Korbanot and Pesukei De-zimra

Why are korbanot recited?

After Birchot Ha-shachar, many people recite portions of the Torah, Mishna, and Talmud describing some of the sacrifices offered in the Beit Ha-mikdash. This section of tefilla is known as “korbanot,” sacrifices.

The Talmud teaches that engaging in Torah study about a sacrificial offering can stand in place of making that offering:

Today, when we do not have Beit Ha-mikdash (the Temple) and it is impossible to offer sacrifices, the closest we can come to this holy endeavor is engaging in learning about them. Another talmudic passage has God making this point to Avraham Avinu:

It is particularly fitting to do this in the context of prayer, since some aspects of our formal prayer, such as the timing of the daily tefillot, were enacted to correspond with the korban tamid (the daily morning and afternoon offering) and other sacrifices and, in the absence of sacrifices, also replace them.

Additionally, it makes sense to recite the korbanot at the beginning of shacharit because reciting these passages of korbanot is also an act of learning Torah, appropriate on the heels of saying the birchot ha-Torah.¹

Is reciting them obligatory?

Tur singles out reciting the portion of korban tamid (Bemidbar 28:1-8) as an “established” recitation, perhaps because of the tamid’s connection to daily tefilla:

Although this source makes it sound as though reciting the portion of the tamid is obligatory, Tur’s treatment of the other korbanot passages is closer to encouragement (as we also find in Shulchan Aruch).²

Tur writes that “It is good to say” these passages, including the Torah’s description of the binding of Isaac, the akeida. His choice of language implies that we are not bound to recite the korbanot passages other than korban tamid. Tur also adds another point here. “It is better” to recite korbanot during the daytime, when offerings were made. However, since this timing is only preferable and not strictly obligatory, reciting korbanot is not time-bound.

In fourteenth-century Ashkenaz, Maharil writes that women should recite korbanot as part of the general obligation to pray.

Maharil sees korbanot as part of the customary prayer service. Women, like men, are subject to this custom and therefore recite korbanot as well.

Although Maharil refers to “the morning tamid offering and [other verses of] sacrificial offerings,” Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Ba’al Ha-Tanya, rules that women need only recite the verses about the korban tamid.

Why only the verses about the tamid? Women are obligated in tefillot whose timing is based on that of the tamid. Additionally, we have seen that Tur treats the tamid portion with more stringency than the rest of korbanot. It stands to reason, then, that women should recite the tamid verses regularly.

Other halachic authorities, however, maintain that reciting korbanot is not obligatory for women or men.

Chida teaches us that women are obligated in offering sacrifices when relevant, but not in learning about them. (He suggests women need not learn about them at all!)

Many women and men skip korbanot during tefilla. Reciting them is still praiseworthy, though, especially the tamid.

Rav Eliezer Melamed suggests that if time is short, a woman can choose to recite the verses about the tamid right after birchot ha-Torah, instead of birkat kohanim. This position goes back to treating korbanot as a form of Torah learning following recitation of the berachot.³

Why say Pesukei De-zimra?

The Talmud teaches us that we should always praise God before praying:

We could understand this as referring to the structure of the Shemoneh Esrei, where praise precedes request. However, another Talmudic passage suggests that one should aspire to recite some verses in praise of God every day:

In this passage, the Talmud concludes that we should not recite Hallel every day, because that would drastically dilute its impact. Rather, we should say verses of song that praise God daily, and these are called “Pesukei De-zimra.”

Piecing these two talmudic passages together, we can deduce that we should recite verses of praise every day as a preliminary to prayer, even before we begin Shemoneh Esrei.

Tosafot write explicitly that Pesukei De-zimra serve as a preparation for prayer:

Tosafot understand Pesukei De-zimra as a means to achieve the serious, yet joyful, state of mind appropriate for prayer. One can enter a similar mind frame by studying Torah.⁴

Perhaps because Pesukei De-zimra really belong prior to prayer, Shulchan Aruch rules that a person who omits Pesukei De-zimra can recite the verses after shacharit, but without the berachot, since they are meant to be said prior to shacharit. ⁵

Which verses of praise should we say?

Rashi tells us that the Pesukei De-Zimra to which the Talmud refers are Tehillim 148 and 150.

These individual tehillim are particularly broad in scope, a kind of grand finale to the book of Tehillim. The first urges praise of God from all corners of the cosmos, and the second concludes Tehillim with a call to every living soul to praise God in song.

What else should we recite? A third Talmudic passage teaches that we should make an effort to say Tehilla le-David (Tehillim 145, known as Ashrei for the final verse of Tehillim 144 with which we open it) three times a day:

Ashrei is significant because it both includes a comprehensive list of praise to God, running acrostically from aleph to tav, and also makes special reference to God’s role as our sustainer, “You open Your hands and satisfy all living creatures according to [Your] will.”⁶

According to Rif⁷ and Rambam, Ashrei and the five chapters of Tehillim that follow it (which include the two chapters Rashi mentioned above) are the centerpiece of Pesukei De-zimra.

As Rambam notes, we frame our recitation of these chapters of Tehillim with berachot of praise: Baruch She-amar and Yishtabach, and then go on to recite Shema and its berachot. Over time, recitation of additional verses of praise has been added to the beginning of prayer, including Hodu, Mizmor Le-todah, Az Yashir, and Vayvarech David, each of which teaches about a different praiseworthy facet of God.

