Pesuké De-Zimra

("Passages of Song"). A sequence of biblical verses and psalms read in the daily Morning Service following the Morning Benedictions and preceding the Barekhu summons to public worship. The core of these passages may be found in a group of psalms of praise to the Creator (Ps. 145-150) that probably formed part of the Temple ritual and from which the Pesuké de-Zimra evolved. According to the sages, "one should first give praise to God and then approach Him in worship" (Ber. 32a); the "Passages of Song" may thus be recited without a prayer quorum (Minyan) since they serve as an introduction to prayer, elevating man's spirit before he recites the Shema and the Amidah. Though referred to by name in the Talmud (Shab. 118b), the Pesuké de-Zimra only entered the prayer book in geonic times (Seder Rav Amram Gaon, 9th cent.), when their recitation was limited to Sabbaths and festivals. In the Italian, Sephardi, and Oriental rites, these passages are termed zemirot ("hymns" or "psalms") and worshipers recite them aloud. Ashkenazim, however, read them in an undertone, the ba'al tefillah (prayer leader) chanting the opening and closing verses only. A widely observed practice is for congregants to stand during the Barukh She-Amar prologue and the closing sections.

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