Av HaRachamim

Av Harachamim (אב הרחמים "Father [of] mercy" or "Merciful Father") is a Jewish memorial prayer which was written in the late eleventh or early twelfth century, after the destruction of the Ashkenazi communities around the Rhine River by Christian crusaders during the First Crusade. It is printed in every Orthodox siddur in the European traditions of Nusach Sefarad and Nusach Ashkenaz and recited as part of the weekly Shabbat services, or in some communities on the Shabbat before Shavuot and Tisha B'Av. [cite book | author=Baer, Rabbi Dr. S. | title=Siddur Avodath Yisrael | location=Roedelheim | year=19th century]

The Yizkor service on Jewish holidays concludes with the "Av Harachamim", which prays for the souls of all Jewish martyrs.

Text of the Av Harachamim

English

The Father of mercy who dwells on high in His great mercy will remember with compassion the pious, upright and blameless the holy communities, who laid down their lives for the sanctification of His name. They were loved and pleasant in their lives and in death they were not parted. They were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions to carry out the will of their Maker, and the desire of their steadfast God. May our Lord remember them for good together with the other righteous of the world

and may He redress the spilled blood of His servants as it is written in the Torah of Moses the man of God: "O nations, make His people rejoice for He will redress the blood of His servants He will retaliate against His enemies and appease His land and His people". And through Your servants, the prophets it is written: "Though I forgive, their bloodshed I shall not forgive When God dwells in Zion" And in the Holy Writings it says: "Why should the nations say, 'Where is their God?'" Let it be known among the nations in our sight that You avenge the spilled blood of Your servants. And it says: "For He who exacts retribution for spilled blood remembers them He does not forget the cry of the humble". And it says: "He will execute judgement among the corpse-filled nations crushing the rulers of the mighty land; from the brook by the wayside he will drink then he will hold his head high".

Hebrew

Transliteration

Av harachameem shochein m'romeem, b'rachamav ha-atzumeem hu yeefkod b'rachamim. Hachaseedeem v'ha-y'shareem v'ha-t'meemeem, k'heelot hakodesh shemas'ru nafsham al kdushat Hasheim, hane-eh-haveem v'ha-n'eemeem b'chayeihem, uvmotam lo neefradu. Meen'shareem kalu umeiarayot gaveiru laasot r'tzon konam v'cheifetz tzuram. Yeezk'reim Eloheinu l'tova eem sh'ar tzadeekei olam v'yeenkom l'eineinu neekmat dam avadav hashafuch kakatuv b'torat moshe eesh haEloheem: harneenu goyeem amo kee dam avadav yeekom v'nakam yasheev l'tzarav v'cheeper admato amo. V'al y'dei avadecha haN'vee-eem katuv leimor: V'neekeitee damam lo neekeitee vaAdonoy Shochein b'tzeeyon. Uvcheetvei hakodesh ne-eh-mar: lama yom'ru hagoyeem ayei ehloheihem yeevada bagoyeem l'eineinu neekmat dam avadecha hashafuch. V'omeir: kee doreish dameem otam zachar lo shachach tza-ah-kat anaveem. V'omeir: yadeen bagoyeem malei g'veeyot machatz rosh al eretz raba. Meenachal baderech yeeshte al kein yareem rosh.

ee also

*Bereavement in Judaism
*Kaddish

References

External links

* [http://judaism.about.com/od/deathandmournin1/f/yizkor.htm "What is Yizkor"?] About.com
* [http://yizkor.ort.org:8081/html/yiz_avprayer_th.shtml ORT Av Harachamim Hebrew and English]
* [http://yizkor.ort.org:8081/html/yiz_avprayer_tt.shtml ORT Av Harachamim English and Transliteration]
* [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/yizkor.html Yizkor article] at Jewish Virtual Library
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwom17kFOb0&feature=related Av Harachamim sung by the Horowitz Brothers (intense)]

Jewish prayers