## Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Shaharit, Nishmat

###### Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Shaharit, Nishmat 1
[Rabbi Sacks on Yom Kippur Mahzor, Shaharit, Nishmat 1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Yom%20Kippur%20Mahzor/s/Shaharit,_Nishmat/r/1)

**English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2017:**
נִשְׁמַת The soul. An ancient poem, elements of which are cited in the Talmud, where it is referred to as a prayer of thanksgiving for rain after prolonged drought and as part of the Seder service on Pesaḥ. It is also known as *Birkat HaShir*, “the blessing of the song” (*Pesaḥim* 118a). It artfully weaves together many of the themes of the Verses of Praise, taking its cue from the last verse of Psalms, “Let all that breathes [*kol haneshama*] praise the LORD” – the words *neshama* and *nishmat* (“the soul of”) come from the same root. It also elaborates on the phrase, “All my bones shall say” (Ps. 35:10), describing how each part of the body seeks to praise God – an ancient prefiguration of the idea of “body language.”