Beshalach, Shemos 17:16. Remembering Amalek During Davening.

For Jan, of New Jersey, I will try to provide a brief summary in English of the paragraphs I cite.

The mitzva to remember the lasting damage caused by Amalek, and our hope that what they did will one day be reversed, occurs in several places in our tefilla, but one might daven his whole life and not realize what he is saying.

The passuk says ויאמר כי יד על כס י-ה מלחמה לד' בעמלק מדר דר

Rashi:

כי יד על כס יה: ידו של הקב"ה הורמה לישבע בכסאו להיות לו מלחמה ואיבה בעמלק עולמית, ומהו כס, ולא נאמר כסא, ואף השם נחלק לחציו, נשבע הקב"ה שאין שמו שלם ואין כסאו שלם עד שימחה שמו של עמלק כולו, וכשימחה שמו יהיה השם שלם והכסא שלם, שנאמר (תהלים ט ז) האויב תמו חרבות לנצח, זהו עמלק שכתוב בו (עמוס א יא) ועברתו שמרה נצח, (תהלים שם) וערים נתשת אבד זכרם המה, מהו אומר אחריו (תהלים ט ח) וה' לעולם ישב, הרי השם שלם, (תהלים שם) כונן למשפט כסאו, הרי כסאו שלם:

For there is a hand on the throne of the Eternal:  כִּי-יָד עַל כֵּס יָ-הּ. The hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, was raised to swear by His throne, to have a war and [bear] hatred against Amalek for eternity. Now what is the meaning of כֵּס [as opposed to כִּסֵא and also [why is] the Divine Name divided in half? [I.e., why is the Name יָ-הּ used instead of י-ה-ו-ה ?] [The answer is that] the Holy One, blessed be He, swore that His Name will not be complete and His throne will not be complete until the name of Amalek is completely obliterated. And when his name is obliterated, the Divine Name will be complete, and the throne will be complete....., as it is said: “The enemy has been destroyed; swords exist forever (לָנֶצַח)” (Ps. 9:7); this [who they are referring to] is Amalek, about whom it is written: “and kept their fury forever (נֶצַח)” (Amos 1:11). "And You have uprooted the cities-their remembrance is lost" (Ps. 9:7) [i.e., Amalek’s obliteration]. What does it say afterwards? “And the Lord (וַיהוה) shall sit forever” (Ps. 9:8); thus [after Amalek is obliterated] the Name is complete. "He has established His throne (כִּסְאוֹ) for judgment" (Ps. 9:8). Thus the throne is complete [i.e., thus the throne, here spelled with an “aleph,” is now complete]. — [from Midrash Tanchuma Ki Seitzei]                

According to Rashi, the three letters which are lacking from Hashem’s Name and throne are א, ו, and ה, which can be rearranged to spell the word הוא. In other words, our verse teaches that Hashem has declared a war against Amalek in every generation. When this is finally won, the letters in the word הוא will be returned to their rightful places, at which time His Name and Throne will be restored to their complete glory and His kingship will be permanently established.

The sefer Avnei Shoham (and others) uses Rashi to reveal the meaning of words we say every day in davening.  After Krias Shama, we say לדור ודור הוא קים ושמו קים וכסאו נכון ומלכותו ואמונתו לעד קימת.  "For generation after generation (Le'dor va'dor), He (Hu) is established and His Name is established and His Throne (Kis'o) is firmly set and His kingdom and faithfulness is forever established.   In light of our passuk and Rashi, we see that the words לדור ודור echo the words  מדר דר– in our passuk, and that the words הוא קים mean that the letters in the word הוא, which have been diminished in our world, will be returned to their rightful places. After these letters are restored, we will see that שמו קים וכסאו נכון – Hashem’s name and throne are established and lasting, and מלכותו ואמונתו לעד קימת – His kingdom and faithfulness will be permanent and endure forever.


