Ana BeKoach

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Ana BeKoach (Hebrew: אנא בכח‎, We beg you! With your strength) is a medieval Jewish piyyut (liturgical poem) called by its incipit. This piyyut, the acronym of which is said to be a 42-letter name of God,^{[note 1]} is recited daily by those Jewish communities which include Korbanot in Shacharit and more widely as part of Kabbalat Shabbat. Some also recite it as part of Bedtime Shema or during the Omer.^[1]

The exact wording of the piyyut differs widely between manuscripts, with smaller variations in the resulting acronym. Hayy ben Sherira (d. 1038), the first scholar to mention its 42-letter acronym, did not know of any piyyut and writes that the name was only passed down among the Babylonian geonim. By contrast, Rashi and Maimonides write that the 42-letter name is lost.^[2]

According to Shlomo ibn Aderet, "The letters [of the 42-letter name] differ between our [Sephardic] tradition and that of the Ashkenazic masters, but the baqasha of Nehunya ben HaKanah (c. 100 CE) agrees with our version."^[3] Many different piyyutim based on the 42-letter acronym were popular at the time, all obviously the work of medieval poets.^[2] According to Moshe Hallamish, the first piyyut to largely resemble the modern form of Ana BeKoach was recorded by Jacob of Segovia (13th century), who probably learned it from Hasidei Ashkenaz, who had been composing piyyutim around the 42-letter name since the early 12th century.^[2]

The piyyut is recited as part of the Parashat Korbanot reading during Shacharit as well as during Kabbalat Shabbat before Lekha Dodi. It finds major expression^{[clarification needed]} when said after each of the 49 daily Omer countings, both in its full form and intertwined in commentary verses included after the count for each day.^[4]

Other times Ana BeKoach is said outside formal services:

• As part of Shema al HaMitah (Bedtime Shema), to support the soul which departs until the morning. This arose from Nusach Ari.
• If they can, before someone dies, they say this prayer after Vidui (confession).
• As part of the funeral service to help the soul rise to heaven.
• Any time when needing additional strength for daily life.^[4]

It is the custom of Hasidim to recite the piyyut during:^{[citation needed]}

• the laps of Simchat Torah, with one sentence recited in the order of each lap.^{[citation needed]}
• Tashlikh ceremony on Rosh Hashanah or during the blowing of the Shofar.^{[citation needed]}
• in the hymns of the Hosanna, during the beating of the guarantee in the Hoshana Rabbah.^{[citation needed]}
• when lighting Hanukkah candles, seven times.^{[citation needed]}

This table highlights the 42-word name by indicating the initial letter from each word forming it in bold. The greyed-out acronyms are not spoken aloud in Orthodox practice.^[17]

Each verse is linked to:

• A Day of creation. First verse linked to the first day, second verse to the second day etc.
• A Day of the week. First verse linked to Sunday, second verse to Monday etc.
• The lower seven Sephirot of the Kabbalah. First verse linked to Chesed, second verse to Gevura etc.

The eighth verse (Ps 72:19) following the piyyut is not part of it but serves to close it like Amen closes blessings. This verse is also recited after the first verse of the Shema.^[4]

the meaning, structure and power of the piyyut can be explained using the following Kabbalah related ideas:

• Sephirot: The ten attributes/emanations of Ein Sof, through which the universe's existence is sustained.
• Letters of the Torah: Not only the words of the Torah, but each of its letters contain deep mystical meaning. Torah study must include the learning of these meanings. Gematria is one of many methods used to understand this meaning.
• Other names of HaShem: The 4-letter name of HaShem, revealed to Moses from the burning bush, is the most important name in terms of Kabbalah and orthodox Judaisms understanding of HaShem. Kabbalah investigates other names of HaShem, which are contained in the 4-letter name and have mystical significance which can influence the physical universe. These names are derived from the Torah and have various numbers of letters. The most important are the 42-letter and 72-letter names.^[17]
• The numbers 42 and 49: 42 is metophorically related to the exodus from Egypt and the journey to Eretz Yisrael.^[17][18] 49 is related to the counting of the Omer.^[19][20]
• Living Kabbalah: The inclusion of Kabbalah learning in daily life and particularly in prayer services.
• Adoption by other Jews: Kabbalah learning has been accepted by most orthodox Jewish traditions as Halacha, especially but not limited to Chasidim. Most Orthodox Jews have adopted some Kabbalah practices in their Nusach. Isaac Luria (also known as Ha'ari, Ha'ari Hakadosh or Arizal) and his Nusach Ari have been central to this adoption.

