Siman 236

The sages taught in the Mishnah (11a): "In the morning one recites two blessings before it and one after it, and in the evening two before it and two after it," for in the evening the blessing of 'Hashkivenu' is added, which has no relevance in the morning, and in total they are seven blessings. And it is brought in the Yerushalmi there, based on the verse "Seven times a day I praised You" (Psalms 119:164), see there, for in truth this verse is not understood, for where are the seven praises that are every day? Rather, it refers to these blessings of the recitation of Shema. And this is its explanation: "Seven times a day I praised You for Your righteous laws," for the recitation of Shema is the righteous law, as it contains the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven and the yoke of the mitzvot. And even though we have already written in the name of the Geonim that these blessings were not instituted for the recitation of Shema, nevertheless the sages attached them to the recitation of Shema before it and after it, and such was the primary institution. And it is further brought there: that anyone who fulfills "Seven times a day I praised You" is as if he fulfills "and you shall meditate on it day and night," see there. And it seems to me the reason is because beforehand it is written: "I have loved Your Torah" and afterward it is also written "Great peace to those who love Your Torah." And from this there is also proof that it deals with the blessings of the recitation of Shema, which contain the love of the Torah in 'Ahavah Rabbah' of the morning and in 'Ahavat Olam' of the evening.

The first blessing is "Who by His word brings on evenings," and it opens and closes with "Blessed," as it is a long blessing. And one says in it: "He rolls away light before darkness and darkness before light," and behold, "light before darkness" pertains to the night, but "darkness before light" is the day. And our sages, of blessed memory, said (11b): In order to mention the attribute of day at night, just as we include the attribute of night by day, when we say: "Who forms light and creates darkness," to show that one God created them, formed them, and made them. And what is the meaning of the term "rolls" (golel)? Because on the globe of the earth, there is no moment that does not have day and no moment that does not have night, because the earthly globe is round as is known, and this is the meaning of the term "rolls," as if the sun rolls around the earthly globe, and in this place the light pushes away the darkness and in another place the darkness pushes away the light, and if so, it is a constant matter without interruption, and for this reason we say beforehand: "and orders the stars in their watches in the firmament according to His will." And one must pause between "according to His will" and "Who creates day and night" (Magen Avraham), for "according to His will" refers to what precedes it, meaning that the Holy One, blessed be He, ordered the placement of the stars in the firmament, each star in its watch, so that through this, day and night reach the earthly globe constantly, and the light is rolled before the darkness and the darkness before the light as we have explained, and all this because it so arose in His will, may He be blessed. And for this reason we conclude: "the Lord of Hosts is His name," meaning that He, may He be blessed, established His hosts in this manner and everything is from Him, may He be blessed, and the stars are in His hand, may He be blessed, like an ax in the hand of the hewer, for they have no power of their own, as it is written: "and the host of heaven bows down to You."

The Ashkenazim add before the signature: 'Living and enduring God, may He reign over us always, forever and ever,' and this is not of the nature of the signature. The Rosh settled the custom that this is also of the nature of the signature, for when there will be fulfilled in us: "Hashem shall reign forever and ever," then at evening time there will be light. And since in Arvit we say: 'Truth and Faith,' and regarding this it is said: 'and Your faith in the nights,' the exile which is compared to night, and we believe that He will redeem us as is explained in Truth and Faith: 'The God who exacts retribution... and who pays recompense...', and therefore we say that we hope and anticipate that the living and enduring God will quickly reveal His kingship over us always and shine light for us, and the opposite for the Babylonians (see Bach). And there is in this also the attribute of day and the attribute of night, light and darkness, and we pray that He shine light for us.

