Siman 113

The first blessing is "Avot." And from where do we know that we say Avot? As it is said: "Ascribe to Hashem, O sons of the mighty" (Megillah 17b) – mention before Him the mighty of the land (Rashi). And from where do we know that we say "Gevurot"? As it is said: "Ascribe to Hashem glory and strength." And from where do we know that we say "Kedushot"? As it is said: "Ascribe to Hashem the glory of His name; bow down to Hashem in the beauty of holiness." And we open with "God of Abraham," for Reish Lakish said: What is that which is written: "And I will make you into a great nation"? This is that which we say "God of Abraham." "And I will bless you"? This is that which we say "God of Isaac." "And I will make your name great"? This is that which we say "God of Jacob." One might think we should conclude with all of them? The verse teaches: "And you shall be a blessing" – with you we conclude, as we say "Shield of Abraham," and not with all of them (Pesachim 117b). And this that we say "God of" regarding each one is because each of the patriarchs was worthy in his own right that the name of Hashem be called upon him, like the collective of Israel of whom we say "God of Israel." (And that which we do not say "and God of Israel" but rather "and God of Jacob," I heard it is because the patriarchs in gematria are thirteen, and likewise the matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah in gematria are thirteen, and together they are twenty-six like the numerical value of the Name of Havayah. And this is what the verse says: "Had it not been for Hashem who was for us, let Israel now say." Examine it and you will find it easy.) And it contains forty-two words (Tur). And with the verse "Hashem, open my lips" there are forty-eight (Pri Etz Chaim).

This blessing opens with "Baruch" because it is the first. And even though it is adjacent to "Gaal Yisrael," nevertheless, in the Tefillah it is the first. And it concludes with "Baruch" because it is long, as it contains several matters of His praises, may He be blessed. The rest of the blessings conclude with "Baruch" and do not open with "Baruch," according to the law of a blessing adjacent to its fellow. And even though we hold: Any blessing that does not contain sovereignty is not a blessing (Berakhot 40b), why is there no "King of the universe" in its opening? However, "God of Abraham" is like sovereignty, for Abraham our father made the Holy One, blessed be He, King over the entire world, as he made His sovereignty known (Tosafot ibid.). Furthermore: "The great, mighty, and awesome God" is like sovereignty, as we say in Rosh Hashanah (32b) that "Shema Yisrael" is sovereignty (Tur).

And when he says "Baruch Atah" – he shall bow. As it was taught (at the end of the fifth chapter of Berakhot): These are the blessings in which a person bows at the beginning and at the end: in "Avot" and in "Hoda'ah." And when he says "Baruch Atah" – he shall bow, and when he says "Hashem" – he shall straighten, as it is written: "Hashem straightens the bowed" (12a). And if he comes to bow at the end of each and every blessing – they teach him not to bow, so that they do not come to uproot the enactment of the sages, lest each one say: I will bow in the place that I desire (Tur). And only the Kohen Gadol would bow at the beginning of every blessing. And the king, once he kneeled – he does not straighten again, as it is said: "And it was, when Solomon finished praying..., he rose from before Hashem from kneeling on his knees" (ibid.). For the greater a person is – the more he must show submission before the Holy One, Blessed be He. Therefore, ordinary people, when they bow more than what the sages enacted, show themselves as if they are great men and require more submission, and it appears like arrogance (Tosafot ibid.).

The Tur and the Shulchan Aruch wrote that specifically at their beginning and at their end we teach him that he should not bow, but in their middle he may bow. That is to say: we do not protest against him. And even though it is certain that if he comes to ask whether he should bow or not, we tell him that he should not bow; however, regarding one who bows on his own accord there, we do not protest against him, for since in the middle of the berakhah bowing is not relevant at all, as there is no bowing except at its beginning or at its end. And also in the customs of a king of flesh and blood it is so. Therefore, this one who bows in the middle—there is here neither a concern of uprooting the enactment of our sages, of blessed memory, nor a concern of yuhara. (And with this, the difficulty of the Taz, subsection 2, is answered, as well as that which the Magen Avraham, subsection 1, there hesitated about. Examine it and you will find it simple.) Therefore, those people who are accustomed to bow on Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur during the Shemoneh Esreh prayer—they must be careful to stand upright at every end of the berakhot. And also in a place where one is obligated to bow—he should stand upright slightly beforehand and afterwards bow, so that it will be apparent that he bows because of the obligation of our sages, of blessed memory. And at the "Name" he should stand upright, and afterwards if he wishes he may bow. (It is written in the Ateret Zekenim, letter 1, to intend during the first bowing the letter Yud of the Name Havayah and the letter Aleph of the Name Adonut, and in the second the second letters, and in the third the third ones, and in the fourth the final ones of the Names, see there. And one should not elaborate on such matters. And those who enter into the secret of Hashem know many hidden intentions.)

Our sages, of blessed memory, said (34b): One who bows during the thanksgiving of Birkat HaMazon when saying "We thank You...", and during the thanksgiving of Hallel when saying "Give thanks to Hashem for He is good" – behold, this is reprehensible, for one should only bow in a place where the sages established it. And there is a question regarding this: If so, how do we bow during our recitation of "And we bow," and on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur fall upon their faces? And so too during the Avodah of Yom Kippur. However, the explanation of the matter is as follows: Certainly, in a place where there is no enactment of our sages, of blessed memory, at all – there is no concern regarding the matter, as I wrote regarding the matter of bowing in the middle of blessings in the previous section. Therefore, there are those who bow also during the recitation of "Barchu" and in Kaddish.

