Shema and Its Blessings

all of whom stand in the universe's heights, proclaiming together, in awe, aloud, the words of the living God, the eternal King. They are all beloved, all pure, all mighty, all holy, and all perform in awe and reverence the will of their Maker. > All open their mouths in holiness and purity, with song and psalm, and bless, praise, glorify, revere, sanctify and declare the sovereignty of — the name of the great, mighty and awesome God and King, holy is He. > All accept on themselves, one from another, the yoke of the kingdom of heaven, granting permission to one another with love, to sanctify the One who formed them, in serene spirit, pure speech and sweet melody. All, as one, proclaim His holiness in awe, saying in reverence: All say aloud: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; Is. 6 the whole world is filled with His glory. and toward the end of prayer, except on Shabbat when the third is transferred to the afternoon. This section of the prayers — the vision of the heavenly throne and the angels — is part of the mystical tradition in Judaism. Prayer is Jacob's ladder, stretching from earth to heaven, with "angels of the LORD" ascending and descending. The three Kedushot represent, respectively, the ascent, the sum- mit, and the descent: the journey of the soul from earth to heaven and back again, transformed by our experience of the Divine. mv NIM Serene spirit: The angels' praise has three elements, and by implication