The second blessing is 'Ahavat Olam,' and even in places where in Shacharit they say 'Ahava Rabbah,' nevertheless in Arvit they say 'Ahavat Olam,' and thus the Geonim ordained (Tosafot 11b and the Rosh ibid.). And we say: 'and Your love do not remove [al tasir] etc.,' and some say 'do not depart [lo tasur],' and the first version is primary. And this blessing does not open with 'Baruch,' according to the law of a blessing adjacent to its fellow, and so too the blessings after Kriyat Shema, and as in Shacharit, for Kriyat Shema does not constitute an interruption (Tur). And in 'Emet VeEmunah' one concludes 'ga'al Yisrael' and not 'go'el Yisrael' as in the prayer, for here it refers to the past (ibid.). And we have already explained in siman 66 that regarding those who conclude in Ma'ariv: 'King, Rock of Israel and its Redeemer,' the sages are not pleased with them. And even though there are those who settled the custom, nevertheless, why should we enter through a narrow breach. And now they have established the custom in most places to conclude 'ga'al Yisrael' in the Ma'ariv of Yom Tov.

The second blessing after the recitation of the Shema is "Hashkivenu," and one concludes with "Who guards His people Israel forever," because the night requires protection from the damaging spirits. And even though we hold like Rava who said that even in the evening service one must join redemption to prayer, as Rava said (4b): "Who is a son of the World to Come? He who joins the redemption of the evening service to the prayer of the evening service." If so, how can we interrupt between "Who redeemed Israel" and the prayer with the blessing of "Hashkivenu"? However, since the sages ordained to say this, it is considered like a long redemption (ibid.), just as they ordained to say the verse "O Lord, open my lips" (ibid.) before the prayer. Furthermore, "Hashkivenu" is related to the redemption, because when Hashem passed over to strike Egypt, Israel trembled and were praying to Hashem, may He be blessed, that He should not allow the destroyer to enter their houses to strike, and corresponding to that prayer they ordained to say "Hashkivenu"; thus it is found that it also belongs to the redemption. And before the conclusion we say: "And guard our going out etc." so that there will be a theme of the conclusion near the conclusion, and the Sephardim conclude: "For You are God our Guardian and our Deliverer," and this is better, for "And guard" is a prayer, but "Who guards His people Israel" is a promise, and likewise "For You are God our Guardian" is also a promise.

Regarding the matter of the eighteen verses "Blessed is the Lord forever, Amen and Amen," etc., and the blessing "May our eyes behold" that we add, I have seen various explanations from our teachers, of blessed memory. The Tosafot (4b) wrote: "And as for us who say 'May our eyes behold' and other verses after 'Hashkivenu,' it appears that since the sages ordained them, it is considered like a long geulah, for they ordained to say this so that in the meantime his fellow may also pray and will not leave the beit knesset until every individual finishes his prayer. Furthermore, there are in those verses eighteen mentions of the Name corresponding to the eighteen blessings of the Shemoneh Esrei, and since they ordained to say those verses, they ordained to say the concluding blessing of 'May our eyes behold.'" Thus far their words.

And the Rosh wrote another reason, and this is his wording: "And the masses practiced this custom because in the early days their synagogues were in the fields and they were afraid to delay there until after the Arvit prayer, and they instituted to say these verses which contain eighteen mentions of the Name corresponding to... and they subsequently instituted the blessing of 'Yiru Eineinu' and Kaddish. And even now that they pray Arvit in the synagogue, the original custom was not abolished." Thus far his words. And the students of our teacher Yonah wrote in the name of the Ri, and this is their wording: "That initially, when the Arvit prayer was optional, they would say these verses... and conclude with them and say Kaddish and depart. And afterwards, even though they established it as an obligation, the matter remained according to the original custom, and it does not constitute an interruption between redemption and prayer, for since they initially established it as an obligation with this in mind, it is not called an interruption." Thus far their words.

