What is the exact meaning of “amen” and where does the word come from?
David H.
(Via E-Mail)
Answer: “Amen” is a Hebrew word, but it has almost become a universal one and has even been adopted by the Christians in their prayer service. The word simply expresses affirmation and agreement. In general everyday conversation, saying “amen” indicates that one is on the same page as one’s conversant.
The word appears in numerous scriptural verses, such as Numbers 5:22 in regards to the kohen’s statement to an alleged sotah (a woman accused of sequestering herself with a man other than her husband) before she drinks the bitter waters: “Uva’u ha’mayyim ha’m’orerim ha’eleh b’mei’ayich latzbot betten v’lanpil yoreich v’amrah ha’isha amen v’amen – These waters that cause curse shall enter your innards to cause your stomach to distend and thigh to collapse! And the woman shall respond, ‘Amen, amen.’” Saying “amen” is akin to her saying, “I am innocent” (see Rashi).
We find the word “amen” in Parshat Ki Tavo as well regarding the blessings and curses uttered on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal (Deuteronomy 27:15-26). The Torah states several times in this passage: “v’anu kol ho’am ‘amen,’ v’amru kol ho’am ‘amen’ – and the entire people shall speak up and say ‘amen,’ and the entire people shall say ‘amen.’” By saying “amen” they were affirming that they would uphold the laws of the Torah. The word “amen” is used similarly in various verses in Nevi’im and Ketuvim as well.
Rabbi Yosef Grossman, zt”l, in his encyclopedic work Otzar Erchei Ha’Yahadus (p. 48), discusses the word “amen” in detail. He writes that saying “amen” is like declaring, “Emet, ken yehi – truth so shall it be.” He writes that when one hears a blessing, one should respond, “Amen.” Since “amen” is derived from the words emunah (belief) and emet (truth), saying it constitutes an affirmation and acceptance of the berachah.
If a person says “amen” in response to a blessing he is obligated himself to say, he thereby discharges his obligation. For example, if a ba’al habayit recites the blessing of ha’motzi aloud for those gathered at the table, they need not make their own blessing as long as they say “amen.”
Our sages (Berachot 53b, Nazir 66a-b) make a rather stark statement: “Greater is the one who answers than the one who says the blessing.” It makes this statement in the following context: Rab said to his son Chiya: “Snatch [the cup of wine] and say the grace.” The Gemara asks: “Does this then mean that it is better to recite the blessing? Didn’t R. Yose teach: Greater is the one who answers than the one who says the blessing?” R. Nehorai answers: “By Heaven, this is so. You should know that at the outset of battle the ordinary infantry is sent out, but it is the veteran soldiers who will in the end secure victory.”
The Gemara notes that this matter is the subject of a Tannaic dispute. For according to another teaching, “Both the one who recites the blessing and the one who responds ‘amen’ are encompassed by [Psalms 34:4] ‘gadlu la’Shem iti u’neromema Shemo yachdav – magnify the L-rd with me and let us exalt His Name in unison.’ Nevertheless, first response is given to the one who recites the blessing.” Rashi (s.v. “ela memaharin…”) explains that “first response” refers to the reward given. Both receive reward, but it is given first to the one who recites the blessing.
It seems from this passage that there is a dispute as to who is greater – the one who recites the blessing or the one who responds to it. However, we can perhaps explain that the one who recites the blessing receives his reward first only because he was the initiator of kvod Shamayim. Without someone responding, though, that kavod remains rather limited. But when another person responds, the words of the verse, “and let us exalt His Name in unison,” apply.
(To be continued)