A reference in Kaddish:
From Sefer HaPardes/Rashi:

בס׳ הפרדס לרש״י  פי׳ קדיש. יתגדל ויתקדש כוי,והאיך יכול להתגדל שמו של הקב׳׳ה, שמא חס ושלום כביכול חסר הוא, אין וודאי חסר הוא, כדכתיב כי יד על כס יה,נשבע הקב׳׳ה שלא יהי׳ הכסא שלם עד שימחה זכר עמלק. וכן מצינו שמו ה׳, וכשהוא אומר כס יה אינו אלא חצי ה׳ באותיות, וכמו כן קורא לכסא כס, הרי שהן חסרין אותיות, לכך אגו מתפללים יתגדל ויתקדש, כלומר יהי רצון מלפני מי שאמר והיה העולם שיגאלנו מבין האומות וימחה את זכר עמלק ויתקדש שמו להיות שלם

In Kaddish, we say "May the infinite Name be made great and sanctified...."  But is Hashem's name in need of being made great?  Yes, it is, because after the attach of Amalek Hashem swore that His Name and His Throne are not entire until the effect of Amalek is erased.  When it says Keis Kah, Kah is only half of the letters of Hashem's name, and Keis is half the letters of Kisei.  We pray that they should be made entire, meaning, that He should redeem us from our exile and erase the name of Amalek and then His Name will be holy and entire.

Tosfos Brachos 3a brings a corollary thought from the Machzor Vitri (written by Rav Simcha of Vitri, a pupil of Rashi) which explains that the congregational response to Yisgadal in kaddish, Yehei Shmei Rabba, is also a reference to this mitzva:

 ועונין יהא שמיה הגדול מבורך, מכאן יש לפתור מה שפי׳ במחזור ויטרי יהא שמיה רבה, שזו תפלה שאנו מתפללין שימלא שמו, כדכחיב כי יד על כס יה, שלא יהא שמו שלם וכסאו שלם עד שימחה זרעו של עמלק, ופירושו כך: יהא שמי׳׳ה שם יה רבא, כלומר שאנו מתפללין שיהא שמו גדול ושלם, ומבורך לעולם הוי תפלה אחרת, כלומד ומבורך לעולם הבא. וזה לא נראה, מדקאמר הכא יהא שמיה הגדול מבורך משמע דתפלה אחת היא, ואינו רוצה לומר שיהא שמו גדול ושלם, אלא יהא שמו הגדול מבורך

Tosfos quotes the Machzor Vitri as saying that the response in Kaddish, Yehei Shmei Rabbah, is a prayer that Hashem's name be made whole, and the interpretation is as follows:  The word Shmeih in Yehei Shmeih is a compound of Shem Yud Hei, which means the Name comprising the letters Yud and Hei; Rabba, may it be made whole again.  The word Mevorach that follows begins another thought.  Tosfos disagrees with this interpretation.



--A reference at the end of Davening:  (guest emendation)
This is also reflected directly in the pasuk we say at the end of Aleinu- ביום ההוא יהיה ה' אחד ושמו אחד: i.e., on the day when the הוא is restored and the Name of Hashem is complete.  On a deeper level, see the sugya Pesachim  50a on " אטו האידנא לאו אחד הוא ?"  Note carefully the reference in that gemara to וזה זכרי לדר דר and the obvious connection to the parasha of Amalek --

Using Titles and Honorifics in Tefilla אין גבהות לפני המקום

We have recently been davening for the Refuah Shleima of Gedolei Yisrael.  It is natural to identify them with honorifics, to say "Moreinu Ve'Rabbeinu Harav Hagaon."  But in fact, it is not right to do so when mention their names in Tefilla.  When davening before Hashem, we don't give kavod to fellow human beings.  This is from the Sefer Chasidim (#800), as follows:

. אדם שמתפלל על אביו אם הוא חולה לא יאמר תרפא אבא מארי או לאדוני אבא רפא כי שלמה אמר דוד אבי וכן אלישע אמר איה ה' אלהי אליהו ולא אמר אדוני  אבל עבד אברהם אמר אלהי אדוני אברהם כי לא היה  בן חורין

One who is praying for his ill father should not say "cure my father my teacher" or "my master my father," for Shlomo said "David my father," and Elisha said "where is Hashem the G-d of Eliahu," and he did not say "my master."  (He adds that this was not a problem where Eliezer referred to Avraham as Adoni, because he was a slave.  What he means with that is very unclear, and while plenty of people have talked about it, I don't love any of the pshatim I've seen.)

