(2.) Psalms.—Our Service contains various groups of psalms: chief among them the mizmorim or pesuke dezimrah (“songs” or “verses of song”), and shir shel yom (“song of the day”), in the Morning Service. The former include Ps. cxlv. to cl., some other psalms, and [[440]]the song of Moses (Exod. xv.). The latter correspond to the songs of the Levites in the Temple, and consist of Ps. xxiv. (for Sunday), xlviii. (for Monday), lxxxii. (for Tuesday), xciv. (for Wednesday), lxxxi. (for Thursday), xciii. (for Friday), and xcii. (for Saturday).—The repetition of Ps. cxlv. three times a day, twice during Shacharith and once during Minchah, is an old minhag (Babyl. Talm., Berachoth, p. 4b).
(3.) Supplications (תחנונים) added in the Morning and the Afternoon Services after the tefillah.
(4.) Readings from the Bible and Post-Biblical Sacred Literature, such as Num. vi. 22 sqq. (priests’ blessing); Gen. xxii. (binding of Isaac); Exod. xvi. (manna); Mishnah, Peah i. 1, and Babyl. T., Shabbath 127a, in the earlier part of the Morning Service; and words of comfort (beginning ובא לציון) from the Prophets after the “Supplications.” Originally an exposition of the Written and the Oral Law followed the “Supplications,” and concluded with Messianic prophecies, recited in Hebrew and in the Chaldee Version.
(5.) Biblical and Post-Biblical passages referring to the Sacrificial Service, in the Morning and the Afternoon Services.
In addition to the above Services, read either in the Synagogue or privately at home, there is a special prayer read by us before retiring to rest. The chief element in it is the first section of shema; hence the name קריאת שמע שעל המטה “Reading of shema before going to bed.” Some psalms and supplications are generally added. [[441]]
Public Service, תפלה בצבור.[131]
The following points mark off the Public Service from the various forms of private prayer:—
(1.) Kaddish, “Sanctification,” a prayer for the universal sanctification of God’s name, which will distinguish the age of Messiah. In the second part of the Kaddish we pray for the Messianic peace, and in the last sentence express our hope that it may soon be granted.
Formerly the Kaddish concluded the Service; at present it is recited at the end of the Service in its full form (קדיש שלם “the whole Kaddish”); the first half (חצי קדיש “half-Kaddish”) has its place at the end of a section of the Service—e.g., after the פסוקי דזמרה in the Morning Service; a third form is recited by mourners after עלינו and after special hymns or psalms; it is the whole Kaddish with the omission of the sentence beginning תתקבל. It is called קדיש יתום “Kaddish of the orphan,” and is intended to express the mourner’s faith in God and his resignation to His Will.—Sometimes a special Kaddish, called Kaddish dirabbanan, is recited after the reading of some Talmudic or Midrashic passages. It is the same as Kaddish shalem, except that the sentence beginning תתקבל is replaced by a prayer for the welfare of the scholars, the Rabbis, and their pupils. [[442]]
(2.) Repetition of the tefillah by the Reader, with the addition of Kedushah before the third paragraph, and the Priests’ Blessing before the last paragraph, of the tefillah. The Kedushah, “Proclamation of the Holiness of God,” is based on the visions of Isa. vi. and of Ezek. iii., with citation of three verses, Isa. vi. 3, Ezek. iii. 12, and Ps. cxlvi. 10, in which the Holiness, Glory, and Kingdom of God are proclaimed.