The “Baruch Shem” Prayer Through the Centuries

Hear, O Israel! יהוה is our God, יהוה alone.

Blessed is His glorious name forever;His glory fills the whole world.Amen and Amen.

And blessed be the name of His glory forever,and may the whole earth be filled with His glorious radiance.Amen and Amen.

It was, when the time came that our father Jakob should be gathered out of the world, he was anxious lest there might be an idolater among his sons. He called them, and questioned them, Is there such perversity in your hearts? They answered, all of them together, and said to him: HEAR, ISRAEL OUR FATHER: THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD! Jakob made response, and said, Blessed be His Glorious Name for ever and ever.

The High Priest comes and stands next to his bull, and his bull was standing between the Entrance Hall and the altar with its head facing to the south and its face to the west. And the priest stands to the east of the bull, and his face points to the west. And the priest places his two hands on the bull and confesses. And this is what he would say in his confession: Please, God, I have sinned, I have done wrong, and I have rebelled before You, I and my family. Please, God, grant atonement, please, for the sins, and for the wrongs, and for the rebellions that I have sinned, and done wrong, and rebelled before You, I and my family, as it is written in the Torah of Moses your servant: “For on this day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord” (Leviticus 16:30). And the priests and the people who were in the courtyard respond after he recites the name of God: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and all time.

The High Priest would mix the lots in the lottery receptacle used to hold them and draw the two lots from it, one in each hand. Upon one was written: For God. And upon the other one was written: For Azazel. The deputy High Priest would stand to the High Priest’s right, and the head of the patrilineal family would stand to his left. If the lot for the name of God came up in his right hand, the Deputy would say to him: My master, High Priest, raise your right hand so that all can see with which hand the lot for God was selected. And if the lot for the name of God came up in his left hand, the head of the patrilineal family would say to him: My master, High Priest, raise your left hand. Then he would place the two lots upon the two goats, the lot that arose in his right hand on the goat standing to his right side and the lot in his left hand on the goat to his left. And upon placing the lot for God upon the appropriate goat, he would say: For God, as a sin-offering. Rabbi Yishmael says: He need not say: As a sin-offering. Rather, it is sufficient to say: For God. And upon saying the name of God, the priests and the people respond after him: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and all time.

The High Priest tied a strip of crimson wool upon the head of the scapegoat and positioned the goat opposite the place from which it was dispatched, i.e., near the gate through which it was taken; and the same was done to the goat that was to be slaughtered, opposite the place of its slaughter. He comes and stands next to his bull a second time, and places his two hands upon it, and confesses. And this is what he would say: Please God, I have sinned, I have done wrong, and I have rebelled before You, I and my family and the children of Aaron, your sacred people. Please God, grant atonement, please, for the sins, and for the wrongs, and for the rebellions that I have sinned, and done wrong, and rebelled before You, I, and my family, and the children of Aaron, your sacred people, as it is written in the Torah of Moses, your servant: “For on this day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord” (Leviticus 16:30). And they, the priests and the people in the Temple courtyard, respond after him upon hearing the name of God: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and all time.

The Yom Kippur service continues: The High Priest comes over to the scapegoat, places both his hands upon it, and confesses. And he would say as follows: Please, God, Your people, the house of Israel, have sinned, and done wrong, and rebelled before You. Please, God, grant atonement, please, for the sins, and for the wrongs, and for the rebellions that they have sinned, and done wrong, and rebelled before You, Your people, the house of Israel, as it is written in the Torah of Moses Your servant, saying: “For on this day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you of all your sins; before the Lord you shall be purified” (Leviticus 16:30). And the priests and the people standing in the Temple courtyard, when they would hear the Explicit Name emerging from the mouth of the High Priest, when the High Priest did not use one of the substitute names for God, they would kneel and prostrate themselves and fall on their faces, and say: Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.

Rebbi Zeriqan said: Rebbi Zeïra asked: He who took a lupine and was reciting the benediction over it when it fell from his hand, does he have to recite a second benediction? What is the difference between that and a water canal? They said, there he intended it from the start, but here he did not intend it from the start. Rebbi Ḥiyya stated: One recites the benediction on bread only when one breaks it. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: This means that he who took a loaf and pronounced the benediction on it before it came to his hand, must recite a second benediction. Rebbi Tanḥum bar Yudan said, he must say “Praised be the Name of the Glory of His kingdom forever and ever,” in order not to utter the Name of Heaven in vain.

