A Tefillah Curriculumpresents

Torah UMesorah

כיתה ח

Lesson 12

Rebbi Sheet Grade 8 Lesson 12 P a g e | 1

{Lesson #12} 'ח כתה

דיןRestore our judges יבה ינו הש שופט

as in earlier times, כבראשונה

and our advisers (our נביאים) ינו ויועצ

as in the beginning, ,כבתחלה

and remove ר והס

from us ממנו

sorrow יגון

and sighing ,ואנחה

and rule over us ינו ומלוך על

You, Hashem [Master of all] ,'אתה ה

alone לבדך

with kindness בחסד

and with mercy, ,וברחמים

and make us righteous נו וצדק

in Your judgement, שפט .במ

You are the source of all ברוך אתה, ,ברכה

Hashem [Master of all], 'ה

the King who loves ב לך אוה מ

righteousness and judgement. .צדקה ומשפט

Once we are gathered in from גלות - even before we enter Yerushalayim - the רשעים will be

judged, as the פסוקים in (א, כה,כו) ישעיה tell us. Therefore this ברכה follows the ברכה of קבוץ

(מגילה יז:) .גליות

After the Yidden received the Torah, Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu ואלה המשפטים... . The

.ברוך אתה ה' מלך אוהב צדקה ומשפט :immediately proclaimed מלאכי השרת

(שבולי הלקט)

Rebbi Sheet Grade 8 Lesson 12 P a g e | 2

לבדך אתה ה' ומלוך עלינו

and – בחסד וברחמים

rule over us You,

Hashem, alone, with

kindness and with

mercy…

We daven that Hashem

alone should rule over

us. Also, we daven that

our עבירות be forgiven,

so they do not create

any blockages between

us and Hashem. We

wish for a direct

and unobstructed

connection to Hashem.

In ברכות ק"ש on שבת

morning, we say: זכות"

חסדומישור לפני כסאו,

"לפני כבודו ורחמים . This

means that ב"ד של מעלה

judges with זכותים and

straight law, but

Hashem Himself judges

with חסד and רחמים.

Here, we daven that

Hashem should rule

over us entirely by

Himself, and through

that we will merit to be

judged with חסד and

.רחמים

)ספר הארת התפילה בשם

ר"א בן הגר"א(

and – והסר ממנו יגון ואנחה

remove from us sorrow and

sighing.

What is the connection between

these words and the beginning of

the ברכה?

In יעקב אבינו ,פרשת ויחי gave

he , יששכר To .שבטים to the ברכות

said – וירא מנוחה כי טוב ויט שכמו"

saw that (יששכר) He – לסבול"

tranquility is good, and he bent

his shoulders to carry [the burden

of Torah]. ר' בחיי explains that

for a person to be able to

immerse himself totally in Torah,

he must be free of stress and

worries, like the גמרא says,

Torah – "שמעתתא בעי צלותא"

learning requires clarity of mind.

Therefore, says 'בחיי ר , no שבט

needed the ברכה of מנוחה more

than שבט יששכר, who carried the

yoke of Torah.

We can now understand why we

ask והסר ממנו יגון ואנחה in the

In this .השיבה שופטינו of ברכה

we ask Hashem to return ,ברכה

things to the days of old, so we

can serve Him better and

immerse ourselves in His Torah.

Therefore, we ask: והסר ממנו יגון

remove all worries from – ואנחה

us, so we can have tranquility

and clarity to focus on Torah

learning and on serving Hashem

fully.

(Rav Matisyahu Salamon and ספר

(שירת דוד על התפילה

השיבה שופטינו כבראשונה ויועצינו

Restore our judges as in – כבתחילה

earlier times, and our advisers as

in the beginning.

The words of this ברכה are based

on the (ישעיה א' כ"ו) פסוק –

"ואשיבה שופטיך כבראשונה ויועציך

– כבתחילה אחרי כן יקרא לך עיר צדק"

“And I will restore your judges as in

the past, and your advisers as they

originally were, after that it will be

called the City of Righteousness”.

First, we daven for the return of

סנהדרין which refers to the ,שופטינו

and proper דיינים. [The סנהדרין on

Earth is connected to the כסא

and to the Heavenly הכבוד

is סנהדרין Our having a [.סנהדרין

what allows the שכינה to rest upon

us. Therefore, the רמב"ם writes

that משיח cannot come until the

earthly סנהדרין is re-instated. The

coming of Eliyohu Hanavi will

precede that of משיח. Eliyohu will

set up the סנהדרין, and only then

can the גאולה happen. (יערות דבש)

Next, we daven for the return of

our advisors. These advisors ,יועצינו

refer to our נביאים and our גדולים.

These great men guide us also on

matters that are בין אדם למקום,

helping us serve Hashem properly.

When Hashem will return these

giants of men to us, we will be able

to serve Him with complete

confidence that we are doing His

will properly.

Rebbi Sheet Grade 8 Lesson 12 P a g e | 3

Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, the Rov of Yerushalayim, accomplished great things with his davening.

In 1904, there was a huge drought in שראלירץ א , so Rav Yosef Chaim declared a יום תפילה at the כותל

As soon as the davening ended, clouds formed, and it began to drizzle. When the Arab ruler .המערבי

saw this, he quickly gathered the Arabs to their mosque to pray, so it should appear as if their prayers

brought about the rain. Miraculously, at that moment, the sun reappeared, and it stopped raining!

The next day, Rav Yosef Chaim once again gathered the Yidden to the כותל. Before they even finished

davening, it started pouring so hard, sending everyone running for shelter.

When Hashem answers our תפילות and brings ישועות, it causes a great 'קידוש ה.

(ספר אוצרות התפילה ח"א עמ' רי')

The טור points out that if we count up all the words at the end of each ברכה in שמונה עשרה, we will

find 113 words. There are 113 words in the tefillah of חנה, from which we learn many of the הלכות of

ל' הגמ': וחנה היא ] concentration when davening – כוונת הלב to have הלכה including the ,שמונה עשרה

שיכוין לבומכאן למתפלל צריך – לבהמדברת על . The words of תפילת חנה are also closely connected to the words

of שמונה עשרה].

Also, the root-word לב is written in the Torah 113 times. It is another רמז to have כוונת הלב at least

by the 113 words which are at the ends of the ברכות, which is considered the main part of the ברכה.

The צה' א'( שלחן ערוך( rules that one should keep his eyes closed during שמונה עשרה. This enables

him to have proper כוונה and not be distracted. The משנה ברורה adds that a person will suffer at the

time of his פטירה if he keeps his eyes open while davening שמונה עשרה. However, the משנה ברורה

concludes that if a person is davening from a siddur, he can keep his eyes open to read the words.

After all, this helps him with his כוונה, and ensures he says each word properly without confusion.

Be careful not to look out of your סדור during שמונה עשרה. Either daven with your eyes closed, or

preferably, daven from inside a סדור.

Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri

I did not look around during שמונה עשרה