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
Answer: 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.
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.
Last week we cited the Gemara (Sotah 33a) that seeks to prove that angels understand Aramaic from the fact that bat kols are heard in that language. The Gemara rejects this proof, though, stating that a bat kol is an exception and is understood by angels since its purpose is to deliver an important message; alternatively, Gabriel, who knows Aramaic, is the one who delivers a bat kol. The Aruch Hashulchan notes that gentile prayers are not said in Hebrew, yet King Solomon’s prayer upon completion of the Beis Hamikdash specifically mentions gentiles praying. Nonetheless, he argues that a Jew should pray in Hebrew except when it comes to prayers like selichot and yotzrot.
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Now let us turn to Shulchan Aruch HaRav (by the Ba’al Ha’Tanya) (Orach Chayim 101:5): “A person may pray in any language he wishes when he prays with a congregation, but when praying in private he should pray only in the Holy Tongue because the ministering angels do not know other languages, and the individual is in need of an advocating angel to accept his prayers [and send it further up on high, before Hashem’s Holy Throne]. A congregation, on the other hand, has no need of an advocate, as Job 31:5 states, ‘Hen Keil kabir lo yim’os – Behold, Hashem is mighty and does not despise.’” Shulchan Aruch HaRav (O.C. 52:1) also cites Psalms 55:19 (cited in Berachot 8a), “Pada b’shalom Nafshi mikrov li ki b’rabim ho’yu imadi – He redeemed my soul in peace from battles against me because many were with me” (translation following Rashi).
Shulchan Aruch HaRav (O.C. 52:1) is very clear as to the relative advantage of congregational prayer over individual prayer. It states, “Therefore, a person who arrives in shul and finds the congregation at the end of pesukei d’zimra should skip pesukei d’zimra in order to pray [the Amidah] with the congregation because pesukei d’zimra was only enacted as a prelude to [the Amidah] in order that one’s prayer be pleasing and accepted due to one first having organized the praises of Hashem…. [Therefore, when arriving late], it is far better to pray with the congregation because then one’s prayer will surely be accepted.
Shulchan Aruch Harav (O.C. 101:5) mentions that many women pray in the vernacular and that some authorities try to explain this practice by arguing that individuals were constrained from praying in other languages only for their personal needs or when praying on behalf of an ill person. The Amidah, though, can be said in any language (even in private) since its text was enacted for a congregational setting. Shulchan Aruch Harav also states that some (like the Rosh, Tur, and Mechaber) argue that the rule against praying in other languages only applies to Aramaic which the ministering angels find distasteful and ignore.
Shulchan Aruch HaRav concludes that like women, amei ha’aretz – those who are ignorant [unschooled] – who do not understand the Holy Tongue, should pray in the vernacular even though they (unlike many women) might know how to read Hebrew. This way, they will understand what they’re saying and be able to properly direct their thoughts (whereas if they prayed in Hebrew they would be offering worthless prayers since they wouldn’t understand what they’re saying and wouldn’t be able to propery direct their thoughts).
Shulchan Aruch Harav thus concludes with a dissenting view, which stands in contrast to the view (Mishnah Berurah, O.C. 62:2) that our understanding of the Holy Tongue is incomplete as there are many words that prove too difficult to translate, making us no better than the am ha’aretz in this regard. Therefore, according to this view, it far better, if possible, to pray in the Holy Tongue.
(To be continued)