Perek Shirah is an ancient Jewish

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 text. It contains 84 sections, in each of which elements of creation, beginning with the celestial and ending with dog

Dog

The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

s, use biblical and rabbinic verses in order to sing God's praises. Use of Perek Shirah used to be prevalent in the daily liturgy and medieval philosopher Joseph Albo

Joseph Albo

Joseph Albo was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived in Spain during the fifteenth century, known chiefly as the author of Sefer ha-Ikkarim , the classic work on the fundamentals of Judaism.-Early life:Albo's birthplace is generally assumed to be Monreal, a town in Aragon...

 wrote that whoever recites Perek Shirah is guaranteed a place in the World to Come

World to Come

The World to Come is an eschatological phrase reflecting the belief that the "current world" is flawed or cursed and will be replaced in the future by a better world or a paradise. The concept is similar to the concepts of Heaven and the afterlife, but Heaven is another place generally seen as...

. Though Perek Shirah means "Chapter of Song", the book is actually organized into six chapters. Many of the utilized verses make mention of the speaker. For example, the song begins with the heavens who say, "the heavens speak of the glory of God, and of His handiwork the skies tell." This, however is not a rule, as the book ends with the dogs who say "come, let us prostrate and bend our knees, and kneel before God our maker" . Though this mentions an action that dogs physically perform, it doesn't specifically mention them by name. It also includes verses based upon actions, such as giving the reaction of a cat before and after it catches a mouse as well as the response of the mouse.

The vast majority of the verses of Perek Shirah are biblical, and most of these are from the book of Psalms

Psalms

The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...

, but there are also a few verses from the Babylonian Talmud.

In modern times, Perek Shirah does not often appear liturgically

Liturgy

Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...

. However there are many publishers who publish Perek Shirah as a separate entity, anywhere from a wallet

Wallet

A wallet, or billfold, is a small, flat case that is used to carry personal items such as cash, credit cards, identification documents , photographs, business cards and other paper or laminated cards...

-sized booklet to full-sized coffee table book

Coffee table book

A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for...

s complete with pictures illustrating each of the characters speaking to God.