The twelfth bracha, V’Lamalshinim, was added later to the original Shemoneh Esrei blessings which were instituted by the Anshei K’nesses HaGedolah, the Men of the Great Assemblage. The Rambam explains in Hilchos Tefillah [2:1] that in the days of the Nasi Rabban Gamliel II there was a proliferation of heretics amongst the Jews. They were oppressing us and, even worse, seducing us away from the authentic worship of Hashem. The Rambam adds that this was of a greater urgency than our other daily needs since this was a threat not only to our bodies but to our souls. So, he and his Beis Din instituted that the prayer, authored by Shmuel haKatan, should be added as a nineteenth blessing.
Perhaps we still call our silent devotion Shemoneh Esrei, or Eighteen, even though in reality it is now nineteen, out of respect for the Anshei K’nesses HaGedolah, or because eighteen is the gematria of chai, life, emphasizing that we are actually praying for our lives and our livelihoods. Another reason might be because we harbor the hope that this blessing will become unnecessary with the cessation of the heretics and we can restore the silent devotion to its original eighteen.
Uncharacteristically, the blessing starts off V’Lamalshinim, And to the slanderers, with the letter vav. No other blessing starts with the connecting vav. The Siddur Meforesh explains that since the previous blessing talked about the restoration of the Sanhedrin, it goes hand in hand that, when the Sanhedrin returns, there will be the end of the tormenters of Yisrael.
The bracha continues, “V’chal harish’ah k’rega toveid – And all wickedness should perish in a moment.” The Maharal MiPrague, zt”l, zy”a, emphasizes that we pray for the end of wickedness rather than the cessation of the wicked. This is consistent with what Bruriah, Rebbi Meir’s wife, pointed out to Reb Meir, when she reminded him that the verse says, “Yitamu chato’im, v’lo chotim – Let the sins cease rather than the sinners.”
Then we petition, “V’chol oyvei amcha m’heirah yikareisu – And may all your enemies be speedily cut down.” These include the Tzedokim and Baitusim, the Essenes and the early Christians who would be a thorn in the side of Torah Jewry both spiritually and in a material way, often slandering us to the non-Jewish authorities.
We then ask, “V’hazeidim m’heirah s’akeir – And those who are willful should be speedily uprooted.” The Olas Tamid defines this stanza as referring to our nemesis Amalek who constantly came at us with willful hatred, such as Haman who tried to commit genocide against our people. The Yaros Devash adds that, with this in mind, we fulfill the positive commandment of “Zachor eis asher asah lcha Amalek – Remember what Amalek did to you,” and we should have in mind that all of the punishments (that we might deserve) should be given to Amalek instead.
We say of our enemies, “M’heihra s’akeir us’shabeir, us’mageir v’sachniah – They should speedily be uprooted, broken, and smageir, and humiliated.” I once heard the great Rav Moshe Sherer, zt”l, zy”a, relate in a keynote session of the Agudath Yisrael convention that he was asked while giving a class what the word smageir means. He answered that, while he was not sure, it can’t be too good if it’s sandwiched between broken and humiliated. The Iyun Tefillah defines it as tashpil, to be brought low, while the Targum defines it as tachris, to sever.
It’s interesting to note that even those who daven Nusach Ashkenaz, and don’t have the word m’heirah too often in the Shemoneh Esrei, say m’heirah, speedily, three times in this blessing: M’heirah yikareisu, m’heirah s’akeir, and bim’heira biyameinu. Added to that are the words k’rega toveid, in a moment they should perish. I believe these point to the urgency of this prayer. As we’ve witnessed to our horror in recent times as in, for example, the awfulness of homicide bombers, we know that a second of timely detection could make a difference in saving children, mothers with carriages, and elderly people.
Whether it is in a busy pizza shop or on a crowded bus, our concentrated prayer, even here in the Diaspora, could make a difference between life and death. We need to pull this blessing out of the mothballs and pay great attention to the urgency of k’rega toveid, may they perish in a moment, and when we pray Al t’hi sikvah, they should have no hope, we are fueling the accuracy of the Iron Dome and Dovid’s Slingshot with our tefillos.
The blessing concludes, “Shoveir oyvim u’machniya zeidim – May Hashem break our enemies and humiliate our wanton oppressors.” The Shaarei Tshuva points out that the first letters of shoveir oyvim u’machniya zeidim, shin-alef-vav-zion, have the same gematria as Hashem’s name Shadai, which means, “Mi she’omer l’olam dai – He who says that the world should be enough.” This denotes that the world would function much better off without slanderers and heretics, and may their behavior cease speedily and in our days.
In the merit of our nosei b’od b’chaveiro, sharing in the woes of oppressed Jews wherever they may be, may Hashem bless us with long life, good health, and everything wonderful.
Transcribed and edited by Shelley Zeitlin.
