Siddur › Tikkun HaKlali › Before the ten psalms
TT Siddur · Tikkun HaKlaliהֲרֵינִי מְקַשֵּׁר
Said before the ten psalms: tie yourself to the righteous, then sing.
Draft. This siddur is waiting for a rav's review. For a halachic question, ask your rav.
Hebrew, then English. Open "What it means" under any line for the explanation.
It is good to say this before the ten psalms:
הֲרֵינִי מְקַשֵׁר עַצְמִי בַּאֲמִירַת הָעֲשָׂרָה מִזְמוֹרִים אֵלּוּ לְכָל הַצַּדִּיקִים הָאֲמִתִּיִּים שֶׁבְּדוֹרֵנוּ.
I hereby tie myself by saying these ten psalms to all the true righteous of our generation
I hereby tie myself, by saying these ten psalms, to all the true righteous people of our generation,
Why tie yourself to anyone? Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (a Chassidic leader in Ukraine, 1772 to 1810) taught in his main book, Likutei Moharan, that in prayer each person should have in mind to bind himself to the righteous of his generation. The first spark gives his reason.
Likutei Moharan I, 2:6וּלְכָל הַצַּדִּיקִים הָאֲמִתִּים שׁוֹכְנֵי עָפָר.
and to all the true righteous who rest in the dust
and to all the true righteous people who rest in the dust:
The phrase "who rest in the dust," shokhnei afar, comes from Yeshayahu 26:19, a verse about the dead waking up to sing. Kohelet Rabbah (an early collection of teachings on the book of Kohelet) says that the righteous, even in death, are called "living."
Yeshayahu 26:19; Kohelet Rabbah 9:5קְדוֹשִׁים אָשֵׁר בָּאָרֶץ הֵמָּה.
the holy ones who are in the earth
These words are Tehillim 16:3, the first of the ten psalms. Rashi (the main medieval commentator on Tanach and Gemara) reads them as the holy ones buried in the earth, who walked before God in truth. Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi, another medieval commentator) reads them as holy people you meet on your way, whose deeds you should learn from.
Tehillim 16:3, with Rashi and Radak; Sichot HaRan 141וּבִפְרָט לְרַבֵּנוּ הַקָּדוֹשׁ צַדִּיק יְסוֹד עוֹלָם נַחַל נוֹבֵעַ מְקוֹר חָכְמָה רַבֵּנוּ נַחְמָן בֶּן פֵיגֶא.
and especially to our holy teacher the righteous one, foundation of the world a flowing stream, a source of wisdom our teacher Nachman, son of Feiga
The titles come from Mishlei (Proverbs): "a righteous person is the foundation of the world" (10:25) and "a flowing stream, a source of wisdom" (18:4), which there describes a person's words. The Gemara has Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua say the world rests on one pillar, and "Righteous" is its name. Feiga was Rebbe Nachman's mother.
Mishlei 10:25 and 18:4; Chagigah 12b; Chayei Moharan 114:1זְכוּתָם יָגֵן עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל אָמֵן
may their merit shield us and all Israel Amen
May their merit protect us and all Israel. Amen.
That a righteous person's merit can help others is an old idea. In the Gemara, a Divine Voice says every day: "The whole world is fed because of My son Chanina." That is Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, who needed only a small measure of carob pods to last the week.
Taanit 24bThen three verses from Psalm 95:
לְכוּ נְרַנְּנָה לַייָ נָרִיעָה לְצוּר יִשְׁעֵנוּ.
Come, let us sing out to Hashem let us shout to the Rock of our rescue
Radak says lechu does not mean walking anywhere. It is a word that urges people to act, like "come on." He reads the verse as what Israel will say to one another in the days of the Messiah, to sing to God who saved them. These verses also open Kabbalat Shabbat and close Wednesday's psalm.
Radak on Tehillim 95:1; Siddur Sefardנְקַדְּמָה פָנָיו בְּתוֹדָה בִּזְמִרוֹת נָרִיעַ לוֹ.
let us come before Him with thanks with songs let us shout to Him
Let us come before Him with thanks, let us shout to Him with songs.