If was stated: One did not say “Amen” in the Temple. What did they say? “Praised be His glorious name forever and ever.” From where that one did not say “Amen” in the Temple? The verse says (Neh. 9:5): “Rise up and praise the Eternal, etc.” From where that this is for every single benediction, the verse says: “And Elevated for every benediction and praise.”

How did they bundle the šemaˋ? Rebbi Aḥa said, Rebbi Zeˋira said, Rebbi La said: Hear, o Israel, the Eternal, our God, the Eternal is One, only they did not stop between words, the words of Rebbi Meïr. Rebbi Jehudah said, they did stop but they did not say “Praised be the Name of the Glory of His Kingdom for ever and ever.” Rebbi Yose said, Rebbi Zeˋira, Rebbi La said: Hear, o Israel, the Eternal, etc., only they did not stop between One and “Praised”, the words of Rebbi Meïr. Rebbi Jehudah said, they did stop but they did not say “Praised be the Name of the Glory of His Kingdom for ever and ever.”

MISHNAH: He comes to his bull; his bull was standing between the Temple Hall and the altar, its head to the South and its face to the West, and the Cohen standing in the East with his face to the West. He leans his hands on it and confesses, and thus he was saying: “Please Hashem, I acted criminally, I offended, I sinned before You, I and my house. Please Hashem, please atone the criminal acts, and the offenses, and the sins, by which I offended, acted criminally, and sinned before You, I and my house, as is written in the Torah of Your servant Moses, because on that day He will atone for you, etc.” They answer him: “Praised be the glory of His Kingdom forever and ever” He comes to the Eastern part of the courtyard, North of the altar; the executive officer to his right and the head of the serving family to his left. There were two he-goats, and an um was there with two lots in it. They were of boxwood but Ben Gamia made them from gold; he was remembered for praise.

[It was stated: “How does he confess? “I acted criminally, I rebelled, I sinned;’ and it says, He forgives crime, rebellion, and sin; and it says, and he shall confess over it all crimes of the Children of Israel, etc., the words of Rebbi Meïr. But the Sages say, criminal acts are intentional crimes, offenses are rebellions, sins are inadvertent actions. After he confesses about criminal acts he turns around and confesses about inadvertent acts? But he confesses as follows: Please Hashem, I sinned, I acted criminally, I rebelled before You, I and my house (etc..) [and the sons of Aaron. As is written in the Torah of Moses as follows, for on that day he shall, etc. They, answer him: “Praised be the glory of His Kingdom forever and ever”.] And so we find that confessors do confess. David said, we and our fathers sinned, we acted criminally and we led to bad behavior. His son Solomon said, [we sinned,] we acted criminally, behaved badly. Daniel said, we sinned, we actedcriminally, we led to bad behavior, and we rebelled. Also he was confessing thus: I sinned, I acted criminally, I rebelled before You. What means this which Moses said, He forgives crime, rebellion, and sin; and it says, and he shall confess over it all crimes of the Children of Israel, etc.? But since he confesses to criminal rebellious acts, it is as if they were inadvertent sins before Him.”

Ten times did the High Priest pronounce the Name on the Day of Atonement: Six times with the bull, and three with the he-goat, and once with the lots. Those near were falling on their faces, those farther away were saying “Praised be the glory of His Kingdom forever and ever”. These and those did not move away from there before they forgot it. This is My Name forever, “this is My Name to conceal.” In earlier times he was saying it aloud. Since the lawless increased, he said it softly. Rebbi Tarphon said, I was standing in a row with my brothers the Cohanim and turned my ear towards the High Priest, when I heard him mixing it with the song of the Cohanim. In earlier times it was given to everybody. Since the lawless increased, it was given only to qualified ones.

MISHNAH: He scrambled the urn and brought up the two lots; one had written on it “for Hashem”, and the other had written on it “for Azazel”, with the executive officer to his right and the head of the serving family to his left. If the Eternal’s came up in his right hand, the executive officer said to him, “Sir High Priest, lift you right hand.” But if it came up in his left hand, the head of the serving family said to him. “Sir High Priest, lift your left hand.” He puts them on the two he-goats and says, “for Hashem a purification offering”. Rebbi Ismael says, it was not necessary to say “a purification offering,” only “for Hashem”, and they answer, “praised be the glory of His Kingdom forever and ever.”

HALAKHAH: It was stated: “One does not answer ‘Amen’ in the Temple. What did they say? ‘Praised be the glory of His Kingdom forever and ever.’ And from where that one does not answer ‘Amen’ in the Temple? The verse says, Arise, praise the Eternal, your God, forever and ever. From where for every single benediction? The verse says, and exalted over all praise and glory.”