Numbers 33 sets out the route the Israelites took from leaving Egypt to entering the Promised Land. The route includes 42 journeys from one camp to another over 40 years before they eventually enter the land of Israel. According to the Baal Shem Tov each of the 42 camps represents steps that person must successfully navigate to fulfill their life purpose from birth (the exit from Egypt) to death and entry into Olam Haba (World to Come) equated with the Israelites entering the Promised Land.^{[19][17][18][20]}

Piyyut and other liturgy based on 42, and the 42-letter name assist those who contemplate them to understands each of the 42 personal waypoints they must encounter, and how to surmount them.

The forty-two 'stations' from Egypt to the Promised Land are replayed in the life of every individual Jew, as his soul journeys from its descent to earth at birth to its return to its Source.^[18]

— Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov

When God brought the Jews out from Egypt, He brought them out with the mystery of the 42-letter name, just as He created heaven and earth...^[19]

— Zohar Hadash

R. Yehudah b. Shalom HaLevi said in the name of R. Yonah; and also R. Levi in the name of R. Hama b. R. Hanina said: 'The manna descended after [it had journeyed through] forty-two stages.'^[19]

— Midrash Rabbah Shemot 25:5

A permutation of the first 42 letter of Genesis are said to indirectly encode the 42-letter name. This is interpreted by Kabbalah and Talmud as indicating that HaShem used his 42-letter name to create the world. The Hebrew name for the 42 letter name is שם מ'בֶ (The Mem Bet name).^[19][17]

God created the world with this forty-two lettered name.^[19]

— Zohar II:234b (II:27.264)

'And the Earth Was Void and Without Form.' This describes the original state, as it were..., until the world was graven with forty-two letters, all of which are the ornamentation of the Holy Name.^[19]

— Zohar I:30a (I:30.318)

When Moses asked HaShem who he should tell the Israelites had sent him, he was told that HaShem's name was "Ehkeh asher Ehkeh" (I will be what I will be) Exodus 3:13–14. The Gematria numerical equivalent for Hebrew word "Ehkeh" is 21. Since the word appears twice in the name this gives 42, referring to the 42-letter name (Talmud Kedushin 71).^[19][17]

• There are forty-two lines in each column of the Torah (Tractate Soferim 2:6).
• The scripts in each Tefilin (Shel Yad and Shel Rosh) each mentions HaShem's name 21 times, in total 42 times for both Tefilin.
• The Geonim say the Shem HaMephorash pronounced by the Kohen Gadol when he entered the Kodesh HaKodashim on Yom Kippur was the 42-letter name.
• 42 is the number of days of Sefirat HaOmer after seven days of Passover.
• there are 42 words in the piyyut Ana BeKoach, the first letters of which spell out the 42-letter name.^[19]
• The Shema (declaration that HaShem the G-d is one) is the most important prayer in the siddur. Its opening paragraph (following the Shema declaration itself) starting "Ve'ahavta" contains 42 words which (less obviously than Ana BeKoach encode the 42-letter name linking it to Ana BeKoach.
• The Zohar says that the first blessing of the Amidah (the second most important prayer) originally contained 42 words which also encoded the 42-letter name. This is no longer apparent in modern siddurim because of millennia of transcription errors.
• Verses 10 and 11 of Kaddish (prayer said between sections of prayer serves, and as prayer for the dead) contain the 7 words וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח וְיִתְפָּאַר וְיִתְרוֹמַם וְיִתְנַשֵּׂא וְיִתְהַדָּר וְיִתְעַלֶּה וְיִתְהַלָּל...‎ (...veyishtabbaḥ veyitpa'ar veyitromam / Veyitnasse veyithaddar veyitʻalleh veyithallal...). These 7 words which have important meaning (describing various attributes of HaShem) each consists of 6 letters, giving a total of 42 letters. The first letter of each word is "Vav" which has a Gematria numerical value of 6.^[4]

Ana BeKoach: Each verse of the 7 verses of the piyyut contains contains 6 word. The 6-letter acronym (two 3-letter acronyms taken together), derived from each verse, which forms part of the 42-letter name, is added to the end of the verse as a word. Constructed in this way it has 49 words (7 verses of 7 words each).^[17]

