If a person in the morning chooses to recite Tehillim or other verses from Tanach in the form of prayer and supplication, is he required to first recite Birkat Ha’Torah? Although it is forbidden to study Torah before reciting Birkat Ha’Torah, perhaps reciting Pesukim (verses from Tanach) as prayer, as opposed to learning Pesukim, is different, and does not require Birkat Ha’Torah.
This question was posed to the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1204), and his response appears in his collection of Halachic responsa entitled Pe’er Ha’dor (Siman 104). The Rambam ruled that one must certainly recite Birkat Ha’Torah before reading Pesukim, regardless of whether he studies them or recites them as prayer. This ruling was codified by the Tur (Rabbi Yaakob Ben Asher, Germany-Spain, 1275-1349), in Orah Haim 46, where he relates that he himself recites Pesukim upon arising in the morning, and before reading the verses he recites the Berachot of Al Netilat Yadayim, Asher Yasar, Elokai Neshama and Birkat Ha’Torah.
This Halacha bears particular relevance to the Selihot period, when we recite Selihot – which includes many verses from Tanach – before the Shaharit service. One must ensure to recite Birkat Ha’Torah – along with Al Netilat Yadayim, Asher Yasar and Elokai Neshama – before Selihot. Even though the verses in Selihot are recited as prayer, and not for the purpose of study, they nevertheless may not be recited before one recites Birkat Ha’Torah. Ideally, of course, one should recite all the morning Berachot before Selihot. At very least, however, one must recite Birkat Ha’Torah and the other Berachot mentioned above.
Summary: Just as it is forbidden to study Torah in the morning before reciting Birkat Ha’Torah, similarly, one may not read Pesukim as prayer before reciting Birkat Ha’Torah. Therefore, before reciting Selihot, one must ensure to first recite Birkat Ha’Torah. One must also recite Al Netilat Yadayim, Asher Yasar and Elokai Neshama before Selihot, and it is in fact preferable to recite all the morning Berachot before Selihot.
