Jewish Prayer Part 3:
HaShem’s Holiness and Shabbat’s Missing Sacrifices
Rabbi Yaakov Bieler
In the past
two issues of Kol Mevaser (“Thinking about What to Think About During Prayer”, April-July 2006;
“HaShem’s Might and Shabbat Joy”, July-September 2006), we have discussed the first and
second blessings of
every “Amida” (“Avot” and “Gevurot”) as well as the middle blessings of the “Ma’ariv”
and “Shacharit” “Amidot” of Shabbat. Let us now focus our attention upon the
third of the standard opening blessings of the Silent Devotion, known as “Kedushat
HaShem” (the Holiness of God) because of the repeated usage of the root
“Kuf”, “Daled”, “Shin” in the body of the “Beracha”[1]
and the summary in its coda, “Baruch Ata HaShem, HaKeil HaKadosh”
(Blessed are You, HaShem, the Holy God).
During most
of the Jewish year,[2] the
third blessing is by far the shortest of the opening three “Berachot”,[3]
and therefore the most mono-dimensional. Whereas the first and second blessings
contain varied forms of praise of the Divine’s Qualities and Activities,[4]
the third blessing embodies a single theme, “HaShem’s Holiness”.
Commentators
have noted that the uniqueness of this third blessing both in terms of theme as
well as terseness serves to emphasize yet again the tension between
transcendence and immanence that was raised in our essay on the first
blessing. Whereas the terms “HaKeil”
(the powerful God); “HaGadol” (the Great); “HaGibor” (the Mighty); “VeHaNora”
(and the Awesome) elicit in our minds a concept of God Who is Powerful and
Removed from this world, many of the descriptions that follow (see fn. 4) make
the opposite impression, i.e., that HaShem is intimately Involved in the
affairs of man. Furthermore, many of these descriptions, e.g., Supporter of the fallen and Healer of the sick, suggest that HaShem is comparable, as it were, to
others, even people, that have been and/or are parts of our this-worldly
experience. Consequently, the third blessing categorically declares that God is
“Kadosh”, i.e., Separate, Unique, Different, Incomparable vis-à-vis all other
things that exist and of which we are aware.
The nature
of HaShem’s Uniqueness is even more extensively developed when the third
blessing of the silent Amida is replaced by the “Kedusha” of the public
repetition of this prayer in the presence of a Minyan. Perhaps only when a
significant number of people gather together to worship HaShem en masse, can
God’s Holiness be acknowledged in a more than passing fashion, hence the more
developed liturgy to this effect.
While there
are versions of the “Kedusha” that are unique to weekday “Shacharit” and
“Mincha”, Shabbat and Yom Tov “Shacharit” and Shabbat and Yom Tov “Musaf”,
elements common to all of them include: a) repeating the formula recited by the
angels regarding HaShem’s thrice-over Holiness as recorded in Yeshayahu 6:3, b)
invoking the statement by other angels that God’s Holy Otherness from wherever
it may be Emanating must be blessed by those who truthfully are unable to
comprehend it, cited in Yechezkel 3:12, and c) a concluding statement to the
effect that our declarations of God’s Holiness will be proclaimed by us
unceasingly, from generation to generation. It is intriguing to note that if in
general it is difficult to even begin to understand the nature of God’s
individual Characteristics, His overall Holiness/Separateness which both
encompasses and surpasses all of these “Middot”, by definition is that much
more elusive and mystical, and yet we devote very significant portions of our
prayers to articulating something which is virtually impossible for us to
comprehend. “Kedusha” is prayer at its most paradoxical level.
On Shabbat,
Yom Tov and Rosh Chodesh, in addition to the standard prayers of “Ma’ariv”,
“Shacharit” and “Mincha”, an additional prayer, “Musaf” is added,
corresponding to the additional sacrifices that were offered up on these special
days during Temple times. The middle portion of Shabbat “Musaf” is devoted to
these extra “Korbanot”, and refers to these sacrifices much more explicitly
than the corresponding portions of the “Amidot” of “Shacharit” and “Mincha”,
even though according to R. Yehoshua ben Levi in Berachot 26b, the “Shacharit”
and “Mincha” prayers[5]
were originally created to parallel the “Tamid” offerings sacrificed daily
during each morning and afternoon. It would seem that in contrast to the
“Korbanot Tamid” which were a daily occurrence and did not reflect the
particularity of the day on which they were offered, we pay more attention to
sacrifices that digressed from the norm and called attention to the special
calendric occasion which they celebrate.