The Ma'avar Yabok (who was long after Reb Yehuda Hachasid; Reb Yehuda Hachasid, one of the Mekubalei Ashkenaz, died in 1217, and the Ma'avar Yabok, from Rav Aharon Brachia of Modina, an Italian Mekubal, died in 1639,)  also says this, (Sifsei Tzedek 8)

 המתפלל על אביו או על רבו לפום ריהטא נראה כי אין לומר בתחנתו רפא נא לאדוני אבי או אבא מרי או רבי ואלופי כי שלמה אמר בדברו עם ה' דוד אבי וכן אלישע אמר אלהי אליהו ולא אמר אדוני שאין גבהות לפני המקום. ואוריה נתחייב הריגה למלכות על שאמר לפני דוד ואדוני יואב ברם נראה לפי הדין שבאותם שאסור להזכיר שמם מותר לומר אבי או רבי אך לא יוסיף על זה.

He adds the phrase that is quoted by the poskim- אין גבהות לפני המקום, there is no exaltedness before G-d.

This Maavor Yabok is brought by Reb Akiva Eiger (OC 119:1) and the Chida in Birkei Yosef (YD 240:4).  The Minchas Chinuch also brings the  Maavar Yabok in Mitzva 297.  He asks, how did Elozor refer to Moshe by name (Bamidbar 31:21, ויאמר אלעזר הכהן אל אנשי הצבא הבאים למלחמה: זאת חקת התורה אשר צוה יהוה את משה)  He was his Rebbi, and it's assur to refer to a Rebbi by his name alone.  He answers that because Elazar was saying that Hashem had commanded this to Moshe, it would have been wrong to use an honorific, as the Maavar Yabok says.

It has been suggested (e.g., Reb Reuven Margolios in his notes on Sefer Chasidim) that this only applies to tefillos for a sick person, because of the condition of strict judgment- Middas Hadin- but not to general brachos or other types of tefillos.  In general tefilla, such as in Bentching, you may say "Hu yevariech es Avi Mori."   This is supported by the Ramban's mention of the minhag in Teiman; After the Rambam interceded on behalf of the Jewish community, they inserted into Kaddish the words  בחייכון וביומיכון ובחיי דרבנא משה בן מימון (as brought down by Chavel in his Kisvei HaRamban Vol I p. 341).  I don't find this convincing, because although the Sefer Chasidim said "refu'ah," his examples are from cases that have nothing to do with refu'ah.  I think that the Ramban and the Minhag of Teiman simply didn't hold like Reb Yehuda Hachasid's idea.  But Reb Shlomo Zalman Auerbach did say (brought in Or Ephraim 558) that one may use the titles Rabbeinu and Maranan when you call someone for an aliyah and in Yekum Purkan because this emphasizes that Torah she'biksav is incomplete without the mesora of Torah she'baal peh which resides in and is personified by these people.

The reason I'm writing about this now is because in the Shul where I daven during the week, the person who says the mi shebeirach for Rav Eliashiv Shlitah nebach can't help himself.  He is a talmid chacham of high achievement who learns be'hasmada and be'iyun every single day, and he is fully aware of all of these mekoros, but he just can't bring himself to say Rav Eliashiv's name without Harav.

After the discussion in the comments, and some further thought, there are some additional things that need addressing.