Metzudat David (a commentary on Tehillim) explains that we put ourselves forward to stand before Him with spoken thanks for the good that comes. Radak adds that the thanks are "of the lips": we thank Him out loud for the good He did for us.
Metzudat David and Radak on Tehillim 95:2כִּי אֵל גָּדוֹל יְיָ וּמֶלֶךְ גָּדוֹל עַל כָּל אֱלֹהִים.
For Hashem is a great God and a great King over all the powers
Who are the "powers" above whom God is King? Radak says they are the hosts of heaven, who act as judges and rulers on earth but do nothing except as God sends them. Ibn Ezra (a medieval commentator from Spain) says they are the angels, who are His messengers and carry out His work.
Radak and Ibn Ezra on Tehillim 95:3Say this before the ten psalms. Rebbe Nachman told his followers to say a shorter line before they pray: "I tie myself to all the righteous of our generation." The longer version here is the one printed with the psalms.
Sichot HaRan 296 (a book of his sayings); Tikkun HaKlaliRebbe Nachman of Breslov (a Chassidic master in Ukraine who died in 1810) told two witnesses: whoever comes to his grave, says these ten psalms and gives a penny to charity, he will work with all his strength to help, however heavy that person's sins. His main student, Rabbi Natan of Breslov, wrote it in Sichot HaRan (a collection of the Rebbe's sayings). The Rebbe died in Uman, during Sukkot of 1810.
Sichot HaRan 141:24, 141:35 and 298:3After his illness began, Rebbe Nachman said he wanted to travel to the Land of Israel again and pass away there, but he was afraid he would not get there. He also said that if he were buried there, no one would come to his grave. At home, he said, people would come to learn and pray. Rabbi Natan records this in Chayei Moharan (his biography of the Rebbe).
Chayei Moharan 162At first the Rebbe said only to say ten psalms, and did not say which. Nearly four years later, lying in bed one winter, he had Rabbi Natan write down verses for the ten kinds of song. Then Rabbi Natan saw the Rebbe's own handwritten list of the ten psalms, but did not take it without permission, and was too nervous to memorize it. When he asked, the Rebbe said there would be another time. Soon after, the Rebbe named the ten to two witnesses: the rabbi of Breslov and Rabbi Naftali of Nemirov.
Sichot HaRan 141:3, 141:7-8, 141:10-13Klali means general. The Rebbe said: every sin has its own specific remedy, but this one is the general remedy. He also said no one had known it since the world was created. That is his own claim. He said it should be told openly to everyone, and added that it sounds easy but would be hard to keep.
Sichot HaRan 141:20, 141:29-31The first paragraph, Hareini mekasher ("I hereby tie myself"), is not in Sichot HaRan's account of the Ten Psalms. The printed text only says it is good to say before the psalms, and names no author. But almost the same words appear in the prayer by Rabbi Natan printed after the psalms: he binds himself to the true righteous of our generation and those resting in the dust. In his prayer, the line naming Rebbe Nachman is in brackets.
Tikkun HaKlali, opening and Rabbi Natan's closing prayer; Sichot HaRan 141:26Lechu neranena, "Come, let us sing out," is Tehillim 95:1-3. In Siddur Sefard it is the first psalm said to welcome Shabbat. Rabbi Natan writes in Likutei Halakhot (his Chassidic teachings, arranged by the sections of Jewish law) that it is said as Shabbat comes in, out of the joy of the future, when God's greatness will be seen.
Siddur Sefard, Kabbalat Shabbat; Likutei Halakhot, Laws of Idol Worship 3:17Read the paragraph again. It does not ask the dead to do anything. It says that I tie myself to the genuinely righteous people, those alive now and those resting in the dust, and especially to Rebbe Nachman. Then it asks that their merit protect us and all Israel. The psalms that follow are said to God.
