Pesukei dezimra
Hispanic Jewish liturgical tradition
Pesukei dezimra (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: פְּסוּקֵי דְזִמְרָא, romanized: pǝsuqē ḏǝzimrā, lit. 'Verses of praise'; Rabbinic Hebrew: פַּסוּקֵי הַזְּמִירוֹת pasuqẽ hazzǝmiroṯ "Verses of songs"), or zemirot as they are called by the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, are a group of prayers that may be recited during Shacharit (the morning set of prayers in Judaism). They consist of various blessings, psalms, and sequences of other Biblical verses. Historically, reciting pesuqe dezimra in morning prayer was only practiced by the especially pious. Throughout Jewish history, their recitation has become widespread among the various rites of Jewish prayer.
The goal of pesukei dezimra is for the individual to recite praises of God before making the requests featured later in Shacharit and the day.
Origin
The first source for pesuke dezimra is in the Babylonian Talmud, where it is described as non-obligatory (performed by some people but not others):
Rabbi Yosei said: May my portion be among those who eat three meals on Shabbat. Apropos this statement of Rabbi Yosei, the Gemara cites additional declarations. Rabbi Yosei said: May my portion be among those who complete hallel every day. The Gemara is surprised at this: Is that so? Didn’t the Master say: One who reads hallel every day is tantamount to one who curses and blasphemes God.
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