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In between the 'Shir HaMaalot' that precedes birchat hamazon and the the blessings themselves, there are a few psukim beginning תהלת ה' ידבר פי . Some people add these, and some don't. What's the origin of the custom? Which groups practice it?

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Welcome to Judaism.SE, and thanks very much for this question, which comes up all the time! – Isaac Moses May 15 '11 at 2:16

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According to Rabbi Ari Enkin (link) "The origin for reciting these verses is unclear." He says that the Kaf Hachaim O.C. 157:22 notes this minhag. However, the Kaf Hachaim there (link) lists a number of pesukim to say, two of which are part of the four one is likely to hear nowadays:

ואלו הפסוקים שצריך לאומרם אחר מים אחרונים קורם בהמ״ז מזמור אלהים יחננו וכו׳ כולו, ואח״כ פסוק אברכה את ה׳ בכל עת וכו׳ סוף דבר הכל נשמע וכו׳ תהלת ה׳ ידבר פי וכו׳ ואנחנו נברך יה וכו׳ וידבר אלי זה השלחן וכו'. שעה״מ פ׳ עקב. אור צדיקים סי׳ כ״ג או׳ ל״ה.

etc.

I'm not familiar with the sources that the Kaf Hachaim quotes here.

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Note that Syrian Jews, at least, do say avar'cha, sof, t'hilas, vaanachnu, and vay'daber today. – msh210♦ May 15 '11 at 13:23
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@msh210: As does Nusach Ari. – Alex May 15 '11 at 18:17
Interesting treatment. R. Enkin attributes it to the Arizal; I couldn't tell from what source, though. Maybe the attributions in the Kaf Hachaim are works of the Arizal? – Laizer May 15 '11 at 18:20
It's Shaar HaMitzvot Parashat Ekev (of the Arizal). – Hacham Gabriel Jun 26 '12 at 19:38
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The question of Tehillath HaShem is actually what sparked my question yesterday about R' Hirsch. I was told that Shir HaMa'aloth was the favorite hymn of the early (proto?-)Zionists, and so R' Hirsch, the anti-Zionist that he (apparently) was, insisted on adding "legitimate" words of praise to G-d prior to Birkath HaMazon, in order to separate it from the paragraph usurped by the unsavory Zionists.

I have no source, as I would like more information myself. I made this an answer instead of a comment for two reasons.

  1. I wanted to bring this question more attention, and

  2. it allowed me more space to write it all.

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Can't be, though. The custom of saying these four pesukim goes back to various recensions of the Arizal's siddur (17th century and onward), long before R. Hirsch, and long before political Zionism. (See sources cited in Dayan Raskin's notes to the Baal Hatanya's Siddur.) For that matter, the custom of saying Shir Hamaalos also goes back to the Arizal (see previous page there, note 3), although granted that the Zionists might have re-appropriated that for their purposes. – Alex Dec 12 '11 at 2:35
This is also what I've heard. In fact, "Mi yimaleil gevurot HaShem" is directly in contrast to the secular Zionist Hanukah song: "Mi yimaleil gevurot yisrael" – Charles Koppelman Aug 17 '12 at 17:16
@Alex, perhaps R' Hirsch was trying to reclaim the Minhag by adding (back) the Pesukim that had fallen out of use among Ashkenazim. Interestingly, as a child I remember singing Shir HaMa'aloth without Tehillath H', for a couple of years, until my parents decided to adopt the latter Pesukim. I was always curious if it was the influence of the Bentchers we used or the influence of our close friends, (who, at the time, helped my parents learn a lot as they were becoming more religious, and) who happened to have strong Yekke customs. – Seth J Aug 17 '12 at 17:39

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