A painful phenomenon -- an `orphaned' omud
In the course of a mussar shmuess in the beis
midrash of Yeshivas Kol Torah, the Mashgiach HaRav Y.
Borodiansky complained about the new phenomenon that has
lately crept into certain botei knesses including
minyanim of bnei Torah. The subject: someone to
lead the pesukei dezimrah before the congregation.
In yeshivos throughout the generations and in all self-
respecting synagogues, it has always been mandatory for
someone to lead the prayers from the very beginning. Even if
this is not altogether required by the halacha itself,
still this is certainly obligatory from the aspect of the
order and decorum of the prayer service itself.
And yet, we find too often nowadays that the omud
remains orphaned until the very last moment, until
Yishtabach and Borchu. Perhaps the reason for
this is the difficulty in finding someone to lead the
prayers, but the outcome is an official slighting of the
pesukei dezimrah prayers. The `bereaved' omud
suggests the attitude that the beginning of the service is
hardly important, G-d forbid, and those who come later lack
the preparation and anticipation that soon the congregation
will be intoning Borchu!
Many Torah sages have already remarked on this, and the
propitiousness of this time of year, Elul, behooves us to
quote certain passages from their rousing words, among them
the outstanding talk given by HaRav Borodiansky. (These are
not necessarily quoted according to the order of their
delivery.)
It has always been customary in Yeshivas Ponevezh to
designate a special baal tefilloh for the prayers up
through pesukei dezimrah. One sage told that HaRav
Elya Lopian zt'l found himself one time in a place
where no chazan was representing the congregation for
these passages and he insisted that this be amended; he stood
his ground until arrangements were made to forthwith have
someone lead this section of the prayers.
Rabbenu the Mashgiach of Ponevezh zt'l once expressed
it thus: "The pesukei dezimrah are a song unto
Hashem." He then quoted from Chazal the obligation to "stand
and serve," from which we derive that serving (by Cohanim in
the Beis Hamikdash) must necessarily be done while standing.
He then concluded that it was, therefore, "obligatory to
stand while reciting pesukei dezimrah."
One time, they shortened the recital of pesukei
dezimrah by a minute. The Mashgiach was greatly
distressed and said so, in so many words, "They stole from me
today a chunk of pesukei dezimrah!" (Compare the
wording of the Bais Yosef siman 51: "Those people who
recite these chapters at express speed are not doing a seemly
thing; they are like servants who curtail the praise of their
Creator for their own convenience. Is there any ruler who
will condone this?" This is why it was ruled in Shulchan
Oruch that these passages must be said in a slow,
deliberate fashion.)
In a eulogy on the Mashgiach, HaRav Sholom Schwadron
zt'l told the following: He once approached the
Mashgiach and said that since he was accustomed to praying
with the netz, and sometimes he was short on time, he
asked if it were permissible to skip over pesukei
dezimrah in order to reach Shemoneh Esrei exactly
at sunrise. And if, according to the halacha it was
permissible still, he wished to know if it were advisable.
The Mashgiach reacted as follows: Praying Vosikin is
truly an advantage, a desired practice in prayer. But if one
skips over the preliminary pesukei dezimrah, how can
one possibly be prepared to say the Shemoneh Esrei?
Venerable scholars who heard this eulogy were disconcerted by
his words. How few of us, upon standing at Shemoneh
Esrei, are actually aware whether we preceded this prayer
with the full praises of pesukei dezimrah or not? Who
remembers?
I also heard it said that HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach
zt'l once said to his attendant after prayers that it
were really advisable for the shaliach tzibbur to
conclude aloud every psalm of the pesukei dezimrah so
as to unite the entire congregation in its recital. To be
sure, he only meant this as a preferred practice, but we can
certainly infer therefrom his ardent desire that this section
of the prayer be accorded its due and proper respect in
practice, not that it is actually mandatory.
"And it shall be eikev . . . " Rashi notes that the
particular use of this word [which is homonymous to the word
for `heel'] denotes those commandments which a person is wont
to tread upon as being of lesser significance. The heel is
one of the ends of the body, but it grants a person
locomotion. To be sure, it is the heart and the brain that
command the body but without the extremities, there would be
no motion or function. This teaches us that every living
thing has its extremities, aside from the center core of that
creature. These limbs enable the core to function and to
move, to act.
