("Bless!"). Opening word of the formal summons to public worship read twice daily, in both the Morning and the Evening Service, when prayers are held with a quorum (Minyan). The full text is Barekhu et-Adonai ha-Mevorakh ("Praise the Lord who is [alone to be] praised"). In answer, the congregation then responds: Barukh Adonai ha-Mevorakh le-olam va-ed ("Praised be the Lord who is [to be] praised for all eternity"). The wording of the summons has its origin in the Bible (Ps. 134:1-2, 135:19-20) and the practice of rising to one's feet for Barekhu possibly dates from the time of Ezra (Neh. 9:5). This call to worship was discussed in the Mishnah (Ber. 7:3) and later standardized in the Talmud (Ber. 50a). The same formula is recited by a person called to the Reading of the Law, after which congregants give the traditional response. At one time it also introduced Grace After Meals, but this was changed in amoraic times to a different formula beginning Nevarekh ("let us bless"). The exact purpose of the Barekhu invocation has given rise to much debate over the centuries, many questioning God's need of man's praise and blessings. Naḥmanides held piety and worship to be for the good of man rather than the Creator; the kabbalists, however, affirmed that prayer releases beneficent influences in heaven, thereby establishing harmony throughout the cosmos; while Samson Raphael Hirsch declared that by praising God and fulfilling His commandments, man is able to play some part in achieving His design for humanity.
When pronouncing his invocation to prayer, the reader bows at the word Barekhu, then honors the Divine Name by standing erect. Congregants do likewise in the response. According to the Sephardi-Eastern and Ḥasidic practice, Barekhu is again recited at the end of Morning and Evening services. This custom, for the benefit of latecomers who missed the original call to worship (Sof 10:7), has been adopted also in the Israeli Ashkenazi rite.
