In the first part of this article, we discussed four different traditional answers to the question: Who is singing the songs of the various creations and creatures mentioned in Perek Shirah. Each of the opinions has merit according to a certain perspective. Ultimately all four opinions are complimentary.
These four originators of the songs of Perek Shirah further correspond in a most beautiful manner to four ascending sections or levels of our daily morning prayers and as we shall see they also correspond to the four Kabbalistic Worlds.
First Level of Prayer: Blessings and Song
The preliminary morning blessings are followed by Pesukei DeZimra, meaning “Verses of Song.” These verses are replete with references to songs and praise of the natural world. This section of prayer corresponds to the notion that it is the creation itself singing the songs of Perek Shirah. It is interesting to note that before the Men of the Great Assembly set the current order of the prayers, including Pesukei DeZimra, they would sing “the song of the creatures.” Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe of Chabad, writes that this is a reference to Perek Shirah. This level of the prayers corresponds to the World of Action.
Second Level: Preparing for the Shema
Next in the order of the prayers is the section of blessings preceding the Shema, the cardinal statement of faith in One God in the Torah. This section describes in majestic language how the angels and various heavenly beings daily praise God from on high. This corresponds to the second opinion that it is the guiding angel of each part of creation that is singing in Perek Shirah. This level corresponds to the World of Formation.
Third Level: The Shema and the Amidah
Reciting the Shema, the third of the ascending levels of prayer, is considered the song of man, thus corresponding to the idea that it is man who is singing the song of creation. The first word of the Shema is “Hear,” which is a call to understand and integrate into our consciousness that God is One, and by extension, that all reality is ultimately united in His essential oneness. By coming to know and understand the unity of God and His creation, man acquires the ability to hear the song of creation and thus become the mouth to express the essence of that reality through his own song. This section of prayer corresponds to the World of Creation. Reciting the Shema is followed by the Amidah the silent prayer, where man directly approaches God and pours out his heart.
Fourth Level: God’s Prayer
After the Shema and the Amidah is the section called tachanun, consisting of confession and a plea for God’s compassion. Here we recite the Thirteen Attributes of Compassion as taught by God to Moses after the Sin of the golden calf. The Talmud relates that God prays daily that His attribute of compassion will overcome His attribute of judgment. These Thirteen Attributes of Compassion relate to God’s song, thereby corresponding to the fourth opinion that it is God who is singing in Perek Shirah. This level corresponds to the World of Emanation.
The Kiss of Prayer
Each of the four sections of song in the morning prayers has one verse that epitomizes that entire section. The last verse of Pesukei DeZimra, is also the final verse of the last chapter of King David’s Psalms: “Every soul will praise God, Halleluyah!” As the concluding verse it is the seal of all the psalms and the climatic aspiration of the soul. The first letter of this verse is the letter kaf (כ).
The song of the angels, recorded in the book of Isaiah is placed in the middle of the blessing preceding the Shema: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the God of Hosts; the whole world is filled with His glory.” This verse is sung every day by the angels and heavenly beings in great awe, tranquility and sweetness. The first letter of this verse is the letter kuf (ק).
The central song of man in prayer is clearly the Shema: “Hear O Israel, Havayah our God, Havayah is one.” Here Israel represents the ideal human being. The Shema articulates the mission of the Jewish people in particular to bring all mankind to recognize and worship God as one. The first letter of the Shema is the letter shin (ש).
The song of God is the Thirteen Attributes of Compassion, as discussed above. It is interesting to note that these Thirteen Attributes are considered so holy that they are only recited in a minyan, a prayer quorum. Yet, an individual may still recite them, but only if he or she does so in the same manner as one would read the verse from the Torah with its proper musical cantillation. The initial letter of the Thirteen Attributes, which according to the Arizal begin with God’s Name Kel (-לֵא), is the letter alef (א).
When taking the initial letters of the first words of each of the four cardinal verses brought above, from the last to the first verse, it spells the word, אשקך, which has two possible meanings: “I will kiss you” and “I will offer you to drink.” Amazingly both meanings come in two consecutive verses in the Song of Songs, the quintessential parable for the love between God and the Jewish people,
... when I should find you outside, I will kiss you (ךְקָּׁשֶא) and none would scorn me. I will lead you and take you to the house of my mother who brought me up; I will offer you to drink (ךְקְׁשַא) of spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranate.
Kissing is joined with drinking wine already at the very beginning of the Song of Songs: “The Song of Songs of Solomon. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine.” The word for wine in Hebrew (ןִיַי) equals seventy, the same as the word for “secret,” (דֹסו). The sages teach: “When wine enters, a secret exudes.” This verse is explained as expressing Israel’s longing for closeness with God, through God communicating His deepest secrets of the Torah. This experience is greater than any physical gratification or stimuli the world can offer. These deep secrets of the Torah will be fully revealed in the future by the Mashiach.
Kissing and song are similar in that they both express what is impossible in words alone. The word “I will kiss you,” (ךְקָּׁשֶא), alluding to the four levels of prayer, is thus the song of all strata of creation as it exists in a state of existential prayer and longing for intimate closeness with God. Prayer on this level expresses the passion of the soul, and in essence all creation, to be united with God.
There are exactly thirteen times that the (two-letter) root (ש-ק) of “kiss” are mentioned in the Five Books of Moses, the same number as the Attributes of Compassion. God’s compassion is, as it were, His way of kissing man.
Who Sings Perek Shirah?
WorldPart of Morning PrayersRepresentative VerseLetter of אשקךGodemanation13 Attributes of compassion“Compassionate and merciful God” (ןּונַחְם וחוַל רֵא)אman
creationShema“Hear O Israel” (לֵאָרְׂשִע יַמְׁש)שministering angel
formationBlessings before the Shema“Holy, holy, holy” (ׁשֹדוָ קׁשֹדוָקׁשֹדוָק)קthe creature
actionPesukei DeZimra“Every soul will praise Havayah, Halleluyah” (ּהָל יֵּלַלְּה תָמָׁשְּנַל הֹּכּהָיּלוְלַה)ך
Another important Torah model that contains four elements is the structure of the Torah’s text. The Torah text is based on the Hebrew letters, but there is more to it. Each part of the structure can be used as a basis for a different level of understanding of the text itself. First there are the letters themselves. Above that are the crowns drawn on the letters when written in a Torah scroll. Third are the vowels by which we know how to verbalize a word. Finally, at the fourth level are the musical cantillation marks by which we sing the Torah text. In a Torah scroll only the letters and the crowns appear while the vowels and musical notes are known from the Oral tradition.
The “kisses of his mouth” discussed above are associated with the rationale of the commandments (תֹוּצַי מֵמֲעַט) the deeper, secret reasons for God’s commandments, which will be revealed by the Mashiach. The Hebrew word for “rationale” (םַעַט) is the same as the Hebrew word for a musical cantillation mark of the Torah text, considered the highest level of understanding. Thus, the Mashiach will use the Torah’s song—passed down using the cantillation marks—to reveal the deepest levels of Torah understanding. This will be the ultimate expression of the song of Creation.