The sources draw a careful line here. On a public fast day, the Gemara lists what the community does and asks the reason for each act. Why go out to the cemetery? Two Sages, Rabbi Levi bar Chama and Rabbi Chanina, disagree. One says it is to show we see ourselves as dead before God. The other says it is so that the dead will ask for mercy for us.
Later law is cautious. The Mishnah Berurah (a central commentary on daily Jewish law, from around 1900) says the cemetery is a good place to pray, but you should not aim your words at the dead. Ask God for mercy in the merit of the righteous resting in the dust. Those last words are the ones in our paragraph. Peninei Halakhah (a modern guide to Jewish law by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed) adds that some authorities allow asking the righteous to pray for us, and says to follow your family's custom.
Rebbe Nachman went further. He taught that a righteous person's death is like walking from one room into the next, and that if you call at the door, he hears you. That is his own teaching, and people differ on how far to take it.
Why bind yourself to anyone at all? In Likutei Moharan (Rebbe Nachman's main book of teachings) he says a clear mind comes only through attaching yourself to the righteous. His example: Moshe took Yosef's bones out of Egypt. Moshe stands for the mind, Yosef for the righteous person.
Tikkun HaKlali 1,Taanit 16a,Mishnah Berurah 581:27,Peninei Halakhah, Days of Awe 2:10,Sichot HaRan 156,Likutei Moharan I:211Start with what the Rebbe says this is for. He calls it a repair in the area of personal holiness (in Hebrew, tikkun habrit), and he treats harm there as a serious spiritual matter. He does not say every case needs fixing. Some things happen without a person's choice, from being worn out or from how you slept. About those he says: this is nothing.
Only when a person brought it on himself, he says, is there real spiritual damage. For that he teaches the ten psalms, said on the same day. Going to a mikveh (a ritual pool) first is best. If you cannot, because you are sick or traveling, the psalms alone still help.
Is it a spell? He ties it to song. The ten psalms match the ten kinds of song in Tehillim, and in Likutei Moharan he says those kinds of song work against the damage because they are its opposite. He also gives deeper Kabbalah meanings, using letter-numbers and names of God, which this page does not go into.
He was also open about the limits. He said he would have liked to remove this problem completely, but that would mean changing human nature for everyone, forever, and that is not possible. The ten psalms are what he offers instead.
One thing to know: this is Rebbe Nachman's own teaching, not a ruling from the Gemara. He called it new.
Likutei Moharan I:205,Sichot HaRan 141:4-5, 141:14-18, 141:20-21,Likutei Moharan II:92The number ten ties to the Gemara. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi taught that Tehillim was said in ten kinds of praise: nitzuach, niggun, maskil, mizmor, shir, ashrei, tehillah, tefillah, hoda'ah and halleluyah. Rebbe Nachman cites that passage and says ten psalms match ten kinds of song. His own list is a little different: it has berakhah (blessing) where the Gemara has tehillah.
At first he did not say which ten. Any ten would match. Later he chose these: Tehillim 16, 32, 41, 42, 59, 77, 90, 105, 137 and 150. They are said in the order they appear in Tehillim.
He also gave one verse for each kind of song. Four of those verses mention night: "even at night" (Tehillim 16:7), "at night His song is with me" (42:9), "I remember my song at night" (77:7) and "who gives songs in the night" (Iyov 35:10).
A small history note. In the first printing of Sipurei Maasiyot (Rebbe Nachman's stories), the printers made a mistake with Psalm 137, and the error spread into other books and prayerbooks. If your booklet has Psalm 137 as the ninth, it matches the Rebbe's list.
As for why these ten and not others, the Rebbe does not explain. Five of the verses he gave for the kinds of song do come from five of these psalms: 16, 32, 42, 59 and 77.
Pesachim 117a,Likutei Moharan II:92,Sichot HaRan 141:3, 141:26-28Short ideas from the Chassidic masters, the Kabbalah and the Mussar teachers.