And the matter is as follows: for in truth, the term "blessing" or "thanksgiving" is not from the language of bowing at all, but rather from the language of gratitude and praise. And regarding that which the sages instituted four bowings in the Shemoneh Esrei—they knew for what purpose they instituted them. Therefore, one who bows during the thanksgiving of Birkat HaMazon or during the thanksgiving of Hallel—this is reprehensible, which is to say: it is foolishness. And similarly, when one says in "Nishmat": "for to You alone we give thanks," or in "Vayevarech David": "and now, Hashem our God, we give thanks to You"—this is foolishness. And also in "Nishmat" at "and every stature before You shall bow"—this is only a narration of matters. But one who bows in certain places of praise or supplications, or due to some reason that it seems to him that he should bow in that place, or due to custom like the bowings in Kaddish or in "Barchu," or because his heart was inspired in prayer—this is praiseworthy, and it is not like adding to the institution of the sages, for our sages, of blessed memory, have no institution regarding this (the Gra"z). And this is what they said regarding Rabbi Akiva, that when he would pray by himself, he would increase in bowings and prostrations. And when one says "and we bow"—they do well that they bow. And similarly in the Avodah of Yom Kippur in memory of what we used to do in the Beit HaMikdash—it is good and proper to do so (ibid.). However, in all these bowings it is correct to bow slightly, except on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur when we fall upon our faces in memory of our holy Temple.

One who prays must bow until all the vertebrae in the spine are loosened. The explanation: that the joints of the segments of his vertebrae protrude (Tur). And he should not bow from the middle of his loins while his head remains upright, but rather his head as well should bend like a reed. Nevertheless, he should not bow so much that his mouth is opposite the belt of his trousers, as it appears like arrogance when one bows excessively. This applies to a healthy person. But one who is somewhat ill or elderly, for whom it is difficult to remain until his vertebrae are loosened, once he has inclined his head—it is sufficient, for it is evident that his desire is to bow but it is difficult for him. And when he bows—he should bow quickly in one motion. And when he straightens—he straightens slowly, his head first and afterwards his body, so that it should not be upon him like a burden. And it has already been explained that when he bows, he bows at "Baruch." And according to the Zohar, when he says "Baruch"—he should bow with his knees, and when he says "Atah"—he should bend (Magen Avraham subsection 4), and he straightens at the Name. And if during the prayer at the time when he must bend, an idol comes before him—he should not bend at all, so that it should not appear as if he is prostrating, even though his heart is toward Heaven. And he should pray without bending. (See Magen Avraham subsection 5, who raised a difficulty from Yom Kippur when they would bow upon hearing the Name, see there. I wonder: for there they would bow out of fear of the Explicit Name, and what is the connection between this and that? But in truth, that which is written "Hashem straightens the bowed"—is not an essential requirement, as the Magen Avraham wrote in siman 127 subsection 2. And the proof is from a king and a Kohen Gadol, and it is merely a hint.)

It is forbidden to add to the titles of Hashem, may He be blessed, more than "the great, mighty, and awesome God," because when one says more than what the sages established—it appears as if he has finished all His praises. And who can declare all His praise? And even these three titles, had Moshe our teacher not said them in the Torah, and the Men of the Great Assembly come and established them in the prayer—we would not say them. Therefore, one shall not add to the words of the sages. And this is specifically in the Shemoneh Esrei prayer. But in supplications or requests that one requests on his own, not within the fixed prayer—he may say as he wishes, for then he says them because he needs them for the matter of his request and supplication, and not in order to mention His praises, may He be blessed. This is not the case in the fixed prayer which was arranged for His praises, may He be blessed, for the requests begin from "You graciously grant." Nevertheless, even there one should not increase praises since he is standing in prayer. And according to the opinion of the Rambam, it is forbidden in any context, because in his opinion, it is forbidden to say the praises of Hashem, may He be blessed, in the positive sense, but rather in the negative sense, as he wrote in the Guide for the Perplexed. And according to the opinion of the Kabbalists it is not so, and the primary rule follows the first opinion. Nevertheless, it is good for one who wishes to say praises—to say them in verses, for this is permitted even according to the opinion of the Rambam, of blessed memory. And it is forbidden to say in supplications "for good shall Your name be remembered," for a person is obligated to bless for the evil just as he blesses for the good. And it is forbidden to say: Just as Your mercy reached the bird's nest, in that You said "you shall surely send away the mother"—so too may Your mercy reach us. For the commandments of the Holy One, blessed be He, are decrees, and not from the side of mercy alone, and we are commanded to fulfill the decree of the King.

Regarding what we say, "Who remembers the kindnesses of the fathers, and brings a redeemer..." – the Tur explained that this is its meaning: that even if the merit of the fathers has ended – He will bring the redemption for the sake of His name, may He be blessed, see there. Furthermore, it appears to me that what we say, "for the sake of His name in love," is according to what is found in Midrash Ruth: One verse says, "For your sake, for your sake I act," and one verse says, "For My sake, for My sake I will act" – here, at a time when Israel performs His will, it shall be for their sake; and here, at a time when they do not perform His will, it shall be for the sake of His name, may He be blessed, and not for our sake. And this is what it says, that even if the redemption will be for the sake of His name and not for our sake, nevertheless, it will be with love and affection.