The Origin and Meaning Behind the Ana Bekoach Prayer

The Piyut

Ana Bekoach is a beautiful piyut (liturgical poem) beseeching G‑d to guard and purify those who follow Him.

The piyut is made up of seven lines of six words. The first letter of each word combined makes up the 42-letter name of G‑d. In many prayerbooks, the acrostic is printed alongside the text. Each line also has a unique significance, corresponding to one of the seven emotional sefirot.1 The poem ends with “Baruch Shem,” the traditional blessing recited after saying G‑d’s name.

Here is the text of the piyut:

But where did this poem come from and what is its significance? In order to get to the bottom it, we must first discuss the 42-letter name of G‑d.

G‑d’s 42-Letter Name

The Talmud cites a teaching in the name of Rav:

The forty-two-letter name of G‑d may be transmitted only to one who is discreet, humble, stands at at least half his life, does not get angry, does not get drunk, and does not insist upon his rights but is willing to yield. There is no concern that such a person might reveal the name in a fit of anger or drunkenness.

And anyone who knows this name and is careful with it and guards it in purity is beloved Above and treasured below; and his awe is cast upon the creatures; and he inherits two worlds, This World and the World-to-Come.2 3

But what are the actual letters of the name? The Talmud says nothing and Rashi says that it was not known to him.4 But even if the tradition was lost to Rashi, it was preserved in the Babylonian academies of study and partially spelled out by Rav Hai Gaon (939-1038).5

In a letter, Rav Hai wrote that the blessings associated with knowledge of the name only apply to those who received the traditions surrounding it from a direct line of teachers who know its correct pronunciation and are familiar with its secrets. Already in his days, Rav Hai said, no one knew the exact pronunciation and no one was able to utilize its power.6

Rabbi Shlomo (ben Avraham) ibn Aderet (known as the Rashba, 1235-1310) of Barcelona, Spain, discouraged people from reciting the name without proper instruction. Nevertheless, he discusses a difference in tradition between the Ashkenazic and Sephardic lands regarding the exact spelling and grouping of the 42 letters into words, which points to an existing custom to recite the name.7

In the 13th and 14th centuries, when the books of the Kabbalah began to be publicized, many secrets associated with the 42-letter name were revealed. All the letters are spelled out in the Tikkunei Zohar8 and in Sefer Hakanah—traditionally attributed to the Tannaic sage, Nechunya ben Hakanah, or a relative of his9—associated with names of angels and with the creation of the world.10

Ana Bekoach as a Code for the 42-Letter Name

In the 15th Century,11 the 42-letter name appears in a Sephardic prayer book alongside a piyut—titled Ana Bekoach—in which each word begins with one letter from the 42-letter name. This is one of the earliest sources pointing directly to an existing custom to recite Ana Bekoach.

Safed in the 16th century, the era of the Arizal, was a watershed era in the revelation of Kabbalah.12 Ideas that were previously the province of a scholarly elite became common knowledge.

Many of the Arizal’s students spoke about the significance of the 42-letter name, specifically in connection with the piyut Ana Bekoach, and instructed that the piyut be recited at specific parts of prayer, including: during the Shema prayer before going to sleep; during Kabbalat Shabbat, when we usher in the Sabbath Queen; and before the daily morning prayers.13 Reciting Ana Bekoach is how to harness the uplifting power of the 42-letter name, they taught.

Authored by Nechunya Ben Hakanah?

The Arizal’s students (and others) occasionally referred to Ana Bekoach as the prayer of the Tannaic sage, Nechunya ben Hakanah (1st century CE).14 Rabbi Nechunya is the traditional author of the Kabbalistic work Sefer Habahir (among other works). He was alive at the time of the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, and is known for having lived a notably long life.15

In the letter mentioned earlier, Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet also spoke of a prayer composed by Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah, an acrostic of the 42-letter name. Accordingly, it is reasonable to conclude that he was referring to the Ana Bekoach prayer.16

This, then, would be the earliest source for the tradition that Ana Bekoach (or a similar poem) was written by Nechunya Ben Hakanah.17

Practically Speaking

Nowadays, it is the Chabad custom to recite Ana B’koach:

• Before the daily morning prayers,
• Before the daily afternoon prayers,
• During the nighttime Shema, before going to bed,
• Before the welcoming Shabbat prayer,
• After counting the Omer during the 49 days of the Omer,
• During the Hakafot on Simchat Torah. (One line is read at each hakkafah.)

Chassidic teachings explain that whenever the soul is in need of a spiritual lift, we recite this prayer.18

Although the acrostic is printed alongside the piyut, it is not to be recited, but only visualized.19 This is related to the concern of not mentioning the name of G‑d without proper initiation.

Next time you say Ana Bekoach, think about the holy origins of the poem, and most of all, pay attention to the beautiful plea to G‑d to guide us and bestow us with blessings.