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (a Chassidic master in Ukraine, 1772 to 1810) taught that every prayer anyone says is like one part of the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary the Jews built in the desert. A pile of parts is not a building. Only Moshe could fit them together, and the Torah says, "They brought the Tabernacle to Moshe." So when you pray, he says, have in mind to bind yourself to the tzaddikim (the righteous leaders) of your generation. Each carries something of Moshe. Now read "I hereby tie myself" again.
כָּל תְּפִלָּה וּתְפִלָּה שֶׁכָּל אֶחָד מִתְפַּלֵּל, הוּא בְּחִינַת אֵיבָר מֵהַשְּׁכִינָה... וַיָּבִיאוּ אֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן אֶל מֹשֶׁה
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, Likutei Moharan I:2:6Rabbi Mordechai Yosef of Izhbitz (a Chassidic master in Poland in the 1800s), in his book Mei HaShiloach, reads the first line of Psalm 95 in two steps. When God's care for the whole world is clear, a person is moved to sing. But when you see that God is looking at you in particular, the joy grows much stronger. He says that is the second half of the verse: "Let us shout to the Rock of our rescue."
וּכְשֶׁרוֹאֶה שֶׁהַשי"ת מַבִּיט אֵלָיו בְּיִחוּד אָז הַשִּׂמְחָה בְּהִתְגַּבְּרוּת מְאֹד
Mei HaShiloach, Tehillim 95:1Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the Rebbe of Piaseczno (a Chassidic rebbe in Poland), describes a moment that can come to a person: a single verse of song lifts you out of ordinary life. You are amazed that the whole world just stands there, not moved the way you are. So you call out to everyone, "Come, let us sing out to Hashem." He adds that the call goes out to the whole world, not only to people.
עד שמשתאה ומשתומם הוא על כל העולם למה הם עומדים דום ואינם מתפעלים כמוהו מקדושתו וגדלותו ית', ואמר לכל העולם לכו נרננה לה' נריעה לצור ישענו
Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, Derekh HaMelekh, ShavuotThe practical laws. For a final ruling, ask your rav.
Psalms 16, 32, 41, 42, 59, 77, 90, 105, 137 and 150. Sichot HaRan (the record of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov's sayings, kept by his student Rabbi Natan) says to say them in the order they appear in Tehillim (the Book of Psalms). It also notes a printer's error that got Psalm 137 wrong in the first printing of his book of stories.
Sichot HaRan 141:26-28Rebbe Nachman said that when the ten psalms are said as a repair, it is best to go to a mikveh first, but if you cannot, say them anyway. The Shulchan Aruch (the main code of Jewish law) rules that an old decree of Ezra the Scribe, which required immersion before prayer and Torah study in some cases, was canceled. The Mishnah Berurah (a central commentary on daily Jewish law) adds that some pious men still immerse, but not if it makes them miss the time for Shema and prayer.
Likutei Moharan I:205:3; Sichot HaRan 141:18; Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 88:1; Mishnah Berurah 88:2, 88:4Rebbe Nachman said it is better to say the ten psalms with real focus, but that saying the words alone also does a great deal.
Sichot HaRan 141:19No. The Shulchan Aruch rules that it is forbidden even to think words of Torah in a bathroom, a bathhouse, or any place with filth. It adds that God's names that may not be erased may not be mentioned there. The first line of Lechu Neranena has one of those names.
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 85:2One commentary says yes. Ateret Zekenim (a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, first printed in 1720) says that someone who regularly says Tehillim must first say the morning blessings over the Torah, and that it is good to say Tehillim before the prayer, not after. The Mishnah Berurah warns you to take care not to study Torah until you have said those blessings. For washing your hands first, see the Modeh Ani card.
Ateret Zekenim on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 1:5; Mishnah Berurah 47:2הֲרֵינִי מְקַשֵׁר עַצְמִי בַּאֲמִירַת הָעֲשָׂרָה מִזְמוֹרִים אֵלּוּ לְכָל הַצַּדִּיקִים הָאֲמִתִּיִּים שֶׁבְּדוֹרֵנוּ... זְכוּתָם יָגֵן עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל
I hereby tie myself, by saying these ten psalms, to all the true righteous people of our generation... May their merit protect us and all Israel.