Rambam also teaches that “the sages praise one who reads songs from Tehillim.” We can infer that recitation of Pesukei De-zimra merits praise, yet is not fully obligatory. Nowadays, it has the status of a binding custom.

What is the minimum to recite?

If someone arrives late to synagogue in the morning, Pesukei De-zimra can and should be shortened in order to enable one to recite Shemoneh Esrei together with the congregation. Shulchan Aruch and Rema present a system for cutting the recitation down, depending on how much time is available.

A person who might miss Shemoneh Esrei with the congregation can catch up by skipping part of Pesukei De-zimra. We can also recite an abbreviated Pesukei De-zimra when time is short for other reasons. The minimum is to recite the two berachot of Baruch She-amar and Yishtabach with Ashrei in the middle. If there is more time, we add in the two tehillim mentioned by Rashi (the 3rd and 5th Halleluyas). If there is more time, we can begin with Ashrei, as Rambam describes, and recite the rest of the tehillim straight through.

In practice, many men and women, when they are in a rush, rarely manage to recite more than Ashrei between the berachot.

In general, reciting Pesukei De-zimra is a binding custom and not a full-fledged obligation.

Does this custom apply equally to women and men?

Halachic authorities line up on both sides of this question.

I. Binding Custom We saw above that Maharil maintains that women are obligated in korbanot. He mentions Pesukei De-zimra in the same passage.

Maharil understands Pesukei De-zimra as a standard part of a woman’s tefilla, in which women “are also obligated.”

So too, when Aruch Ha-shulchan discusses Pesukei De-zimra, he uses wording that indicates that women have accepted it as a binding custom.

We can understand why it is considered customary for women to recite Pesukei De-zimra. If Pesukei De-zimra are a preparation for prayer, women have every reason to recite them. After all, women have an obligation to pray and therefore also need to prepare for prayer. Mishna Berura says this:

II. Optional Not everyone agrees that women need say Pesukei De-zimra. Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi writes, without explanation, that recitation is fully optional:

If a woman so desires, she is “permitted” to recite Pesukei De-zimra. In his Sha’ar Ha-tziyun, Mishna Berura quotes this opinion and notes that the question requires further investigation.⁸

Surprisingly, Aruch Ha-shulchan, too, writes in one place that Pesukei De-zimra is optional for women:

Saying women “can say” Pesukei De-zimra” is difficult to reconcile with the statement we quoted earlier in which Aruch ha-Shulchan himself referred to Pesukei De-zimra as a binding custom.

Why would it be merely optional for women?

Perhaps Ba’al Ha-Tanya and Aruch ha-Shulchan were influenced here by the fact that women’s obligation to recite a full Shemoneh Esrei was called into question by Magen Avraham.⁹ Given that many women do not recite Shemoneh Esrei to start with, it is difficult to require all women to recite more than that.

Rav Ovadya Yosef gives further insight into why Pesukei De-zimra might not be necessary for women. He maintains that Pesukei De-zimra are time-bound, because one may recite them with their berachot only within the time frame before shacharit. Someone who has already prayed shacharit can no longer say the berachot. The Talmud teaches us that women have an obligation in tefilla because tefilla is rachamei, seeking mercy. Since the nature of Pesukei De-zimra is praise and “not rachamei,” there is no reason to obligate women.

Berachot

Beyond explaining why women might be exempt, Rav Ovadya writes that a woman who wishes to recite Pesukei De-zimra should omit the name of God from the framing berachot, so as not to say a beracha le-vatala, a beracha in vain.

As we saw in our discussion of the topic, Rav Ovadya opposes making berachot on voluntary mitzva performance. He rules against making a beracha on voluntary recitation of Peseukei De-zimra out of the same concern. As we noted there, others, including some Sefardi authorities, disagree.

Here too, Rav Ben Tziyon Abba Sha’ul permits a woman to make the berachot:

Those who permit women to recite berachot on voluntary performance should have no objection to women reciting berachot here – especially since Pesukei De-zimra may be binding for women.

Furthermore, these are berachot of praise to God, not berachot on a mitzva. Even Rav Yosef Karo, who objects to women saying berachot on voluntary mitzva performance, may only object to women saying a beracha that includes the word “ve-tzivanu.” Thisleaves open the possibility of reciting the berachot on Pesukei De-zimra even for a woman who does not usually recite berachot on voluntary mitzva performance, since neither the opening nor the closing beracha includes the word “ve-tzivanu.” Rav Ovadya Yosef himself concedes that Ashkenazi women may recite these berachot.¹⁰

In Practice

On the one hand, Pesukei De-zimra may be considered time-bound because they are said as preparation for prayer, and the time-bound element therefore might lead to their being fully optional for women. On the other hand, if Pesukei De-zimra are part and parcel of preparing for prayer, then women should say Pesukei De-zimra, since women are fully obligated to pray.

Since there are opinions that women have a binding custom to recite Pesukei De-zimra, and since even those who hold that women are exempt still permit women to recite them, there is good reason for women to say them whenever possible, at least in abbreviated form, berachot included. Women who follow the halachic rulings of Rav Ovadya Yosef should simply omit the name of God from the “Baruch Ata Hashem” line of the berachot.