When the end had come to our father Jakob, that he should be taken up from the world, he called the twelve tribes, his sons, and gathered them round his couch. Then Jakob our father rose up, and said to them, Do you worship any idol that Terah the father of Abraham worshipped? Do you worship any idol that Laban (the brother of his mother) worshipped? Or worship you the God of Jakob? The twelve tribes answered together, with fulness of heart, and said, Hear now, Israel our father: The Lord our God is one Lord. Jakob responded and said, May His Great Name be blessed for ever!

We learned in the mishna that the residents of Jericho would bundle Shema. The Gemara asks: What does it mean that they bundled Shema? How did they do so? Rabbi Yehuda said that they recited: “Hear Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4), and they would not pause between words. Rava said: They would pause between words, but instead of reciting this verse in the proper manner: “That which I command you today, shall be on your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:5), pausing after the word today; they would say: Today shall be on your heart, inferring: Today it will be on your heart, and tomorrow it will not be on your heart. The Sages taught in the Tosefta: How would they bundle Shema? They recited: “Hear Israel, the Lord is our God the Lord is One,” without pausing; this is the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda says: They paused, but they would not recite: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.

As Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said that it is written: “And Jacob called his sons and said, Gather around and I will tell you what will occur to you in the end of days” (Genesis 49:1). Jacob wanted to reveal to his sons when the complete redemption would arrive at the end of days (see Daniel 12:13), but the Divine Presence abandoned him, rendering him unable to prophesy. He said: Perhaps the Divine Presence has abandoned me because, Heaven forfend, one of my descendants is unfit, as was the case with my grandfather Abraham, from whom Ishmael emerged, and like my father Isaac, from whom Esau emerged. His sons said to him: Hear Israel, our father, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. They said: Just as there is only one God in your heart, so too, there is only one in our hearts. At that moment Jacob our father said in praise: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever, as all his children were righteous.

And this is what he would say in his confession: Please, God, I have sinned, I have done wrong, and I have rebelled before You, I and my family. Please, God, grant atonement, please, for the sins, and for the wrongs, and for the rebellions that I have sinned, and done wrong, and rebelled before You, I and my family, as it is written in the Torah of Moses your servant: “For on this day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord” (Leviticus 16:30). And the priests and the people who were in the courtyard respond after he recites the name of God: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and all time.

Then he would place the two lots upon the two goats, the lot that arose in his right hand on the goat standing to his right side and the lot in his left hand on the goat to his left. And upon placing the lot for God upon the appropriate goat, he would say: For God, as a sin-offering. Rabbi Yishmael says: He need not say: As a sin-offering. Rather, it is sufficient to say: For God. And upon saying the name of God, the priests and the people respond after him: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and all time.

He comes and stands next to his bull a second time, and places his two hands upon it, and confesses. And this is what he would say: Please God, I have sinned, I have done wrong, and I have rebelled before You, I and my family and the children of Aaron, your sacred people. Please God, grant atonement, please, for the sins, and for the wrongs, and for the rebellions that I have sinned, and done wrong, and rebelled before You, I, and my family, and the children of Aaron, your sacred people, as it is written in the Torah of Moses, your servant: “For on this day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord” (Leviticus 16:30). And they, the priests and the people in the Temple courtyard, respond after him upon hearing the name of God: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and all time.

And the priests and the people standing in the Temple courtyard, when they would hear the Explicit Name emerging from the mouth of the High Priest, when the High Priest did not use one of the substitute names for God, they would kneel and prostrate themselves and fall on their faces, and say: Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever. After the confession over the scapegoat, the priest passed the goat to the one who was to lead it to the wilderness. According to the halakha, everyone is eligible to lead it, but the High Priests established a fixed custom and did not allow an Israelite to lead it.

But if so, in the Temple, what would the prayer leader recite? He would conclude the blessing: Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed are You, Lord, Redeemer of Israel. And instead of amen, they answer after him: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and all time. And the sexton says to them: Blow, priests, sons of Aaron, blow.

And the prayer leader resumes and recites the second blessing, concluding: He Who answered Abraham on Mount Moriah, He will answer you and hear the sound of your cry on this day. Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, Who remembers the forgotten. And the community answers after him: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and all time. And the sexton says to them: Blast, priests, sons of Aaron, blast, etc. And similarly, this is the procedure for each and every additional blessing: After one blessing he says: Blow a long, unwavering sound, and after the next one he says: Blast a wavering sound, until he concludes all the blessings.

