Editorial Staff
Why eight verses for every letter?
Psalm 119 — Tehillim קי״ט — contains 176 verses. It is an alphabetic acrostic: its 22 groups of eight verses correspond to the 22 Hebrew letters. Every verse in the first group begins with א, those in the next group with ב, and so on through ת. This structure allows a reading to be assembled from the letters of a name.
How to build your reading
Write the name in Hebrew and select “Build the reading.” If you have several names, enter them in the desired order. Each letter selects its group of eight verses, with their original numbers in Psalm 119. A repeated letter produces a repeated group. The final forms ך ם ן ף ץ correspond to כ מ נ פ צ; spaces, vowel marks and punctuation do not change the selection.
If you do not know the name’s Hebrew spelling, check it first: an automatic guess could select different letters. An on-screen Hebrew keyboard is available. You can adjust the text size and download the completed reading to use offline.
The additional letters נשמה
For a memorial reading, you can separately add the groups for נשמה — “soul” — after the name. This option is unchecked initially, keeping the reading by name and the additional memorial selection clearly identified.
Text and other reading options
The collection uses the vocalized Hebrew text of Psalm 119 in Sefaria, the public-domain Tanach with Nikkud edition. The verse order is preserved. Verses 79, 147 and 161 display the vocalized qere, the reading supplied by the source.
You can also read all of Psalm 119, return to the Tehillim reading guide or choose Tehillim for someone who is ill.