The Zohar teaches that “all things holy need summoning.” And so the leader of the prayers begins with, “Bless God!,” calling the entire congregation to bless God, adding, “Who is blessed” so as to include himself within the community. The congregation responds with, “Blessed be God,” adding “Who is blessed forever and ever,” implying that God is blessed by all—the lowly creatures and the heavenly, above and below.

The five Hebrew words of the response correspond to the five levels of soul, which become fully integrated by the reciting of the blessing.

We bend our knees and bow saying these words as we become open to God’s blessings by humbling ourselves. The word for “bless” (barchu) shares its root with the word for “knee” (beirach), and so we bend our knees as we open ourselves to receive God’s blessings.