What Is Ashrei? The Prayer Said Twice a Day - and the Letter It Leaves Out
- office5538
- May 13
- 4 min read
Ashrei is one of the most familiar prayers in Jewish daily life. Most people who daven regularly have said it hundreds of times. But inside it is a quiet detail that changes how the whole prayer reads.
Quick facts
Topic | Ashrei — the daily prayer from Tehillim 145 |
Series | Torah for Real Life |
Location | Perth Hebrew Congregation, Menora |
Audience | Families, teens, and adults curious about Jewish prayer |
Key idea | Ashrei skips the letter Nun — and that missing letter tells us something about how we rise after we fall |
Next step | [Join us for Shabbat at PHC →] |
The prayer most people know without knowing its name
Ashrei begins with the words: "Ashrei yoshvei veitecha" — "Happy are those who dwell in Your House."
We say it twice in Shacharit, the morning service, and once more in Mincha, the afternoon service.
It's part of the rhythm of daily tefila that becomes almost automatic over years of practice.
Its main body is Tehillim 145, a psalm written by King David.
It's structured as an acrostic: each verse starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in order.
Alef, Bet, Gimel, Dalet, all the way through to Tav.
Almost.
One letter is missing
There's no verse for Nun.
The Gemara notices this and asks why. The answer it gives points to a verse from Amos:
Naflah lo tosif kum betulat Yisrael. נפלה לא תוסיף קום בתולת ישראל "The maiden of Israel has fallen, she will not rise again."
Nun is the letter that begins the word Naflah, fallen.
King David leaves it out of the psalm.
But he doesn't ignore the pain it represents.
The answer that follows
The very next verse, the Samekh verse, the one right after the missing Nun, reads:
Somekh Hashem lechol hanoflim. סומך ה' לכל הנופלים "Hashem supports all who fall."
David doesn't give the fall its own line. He answers it immediately with the support that follows.
This is what makes Ashrei something more than a list of praises.
A fall is acknowledged, it's real, serious, and painful, but it doesn't get its own permanent address in the psalm.
The next line is already about being held up.
What this means for tefila
Tefila, Jewish prayer, isn't only praise. There are prayers for needs, prayers in crisis, and prayers that come out of exhaustion. Ashrei teaches that even a psalm of praise can carry grief inside it, and respond to it.
The missing Nun is a space for whatever a person is carrying when they open the siddur. The Samekh verse is the answer: a fall doesn't mean abandonment.
This is why the Gemara says that anyone who says Ashrei three times a day is guaranteed a share in the World to Come, not as a mechanical reward, but because someone who means those words, three times a day, has built something into the structure of how they see the world.
For people who are new to Jewish prayer
Tefila can feel unfamiliar when you're starting out, or coming back to it after time away. Ashrei is a good place to pay attention.
It's said in Hebrew, it's short enough to follow even at first, and it has this one detail, the missing letter, that rewards attention.
Once you know it's there, you hear the whole prayer differently.
Try this when you next say Ashrei
When you reach the words "Somekh Hashem lechol hanoflim", "Hashem supports all who fall", pause for a moment.
Think of one place in your life, or in the life of someone you know, where that support is needed right now.
Sometimes tefila begins with praise. Sometimes it begins with bringing what feels heavy and letting the words hold it.
In one sentence
Ashrei is a daily Jewish prayer that structures Tehillim 145 as an alphabetic acrostic, but deliberately skips the letter Nun, then answers it with the promise that Hashem supports all who fall.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ashrei? Ashrei is a prayer said three times during daily Jewish prayer services. Its main body is Tehillim (Psalms) 145, written by King David. It praises Hashem and is structured as an alphabetic acrostic in Hebrew.
Why is the letter Nun missing from Ashrei? The Talmud (Gemara, Brachot 4b) explains that Nun is skipped because it begins a verse in Amos about Israel falling. King David leaves out the Nun but immediately answers it with the next verse: "Hashem supports all who fall."
What is Tehillim? Tehillim is the Book of Psalms. It is part of the Hebrew Bible and contains 150 psalms, many attributed to King David. Tehillim is widely read and recited in Jewish prayer and personal devotion.
What does tefila mean? Tefila is the Hebrew word for prayer. Jewish tefila follows a structured format with specific prayers said at different times of day — Shacharit in the morning, Mincha in the afternoon, and Maariv at night.
Can I come to PHC if I'm new to Jewish prayer? Yes. PHC is a welcoming congregation in Menora, Perth.
Whether you're new to prayers or returning after a break, you're welcome to join Shabbat or weekday services. Contact us and we'll make sure you feel at home.
Join us
PHC holds daily and Shabbat services, as well as youth programs, family events, and adult learning throughout the year.
Written by PHC Youth - EmPower | Published: May 2026
The Ashrei is sung in many variations in the Jewish world - this version is by a famous Israeli singer Natan Goshen
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