Tefillah 064

Today's shiur is dedicated to the memory of Yitzhak Rabin z"l,
on the 12th anniversary of his burial
(which is therefore also the 12th anniversary of the Bet Midrash Virtuali).
How appropriate it is that the topic of today's shiur is Shalom, peace.
His memory is a blessing and may he rest in peace.

100:
The last benediction of the Amidah is called by the sages Birkat Kohanim, which means 'the Priestly Blessing'. The Amidah was originally recited only out loud and at this point in the service the priests present in the synagogue would ascend the dukhan (platform) in order to fulfill the commandment which is recorded in Numbers 6:24-26. (We shall elaborate on this commandment when we reach that point in our discussions on the repetition of the Amidah.)

101:
The framework of our liturgy was created so long ago that its origins are lost in the mists of time. Tradition ascribes the task to "the Men of the Great Assembly", but that is just as enigmatic as saying nothing at all. It would be wonderful to know which of the sages who were members of the Great Assembly (whatever and whenever it was) had the inspirational insight to develop only the last word of the Priestly Benediction as the main topic of the b^erakhah. The text of the Priestly Blessing is well known:

That last word is amplified in the last benediction of the Amidah, which is concerned with 'peace'. Peace for the sages was not just the mere absence of strife; for them peace was an essential characteristic of Jewish living: harmony among individuals and harmony within the individual himself or herself. Without peace no other blessing could offer its full worth. In the Torah [Leviticus 26:3-6] God promises Israel economic security if our people will obey God's commandments:

On that text our greatest commentator, Rashi, has a very simple and succinct comment:

If there is no peace there is nothing.

102:
However, Rashi was just basing himself of earlier rabbinic statements. Vayyikra Rabbah is a collection of sermons on the book of Leviticus. These sermons are not, of course, the kind of D^evar Torah to which we are accustomed today. In Eretz-Israel in the 3rd and 4th centuries of this era the sage who was giving the sermon was expected to start with a biblical verse – usually from the Psalms or one of the other books in the Hagiographa – and to connect this verse, through a series of other verses, to a verse in the Torah which was part of the day's reading. Thus these sermons were a kind of demonstration of a marvellous capability of creative exposition. However, the 9th parashah of the 9th section of this collection is a kind of rabbinic 'panagyric to peace'. It is a collection of rabbinic statements based on the recurrent premise that gadol ha-shalom, 'peace is great'. Here follows a small selection of the teachings of that long passage.

And there are many, many more such quotations in this glorious "hymn to peace". Of course, being human, the sages themselves were not always paragons of this virtue. The Gemara [Berakhot 64a] tells us that "the sages promote peace in the world". On that the great Conservative scholar, Rabbi Saul Lieberman, was heard to comment to his students that this statement proves that the sages had a sense of humour!

103:
The benediction as it now stands asks God to grant

The reference to "the light of Your countenance" is a direct quote from the priestly blessing. However, in the original context it is most difficult to translate the term into modern English in a meaningful way. Perhaps it might be rendered

But the anthropomorphisms are very jarring in the context of modern worship.

104:
Siddur Sim Shalom [page 120] makes a small but meaningful addition at the very beginning of the benediction: it reads, "grant peace in the world and goodness etc". This additon of one Hebrew word widens the scope of the supplication from one that is concerned with peace for the Jews to one that is concerned with worldwide peace. This change was also adopted in Siddur Va'ani Tefillati [page 352].

105:
In the ancient ritual of Eretz-Israel the conclusion of the benediction was with the b^erakhah:

This is a direct reference to scripture [Isaiah 45:7] where God describes Himself as the Maker of Peace. (For more on this quotation see Tefillah 036.) In the Ashkenazi rite this version is maintained to this day on Rosh Ha-Shanah, Yom Kippur and the days between. However, the Sefardi wording of the conclusion of the benediction has been substituted for all other days of the year (and in in Eretz-Israel today even during the penitential period):

To be continued.

In Tefillah 063 I mentioned the manner in which the sages require us to make obeisance at certain points in the Amidah.

Marc Auslander writes:

I believe the weekly Sim Shalom instructs us to bow without bending the knees at Modim Anachnu Lach, and then to bend knees and bow at the ending b'rucha.

I respond:

In the edition of Sim Shalom that I have (1998) I cannot find an instruction of any kind regarding this benediction. There may certainly be such an instruction in another edition of the Siddur. However, as I pointed out in the previous shiur, halakhah is not clear on this point, so "anything goes" I suppose. All that we find in the Shulĥan Arukh [Oraĥ Ĥayyim 127:1] is that one should make obeisance at this point – "but not too much".