1.  The problem with referring to people with titles of honor in Tefilla is dual.  First, as the Maavar Yabok says, it is a chutzpa on the part of the mispallel to honor a human while talking to the Ribono shel Olam.  This focuses on the problem for the mispallel, that the mispallel is like a מורד במלכות, but it has nothing to do with the effect on the subject of the tefilla.  Second, (and this is somewhat speculative,) it is not good for the subject of the tefilla.  It could be that אין גבהות לפני המקום teaches that using titles in tefilla offends the Ribono shel Olam and nullifies any Ritzui you are looking for.  It makes the tefilla worthless.  You ask for rachamim, and you offend the Ribono shel Olam by showing honor to one of His little creations- such a tefilla will not yield any benefit at all, and maybe it is  מעורר קטיגוריא למעלה chas veshalom.  So the first comment, that said that my baal tefilla has a petur of oneis, he's right as far as the baal tefilla, but it won't help the subject of the tefilla.  The second comment, that mentioned the k'peida of some gedolim, highlights this second issue.


2.  I don't believe the minhag is like the Sefer Chasidim/Maavar Yabok/Birkei Yosef/Reb Akiva Eiger.  Maasim bechol yom is proof enough.  So what do we do with all these poskim?  Maybe we will apply them only during Shmone Esrei, when you are mamosh "עומד לפני המלך".  But stam during Tefilla, or when you're calling someone up for an aliyah, the problem is not as serious, and in those cases I don't believe we're noheig like that.  Honoring someone that you're mechuyav to honor, either because of kavod hatorah or kibbud av or hakaras hatov, that is not an affront to the Ribono shel Olam.  When you're standing in front of the Ribono shel Olam, then you have to be extremely cautious, but otherwise, its not a problem.
Alternatively, we can say that the Ramban that brings the minhag of Teiman to say ובחיי דרבנא משה in kaddish contradicts these shittos, and we can do like the Ramban.

3.  Even if you want to say we do hold like the osrim, I would say that we should limit that to tefilla for Refu'ah.  When you're asking for refu'ah, you are focusing on human helplessness and our dependence for our very breath on the chesed of the Ribono shel Olam.  For such a tefilla, assertions of chashivus are truly incongruous and counterproductive.  But in other cases, I don't think our minhag is to worry about that.

So, in short, the additional points are:
1.  Those that prohibit honorifics in tefilla do so for two reasons: it is a sin for the person saying the tefilla, and it is not healthy for the person for whom you're davening.
2.  I believe our minhag is to not worry about this prohibition, or, if we do, we only are makpid in Shmoneh Esrei.
3.  Alternatively, maybe it's only something to worry about in tefillos for refuah for a choleh, but not when you call up for aliyos or other tefillos.

Massei. Sending Gifts to the Internees of the Arei Miklat

Makkos 11a– the Kohein Godol’s mother used to send packages of food to the internees so that they shouldn’t be mispallel for her son’s death. R Meir Zvi Bergman in his Sha'arei Orah II, pp.215-217 asks, how would this help? Would nice food replace freedom and make imprisonment tolerable?

He answers that the packages would make them sympathize a little with the Kohein Godol’s mother, and so their tefillos would not be 'b’leiv sholeim,’ their prayers would not be with a whole heart. There is something called tefillah b’leiv shaleim, and there is something else called tefillah that is not b’leiv shaleim. A tefillah b’leiv shaleim is a powerful thing; but even a little dilution makes a critical, an essential difference. When a person is praying that someone should die, sympathy with his victim is a distraction. His sympathy would compromise his ‘yichad leiv.’

Also, see Mo’ed Kotton 18b: Ein nos’in nashim b’moeid, but if he’s afraid that someone else will get her, he can be me’areis. Gemora asks, but “arba’im yom...bas ploni l’ploni,” so why is there any concern? The Gemora answers that there is a concern that ‘shemo yikd’menu acher b’rachamim,” But it’s bashert! The Ribono Shel Olam was machriz! The answer is that a tefillah can change the course of history.

So we see that tefillah is a very powerful thing; it can change a gzeirah of a zivug, it can cause a Kohen Godol to die prematurely. And we have the opportunity to do this three times a day. But for tefillah to be this powerful, it requires a leiv shaleim, it requires yichad leiv. That is the tremendous avodoh of tefillah that we learn from the Gemara in Makkos. So the next time you daven, try to focus, try not to be distracted, and try to really understand what you are saying, and honestly and sincerely accept Hashem’s willingness to hear and give effect to your
tefillos.

