Verses of Praise

Pesukei Dezimra, Aramaic for "verses of song" or "verses of praise", is the section of psalms and biblical passages of praise recited near the start of the Jewish morning service, before its central declarations. Its purpose is preparatory: the tradition teaches that one should not rush straight into petition and the great affirmations of faith, but should first warm the heart and attune the soul through praise of God, so that the prayer that follows is offered from a place of gratitude and wonder rather than cold obligation. The Talmudic sages praised the one who completes the day's prayers having first recited these verses of song.

The section is built around a sequence of psalms, chief among them the final psalms of the Psalter with their mounting summons to all creation to praise God, framed by an opening and a closing blessing. On Sabbaths and festivals it is expanded with additional psalms and songs, including the Song of the Sea that Israel sang at the crossing of the Red Sea. Reciting these verses of praise forms the first of the four broad movements of the morning service, leading the worshipper from praise, through the blessings of the Shema and the Shema itself, to the standing Amidah.