The Sages taught: In concluding the first blessing he recites: Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed are You, Lord, Redeemer of Israel, and they would answer after him: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and all time. And the sexton says: Blow, priests, blow. And he resumes the blessings and recites: He Who answered Abraham on Mount Moriah, He will answer you and hear the sound of your cry on this day. And they blow a long, unwavering sound, and blast a wavering sound, and blow. And for the second blessing he recites: Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting, who remembers the forgotten, and they would answer after him: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and all time.

“Assemble and hear, sons of Jacob” (Genesis 49:2) – Rabbi Berekhya, sometimes he said it in the name of Rabbi Ḥiyya and sometimes he said it in the name of the Rabbis from there: From here [it may be derived] that they were scattered and an angel came and assembled them. Rabbi Tanḥuma said: From here, that they were scattered and he assembled them with the Divine Spirit.“And listen to [el] Israel your father” (Genesis 49:2) – Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Pinḥas: Rabbi Yudan said: Listen to the God [El] of Israel your father. Rabbi Pinḥas said: Your father Israel is like a god [el]. Just as the Holy One blessed be He creates worlds, so, your father creates worlds. Just as the Holy One blessed be He distributes worlds, so, your father distributes worlds.Elazar ben Aḥui said: From here Israel merited the recitation of Shema. When Jacob our patriarch was passing from the world, he called his twelve sons. He said to them: ‘Listen to the God [El] of Israel your father who is in Heaven. Do you, perhaps, have in your heart dissension over the Holy One blessed be He?’ They said: ‘“Hear, Israel” (Deuteronomy 6:4) our father, just as you do not have in your heart dissension over the Holy One blessed be He, so, there is no dissension in our heart. Rather, “the Lord is our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4).’ He too expressed with his lips and said: ‘Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.’ Rabbi Berekhya and Rabbi Ḥelbo in the name of Rabbi Shmuel: That is why Israel recites early in the morning and late in the evening each day: Hear Israel, our patriarch, from the Cave of Makhpela: The same matter that you commanded us, we still practice it: “The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”

The Frog is saying, “Blessed is the Name of his resplendent Majesty in the Cosmos forever.”

