Shir shel yom
Shir Shel Yom, meaning "'song' of day " consists of one psalm recited daily at the end of the Jewish morning prayer services known as shacharit; in the Italian rite they are recited also at Mincha and before Birkat Hamazon. Each day of the week possesses a distinct psalm that is referred to by its Hebrew name as the shir shel yom and each day's shir shel yom is a different paragraph of Psalms.
Although fundamentally similar to the Levite's song that was sung at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in ancient times, there are some differences between the two.
Songs for the days of the week
- Sunday: Psalm 24
- Monday: Psalm 48.
- Tuesday: Psalm 82.
- Wednesday: Psalm 94, followed by the first or first three verses of Psalm 95.
- Thursday: Psalm 81.
- Friday: Psalm 93.
- Saturday: Psalm 92.
Rationale
Each day's shir shel yom was chosen for its ties to that day's significance in the week of Creation, as explained by the Baraita that quotes Rabbi Yehuda in the name of Rabbi Akiva:- On Sunday, Psalm 24 is recited, in reference to the first day of Creation, on which God acquired the universe, bequeathed it to mankind and ruled over His world by Himself.
- On Monday, Psalm 48 is recited, in reference to the second day of Creation, on which He separated the things that he made and reigned over them.
- On Tuesday, Psalm 82 is recited, in reference to the third day of Creation, on which He exposed the land with His wisdom, thus preparing the world for His assembly.
- On Wednesday, Psalm 94 is recited, in reference to the fourth day of Creation, on which He created the sun and the moon and how he will ultimately exact punishment from those who worship them.
- On Thursday, Psalm 81 is recited, in reference to the fifth day of Creation, on which He created the birds and the fish to give praise to his name.
- On Friday, Psalm 93 is recited, in reference to the sixth day of Creation, on which He completed his work and reigned over his creations.
- On the Sabbath, Psalm 92 is recited, in reference to the seventh day of Creation, which is a day that is entirely Sabbath.