Psalm 67: After counting the Omer for the day, Psalm 67 is recited and then Ana BeKoach is read. If the first verse to Psalm 67 (which gives introductory information only) is ignored, the Psalm consists of 49 words each of which is associated with successive Omer days. Similarly verse 5 of Psalm 67 contains 49 letters which are also each linked to the Omer days. This Psalm is further associated with the Temple menorah, the 7 armed oil lamp used in the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) services, which links the Psalm and the Omer count to the Beit HaMikdash where the Omer (a measure of barley) was brought on the second day of Pesach as an offering of the first part of the harvest to HaShem.^[21]

Exodus journey stations: The stations represent life experiences which a person needs to overcome.^[18] The lower 7 sefirot are part of these experiences each of which needs to be understood for a person to proceed in life. The 42 stations and 7 sefirot make 49 life stages.^[20]

Sephirot: The 7 lower Sephirot are said to contain each of the Sephirot (including themselves) within them. There are therefore 49 permutations of Sephirot. Each Sefira is linked to a week in the Omer count. On each day of that week the week's Sefira is contemplated in relation to one of the others it contains. On the seventh day of a particular Sefira's week, the Sefira is contemplated, as it relates to itself.^[20]

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the 49 days of the Omer should remind Jews of the journey of the nation from Egypt to Israel through 42 waypoints and 7 Sephirot, and how this relates to the steps they must take in their personal life journey.^[17][18][20] The piyyut with its 49 nine words (42 words plus the 7 component parts of the 42-letter name derived from it), the 49 words of Psalm 67 and the 49 letters of verse 5 of that Psalm are associated with days of the Omer, to assist a Jew to understand the life steps and how to confront them.

Ana BeKoach is one of the Kabbalistic inspired piyyut included in all orthodox services. It was constructed to associate it with the mystical meaning of the lower seven Sephirot and the 42-letter name. Its various uses by all Jewish traditions include the devine mystical power into these observances. Reciting the piyyut has the power of bringing the Ein Sof light to earth strengthening the person reciting it, and the nation to face it ongoing journey.

Every time the piyyut is recited one must focus on how it's can assist them in their life journey. The piyyut is said in the Parashat Korbanot read during Shacharit and during Kabbalat Shabbat. It reaches its full potential of guiding a person through life by its association with the counting of the Omer, through its intertwining with the other 49–derived items.

An additional verse for contemplation is inserted in the Omer service after the day's count in Edut Hamizrach, Sefard and Chasid Siddurim. These siddurim give the formula for the verse as:^[12][13][14]

The Ana BeKoach word for that day (with its initial letter that forms part of the 42-letter name), plus

The combined Sephirot for that day, plus

The Psalm 67 word for that day , plus

The Psalm 67, verse 5, letter for that day.

This constructed verse combines all the Kabbalah elements in these various sources into the counting of the Omer for each day.

The table below shows how all these parts for each Omer day fit together. For example:

• Week 1, Weekday 1 = Day 1 of the Omer: Ana BeKoach word – Ana (Please), Sephirot – loving kindness within loving kindness, Psalm 67 word – Elokim, Verse 5 letter – Yud (the tenth letter of the aleph-bet). Combining these gives the contemplation verse for the day 1 counting as: "Ana – loving kindness within loving kindness – Elokim – Yud". In Hebrew: אנא חסד שבחסד אלקים י‎.
• Week 2, Weekday 3 = Day 10 of the Omer: Ana BeKoach word – ammecha (your nation), Sephirot – beauty within strength, Psalm 67 word – darchecha (your paths), Verse 5 letter – Nun (the fourteenth letter in the aleph-bet). Combining these gives the contemplation verse for the day 10 counting as: "Ammecha – beauty within strength – darchecha – Nun". In Hebrew: עמך תפארת שבגבורה דרכך נ‎.

By counting the Omer and contemplating the other items, associated with it a Jew can understand their journey through life, and which areas they currently need to work on to achieve the goal of finally uniting with Ein Sof.^[20]

• King David (father father father) (2023) — An Israeli hip-hop song released by Israeli rapper Dudu Faruk (Ori Comay) includes a rapid recitation of Ana beKoach at the end of the track.^[22]
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017-2023) — A rendition of Ana BeKoach is featured in the television show in a synagogue scene.^[23]

^{[note 1]}

• Translation and sung version.
• Welcoming Shabbat with Ana BeKoach by Merav Brenner and the Hallel Chorus