Another matter, “He made everything beautiful in its time” – Rabbi Berekhya said that Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: The schism that was between Reḥavam and Yerovam was fitting to have been between David and Sheva ben Bikhri, but the Holy One blessed be He said: The Temple has not yet been constructed and I am introducing a schism in the kingdom of the House of David? Rather, let the Temple be constructed and then, what will ultimately happen, will happen.Rabbi Binyamin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: “The world, too, He has placed in their heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) – He placed in their heart love of the world. Rabbi Yonatan said: He has placed in their heart fear of the angel of death. Neḥemya, son of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, said: “And behold it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). “And behold it was...good,” this is man; “and behold it was…good,” this is the good inclination, “very,” this is the evil inclination. Is the evil inclination “very good”? It is to teach you that were it not for the evil inclination, man would not build a house, would not marry a wife, and would not beget children, as Solomon says: “[I saw all toil and all skilled action;] that it is man’s envy of his neighbor” (Ecclesiastes 4:4).Rabbi Berekhya and Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: “The world, too, He has placed in their heart” – He placed in their heart love of the world, He placed in their heart love of young children. To what is this matter analogous? [It is analogous] to a king who had two sons, one big and one small. The big one cleans and the small one sullies; nevertheless, he loves the small one more than the big one.Rabbi Aḥva son of Rabbi Zeira said: “The world [ha’olam],” the ineffable name was concealed [ho’olam] from them. This is analogous to a king who made a feast [and] invited guests. Once they ate and drank, they said to him: ‘Give us swords and spears and we will play with them.’ He gave them myrtle branches and they struck each other and wounded each other. The king said to them: ‘If, when I gave you myrtle branches, this is what you did, had I given you swords and spears, all the more so.’ So too, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘If, at a time when I concealed the ineffable name from them, they killed with appellations, had I given and revealed to them the ineffable name, all the more so.’ There was a Persian woman who cursed her son with one element of the ineffable name. Shmuel heard her and said: ‘Go prepare a shroud for him.’Rabbi Ḥanina had knowledge of the ineffable name. When his death approached, he said: ‘Is there a person here to whom I can entrust it?’ They said: ‘Eneini bar Naḥshon is here.’ He sent for him and he came, and his own son entered and hid under the bed. When he was about to transmit it, that child sneezed. His father [Rabbi Ḥanina] said: ‘Go out of here. You are not worthy to hear it, and this one is not worthy to receive it.’One doctor in Tzippori had knowledge of the ineffable name. When his death approached, he said: ‘Is there a person here to whom I can entrust it?’ They said: ‘Pinḥas bar Ḥama is here.’ He sent for him and he came. [The doctor] asked him [a question] and said to him: ‘Have you ever taken anything from a Jew?’ He said to him: ‘I have taken first tithe.’ [The doctor] resolved not to entrust it to him, saying: ‘Perhaps he will demand something from a person and he will not give it to him, and he will become angry with him and kill him.’ It is taught, one does not entrust the name to just any person, and not to one who has lived half his life, but rather, to one who has lived most of his life. In addition, one entrusts it only standing, and one entrusts it only in a place of purity, and near water. Initially, they would entrust it to any person. When the sinners became more prevalent, they instituted that it should be entrusted only to the modest among the priests, and the modest among the priests would obscure it in the melody of the priests.Rabbi Tarfon said: One time I ascended to the platform with Samson, my mother’s brother, and I cocked my ear in the direction of the High Priest, but he obscured it in the melody of the priests. And Rabbi Tarfon said: One time I heard it and I fell on my face. Those nearby, when they hear it, fall on their faces and say: “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.” These and those would not move from there until the time when it was forgotten [shenitalem] from them, as it is stated: “This is My name forever [le’olam]” (Exodus 3:15), le’elem is written. To what purpose? “But so that man will not discover the work that God has performed from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One: What is the law about a man of Israel who recited the reading of Shema but was not precise with its letters - did he fulfill his obligation? Thus did our Sages teach: [If] he read, but was not precise with its letters - Rabbi Yose said, "He fulfilled [it]"; Rabbi Yehudah said, "He did not fulfill [it]." And what is precision of the letters? Our Rabbis taught us, one must distinguish between the [first] lamed and the [second] lamed in (Deuteronomy 11:13), "bekhol levavchem (with all of your heart)"; one must distinguish between the [first] mem and the [second] mem in (Deuteronomy 11:17), "va'avadetem meherah (and you shall perish quickly)." And Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav, "And if one was reciting Shema and walking, he needs to accept [upon himself] the kingdom of the Heavens standing up. And what is the kingdom of the Heavens? The Lord is our God, the Lord is One. From whence did Israel merit to recite the Shema? Rabbi Pinchas ben Chama said, "Israel merited to recite the Shema from the giving of the Torah. How is this? You find that it was only with this thing that the Holy One, blessed be He, began at Sinai - He said to them, 'Hear, O Israel, "I am the Lord your God" (Exodus 20:2).' They [then] all answered and said, 'The Lord is our God, the Lord is One.' And Moshe said, 'Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever.'" Our rabbis said, "The Holy One blessed Be, said to Israel, ‘My children, all that I created, I created in pairs: Heaven and earth are a pair, sun and moon are a pair, Adam and Eve are a pair, this world and the world to come are a pair. But My glory is one and unique in the world." From where [do we know this]? From that which we read about the matter, "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One."

"Another explanation: 'Hear, O Israel.' From where did Israel merit the recitation of the Shema? When Jacob was about to die, he called all his sons and said to them, 'Perhaps after I depart from the world, you will bow down to another god.' From where do we know this? As it is written (Genesis 49:2): 'Gather yourselves and hear, you sons of Jacob.' And what does it mean (Genesis 49:2): 'And listen to Israel your father'? He said to them, 'The God of Israel is your father.' They said to him, 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.' And he responded in a whisper, 'Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.' Rabbi Levi said, 'And what do Israel say now? 'Hear, our father Israel, the same thing you commanded us is practiced by us: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.'"

Another interpretation [of Hear O Israel]. Our rabbis say: When Moshe went up to heaven, he heard the ministering angels who were saying to God: "Praised be the Name of the glory of his kingdom forever and ever" and he brought it down to the Jewish people. Why then does Israel not say it in public? Said Rabbi Yosei: To what can this be compared? It is like someone who stole a piece of jewelry from the king's palace and gave it to his wife; he said to her: "Do not adorn yourself with this publicly, rather only in your house." However, on Yom Kippur, when they [the Jewish people] are pure like the ministering angels, they say it out loud: "Praised be the Name of the glory of his kingdom forever and ever."