Applied to the thought at hand: the commandments are the
actual life in flux, but they have a certain order and
process whereby they are able to function. It is the
relatively simpler commandments, the ones we may slight,
overlook, disregard, that enable the body of the commandments
to function at all!
"The service of the heart -- this is prayer." When a person
stands before the King, he is veritably living. This is his
main purpose in life, the heart of his existence! But we
cannot access the interior of the heart, the essence of
prayer, without the proper introduction and the necessary
preparation. A person must arrange his praises of the Creator
via the pesukei dezimrah so that he be able to arrive
at the heart of the prayer. Without the extremities, without
the limbs, his heart cannot function, move or live. Our sages
were extremely meticulous in this matter and very precise in
including the pesukei dezimrah as a very integral,
necessary part of the order of public prayers.
HaRav Shmuel Auerbach cited a work, Leket Yosher
written by a disciple of Trumas Hadeshen, in which the
author writes about the practices of his master. On page 16,
he writes:
"I recall once during the period of selichos that he
chided those students who left the shul after the
conclusion of selichos and before the commencement of
the Shema which is said before pesukei
dezimrah, even though some of them left in order to go
and study. Even on weekdays from Rosh Chodesh Elul until
after Yom Kippur, the Gaon used to chant the prayers from
Boruch She'omar for almost a whole hour."
In other words, the Trumas Hadeshen would extend the
duration of pesukei dezimrah alone for this forty day
period of heavenly goodwill to almost an hour! And he urged
his disciples to do likewise at the expense of any break they
would have wanted to take between selichos and the
morning prayers. (It was discussed whether he was referring
to Boruch She'omar itself or to the entire section of
pesukei dezimrah which is also referred to as
Boruch She'omar. He probably meant the latter, though
we find this practice referred to elsewhere, on page 17,
somewhat differently, as follows: "He used to chant the
Boruch She'omar for about forty-five minutes alone,
aside from the rest of the mizmorim over which he also
tarried." Perhaps, however, in referring to "the rest of the
mizmorim" he did not only mean the psalms but instead
the section beginning Vayevorech Dovid, whereas
Boruch She'omar included the psalms that follow it.
What a marvelous service-practice of the Trumas
Hadeshen for these significant, propitious days!
*
HaRav Yosef Tzubari zt'l brings the words of Rabbenu
Avrohom, son of the Rambam, in his siddur Knesses
Hagedola regarding standing during the recital of
pesukei dezimrah. HaRav Borodiansky was deeply
impressed by his words and publicized them:
"I was shown a great find in a work that was published in a
new edition, a Hebrew translation from the Arabic - - the
second section of Hamaspik le'Ovdei Hashem by R'
Avrohom ben HaRambam. He extols the significance of the
pesukei dezimrah, for which purpose it is advisable to
appoint a shaliach tzibbur to lead them, as is quoted
further:
"At first, R' Avrohom stresses the importance of praising
Hashem while standing erect, for if one praises Hashem while
sitting, the words of the prophet truly apply when he said,
`If I am a Father, where is My honor, and if I am a Master,
where is My awe?' Therefore, it is mandatory that at least
the shaliach tzibbur stand and lead these prayers in
order to glorify and praise.
"Rabbenu Avrohom, author of Hamaspik le'Ovdei Hashem,
does not stop here. He continues to arouse with his words:
`Were it not that Chazal said that one does not exert the
congregation overmuch, it would be appropriate for the entire
congregation to stand throughout the entire recital of
pesukei dezimrah. But one can say that this is too
much to ask of the entire congregation. But at least, they
rely on the shaliach tzibbur to represent them by
standing, himself. And if one were to ask why this is not
asking too much of the shaliach tzibbur as well, we
must answer that there is no comparison. The shaliach
tzibbur is there to represent everyone, that is his
function; he must lead the congregation, and all eyes are
focused on him. There is certainly a significant difference
between one who leads the prayers and praises and the
congregation which follows his lead and listens to the
praises or participates in them as followers.'
"So we see how accepted and common and obvious it was in the
times of the Rishonim for a shaliach tzibbur to lead
this section of the prayers."
Indeed, how obvious, how elementary that there is a different
tone to the prayers and to the pesukei dezimrah when
someone stands before the congregation and leads it in these
praises -- from the very onset!