It appears to me that they all intended one thing, which is that if Maariv prayer were not optional, or if there were not the reason of fear to remain in the synagogue in the fields, they would not have come to this. But since it is optional and there was also the reason of fear, they began to be lenient with the prayer, yet it was difficult for them not to pray at all, so they said these eighteen verses and "Yiru Eineinu," and there were those who prayed the Shemoneh Esreh prayer. This is what the Tosafot wrote: "so that in the meantime his fellow will also pray, etc.", meaning that until these say the verses, this one will finish his prayer. And the Rosh wrote: the essence of the enactment was because of fear, and the Talmidei Rabbeinu Yonah wrote it was because it is optional, and both are necessary. However, in any event, after this enactment spread it became a fixed enactment, and it is considered like a long Geulah. And in these verses there are many matters of redemption, and likewise "Yiru Eineinu" and the blessing of the King in His glory, etc., all are of the matter of redemption, and likewise the Kaddish, its essence is regarding the future redemption, when His Name, may He be blessed, will be magnified and sanctified, and especially according to those who say: "and may His salvation sprout and may His Messiah draw near," for this is the essence of the redemption. Therefore, even the Sephardim who do not say these verses, nevertheless say Kaddish, because Kaddish is the essence of the redemption. Therefore, even though initially the Kaddish was enacted for the sake of these verses as the Rosh and the Talmidei Rabbeinu Yonah wrote, and the proof is that in Shacharit there is no Kaddish after "Ga'al Yisrael," and if so, the Sephardim who did not practice saying these verses should not have said Kaddish as well, nevertheless, because of the sanctity of the Kaddish and because it is the essence of the redemption, the Kaddish remained also among the Sephardim. (And it is a wonder regarding the Rambam, that in chapter 1 of Kriat Shema and the end of chapter 7 of Tefillah he mentioned only two blessings after Kriat Shema, yet in the Order of Prayer he mentioned all the verses and "Yiru Eineinu," see there, and he did not mention from where this enactment came, and the Kaddish he did not mention at all, see there).

Therefore, on Shabbatot and Yamim Tovim, it is not the custom to say these verses, because one does not pray the eighteen blessings, and also during them the fear was not so great, for Shabbat itself protects Israel; furthermore, because they would then bring forward the time of prayer while it was still day, everyone was not afraid to remain there. And even though they instituted the blessing of Magen Avot because of the Mazikin, as is written in siman 268, nevertheless, in this they were not concerned, and they were also concerned for the burden of the community. Nevertheless, the Kaddish remained as on a weekday because of the reason we explained, that the Kaddish is the essence of the redemption. And the verses that are said on Shabbat: "Veshamru," and on Yom Tov: "Vayedaber Moshe," and on Rosh Hashanah: "Tiku," and on Yom Kippur: "Ki Vayom Hazeh etc.," we do not know when they were instituted, and it will be explained with the help of Heaven in siman 266.

Our teacher, the Rema, wrote: "I have seen meticulous individuals who are accustomed to stand when saying the eighteen verses of 'Blessed is Hashem forever, Amen and Amen,' and it is a beautiful custom because they were established in place of the eighteen-benediction prayer, and therefore it is proper to stand during them as in the prayer." Thus far his words. However, many disagree and hold that it is better to sit, so that they do not say that with this they fulfill the obligation of the shemoneh esreh prayer (Eliyah Rabbah, subsection 6), and so was the custom of the Maharshal, and also in the Maharil he wrote to sit until the half-kaddish. (And so wrote the Magen Avraham, subsection 2, in the name of the Matteh Moshe, and the Megaleh Amukot wrote that so it is according to the Kabbalah. And the Magen Avraham wrote that when one prays with the congregation the shemoneh esreh first and afterwards prays the Shema and its blessings as will be explained, then he may say these verses while standing).