A friend of mine who lives in Yerushalayim heard me deliver this drashah, and he made a wonderful addition. He said that he always wondered why it is that people’s klalos seem to be fulfilled more often than their brachos. Now, he said, he understands it: because when a person curses someone, he does it “mit zein gantzen hartz.”

This reminds me of the very German proverb, (I normally wouldn't quote it in German, but, as you will see, this is a saying that really sounds at home in German,) “Schadenfreude ist die schönste Freude, denn sie kommt von Herzen”: "Gloating over another's misfortune is the most superb kind of joy, since it comes directly from the heart."

How to Improve Our Avodas Hashem- The Chasidim Harishonim

I have been inspired to offer, in my own humble way, a little service to Klal Yisroel. To some extent, I am motivated to do this by my recent experience in davenning for the amud, since I recently became an aveil. I hope this will help others who find themselves at the amud, and even, with a little mazal, the tzibbur as a whole.

The Gemara in Nedarim (20b) says that some great tzadikkim of old were so pure and holy and so scrupulously avoided any taint of the yetzer hora, that when they engaged in marital relations, tashmish hamittah, they did it‘ke’ilu kefa’o sheid,’ unwillingly, as if they were forced by a demon. They wished they didn't have to be there, and they finished as quickly as possible, with no enjoyment and as little emotional involvement as possible. It was a burdensome duty, and certainly not something that they would dwell upon before, during, or after.

We don’t have such great tzadikkim anymore, but we do have an opportunity to emulate their holy behavior to a lesser degree, a zeicher ledavar. We can DAVEN ke'ilu ke'fao sheid! We can learn to proudly say (more or less) every word and finish shacharis in 18 minutes, sort of like a tobacco auction. The people at tobacco auctions understand what is being said, and I am sure that Hashem will understand what we are saying as well. Except for Aseres Ye’mei Tshuvah, how important is it, really, to have kavanah (see Nedarim 49 and Tosfos there d'h Ke'mahn)? And what right do you have to kvetch when there are people that need to get out and do more important things?

So, here are some suggestions.

Consecutive words that share an ending and beginning letter should be run together.

There should be no pause between different thoughts or themes. (Good example:
Shoveir oyevim umachni'a zeidim ahl hatzadikim v'ahl hachasidim.)

Don’t pause for baruch hu uvaruch shemo. (The Briskers, following the Gaon, don’t say it during chazaras hashatz anyway, so it’s good to be machmir all over.)

Come to think of it, don’t pause for the tzibbur to answer Amein either.

Take a quick deep breath before each paragraph so you can finish it ‘be’neshima achas.’

With time and practice, you can learn to vocalize during inhalation, though it might sound strange. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulmonic_ingressive

Don’t ever, ever use a tune. Droning really communicates how humble you are.

Don't worry about kavanah in your silent shmoneh esrei, because for the shli'ach tzibur, the shmoneh esrei you repeat out loud is the more important one (O'C 126:4).

Don't worry about kavanah in the shmone esrei you repeat out loud, because, after all, you already said a silent shmoneh esrei.


There's no need to thank me. I do this out of love; Knowing that I helped someone have a second cup of coffee, or beat rush hour, is reward enough for me.

For aspirational purposes:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3882869677481343971&q=%22fast+talker%22&total=70&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

Vayigash, 46:1. Be’er Shova; Davenning in a Dance Hall

Yaakov intentionally went to to be makriv korbonos specifically in Be’er Shova . Evidently he felt that there was some special advantage in doing the hakrovoh there.

Reb Moshe, in OC I : 31, regarding renting a building for the yomim noro’im that is used as a dance hall, says: The same way that we see according to Tosfos that it is better to daven alone in a Beis Medrash instead of with a minyan in a Beis Knesses, (and even according to the Rambam that the precedence of a Beis Medrash is only to be machri’a over rov om in the Beis Knesses but not if there is no minyon at all in the Beis Knesses,) it is clear that the place makes a difference in whether the tefilla will be accepted. So, he says, a person that davens in a place that is a makom tiflus like a dance hall, even if he davens with a minyan, the Shechina will not come there, and his tefillos will not be accepted.

