Blessed are You, Adonoy

our God, King of the Universe,

Who sanctified²⁰ us with His commandments

footnotes: ²⁰ The observance and fulfillment of His commandments makes a person holy.

and commanded us

to be engrossed in the words of Torah.

Adonoy our God, please make pleasant

the words of Your Torah in our mouths

and in the mouths of Your people Israel.

And may we and our descendants

and the descendants of Your people

the House of Israel,

all be perceivers of Your Name

and students of Your Torah for its own sake.

Blessed are You, Adonoy

Who teaches Torah to His people, Israel.

Blessed are You, Adonoy

our God, King of the Universe

Who chose us from among all the peoples²¹

footnotes: ²¹ An allusion to God’s declaration, “And you will be a treasure unto me from among all people” (Exodus 19:6) which preceded the giving of the Torah at Sinai.—Vilna Gaon

and gave us His Torah.²²

footnotes: ²² An allusion to the actual giving of the Torah at Sinai.—Vilna Gaon

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Giver of the Torah!

And Adonoy spoke to Moses, saying,

Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying,

thus shall you bless the Children of Israel,

say to them:

May Adonoy bless you and guard you.

May Adonoy shine

His countenance upon you

and be gracious unto you.

May Adonoy turn

His countenance toward you

and grant you peace.²³

footnotes: ²³ Numbers 6:24.

And they shall set My Name

upon the Children of Israel,

and I shall bless them.

These are precepts²⁴

footnotes: ²⁴ Mishnah, Peah 1:1: Talmud Maseches Shabbos 127a.

for which no fixed measure is prescribed:

[leaving] the corner [of a field unharvested],²⁵

footnotes: ²⁵ The unharvested produce was left for the poor; Leviticus 19:9.

[the offering of] the first fruits,²⁶

footnotes: ²⁶ Exodus 23:9.

the appearance-offering,²⁷

footnotes: ²⁷ These offerings were brought when a Jew “appeared” before God in the Temple on the three Pilgrimage festivals—Pesach, Shavuos and Sukkos—Exodus 23:14-17, Deuteronomy 16:16,17.

[performing] deeds of kindness,

and the study of Torah.

These are precepts,

the fruits of which man enjoys

in this world,

[while] the principal [reward]

is preserved for him in the World-to-Come.

They are:

honoring father and mother,

[performing] deeds of kindness,

early attendance in the House of Study

morning and evening,

providing hospitality to guests,

visiting the sick,

participating in making a wedding,

accompanying the dead [to the grave],

concentrating on the meaning of prayers,

making peace between fellow men

and between husband and wife—

and the study of Torah is equal to them all.