Barukh she'amar (Hebrew:בָּרוּךְ שֶׁאָמַר,romanized: bāruḵ šeʾāmar,lit. 'Blessed is He who said' or other variant English spellings), is the opening blessing topesukei dezimra, a recitation in themorning prayer inRabbinic Judaism. As with many texts in Judaism, it takes its name from the opening words of the prayer.
According to authorities beginning withJacob ben Asher, the prayer must be sung to a melody;[1] according to authorities beginning withOr Zarua II [he], it should be said standing.
According toOr Zarua II, theBarukh she'amar contains 87 words, which number is thegematria of the Hebrew wordpaz (פ״ז) meaning "refined gold.".[2] An alternative text is printed in someSephardic prayer books, often alongside the more common version.
theBarukh she'amar acts as atransition in the prayer service. In theSyrian tradition, the common melody for the prayer is derived from that ofHatikvah.[3][clarification needed]
According to Jacob ben Asher andIsaac Aboab I, Barukh she-Amar is described by theSefer Hekhalot. However, no extant manuscript contains this reference.[a]Moses ben Jacob of Coucy,Amram ben Sheshna,Natronai ben Hilai, andSaadia Gaon attest to its popular use by the9th century. According to theMishneh Torah (c. 1175), this prayer was instituted by theGreat Assembly;[4]Or Zarua II [he][b] (c. 1300) claims "this is the best of the praises, because the Great Assembly did not establish it but rather was given to the wise tradents by way of a note from heaven."[5]
In the Sephardic and Mizrahi liturgies, as well asNusach Sefard, the custom is to recite most of the additional psalms of Shabbat (except for Psalms 92 and 93) prior to Barukh she-Amar on Shabbat.[6]
There are seven aspects ofGod mentioned in Barukh she'amar. These are:[7]
Barukh she'amar becomes the initial part of the daily Jewish morning prayer, in "history-periods" of serious difficulty for the whole Jewish people; when there are not persecutions, ongoingdiasporas or anything else serious for the Jews,Shacharit begins as always.[8]