The halacha was decided that even in Arvit one must join geulah to tefillah like Rava (4b), for so ruled the Rif and the Rambam at the end of chapter 7, and the Rosh and the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch. This is the wording of the Rambam: "And in the evening prayer he recites Kriat Shema and blesses before it and after it, and joins geulah to tefillah and prays, etc." Thus far his words. And one should not ask that if so, how did he write in chapter 3, law 7: "And he may pray the Arvit prayer of Sabbath night on the eve of Sabbath before the sun sets, and similarly he may pray Arvit of the conclusion of Sabbath on Sabbath, because since the Arvit prayer is optional we are not exacting regarding its time, provided that he recites Kriat Shema in its time after the emergence of the stars" Thus far his words, for if so, he will not join geulah to tefillah. And indeed, the Ra'avad challenged him for this reason, and wrote that one should not do so except for a temporary need, see there. For it can be said that the Rambam holds that specifically when the time for Kriat Shema has arrived, then the obligation to join geulah to tefillah applies, but not when the time has not yet arrived, and so wrote one of the great ones (Sha'agat Aryeh siman 3). And above in siman 111 it was explained if also on Sabbath and Yom Tov one must join geulah to tefillah, and the main point is according to the words of our teacher, the Beit Yosef, there in his great book, that there is no difference, and also on Sabbath and Yom Tov there is an obligation to join geulah to tefillah (and so decided the Sha'agat Aryeh siman 16).

And since in Arvit there is also an obligation to join redemption to prayer, one must therefore be careful not to speak between the blessing of "Who guards His people Israel forever" and the Shemoneh Esrei; and similarly, those who recite the eighteen verses of "May our eyes behold," they shall be careful not to interrupt between after the blessing of "The King in His glory" and the Shemoneh Esrei. However, that which the shaliach tzibbur announces "Ya'aleh V'Yavo" on Rosh Chodesh, or "Dew and Rain," or "Al HaNissim," this is not an interruption, since it is for the sake of the prayer. And regarding other laws, such as interrupting between the sections and in the middle of a section, their law is as in Shacharit. And it appears to me that regarding these eighteen verses, between verse and verse is like between the sections, but from "May our eyes behold" until the conclusion of the blessing is like the middle of a section.

Our teacher, the Beit Yosef, wrote in section 3: "If one found a congregation that had already recited Kriat Shema and they wish to stand for the prayer — he should pray with them and afterward recite Kriat Shema with its blessings." Thus far his words. For prayer in a congregation is preferable to the juxtaposition of redemption to prayer, and even if the congregation prays while it is still day (Magen Avraham, subsection 3). And if he is able to recite Kriat Shema and its blessings without saying 'Blessed is Hashem forever, Amen and Amen' and 'May our eyes see' — he should do so, since these verses are merely a custom (ibid.). And there is no need to say them afterward, as they were only instituted after the blessings of Kriat Shema and not on their own. And if he came to the synagogue at the time they are beginning 'Barchu' and he has not yet prayed Mincha — he should pray Mincha, and afterward when the congregation reaches the Shemoneh Esrei he should pray the Arvit prayer with them, and afterward recite Kriat Shema with its blessings. But he should not pray Mincha together with the congregation when the congregation is praying the Shemoneh Esrei of Arvit, for this is not prayer in a congregation, as for him it is still day and for the congregation it is considered night (ibid. and Taz, subsection 4).

He further wrote in section 4: "After 'Who guards His people Israel' one says 'amen' after his own blessing, but he should not answer amen after the blessing 'The King in His glory'" Thus far his words. And he follows his reasoning in siman 216 that here one answers 'amen' after his own blessing just as in Birkat HaMazon after 'Who builds Jerusalem,' and for this reason he says that one should answer after 'Who guards' etc. and not after 'May our eyes behold,' just as in Birkat HaMazon one does not answer after 'Who is good and does good.' However, it has already been explained there that we do not practice at all to answer 'amen' after our own blessing, except in Birkat HaMazon after 'Who builds Jerusalem.' And know that in the blessing 'The King in His glory' one must say 'forever may He reign over us,' so that the word 'forever' is drawn downward and not upward, though there is one who says the opposite, that it is drawn upward (Perisha).