Tefillah 077

11:
Before we actually reach the Musaf (Additional) service there are two more elements to be considered. Both, of course, belong to the 'aftermath' of the Torah Reading ceremony, rather than to Musaf, even though in popular thought many assume Musaf to begin at this point. The reason for this is probably because in most congregations the cantor who will eventually lead the Musaf service starts to officiate at this point.

12:
Firstly we must consider Psalm 145, known as Ashré. Actually, Psalm 145 does not begin with the word Ashré. It is, in fact, preceded by two verses taken from other psalms, both beginning with the Hebrew word Ashré. Psalm 84:5 reads:

And then, Psalm 144:16 continues:

13:
Ashré is discussed at some length in the Gemara [Berakhot 4b], where the fact that it is recited three times every day is taken for granted, so the custom is very ancient. The discussion starts off with a comment by the Amora from Eretz-Israel, Rabbi El'azar:

The Gemara now goes on to investigate this most enouraging teaching.

Psalm 145 is, indeed, an alphabetic acrostic. That is to say that each sucessive verse begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alaphabet (though the letter nun is missing, as we shall see). However, if that were the reason, why is it so commendable to recite Ashré three times every day? It would be even better to recite Psalm 119 where each letter of the alphabet is repeated eight times at the beginning of verses (and, moreover, the letter nun is not missing). So, having dismissed the suggestion that the great virtue of Ashré lies in its being an alphabetic acrostic another suggestion is offered:

This verse [Psalm 145:16] describes God's great generosity towards all earthly creatures. It will perhaps be more easily understood in its context:

But an objection can be raised to this suggestion as well: if it is mention of God's munificence and benelovence towards all creatures that gives the psalm its great virtue then Psalm 136 contains an even better verse [136:25]: "God gives food to all flesh, His steadfast love is eternal." So finally the Gemara suggests that Ashré is superior because it contains both the mention of God's great benevolence and it is an alphabetic acrostic as well.

14:
The Gemara also discusses the deficiency in the alphabetic acrostic, the fact that the letter nun is missing. The great teacher of Rabbi El'azar, Rabbi Yoĥanan, suggests that the verse was deliberately missed out because it would have been a dire one:

But the omission of the letter nun is probably just an accident of transmission: somehow or other the original verse was omitted by a copyist and the omission was perpetuated. At any rate, the 'explanation' of Rabbi Yoĥanan really does not hold water because, as the Babylonian Amora Rav Naĥman bar-Yitzĥak points out in the Gemara: the very next verse of psalm 145 gives the lie to the idea of "fallen, not to rise again", because happily it reads:

15:
Just as Psalm 145 is prefaced by verses from other psalms so it is concluded with a verse from a different psalm [Psalm 115:18]:

16:
We noted at the start of this shiur that ideally Ashré is recited thrice daily. It is receited firstly as part of Pesuké de-Zimra [see Tefillah 013 through to Tefillah 030]. Secondly, it very nearly always precedes the Afternoon Service (Minĥah). (Only on Yom Kippur, when the Ne'ilah service follows the Afternoon service is Ashré transferred from Minĥah to Ne'ilah.) The third time that Ashré is recited is towards the end of the Morning Service (Shaĥarit). However, on those days when Musaf follows Shaĥarit – as it does on Shabbat, which is the subject of our study – Ashré is recited just before the Torah is returned to the ark.

To be continued.