תִּקּוּן לְמִקְרֵה לַיְלָה, רַחֲמָנָא לִצְלָן... לוֹמַר עֲשָׂרָה קַפִּיטְל תְּהִלִּים בְּאוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם שֶׁאֵרַע לוֹ
The repair for an impurity, God forbid: say ten psalms on the same day it happened.
וְאָמַר שֶׁהוּא: תִּקּוּן הַכְּלָלִי. כִּי כָּל עֲבֵרָה יֵשׁ לָהּ תִּקּוּן מְיֻחָד, אֲבָל תִּקּוּן הַנַּ"ל הוּא תִּקּוּן הַכְּלָלִי
He said: this is the general remedy. Every sin has its own specific remedy, but this one is the general remedy.
יֵשׁ מִי שֶׁיִּקְרֶה לוֹ עַל יְדֵי רִבּוּי אֲכִילָה וּשְׁתִיָּה אוֹ עַל־יְדֵי חֻלְשָׁה וַעֲיֵפוּת אוֹ עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁאֵינוֹ שׁוֹכֵב כָּרָאוּי, וְכָל זֶה אֵינוֹ כְּלוּם
For some people it happens from too much food and drink, or from weakness and tiredness, or from not lying down properly. All of that is nothing.
מִי שֶׁיָּבוֹא עַל קִבְרוֹ וְיֹאמַר שָׁם אֵלּוּ הָעֲשָׂרָה קַפִּיטְל תְּהִלִּים הַנַּ"ל וְיִתֵּן פְּרוּטָה לִצְדָקָה, אֲפִלּוּ אִם גָּדְלוּ וְעָצְמוּ עֲווֹנוֹתָיו וַחֲטָאָיו מְאֹד מְאֹד ח"ו, אֲזַי אֶתְאַמֵּץ וְאֶשְׁתַּדֵּל לָאֹרֶךְ וְלָרֹחַב לְהוֹשִׁיעוֹ וּלְתַקְּנוֹ
Whoever comes to his grave, says these ten psalms there and gives a penny to charity, even if his sins have grown huge, I will make every effort, in length and breadth, to save him and repair him.
כִּי עֲשָׂרָה קַפִּיטְל תְּהִלִּים הֵם כְּנֶגֶד עֲשָׂרָה מִינֵי נְגִינָה
For ten psalms correspond to the ten kinds of song.
בעשרה מאמרות של שבח נאמר ספר תהלים בניצוח בנגון במשכיל במזמור בשיר באשרי בתהלה בתפלה בהודאה בהללויה
The Book of Tehillim was said in ten expressions of praise: nitzuach, niggun, maskil, mizmor, shir, ashrei, tehillah, tefillah, hoda'ah, halleluyah.
לָמָּה יוֹצְאִין לְבֵית הַקְּבָרוֹת? פְּלִיגִי בַּהּ רַבִּי לֵוִי בַּר חָמָא וְרַבִּי חֲנִינָא. חַד אָמַר: הֲרֵי אָנוּ חֲשׁוּבִין לְפָנֶיךָ כְּמֵתִים, וְחַד אָמַר: כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּבַקְּשׁוּ עָלֵינוּ מֵתִים רַחֲמִים
Why do people go out to the cemetery? Rabbi Levi bar Chama and Rabbi Chanina disagree. One said: we count ourselves as dead before You. The other said: so that the dead will ask for mercy for us.
אך אל ישים מגמתו נגד המתים אך יבקש מהש"י שיתן עליו רחמים בזכות הצדיקים שוכני עפר
But he should not aim his words at the dead. Rather he should ask God to have mercy on him in the merit of the righteous resting in the dust.
וְאִי אֶפְשָׁר לָבוֹא לְמֹחִין זַכִּים אֶלָּא עַל־יְדֵי הִתְקַשְּׁרוּת לְצַדִּיקִים
And it is impossible to reach a clear mind except by binding yourself to the righteous.
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