In addition
to reciting the verses in the Tora that outline the Shabbat “Musaf” sacrifice
(BaMidbar 28:9-10),[6]
the middle blessing of Shabbat “Musaf” contains a plea that the
Be favorable, HaShem, our God, toward Your People Israel
and their prayer, and Restore the service to the Holy of Holies of Your
as well as the concluding passage at the very end of every
“Amida”:
May it be Your Will, HaShem, our God and the God of our
forefathers, that the
However, upon further reflection
one comes to the realization that in addition to missing the Temple in a
general sense to which these two other references to our desire for the
Temple’s restoration point, the “Beit HaMikdash”’s absence is most acutely felt
when there is a specific Mitzva that we wish to be able to perform, in this
case the “Musaf” sacrifice, and we feel frustrated by the realization that we
can do no more than recite the relevant Tora passages and rely upon our
imaginations to try to recreate what the experience might have been actually like.
Just as R. Simlai in Sota 14a states that the only reason why Moshe so
desperately wished to enter Israel was in order to be able to fulfill those
“Mitzvot HaTeluyot BaAretz” (Commandments that could only be carried out in the
land), we too should deeply miss the spiritual opportunities that the Temple
presented, such as “Korbanot Musaf”, and are no longer available to us.
In addition, if we take to heart
Yoma 9b’s contention that the Second Temple was destroyed because of needless
hatred, implying that only when all of our interpersonal relationships will no
longer be imbued with this negative quality, the Temple can once again be
rebuilt, perhaps the Shabbat “Musaf” Amida can have a positive affect upon our
Middot (personal attributes) as well. Taking to heart such a train of thought,
i.e., we miss the Temple and its rituals, and only by significant
self-improvement can we possibly get it back, is in fact a wonderful
preparation for the social experiences of “Kiddush” and the rest of Shabbat
afternoon!
[1] Although the third instance of the
root “K” “D” “Sh” refers to people who praise HaShem (“U’Kedoshim
BeChol Yom Yehallelucha” [and holy ones every day praise You]) rather
than HaShem Himself, as in the first two and last instances (“Ata Kadosh
VeShimcha Kadosh” [You are Holy and Your Name is Holy];
“Baruch Ata HaShem, HaKeil HaKadosh” [Blessed are You HaShem, the Holy
God]), from a literary and enunciatory point of view, forms of the word
“Kadosh” take on mantra-like qualities.
[2] On Rosh HaShana and Yom HaKippurim,
five additional paragraphs (beginning “U’VeChen Tein Pachdecha…” [And therefore
Engender Fear of You…]; “U’VeChen Tein Kavod…” [And therefore Inspire
respect…]; “U’VeChen Tzaddikim…” [And therefore the righteous…]; “VeTimloch Ata
HaShem Levadecha…” [And Rule HaShem by Yourself…]; “Kadosh Ata VeNora
Shemecha…” [You are Holy and Your Name is awe-inspiring…]) are added to the
middle of this short blessing resulting in its actually becoming the longest of
the three, totaling 151 words! While additions to the first two
blessings are also made, only 11 words are added to the first and 8 to the
second.
[3] The numbers of words that are usually
found in the respective blessings are:
Beracha 1 42
Beracha 2 47
Beracha 3 14
[4] 1) Greatness; 2) Courageousness; 3)
Awesomeness; 4) Exaltedness; 5) Bestower of Kindnesses; 6) Omnipotence; 7)
Recaller of deeds of our ancestors; 8) Redeemer; 9) Ruler; 10) Helper; 11)
Savior (the translation of “Moshia”. English-speaking Jews reading the
translation of this word might be led to associate it with elements of other
religions. Consequently, this constitutes an example where there is
considerable benefit to praying in Hebrew rather than in translation.); 12)
Protector; 13) Reviver of the dead; 14) Sustainer of life by Kindness; 15)
Supporter of the fallen; 16) Healer of the sick; 17) Liberator of the
incarcerated; 18) Faithful to those who have died.
[5] By all accounts, “Ma’ariv” was
initially optional and only later became obligatory since there was no original
sacrifice to which this prayer corresponded.
[6] According to a number of sources in
the Oral Tradition, such as the following:
Midrash Tanchuma, Parshat Tzav, #14
Said the Holy One, Blessed Be He, to
the
study and recitation of the sacrifices accomplishes vicariously what cannot be
achieved in actuality. This is the reason why the section on Sacrifices was
chosen for study and recitation after “Birchot HaShachar” and before “Pesukei
D’Zimra” each morning. Consequently, the inclusion of the section describing
the “Shabbat Musaf” sacrifice, much as the additional Tora readings on Yom Tov
and Rosh Chodesh focusing upon the specific sacrifices of the day, can be
understood to achieve not only a commemorative goal, but a metaphysical one as
well. See Mishna Berura on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 48:1 #6.
[7] Musaf prayers for Rosh Chodesh and
Yom Tov contain similar supplications regarding the reestablishment of the