzion

Uva letzion(ובא לציון "and [a redeemer] shall come toZion") are the firstHebrewwords, and colloquially the name, of one of the closing prayers of themorning service.The recitation of this prayer is postponed toMinchaonShabbatand majorJewish holidays,and in Ashkenazic communities toNe'ilaonYom Kippur.

Contents

The prayer consists of a series of scriptural verses which include theKedushaand its Aramaic translation, and two ancient prayers embodying an aspiration for enlightenment andmessianicRedemption. It is always preceded immediately or closely byAshrei(Psalm 145).

Practice

Shulchan Aruchrules that inshacharit,one should not leave the synagogue before Uva letzion.

In Ashkenazic practice, the greater portion is read in an undertone after theChazzanhas intoned the introductory lines; onShabbatafternoon service they are recited with a bit more of a chant. InSephardictradition, there is employed a special chant, of which a variant is used for Psalm 16, recited shortly afterward, at the expiration of Shabbat. In the frequent repetition of a short phrase, and the modification of it to fit the text, it reproduces the chief peculiarity of the worship-music traceable to aSpanishsource earlier than 1492.

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Singer, Isidore;et al., eds. (1901–1906)."U-BA LE-ẒIYYON".The Jewish Encyclopedia.New York: Funk & Wagnalls.