Maariv

Since prayers in Judaism correspond to sacrifices , and sacrifices were made only during the day, Jews initially did not gather for public prayer in the evening. Moreover, it was obligatory in the evening after the release of the stars to read the prayer “ Shema ”. Nevertheless, already in the Mishna era, the now accepted custom began to read the amide prayer not twice a day (according to the number of daily sacrifices), but three times, as indicated in the Dan. 6:10 : "He knelt three times a day and prayed to his God." At present, it is customary in all communities to attach the third reading of the amide to the evening reading of the Shema, from which the evening public worship has developed. The tradition connects the evening service with the burning on the altar of the remnants of the day sacrifices, as well as with the name of Jacob . The Torah says ( Genesis 28:11 ) that Jacob, after being forced to leave his native home, “came to one place and stayed there for the night because the sun had set”; here the verb “came” (ויפגע) may have the meaning “begged”, and in this case the phrase can be interpreted so that Jacob prayed when the sun went down.

Since the evening prayer does not correspond to the temple sacrifice, the time range for its reading is set quite widely: it can be read throughout the night, until dawn. The best time for prayer is the period from the release of evening stars until midnight. If it is difficult to collect the minyan late, the evening prayer can be read even before sunset, attaching it to the minha , in some communities this is customary; especially on Friday nights, because in this way the worshipers start the Shabbat ahead of time, thereby fulfilling the commandment to add from everyday to the saint. However, if the prayer is read before the release of the stars, then “Shema” must be repeated after the release of the stars.

General Order

The composition of the prayer differs in some details depending on the canon ( nusaha ) adopted in the community and contains a number of additions at the beginning and at the end of the Sabbath and in some other cases. The general order is as follows:

• The introductory part contains mainly verses from psalms and differs significantly in different canons. On Friday evening, this is preceded by a separate worship service - “the meeting of the Sabbath” ( Kabbalat Shabbat ).
• The central part of the service is the reading of “Shema Israel,” with two blessings at the beginning and two at the end.
• Prayer Amida. There are several elements in the worship that indicate that this prayer is, in principle, optional and has a lower rank than the amide, read in the daytime. Hazzan , unlike other cases, does not repeat this prayer aloud. After amides prayers for mercy ( tahanun ) are not read. In addition, the amide does not immediately follow the “Shema”, as in the morning, but is separated from it by the reading of the Kadish (and in the Ashkenazi canon, by other inserts).
• additional readings - in those cases when they are laid.
• Prayer " Aleinu Leshabeah " and the funeral kadish. In the Sephardic canon, Psalm 121 is read before this (hereinafter the number is Masoretic).

Additional Readings

After the prayer Amida in the evening service, additional readings may be added.

• On Friday evening, the Sabbath blessing prayer is read. All in chorus pronounce a passage from the Torah dedicated to the Sabbath ( Genesis 2: 1-3 ), and then Hazzan reads an abridged version of the recitation of the amide - in view of the sanctity of the coming day, although there is no recitation of the amide in the evening.
• At the end of the Sabbath, the end of psalm 90 , psalm 91 , and the prayer of U-va le-Tsiyon without the first two verses are read . These inserts mark the transition to everyday activities.
• Between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot , according to Leo. 23: 15-16 , they count the next day from one holiday to another. At the same time, they read the corresponding blessing, Psalm 67 , the prayer “we pray ...” “Ana be-hoah” and some others, depending on the canon.
• In Purim in this place they read the scroll of Esther , and in the post of the ninth ava - the book of Eich and the kinot (deplorable songs).
• On Rosh Hashanah , psalm 24 is read in many communities.
• In Yom Kippur prayers of repentance ( slikhot ) and “Our Father, our king” (“Avina Malkainu”) are read.
• In Simchat Torah, they dance with the scrolls of the Torah - akafot; This is one of the most fun moments of the Jewish year.

• Shaharit (morning prayer)
• Minha (day prayer)