Tefillah 041

Today is Holocaust Day, Yom Ha-Sho'ah.
Today's shiur is dedicated to the memory of the
Six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.
Their memory is a blessing and an inspiration for the resolution:
Never again!

59:
We can now turn our attention to the second of the two benedictions that precede the reciting of the Shema [Siddur Sim Shalom page 111, Siddur Va'ani Tefillati page 338]. The first benediction was concerned with God as the architect of the daily passage from darkness to daylight (with, as we have seen, many 'excursions'). The theme of the second benediction is God's love for Israel. This is why, if the first benediction is technically referred to as birkhat yotzer the second is called birkhat ahavah, 'the love benediction'.

60:
The theme of this benediction is simple: throughout the ages God has manifested an abiding love for the people of Israel. This love is demonstrated particularly by the giving to Israel of the Torah. The Torah is the supreme indication of God's love of the Jewish people. At first, to the modern mind, this might seem strange. A set of rules and regulations that govern almost every aspect of daily life: can such 'irksome restrictions' really be an expression of fondness, affection? And yet, when one presents the same idea as a metaphor it seems quite obvious. The parent that loves her child will seek to educate and protect with rules and regulations against which the child will often rebel; someone who has no love for a child will be content to let the child 'do as he pleases' because what this child will become is of no real concern to him.

61:
In the middle of the 12th century CE one of the greatest minds that the Jewish people has ever produced tried to codify the main elements of Jewish belief. Maimonides' 'Thirteen Principles' were first propounded in his commentary on the Mishnah. Later on a catechismic version of these principles was perpetrated by a person unknown. This version can still be found in many prayerbooks, usually appended to the daily morning service. Yet a third version of Rambam's 'Thirteen Principles' (probably perpetrated some three centuries after Rambam) is a rendition in verse: Yigdal is gaily sung in many Conservative congregations at the end of the synagogue service on Friday nights (though I have yet to discover any logical connection with the end of the Sabbath Eve service and a re-iteration of articles of faith and belief). The tenth of these principles states that we believe that God is aware of how how we behave and reacts accordingly. Siddur Sim Shalom brings the hymn Yigdal on page 53; the rather fanciful translation there of the principle now under discussion reads:

(Yigdal can be found in Siddur Va'ani Tefillati on page 321.)

All that Rambam originally said in his Mishnah Commentary was that God is aware of what people do and does not ignore their deeds.

62:
All this relates, of course, to the theme of birkhat ahavah: not only did God give Israel the Torah as an eternal guide to life but God also is interested in and aware of how we apply the Torah to living our life. The fact that God is aware and shows an interest in how we react to the requirements of the law is, of course, just another aspect of that divine love which is the subject of this benediction.

63:
The Gemara [Berakhot 11b] records a disagreement among the sages as to the exact way in which this benediction should begin.

Despite what Rabbi El'azar taught his son, the custom which prevailed in Eretz-Israel was to commence this benediction with the words Ahavat Olam – 'With eternal love'. Thus in Eretz-Israel the opening of this benediction was the same both in the morning and in the evening. However, in Babylon practice was divided. In some of the Yeshivot the opinion of Rav Yehudah prevailed: in the evening the benediction began with Ahavat Olam but in the morning it began with Ahavah Rabba – 'With great love'; in others Ahavat Oloam was said both morning and evening. We have already mentioned on several occasions that eventually the liturgical customs of Eretz-Israel died out and the tradition of Babylonian Jewry swept the Jewish world. However, the difference of liturgical opinion in this matter persists to this day. The Sefaradi custom is to begin the benediction with Ahavat Olam and this was also adopted by the Ashkenazi Kabbalists and Ĥasidim when they adopted the Sefaradi siddur (with many adaptations). The mainstream Ashkenazi custom has been and remains to commence this benediction with the words Ahavah Rabbah, and this is the text to be found both in Siddur Sim Shalom and in Siddur Va'ani Tefillati.

64:
The Ahavah benediction is in two parts. The first part was presumably the original formulation of the benediction, the latter part being a later addition. The first part of the benediction, as we have already intimated, is concerned with Torah as the sublime expression of God's love for Israel: because God so loved our ancestors He taught them Torah; may He show us equal love and teach us too. This can only be achieved by instilling into our hearts a willingness to

There follows a prayer asking God to unite our hearts to serve Him sincerely so that we may never be abashed (at having been delinquent in this matter).

65:
There now follows an addition to the original formula of the benediction. When we studied the latter part of the previous benediction (Tefillah 040, #57 ) we noted that a messianic element crept in, asking God to restore 'light' to Zion. In the Ahavah benediction too a messianic plea was added, though the exact wording of that plea varies from community to community.

66:
The Ashkenazi tradition has the following text added into the benediction – and this is the version adopted in Siddur Sim Shalom:

Siddur Va'ani Tefillati at this point prefers the Sefaradi tradition:

The reason for this preference is because it was felt to be inappropriate for worshippers who have already made aliya (or who were born in Israel) to pray to God to restore them to our ancestral home, since they are already there.

67:
There now occurs a phrase which recapitulates the idea that was being expressed when the messianic passage was added, and this leads into the conclusion of the benediction:

The idea that God has chosen Israel, of course, is a reflection of the fact that God gave Israel the Torah; thus the conclusion of the benediction reverts back to its commencement. )Interestingly enough, texts have been found in the Cairo Genizah in which the conclusing formula is the same as that for the same benediction in the evening: "Praised are You, God our Lord, Who loves His people Israel.) The phrase "to declare Your unity" is, of course, a bridge passage which leads us to the actual recitation of the Shema, which, God willing, will be the subject of our next shiur.

To be continued.