This is a tremendous ho’ora, because it says, le’halocho, that the place that you daven affects whether your tefillos will be accepted, and certainly the degree of rotzon with which they will be viewed by Hashem. And even though tfilla with a minyan is niskabel, it will not be miskabel if you are davenning in a mokom tiflus, and you’re better off davenning alone, without a minyon.

It is worth remembering that Chazal refer to the city of Shchem as being a place that is muchon l’pur’onus ever since the events that took place with Dinah. Rav Shimon Krasner in his Nachlas Shimon, Melochim I page 255 brings from R Chaim Falagi that it was the sin of Shchem that made a permanent and indelible roshem that spoiled everything that took place there in the future, as we find that it was from there that Yosef was sold and Malchus Beis Dovid was cut in half.

R’ Moshe makes several additional points:
•That this psak is specific to the case of renting a place that remains kovu’a for tiflus. If, however, you are buying the place and changing its kvius, then there is no problem. Even according to the Mogen Avrohom in 154 that prohibits a place that was once kovu’ah for avodah zoroh that’s because of “m’issi,” it retains a stigma, that’s only AZ, not tiflus.
•That this is only a problem if it is kovu’a for tiflus, not if it is an occasional use.
•That this is only a problem if the kvius was done by the owners/legal users. On the other hand, if the tiflus was a hidden and illicit activity that was not approved of by the regular users or owners, it does not have an effect. He supports this from the B’er Heiteiv in 151:1 from the R’eim, where the shamosh was caught with a young lady in shul, it does not affect the kedusha of the shul.
•There is also a teshuva in YD where he says that one may not make a separate minyan to accommodate two chiyuvim, because of the din of rov om. If the place where they make the separate minyan is not a mokom tefilla kovu’a, ein tzorich lomar it would not be muttar.
And the tfillos of Avrohom and Yitzchok definitely make a difference in the place, because their tfilla was the proper and authorized use of the place. Also, kedusha has more kvius than tum’ah, so a single event can leave a permanent roshem.

So the people who go to a yeshiva on Yomim Nora’im are right, and the ma’alo of a yeshiva is definitely greater than the inyon of makom kavu’a or rov om.

So, now that we know that the mokom is important in the ritzui of the tefilla, we understand how it showed kibbud av when Yakov went to Be’er Shova. As noted below here in the discussion about Kibud of a Grandfather, from Rabbi Zupnik, Yakov could have passed through the place where Avrohom brought korbonos, but instead he went through Be’er Shova where Yitzchok had built a mizbeiyach. This showed respect for the hechsher makom that Yitzchok accomplished.



People like to say it doesn’t matter where you daven, as long as you have a minyon the Shchina comes, so what else matters. But we see from here that it does matter. It’s not black and white. Davenning in a place with more kedusha is a better davenning and it is accepted more readily by Hashem.

Now, it is always entertaining, but usually futile, to try to figure out which shul has better people, because we have no way of assessing people’s madreigah. And it probably is not helpful to say that you won’t daven in a certain place because “so-and-so the sheigitz davens there.” But we can safely say that just as davening alone in your house is better than davening with a minyon in a dance hall, a yeshiva beis medrash is probably a better place to daven than most shuls, and we probably can make even closer distinctions, like not davening where there is wanton and unprotested talking during davening.

The main lesson is that it is not only your davening that matters. You tefila does not stand in isolation. It is a private conversation between you and God, but it is also a part of a whole group of tfillos. It is also the tfilla of the tzibur, the tfilla of the building, the ground underneath you, and the echoes of the tfillos that you davenned there in the past, and even whatever else happened there in the past. As it says in Chabakuk 2:11, Ki even mikir tiz’ok, v’chofis mei’eitz ya’anenoh.