Tefillah 037

33:
In our last shiur we noted that after the opening of the first benediction that precedes the Shema there is a long interpolation which consists of four sections, three unique to Shabbat and one extra which is added on weekdays as well. In the previous shiur we considered the hymn the first two Hebrew words of which are Ha-kol Yodukha. We now must consider the second section of this long interpolation. This section, too, is a hymn – and this time it is quasi metrical.

34:
A hymn-like addition is also introduced at this point in the weekday service: a passage which consists of an alphabetic acrostic. This means that each word of the hymn begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in sequence. However, on Shabbat that hymn is replaced with a different one in which each line begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in sequence. The first words of this hymn are El Adon and it is to be found in Siddur Sim Shalom on page 108 and in Siddur Va'ani Tefillati on page 334.

35:
The hymn consists of 20 lines divided into five stanzas of four lines each and a concluding stanza of two lines. Each line consists of four stresses. El Adon glorifies God as the creator of the heavenly orbs. After an introductory stanza in which God is lauded in general terms the poet (whose identity is unknown) warms to his special theme. He describes God as being enthroned in heaven surrounded by the heavenly 'creatures' (ĥayyot) that were first described by the prophet Ezekiel in his vision of heaven which is presented in the first chapters of his book. Ezekiel is one of the more esoteric prophets of the bible and some of his visions are extraordinary, to say the least. I once had a teacher who quite seriously remarked that he would have loved to have had Ezekiel on a psychiatrist's couch! Be that as it may, in this vision the prophet sees (or imagines that he sees) the divine throne which is mounted on wheels (ofanim); each wheel consists in some manner or other of 'creatures' who thus support the heavenly throne and also are the source of its motive power. Since the throne can and does move it is designated by later mystics as the Merkavah, the divine chariot.

36:
In the third stanza of his hymn the poet at last reaches the subject of the great lights: God created the sun and the moon with knowledge and imbued them with the power to rule the world. It is not at all clear whether the power referred to at this point is the same as that ascribed to the heavenly bodies in the creation story [Genesis 1: 14-19] – the power to delineate day from night and night from day and to define "seasons, days and years". It is also possible that the power ascribed to the sun, the moon and the planets is more astrological in nature: they 'rule the world' because of the imagined influence that they have on the behaviour of people and the decisions that they make.

37:
In the next stanza the heavenly luminaries are described as being "full of radiance, emitting light". They rejoice at the opportunity to fulfill their function. This idea might possibly be based on the initial verses of Psalm 19 (which formed part of the P^esuké d^ezimra which we encountered earlier in the service:

In the next stanza the poet continues the idea first broached in the previous stanza: the great luminaries incessantly praise their Creator, for it was He who summoned the sun to its task and defined the scope of the moon.

38:
To our modern ears all this sounds very strange, but it is typical of the age in which this hymn was written. The only way in which we can date the hymn is by its content and message. The consideration that the universe is ruled by the great spheres which, in turn, are governed by God seated upon His Chariot and assisted by His Seraphs, His Ofranim and His Ĥayyot (and other angelic squadrons) belongs to a period in which this kind of philosophy was very prolific. We shall elaborate further on this matter in our next shiur, God willing.

39:
The last stanza of the hymn El Adon – the one which consists of only two lines – summarizes the whole idea and at the same time serves as a bridge to the next section:

To be continued.

In Tefillah 034 we discussed the origin of the quorum for public prayer, the minyan. Henry Ray Wengrow writes:

I have also heard that 10 to make a Minyan comes from the Sodom and Gomorrah story but I can not cite a source. It is more satisfying to me than the rabbinic explanation you give in Shiur 31 since the Sodom and Gomorrah explanation attributes the Minyan to the minimum number of righteous people and the 10 spy argument is based on the 'wicked community.' Of course if there is no support for this, then there is no support. And I accept that. Since I am not a Hebrew expert, my question to you is in the S/G story what is the Hebrew word being used to define the number of people necessary to spare the cities? And the obvious follow up question: "can new explanations depart from the ones used in the existing literature?"

I respond:

In the story referred to [Genesis 18:23-33] the intitial term used to describe those whose presence in the cities would avert their destruction is tsadikim, righteous people. In the story, this term is first used by Abraham (together with its antithesis rasha, wicked person [verses 23-35]. In His first response to Abraham God also uses the term tsadikim: "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous people in the city I shall spare the whole place for their sake" (verse 26). (The awkward English translation reflects the Hebrew sentence, which is strangely convoluted.) But from that moment onwards both Abraham and God cease to use the term tzadikim and just use numbers in their bargaining – though the continuing reference to righteous people is clearly understood. Verse 30 can serve as an example for this: "Perhaps there will be thirty there" … "I shall not do it if I find there thirty." And finally, in verse 32 God says "I shall not destroy for the sake of the ten."

I am not sure what Henry is asking in his second question. I assume that he means to ask whether it is permissible to 'explain' the number 10 which is needed to consitute a prayer quorum as deriving from the bargaining between Abraham and God over the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah rather than on the story of the spies. If this is the purport of his question then I must say that I can see no reason why people should not do so. It is the number 10 which is the given, the stories are just pegs upon which to hang that number. However, the Abraham story does not explain why 10 are needed for devarim shebikedushah – such as Kaddish and Barekhu – whereas the other story does [see Tefillah 031 #6.]