Question: When reciting a berachah in English, does a person fulfill his obligation if he says “Hashem” instead of “L-rd” or “G-d”?
Yosef
The Mechaber rules (based on Shabbos 12b and Sotah 32a) that one may pray in any language when praying with a congregation, save for Aramaic, which angels do not know. The Beit Yosef explains that Aramaic is an unpleasant language. Tosafot (Shabbos 12b) notes that, of the angels, only Gabriel recognizes Aramaic. Tosafot asks, though: If the angels know even the innermost thoughts of man, how is it that they don’t know Aramaic?
The Chochmat Shlomo (Rabbi Shlomo Luria) explains that each nation’s ministering angel knows the language of that nation. Therefore, Michael, the ministering angel of the Jewish people, speaks only Hebrew.
Last week we noted that Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Chayos (to Shabbos 12b) argues that since those with ruach ha’kodesh are able to perceive the innermost thoughts of man, surely angels can. Yet, Eliyahu Rabbah cites verses in I Kings (8:39) and Jeremiah (17:9-10) that indicate that only Hashem can discern man’s innermost thoughts. Rabbi Elazar Moshe HaLevi Horowitz (to Shabbos 12b) cites a passage in Daniel that states that the angel Gabriel discerned Daniel’s prayers. Gabriel, thus, is an exception among the angels, uniquely imbued with special abilities by Hashem.
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The Magen Avraham (Orach Chayim 101:5) writes that the Mechaber permits a Jew to pray in any language because it is far better to pray in a language one understands. The Yad Ephraim (O.C. ad loc) maintains that the Magen Avraham permits praying in a different language only if one possesses an exact translation. However, who nowadays knows the exact translation of many of the prayers? Therefore, halacha frowns upon people today who pray in the vernacular. Surely it is possible for one to study and develop a proficient understanding of the prayers in their original.
The Yad Ephraim maintains that one should pray in Hebrew even if one is not proficient in the Holy Tongue. Is it proper, he asks, for one to desert the wellspring of life – i.e., the Holy Tongue – to dig other wells? If a person finds no time to become proficient in Hebrew, let him, the Yad Ephrain writes, pray in Hebrew with the congregation and later pray in whatever tongue he feels most comfortable in. The Yad Ephraim writes that women in his days (late 18th century, early 19th century) would act in this manner.
The Chofetz Chaim (Mishnah Berurah, O.C. 101:13) refers us to the Mechaber’s ruling (supra 62:2) regarding Keriat Shema: “One may read it in any language but must take care not to confuse the words in that language, and he should be as exacting in it as in the Holy Tongue.” He refers us further to his comment on this ruling: “This only applies to one who is proficient in that language, and this rule extends to tefillah, Birkat Ha’Mazon, birkat ha’mitzvot, birkat ha’peirot, and Hallel. Of course, it is always better to say all the above in Hebrew. He cites this as the view of Bach (infra O.C., 193).
He also refers us to Acharonim (Korban Ha’edah to Sotah, Jerusalem Talmud ch. 7; Magen Gibborim; and Hagahot Rabbi Elazar Landa) who are very strict in this regard. In their view, a person should recite all of the above in Hebrew because there are many words we don’t know how to properly translate. He offers the word “v’shinantam” as an example. We generally translate this word as “and you shall teach them” but the root actually has many different meanings, including “teach” and “review.”
Returning to our opening citation of the Mishnah Berurah (O.C. 101:13): He cites the Chatam Sofer (Orach Chayim, Responsa 84 and 86) who rules that any leniency the early authorities allowed only pertains to occasional situations. They never permitted a person to pray on a permanent basis in a language other than Hebrew. He also writes that a chazzan should never pray in anything other than Hebrew. All the geonim of the time (see sefer Divrei HaBrit) agreed that it is expressly forbidden to allow the prayer service to be performed in the local vernacular. Especially in light of the actions of the reformers who often prayed in their local vernacular, we must be careful to pray in Hebrew since one sin leads to another. The reformers eliminated certain prayers such as those that refer to the ingathering of the exiles and returning to Jerusalem. They wished that we forget Jerusalem and the Holy Tongue too. They feared that we would be redeemed from exile in the merit of not abandoning our Holy Tongue. May G-d save us from such atheism.
In his Biur Halacha (O.C. 101, sv “yachol l’hitpallel b’chol lashon”), the Chofetz Chaim concludes, “Prayers that are said in the Holy Tongue are preferable even if one does not understand the language. The Holy Tongue is unique among languages and has many precious hidden secrets, it being the language G-d spoke to his prophets and with which He created the world. Additionally 120 elders (the Anshei Knesset ha’Gedolah), amongst them many prophets, not only weighed each and every blessing but the number of letters therein, each representing hidden meanings, when they composed their final liturgical text. Thus, when we say our prayers using their text, our prayers rise in the proper manner even if we do not understand the meaning of the words.
(To be continued)
