Nishmat (Hebrew:נִשְׁמַת orNishmat Kol Chai 'the soul of every living thing') is aJewish prayer that is recited duringPesukei D'Zimrah between theSong of the Sea andYishtabach onShabbat andYom Tov. It is also recited during thePassover seder.[1]
Shochen Ad,שׁוֹכֵן עַד (Translated asHe Who abides forever orHe Who dwells in eternity) is a short prayer which is embedded inAshkenazi texts of Nishmat. Its text is based onIsaiah 57:15.[2]
Shochen Ad is notable because it marks the beginning of the service for thechazzan of 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'tzatzumot on all regalim, signifying miracles God performed associated with these holidays. According to the Western Ashkenazic rite, the chazzan beginsha-gibur la-nezach on Passover,Hakel B'tzatzumot on Shavuot andha-gadol bi-khvot shemecha on 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 HaChaim that loudly chanting the wordHamelekh has 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 thatnow God is sitting on the throne.[6]
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 Hashanah andYom Kippur among 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 BiblicalIsaac andRebecca,[8] alluding to howIsaac andRebecca (from theBook of Genesis) prayed together to have children.[9] WhileMachzor Vitry does not have the Rivkah acronym,[8] surviving texts from theCairo Geniza do have it.[10]
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 andYishtabach are 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.
Nishmat is believed to have been composed in the earlyAmoraic era or earlier. In theTalmud,Rabbi Yochanan bar Nafcha (180-279 CE) states that Nishmat should be recited during thePassover Seder afterHallel.[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 Amram written by RavAmram Gaon in the ninth century CE.[23] InMishneh Torah,Maimonides (12th century CE) states that it was recited on the Sabbath inSephardic practice. Its use on Sabbath morning was controversial in Europe during the early medieval period. SeveralAshkenazic rabbinic works explicitly defended its use, includingMahzor Vitry andKol Bo.[24]
The exact author of the prayer is not known. Based on theacrostic arrangement 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 Shetach or 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]
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