Insights into the Shabbat Prayers #14:
Asking God to Help Us Experience Shabbat Properly
R. Yaakov Bieler
Chanuka 5770
The paragraph that concludes the middle section of each of the Shabbat Silent Devotions recited over the course of Ma’ariv, Shacharit, Musaf and Mincha,[1] i.e., contains the “Chatima”[2] of this Blessing, reads as follows:
Our God and God of our ancestors, Find favor in our rest.
Make us holy through Your Commandments
and Grant us our share in Your Tora.
Satisfy us with Your Goodness, Grant us joy in Your Salvation,
and Purify our hearts to serve You in truth.
In love and favor, Lord our God, Grant us our heritage, Your holy Shabbat,
so
that
Blessed are You, Lord, Who Sanctifies the Shabbat.[3]
It would appear that reciting the identical paragraph at this point in the prayer four separate times during the course of the day is a holdover from an ancient period of Jewish history. R. Isaiah Wohlgemuth writes,
In the very first prayer books, those of R. Amram Gaon and Rav Saadyah Gaon, from the eighth and ninth centuries, the same Amida is indicated for each prayer service on Shabbat. The differences were introduced (probably in Gaonic times, since the Talmud never mentions them,) because Shabbat has three entirely different aspects and we want to acknowledge each one in a separate service.[4]
Consequently while the earlier portion of the middle Blessing in each of these prayers was eventually added in order to emphasize the distinctiveness of that portion of the Shabbat day,[5] each of these blessings concluded in the same manner, tying together the specific time’s particularity with the common aspects of the special day.
The specific elements in the paragraph of “Retzeh Be’Menuchateinu” are a series of requests that each pray-er is directing to God several times over the course of Shabbat. However, in contrast to the supplications that comprise the weekday Amida and that are concerned for the most part with our physical and material welfare,[6] the requests in this paragraph are intensely spiritual in nature. It is possible to reflect upon the situations and states from which the individual reciting this prayer wishes to be saved and redeemed by imagining the converse of each of these requests in turn:
a) Not all rest is necessarily Godly or carried out “LiShma” (for the proper reason and with the appropriate intention);
b) An individual can practice the Commandments in rote fashion and not experience any personal development with respect to his sense of holiness;
c) Even one who studies Tora on a regular basis might feel alien to its assumptions and demands;
d) When a person is blessed with possessions that are sufficient for his needs, he might not always be satisfied with what he has, and believes that God has Given him;
e) If it comes to pass that we emerge from a difficult circumstance, will he experience merely a sense of relief, or outright joy due to understanding how personal and direct God’s Intervention has been?
f) Is Divine Service, i.e., carrying out the Commandments, studying the Tora, extending assistance to the needy, etc., accompanied by heartfelt devotion and does it honestly reflect the values and commitments of the person engaged in these activities?
g) When we accept upon ourselves the laws governing Shabbat observance, do we experience the emotions of love of God and a deep-seated desire to serve Him with all of our hearts and might?
h) Do we look forward to the day when Shabbat observance will be more widespread among the Jewish people, thereby constituting an even greater sanctification of God’s Name than is presently achieved by those “keeping Shabbat”?
The language of the prayer also suggests that by virtue of our directing these requests to God, that it is not entirely within our own power to achieve these states of mind and emotional sensibilities exclusively on our own, but rather we are in need of Siyata D’Shemaya (the Help of Heaven) in order to reach these apparently ideal levels of religious observance. It would seem, however, that the underlying concept of this paragraph is not that such matters are entirely out of the individual’s control, but rather that a partnership between a person and God Himself is desired and hopefully entered into so that a person should not be given total credit for his spiritual accomplishments. Such a sentiment is reflected in the following Rabbinic passage:
Yoma
38b-39a
Said Reish
Lakish: What is the meaning of (Mishlei 3:34) “With respect to the scoffers, He
will Scoff; and to the humble He will Give Grace”?
One who
comes to become impure, he is provided with the opportunity. [7] One who comes to purify himself, he
is given assistance.
The Yeshiva
of R. Yishmael taught: A parable: Concerning a man who sells naphthalene and
balsamum. If a purchaser comes to measure naphthalene, he says, “Measure it out
yourself.” But to a purchaser of balsamum he says, “Wait until I measure
together with you, so that both I and you will become perfumed.
Although one may be in compliance
with the letter of the law of Shabbat, the paragraph beginning “Retzeh
Be’Menuchateinu” attempts to alert us to the requirements of the spirit of the
law, which, if put our minds to it, would truly result in a total and ideal
Shabbat experience.
[1] The remainder of the liturgy that makes up the middle sections of these prayers are all distinct:
Ma’ariv: Ata Kidashta Et Yom HaShevi’I LeShemecha… Elokeinu V’Elkei Avotainu Retzeh ViMenuchateinu
Shacharit: Yismach Moshe B’Matnat Chelko…VeShamru Benai Yisrael Et HaShabbat…VeLo Netato HaShem Elokeinu LeGoyai HaAratzot… Elokeinu V’Elkei Avotainu Retzeh ViMenuchateinu
Musaf: Tikanta Shabbat Ratzita Korbenotecha…Yehi Ratzon MilFanecha HaShem Elokainu V’Elokai Avoteinu…Yismechu VeMalchutcha… Elokeinu V’Elkei Avotainu Retzeh ViMenuchateinu
Mincha: Ata Echad VeShimcha Echad…Elokeinu V’Elkei Avotainu Retzeh ViMenuchateinu…
[2] Lit. “the seal”—the concluding portion of an extended Blessing which repeats the introductory “Baruch Ata HaShem” followed by words summarizing essentially what is contained within this blessing, in this case, “Mekadesh HaShabbat.” See Pesachim 104a..
[3] The
Koren Siddur, with introduction, translation and commentary by R. Jonathan
Sacks, Koren,
[4] A Guide to Jewish Prayer, J. Robinson, p. 207-8.
[5] Friday evening: the Creation of the world; Shabbat morning: the Giving of the Tora; Shabbat Mussaf: the particular sacrifices offered up; Shabbat afternoon:the Messianic period when “BaYom HaHuh Yihyeh HaShem Echad U’Shmo Echad.” See previous my previous essays for Kol Mevaser on the meaning of Shabbat prayers: #1 (Ma’ariv), #2 (Shacharit), #3 (Mussaf) and #4 (Mincha).
[6] The middle thirteen blessings of the weekday Tefilla BeLachash ask for: a) intelligence, b) repentence, c) forgiveness, d) redemption from oppression, e) health and healing, f) financial prosperity, g) ingathering of the exiles, h) restoration of the Jewish legal system, i) elimination of heretics and informers, j) reward for the righteous, k) rebuilding of Jerusalem, l) reestablishment of the Davidic monarchy, and m) Divine Acceptance of our prayers. While b), c) and m) are somewhat spiritual, the overwhelming majority of elements on the list deal with the Jews’ physical, material and national status. A), although not essentially material, is also not really metaphysical in this context, and if viewed as the precursor for all of the other human desires appearing on the list, could be included among the practical this-worldly needs, even though intelligence will also be required for Tora study and observance.
[7] God’s not Standing in the way of someone bent upon sinning is embodied in the beginning of the story of Bilaam—see RaShI on BaMidbar 22:35.