Psalm 145 — Ashrei Yoshvei Veitecha
Psalm 145 (Ashrei) is the only psalm declared by the Talmud to guarantee the World to Come for its daily reciter — its alphabetical structure proclaims God's goodness to all creation.
The Talmud (Berakhot 4b) declares: 'Whoever recites Psalm 145 three times daily is guaranteed a place in the World to Come.' The psalm is alphabetical (each verse begins with a successive Hebrew letter) — suggesting the completeness and comprehensiveness of God's goodness. Its central verse — 'The Lord opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing' (145:16) — is considered so important that if one recites it without concentration on its meaning, they must repeat it. This verse is included in the Grace after Meals. The psalm celebrates God's kingship not as remote domination but as intimate provision: God 'supports all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down' (145:14). It is recited three times daily in Jewish liturgy — at Shacharit, Mincha, and as the opening of Mincha — making it one of the most frequently recited biblical texts in Jewish practice.
The Lord opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing.
Ashrei is Psalm 145, an alphabetical acrostic (famously lacking the letter nun) recited three times each day. The Talmud (Berakhot 4b) holds that whoever recites it three times daily is assured a share in the world to come — both for its ordered completeness and for the verse 'You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.'
Tanakh
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- What Judaism says about gratitude
An alphabetical psalm the Talmud singles out for daily recitation. Its subject is not what was done for one people but what is given to every living thing.