נִשְׁמַת The soul of all that lives. This magnificent poem is composed of two parts. The first, according to Rabbi Yoḥanan, is the “blessing of the song” mentioned in the Mishna as a conclusion to saying Hallel in the Seder service on Pesaḥ (Pesaḥim 118a). Just as there, so here, it stands as a conclusion to the recitation of Psalms. The second part, beginning “To You alone we give thanks,” is mentioned in the Talmud (Berakhot 59b) as a thanksgiving prayer for rain. The first section is an extended meditation on the last words of the book of Psalms: “Let all that breathes praise the LORD.” Hebrew has many words for soul, all deriving from verbs related to breathing. Neshama – the word linking this passage to the end of Psalms, means to breathe deeply, as we are able to do in a state of rest. In the still silence of the turning world it is as if we hear all that lives singing a song of praise to God who brought the universe into being, sustains it, and guides the destinies of all things. The second section is composed around a phrase from Psalms: “All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like You?” – thus ingeniously linking the psalms of praise with the Song at the Sea, which contains the same phrase “Who is like You?” Through a fine series of images, the poet expresses the human inability to adequately thank God, itemizing how the various limbs (“All my bones”) may praise Him.