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Shir Shel Yom: The Psalm of the Day

שִׁיר שֶׁל יוֹם · end of every Shacharit · 7 psalms, one per weekday · Temple-era heritage
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The Psalm of the Day, a different psalm assigned to each day of the week, recited at the end of every morning Shacharit service. The custom dates back to Temple times: the Levites, the singers of the Temple, sang a specific psalm at the end of each day's sacrificial service. Each day's psalm was chosen because of a thematic link to a day of creation. After the Temple's destruction (70 CE), the rabbis preserved the seven psalms as the closing element of daily morning prayer, a verbal memory of the Levites' liturgy. On any given morning, you can identify what day it is by which psalm is opened. This page lists all 7 with their opening lines; full word-by-word for each psalm comes in the Tehilim section.

Read the 7 daily Psalms on Sefaria for the surrounding biblical/liturgical context.

Sun · יום א Psalm 24
לַיהוָה
la-do-NAI
to the LORD
הָאָרֶץ
ha-A-rets
the earth
וּמְלוֹאָהּ
u-me-lo-AH
and its fullness
"The earth is the LORD's and its fullness", on day 1 He acquired the world.
Mon · יום ב Psalm 48
גָּדוֹל
ga-DOL
great
יְהוָה
a-do-NAI
the LORD
וּמְהֻלָּל
u-me-hu-LAL
and praised
מְאֹד
me-OD
greatly
"Great is the LORD and greatly praised", on day 2 He divided the waters.
Tue · יום ג Psalm 82
אֱלֹהִים
e-lo-HIM
God
נִצָּב
ni-TSAV
stands
בַּעֲדַת
ba-a-DAT
in the assembly of
אֵל
el
God
"God stands in the divine assembly", on day 3 dry land emerged, the stage of judgment.
Wed · יום ד Psalm 94
אֵל
el
God of
נְקָמוֹת
ne-ka-MOT
vengeance
יְהוָה
a-do-NAI
the LORD
הוֹפִיעַ
ho-FI-a
shine forth!
"God of vengeance, LORD, shine forth", on day 4 the celestial lights, the future idols of nations.
Thu · יום ה Psalm 81
הַרְנִינוּ
har-NI-nu
sing joyfully
לֵאלֹהִים
le-lo-HIM
to God
עוּזֵּנוּ
u-ZE-nu
our strength
"Sing joyfully to God, our strength", on day 5 the singers of nature were born (birds, fish).
Fri · יום ו Psalm 93
יְהוָה
a-do-NAI
the LORD
מָלָךְ
ma-LACH
reigns
גֵּאוּת
ge-UT
majesty
לָבֵשׁ
la-VESH
He is clothed
"The LORD reigns, robed in majesty", on day 6 humans were created, and God's kingship over a free creature began.
Shabbat · יום ז Psalm 92
מִזְמוֹר
miz-MOR
a psalm
שִׁיר
shir
song
לְיוֹם
le-YOM
for the day of
הַשַּׁבָּת
ha-sha-BAT
the Sabbath
"A psalm, a song for the Sabbath day", the only psalm in the Tanakh whose title names a day.

♦ About this prayer

A 2,500-year-old rotation of seven Psalms across the days of the week, surviving from Temple practice into daily synagogue liturgy. The compact mnemonic that makes every morning slightly different from the one before.

Temple origin: Mishnah Tamid

The Mishnah, tractate Tamid chapter 7, describes the daily service in the Second Temple in detail. After the morning tamid (continual offering), the Levites, the temple choristers, would ascend the platform and sing the day's psalm with full musical accompaniment. The Mishnah names each psalm and explains why each one fits its day, mostly by linking to that day of the creation week (Sunday = day 1 of creation, etc.). After the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, the rabbis preserved the seven-psalm rotation as part of the post-Temple synagogue liturgy.

Why these specific psalms

The Mishnah's explanations connect each psalm to a day of creation:

  • Sunday Psalm 24, "The earth is the LORD's". On day 1, God acquired the world.
  • Monday Psalm 48, "Great is the LORD in the city of our God". On day 2 He divided waters above from below, implicit in the divided Jerusalem of the psalm.
  • Tuesday Psalm 82, "God stands in the assembly". On day 3 dry land emerged, the stage on which God's law would later be given.
  • Wednesday Psalm 94, "God of vengeance". On day 4 the sun, moon, and stars were placed, and (the Talmud explains) future star-worshipers would be punished.
  • Thursday Psalm 81, "Sing joyfully". On day 5 birds and fish were created, the singers of nature.
  • Friday Psalm 93, "The LORD reigns". On day 6 humans were created; God's kingship over a creature with free will began.
  • Shabbat Psalm 92, "A psalm for the Sabbath". The day of rest itself.

How the Levites sang in the Temple

The Temple service was musical. There were ~12 Levites singing on a daily basis (more on festivals), accompanied by musical instruments, the harp (kinor), lyre (nevel), cymbals (tziltzelim), trumpets (chatzotzrot). The Levites stood on a wooden platform (duchan) overlooking the courtyard where the sacrifices were offered. After each day's morning sacrifice, the Levites would sing the day's psalm. Crowds would respond. The performance lasted ~10-15 minutes.

After the Temple's destruction, this musical tradition mostly fell silent, the Sages forbade instrumental music in synagogues as a sign of mourning for the Temple. The psalms remained, but the orchestra was gone. Today, in synagogues across the world, the seven psalms are spoken or chanted simply, without instrumental accompaniment, every morning, the verbal trace of a vanished orchestral liturgy.

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