The Hashkavah
The Hashkavah is the memorial prayer of Sephardi and Mizrahi communities. Choose a man or a woman and the short or full form, and type the name.
The prayer book this comes from gives the full form “for a man great in Torah and in fear of Heaven”. Many communities say it for everyone; follow your community.
Some families use the father’s name, others the mother’s. Follow your family’s custom. Use the Hebrew name, not necessarily the everyday one: Baruch rather than Bernard. Without Hebrew letters, the Hebrew text leaves a blank to fill in by hand.
Verses
וְהַחָכְמָה מֵאַיִן תִּמָּצֵא, וְאֵי זֶה מְקוֹם בִּינָה. אַשְׁרֵי אָדָם מָצָא חָכְמָה, וְאָדָם יָפִיק תְּבוּנָה. מָה רַב טוּבְךָ אֲשֶׁר צָפַנְתָּ לִּירֵאֶיךָ, פָּעַלְתָּ לַחֹסִים בָּךְ נֶגֶד בְּנֵי אָדָם. מַה יָּקָר חַסְדְּךָ אֱלֹהִים, וּבְנֵי אָדָם בְּצֵל כְּנָפֶיךָ יֶחֱסָיוּן. יִרְוְיֻן מִדֶּשֶׁן בֵּיתֶךָ, וְנַחַל עֲדָנֶיךָ תַשְׁקֵם. טוֹב שֵׁם מִשֶּׁמֶן טוֹב, וְיוֹם הַמָּוֶת מִיּוֹם הִוָּלְדוֹ. סוֹף דָּבָר הַכֹּל נִשְׁמָע, אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים יְרָא וְאֶת מִצְוֺתָיו שְׁמוֹר, כִּי זֶה כָּל הָאָדָם. יַעְלְזוּ חֲסִידִים בְּכָבוֹד, יְרַנְּנוּ עַל מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָם.
How to say it
V’hachochmah me’ayin timatzei, v’ei zeh m’kom binah. Ashrei adam matza chochmah, v’adam yafik t’vunah. Mah rav tuvcha asher tzafanta lire’echa, pa’alta lachosim bach neged b’nei adam. Mah yakar chasd’cha Elohim, uv’nei adam b’tzel k’nafecha yechesayun. Yirv’yun mideshen beitecha, v’nachal adanecha tashkem. Tov shem mishemen tov, v’yom hamavet miyom hivaldo. Sof davar hakol nishma, et ha’Elohim y’ra v’et mitzvotav sh’mor, ki zeh kol ha’adam. Yal’zu chasidim b’chavod, y’ran’nu al mishk’votam.
What it means
And wisdom, where can it be found? Where does understanding dwell? Happy the one who has found wisdom, the one who draws forth understanding. How great is the goodness You have stored away for those who fear You, which You have worked for those who shelter in You, in the sight of all people. How precious is Your kindness, O God; the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They are filled with the richness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights. A good name is better than fine oil, and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. The end of the matter, when all has been heard: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of a person. Let the devout exult in glory; let them sing for joy upon their beds.
מְנוּחָה נְכוֹנָה, בִּישִׁיבָה עֶלְיוֹנָה, בְּמַעֲלַת קְדוֹשִׁים וּטְהוֹרִים, כְּזוֹהַר הָרָקִיעַ מְאִירִים וּמַזְהִירִים, וְחִלּוּץ עֲצָמִים, וְכַפָּרַת אֲשָׁמִים, וְהַרְחָקַת פֶּשַׁע, וְהַקְרָבַת יֶשַׁע, וְחֶמְלָה וַחֲנִינָה, מִלִּפְנֵי שׁוֹכֵן מְעוֹנָה, וְחוּלָקָא טָבָא לְחַיֵּי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. שָׁם תְּהֵא מְנַת וּמְחִיצַת וִישִׁיבַת נֶפֶשׁ הַשֵּׁם הַטּוֹב הַמְרוּחָם ______, רוּחַ ה׳ תְּנִיחֶנּוּ בְּגַן עֵדֶן, דְּאִתְפְּטָר מִן עַלְמָא הָדֵין כִּרְעוּת אֱלָהָא מָארֵי שְׁמַיָּא וְאַרְעָא. מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים בְּרַחֲמָיו יְרַחֵם עָלָיו, וְיָחוֹס וְיַחְמוֹל עָלָיו. מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים בְּרַחֲמָיו יַסְתִּירֵהוּ בְּצֵל כְּנָפָיו וּבְסֵתֶר אָהֳלוֹ, לַחֲזוֹת בְּנוֹעַם ה׳ וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלוֹ, וּלְקֵץ הַיָּמִין יַעֲמִידֵהוּ, וּמִנַּחַל עֲדָנָיו יַשְׁקֵהוּ, וְיִצְרוֹר בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים נִשְׁמָתוֹ, וְיָשִׂים כָּבוֹד מְנוּחָתוֹ. ה׳ הוּא נַחֲלָתוֹ, וְיִלָּוֶה אֵלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם, וְעַל מִשְׁכָּבוֹ יִהְיֶה שָׁלוֹם, כְּדִכְתִיב: יָבוֹא שָׁלוֹם, יָנוּחוּ עַל מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָם הֹלֵךְ נְכֹחוֹ. הוּא וְכָל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַשּׁוֹכְבִים עִמּוֹ בִּכְלַל הָרַחֲמִים וְהַסְּלִיחוֹת, וְכֵן יְהִי רָצוֹן, וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן.
