We next ask Hashem, “R’tzei Hashem Elokeinu b’amcha Yisrael uvis’filasam – Favor Hashem our G-d, Your nation Yisrael and their prayers.” We first ask Hashem to favor us. For if, G-d forbid, He doesn’t favor us, then He despises our prayers. As the pasuk states, “Zevach resha’im to’eivah – The offering of the wicked is an abomination.” It also says, “Botzei’a beirach ni’eitz Hashem – If the thief makes a blessing, Hashem gets angry.” It is for this reason that the Hagaddah Vayaged Moshe says that the custom was to do teshuva before starting the Seder shel Pesach, for otherwise, “Ul’rasha amar Elokim, mah loch lo sapeir chudkai – And to the wicked G-d says, why do I need you to relate My statutes?”
Similarly, there is a custom to do teshuva before making Kiddush on Friday night since Kiddush is eidus, testimony, about the creation of the world, and we don’t want to be wicked because then we are disqualified from giving testimony. As it says, “Al tasheis rasha eid – Do not have a wicked person as a witness.” Here too, since we inserted vidui, a confession, in a previous bracha of Shomei’a tefillah, we ask Hashem to view us favorably and thus accept our prayers.
We also preface amcha Yisrael because the Gemara in Masechtas Berachos [8a] teaches, “V’ani s’filasi L’cha, Hashem, eis ratzon – But as for me, my prayer to You, Hashem, should be at a time of favor.” The Gemara proceeds to ask, “When is a time of favor?” “Bsha’ah shehatzibor mispallelin,” when the community is praying together. The Gemara further assures us, “She’ein HaKadosh Baruch Hu mo’eis bis’filoson shel rabim – Hashem never detests the prayers of the many.” Thus, we say that Hashem should accept our prayers in the midst of the community.
As we are asking Hashem to favor our prayers, we must know that after we do a mitzvah it is a special time of favor to ask Hashem for something. This is why it is an ancient custom for women to ask for things after they do their special mitzvah of lighting candles on Friday nights. It is also why we make a mishebeirach, giving blessings, to our relatives and friends after we do the great mitzvah of making a public bracha on the Torah.
Rav Zilberstein, shlit”a, writes that if one is walking in the street and averts his gaze from immodesty, he has just done the challenging mitzvah of, “V’lo sasuru acharei l’vavechem v’acharei eineichem,” not to follow one’s hearts and one’s eyes, and it creates a great time of favor to ask Hashem for something. It is for this reason that there is a custom to give tzedakah charity, before davening. As it says, “V’ani b’tzedek echezeh Ponecha – And I with charity will behold Your face (when we pray).” The Manchester Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Segal, zt”l, zy”a, would try to do an actual act of personal kindness and he would bring a coffee to his wife before prayers. Upon her passing, he would bring negel vasser to the bedside of his daughter before leaving to shul.
I would like to suggest that this is the seventeenth blessing of the Shemoneh Esrei. Seventeen is the numerical value of tov, good. Perhaps this is because, “Ein tov ela Torah – The only real good is Torah,” and the Gemara states in Berachos (ibid) that since nowadays Hashem’s Shechina resides primarily by the four ells of halacha, Abaya would only pray in the place that he studied. Thus, we invoke the merit of Torah to generate acceptance of our prayers and it is in this vein that the great Chassidic masters used to say that the best preparation for prayer is to learn a daf Gemara beforehand.
We then say, “V’hasheiv es ha’avodah lidvir beisecha v’ishei Yisrael – Return the service to the Holy of Holies in Your House and the fire offerings of Yisrael.” We are taught that today our prayers are a substitute for the offerings, as the Gemara states, “Tefillos k’neged karbonos tiknam – Our prayers are instead of offerings.” We ask Hashem that we want the real thing, not just the substitute – so restore to us the most Holy of services that the Kohen Gadol does on Yom Kippur in the Holy of Holies, for the word d’vir refers to the Kodesh HaKadoshim, as it is from there Hashem spoke to Moshe Rabbeinu. As the verse testifies, “Vedibarti it’cha mei’al hakaporos, mibein shnei k’ruvim – And I spoke with you (Moshe) from above the Ark cover from in between the two keruvim (which was in the Holy of Holies). Thus, the word d’vir, which has the root dibeir, talk, is so-called because Hashem spoke, dibeir, from there to Moshe. We then say, “V’ishei Yisrael,” and He should also return to us the fire offerings, the sacrifices, that were offered on the outside Altar.
The tefillah continues, “V’ishei Yisrael us’filosom b’ahava sikabeil b’ratzon.” There is a question where to put the comma in this segment of the prayer. Do the words ishei Yisrael go back to the previous request of returning the service in the Holy of Holies and the actual fire offerings, and then the next sentence starts with us’filosom (as we explained above)? The Tur brings this explanation and the Gra says that this is the way we should pray, and so too it is explained like this by the Seder HaYom. Yet the Tur brings another explanation and so is the view of the Elya Rabbah, that there should be a comma after lidvir beisecha, and now we ask v’ishei Yisrael, our contemporary prayers which are the substitute for the fire offerings, us’filosom, and our personal supplications, should be accepted with love and with favor.
We conclude in this vein. “U’sehi l’ratzon tomid avodas Yisrael amecha,” and it should be favorable to You perpetually the service of Your nation Yisrael. We plead that the prayers should be favorable even without the Beis HaMikdash and the Divine service. Perhaps we add the word Yisrael because we remind Hashem that He created us for the purpose of prayer. As it says, “Am zu yatzarti li, t’hilasi yisapeiru – This nation I created for Me, to relate My prayers.”
We cap off the blessing of R’tzei with the request, “V’sechezenah eineinu b’shuvecha l’Zion b’rachamim – May our eyes behold Your return to Tzion with mercy.” The Yaros Devash explains that even though we already asked for this in the blessings of Vli’Yerushalim Ircha and Es tzemach, in those brachos we asked that it should be so in the merit of our Avos, our Patriarchs. Here, in this bracha we beseech that Hashem should do it in our own merit, for it is only then that our eyes will merit to see it personally. It is for this reason the Lot and his family were not able to see the downfall of S’dom, because they were only saved in the merit of Avraham. We ask Hashem that we merit earning it with our own zechusim, and thus live to see, speedily in our days, the final redemption.
Transcribed and edited by Shelley Zeitlin.
