“Here I am, ready to take upon myself the sacred charge of my Creator: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’
This kavanah (focusing meditation) before the morning service was introduced by the kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria (c.1534–1572) of Safed. We prepare to enter the prayer community by affirming our highest obligation, as Jews and as human beings: to treat others with love. Rabbi Akiva (ca. 50–135CE) called this mitzvah “the greatest principle in the Torah” (Sifra, K’doshim 4.12).
Communal prayer can encompass many different moods. Hence these two different musical settings:
Hareini No.1 (energetic)
Hareini No. 2 (soothing)