How to say it
M’nucha n’chona, bishiva elyona, b’ma’alat k’doshim ut’horim, k’zohar harakia m’irim umazhirim, v’chilutz atzamim, v’chaparat ashamim, v’harchakat pesha, v’hakravat yesha, v’chemla vachanina, milifnei shochen m’ona, v’chulaka tava l’chayei ha’olam haba. Sham t’hei m’nat um’chitzat vishivat nefesh hashem hatov ham’rucham ______, ruach Adonai t’nichenu b’Gan Eden, d’itp’tar min alma hadein kirut elaha marei sh’maya v’ar’a. Melech malchei ham’lachim b’rachamav y’rachem alav, v’yachos v’yachmol alav. Melech malchei ham’lachim b’rachamav yastireihu b’tzel k’nafav uv’seter oholo, lachazot b’no’am Adonai ul’vaker b’heichalo, ul’ketz hayamin ya’amideihu, uminachal adanav yashkeihu, v’yitzror bitzror hachayim nishmato, v’yasim kavod m’nuchato. Adonai hu nachalato, v’yilaveh elav hashalom, v’al mishkavo yihyeh shalom, k’dichtiv: Yavo shalom, yanuchu al mishk’votam holech n’chocho. Hu v’chol b’nei Yisrael hashochvim imo bichlal harachamim v’has’lichot, v’chen y’hi ratzon, v’nomar: Amen.
What it means
Perfect rest in the academy on high, in the rank of the holy and the pure who shine and glow like the brightness of the sky; strength for the bones and atonement for guilt, the removal of transgression and the nearness of salvation, compassion and grace from Him who dwells in the heavens, and a good portion in the life of the world to come. There may the soul of ______, a man of good name, on whom God has had mercy, find its portion, its place and its dwelling. May the spirit of the Lord give him rest in the Garden of Eden. He has departed from this world by the will of God, Master of heaven and earth. May the supreme King of kings in His mercy have mercy on him, pity him and spare him. May the supreme King of kings in His mercy shelter him in the shadow of His wings and in the hidden place of His tent, to behold the pleasantness of the Lord and to visit in His sanctuary. May He raise him up at the end of days and give him drink from the stream of His delights; may He bind his soul in the bond of life and make his resting place glorious. The Lord is his inheritance; may peace go with him, and may there be peace on his resting place, as it is written: “He shall enter into peace; they shall rest on their resting places, each who walked uprightly.” May he and all the sons of Israel who lie with him be included in mercy and forgiveness. So may it be His will, and let us say: Amen.
The text contains a name of God. Many who print it keep the page and later put it in a genizah rather than throw it away.
Send this page to the family
When is the Hashkavah said?
At the funeral, at the azkara (the shiva, the shloshim, the end of the eleventh month and the yahrzeit) and at the headstone unveiling. It is also said after someone is called to the Torah in memory of the person, and in many communities on Yom Kippur. Usually the cantor, the rabbi or a family member says it, followed by Kaddish when there is a minyan.
The Hashkavah and El Malei Rachamim
Both ask for rest for the soul, in different words. El Malei Rachamim comes from the Ashkenazi tradition; the Hashkavah is the Sephardi and Mizrahi text. Some Sephardi families say El Malei Rachamim at ceremonies too. What your family does is right.
About this text
The text is from the Edot HaMizrach prayer book. For a man and for a woman there is a short form and a full form preceded by verses: for a man from Job, Proverbs, Psalms and Ecclesiastes, for a woman from “A Woman of Valour”. Some communities vary a few words. In the Hebrew, God’s four-letter name is abbreviated (ה׳), but the verses before the full form for a man contain the name אֱלֹהִים (Elohim), so that form has a note under it on what many do with the printed page.
When is the yahrzeit?
The calculator finds the Hebrew date of death and the yahrzeit for the next ten years.
Common questions
Does the Hashkavah need a minyan?
No, it can be said without a minyan. The Kaddish said after it is what needs one.
How is the Hashkavah for a woman different?
Besides the grammar, verses from “A Woman of Valour” are often said before it, and the full form for a woman opens with a paragraph in Aramaic and continues in Hebrew.
Is the father’s or the mother’s name used?
Customs differ between communities and families. Write the name as your family says it, or the person’s own name alone.