Practically speaking, on Shabbat we have more time to devote to our prayers. But more importantly, G-d intended the Shabbat to be a day of spiritual recharging; a day when we refresh our relationship with the Creator. This is primarily accomplished through spending added time in communion with G-d.

Preliminary Prayers

The preliminary prayers include twelve additional chapters of Psalms which are not included in the weekday prayer (19, 33, 34, 90, 91, 98, 121-124, 135, 136). These chapters laud G-d’s greatness and are “mood-setters” designed to put us in the proper frame of mind for the Songs of Praise, Shema, and the amidah.

Additionally, an in depth understanding of these particular Psalms reveals a distinct connection between each of them and the ideas represented by Shabbat.

In many synagogues, the Shabbat Preliminary Prayers conclude with the Ha’aderet Veha’emunah hymn.¹   This hymn, “borrowed” from the angels’ songs of praise, affirms that all praiseworthy attributes are only true and perfect when applied to G-d.

G-d intended the Shabbat to be a day of spiritual recharging; a day when we refresh our relationship with the Creator

The Songs of Praise commence with the Baruch She’amar blessing and conclude with the Yishtabach. The bulk of the Songs of Praise – Psalms 145-150 and the relating of the story of the Exodus and the splitting of the Red Sea, complete with the repetition of the Az Yashir which was sung by the Jews upon emerging from the sea – is the same as the weekday Songs of Praise.

The Shabbat addition to the Songs of Praise is the Nishmat which directly precedes the Yishtabach blessing. This prayer, of ancient origin,²   expands on the aforementioned theme—the miracles which accompanied the Exodus.³  

The Barchu which follows the Yishtabach is the bridge which connects the Songs of Praise with the next section—the Shema and its blessings.

The Shema

The Shema and its blessings are more or less the same as in the weekday service. On Shabbat the El Adon hymn is added, and in most congregations is sung by the congregants in unison. This hymn, as well as the Hakol Yudocha prayer which precedes it, further develop the primary theme of the Shema blessings—G-d’s greatness and His absolute dominion over all the supernal creations.

El Adon is followed by L'El Asher which describes the greatness of Shabbat. The rest of the Shema blessings and the Shema itself are the same as weekday.

The Amidah

The Amidah is shorter on Shabbat than weekdays. During the week the Amidah is comprised of 19 blessing; three of praise, thirteen requests and three of thanks. It is improper to make personal requests on Shabbat as, “the gates of request are closed.”

Shabbat is a day of rest. Even thinking of mundane affairs is prohibited. The thirteen middle blessings are replaced with one longer blessing which extols the greatness of Shabbat.

The repetition of the Amidah⁴   includes the Kedusha which, in addition to its standard weekday text, also includes a request that the Moshiach come and bring the Jewish people back to Jerusalem. (Do not worry about the inappropriateness of making requests on Shabbat. That only applies to personal requests not communal ones).

Torah Reading

The Shacharit is immediately followed by the public reading of the Torah Portion of the week and the Haftorah portion from the Prophets. On certain special Shabbatot, such as if Shabbat falls on Rosh Chodesh or a holiday, two or even three Torahs are taken from the Ark.

From the second (and third) Torah the reader reads a section which speaks of the uniqueness of the day. Sometime during a break in the reading, a blessing is made for all those who are ill. If possible, be prepared with the Jewish name and mother’s name of the ill person.

Pre-Musaf

Before the Torah is returned to the ark, we say the Yikum Purkan prayer. The Yekum Purkan was introduced into the prayer services some 1500 years ago, and, as the Jews then spoke Aramaic, it is one of the few prayers recited in Aramaic, instead of the Holy Tongue.

The first part of this prayer requests Divine blessings for the various Jewish communal leaders. The second part – the second Yekum Purkan and the Mi Sheberach – is a prayer on behalf of the congregation and specifically those devoted to communal activities. 

Don't worry. It's Shabbat. No collection cup is passed around!

This prayer, instituted yet in the Gaonic Era (589 CE – 1038 CE) is partly reminiscent of the sanctification of the new month performed by the Sanhedrin of old, but is primarily to inform the public when Rosh Chodesh will occur.

If Shabbat does not fall on a date when – if it would have been a weekday – Tachanun is not said,⁵   the Av Harachamim is now recited.⁶   This prayer is a memorial prayer for the souls of all the Jewish martyrs throughout history who sacrificed their lives for the sanctification of G-d’s name.

In this passage we “remind” G-d of His promise to avenge their blood. It is believed to have been first instituted in Germany after the terrible massacres and destruction of Jewish communities in the Rhineland regions and other parts by the Crusaders during the first and second crusades (1096 and 1146).

These prayers are followed by the Ashrei, and the Torah is then returned to the Ark.

At this point, many synagogues afford the Rabbi a chance to say words of inspiration, usually related to the Torah Portion. Don’t worry. It’s Shabbat. No collection cup is passed around!

Musaf

The musaf amidah and it’s repetition now follow. The text of the musaf amidah discusses the additional sacrifices offered in the Temple on Shabbat, as well as a request that the Temple be speedily rebuilt so that we can resume this service.

After the amidah the prayers conclude with the Ein Ke’Elohainu and Aleinu, similar to the weekday.

On average, the entire service lasts between two and a half and three hours.

Kiddush

If you are lucky, you are attending a Shabbat service which is followed by a lavish “kiddush.” The kiddush traditionally consists of a buffet or sit-down light meal with plenty of lechaim’s. If you’re really lucky, the cook makes a wicked Cholent.⁷