Barchu - The Call to Collective Prayer

Read this prayer below, or listen to this youtube audio. Courtesy of: Beit Hallel Congregation in Roswell, GA.

While this blessing is not recited at the beginning of the prayer service, it is a call to communal worship and represents the official beginning of the communal prayer.

In style it is similar to the call to prayer that we can find in Nehemiah 9:5.

The custom to bow at this point is derived from the words of David in 1 Chronicles 29:20:

"Then David said to all the assembly, 'Now bless the Lord your God.' So all the assembly blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the Lord and the king."

In Judaism, this call to prayer requires a 'Minyan,' a quorum of at least 10 Jewish men.

Transliteration of Barchu:

The cantor says:
"Bar’chu et Adonai ha-mevorach."

And the congregation responds:
"Baruch Adonai ha-mevorach le’olam va’ed."

And the cantor repeats:
"Baruch Adonai ha-mevorach le’olam va’ed."

Barchu Blessing in Hebrew:

:החזן אומר
בָּרְכוּ אֶת יְהֹוָה הַמְּבֹרָךְ

:הקהל עונה
בָּרוּךְ יְהֹוָה הַמְּבֹרָךְ לְעוֹלָם וָעֵד

:החזן חוזר
בָּרוּךְ יְהֹוָה הַמְּבֹרָךְ לְעוֹלָם וָעֵד

Translation of Barchu:

The cantor says:
“Bless the Lord, the blessed One.”

And the congregation responds:
“Blessed is the Lord, who is to be blessed forever and ever.”

And the cantor repeats:
“Blessed is the Lord, who is to be blessed forever and ever.”

Barchu Prayer Printout

Click on the link to download a printable PDF of this prayer: Barchu Prayer