shacharit
("dawn"), in Judaism, the first of three periods of daily prayer; the other daily services are minhah and maarib. They are all ideally recited in the synagogue so that a quorum (minyan) can be formed to pray as a corporate body representing "Israel." Shaharith is considered a substitute for the dawn sacrifice formerly offered each day in the Temple of Jerusalem, but ancient tradition credits Abraham with its institution (Genesis 22:3).
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