Vayechi 5774 - English

By Rabbi Gustavo Kraselnik
Kol Shearith Israel - Panama

In the collective ritual experience, few things move me as much as the reciting of the SHEMA YISRAEL.  The congregation raises its voice as one, to proclaim the six words that summarize our millenary faith: SHEMA YISRAEL ADONAI ELOHEINU ADONAI ECHAD, “Hear o Israel!  The Lord is our God, the Lord is One” (Deut. 6:4).

And then silence. A silence that frames the whispering of the following phrase: BARUCH SHEM K’VOD MALCHUTO L’OLAM VAED, “Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom, forever and ever,” to pick up once again, with raised voices, with the VE’AHAVTA, the continuation of the biblical passage (Deut. 6:5-9).

What is the origin of this phrase, that interrupts – which does not happen often – the sequence of a Torah text?  And why do we pray in silence?

 

The Talmud (Pesachim 56ª), through Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, offers us an explanation, chronologically anchored on Parashat Vayechi and endowed with a deep message.

The text – in a free version – goes something like this:  On his death bed, the patriarch Jacob summons his twelve sons and when he tries to reveal their future, the Divine Presence abandons him.  Very much distressed, Jacob reflects that maybe this happened because one of his sons didn’t follow the path of the covenant with God (in Abraham’s case, it was Ismael, and in Isaac’s, it was Esau), but his sons reply: “Hear o Israel (that was Jacob’s name)!  The Lord is our God, the Lord is One; just like there is only One in your heart, there is only One is our hearts.”  At that moment, Jacob said: “Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom, forever and ever.”

Immediately after, the Talmud tells us that in honor of Jacob, our sages instructed the adding of this phrase after the Shema, but in honor of Moses (who didn’t say it), they ask us to recite it in silence.
I like this interpretation of the Talmud very much.  It is a noteworthy example of the plurality of meanings which characterizes traditional biblical hermeneutics.  While the phrase, in its original context, refers to Israel as a nation proclaiming its faith, in this reading the sons of Jacob speak to their father, expressing that their faith is the same as the faith of their father.

The BARUCH SHEM K’VOD constitutes, when said by Jacob, a profound prayer of thanksgiving to God, as well as a feeling of plenitude with life.  For a man who lived a life full of difficulties, with failed meetings, disenchantments, and a prolonged mourning, seeing that all his children continue on the path of God’s Covenant gives him a sense of optimum transcendence.  Jacob can leave this world in peace with himself.
Returning to the liturgy, we find that this interpretation adds a new dimension to the proclamation of the Shema.

When we close our eyes to express our manifestation of faith (following the custom of Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi – Talmud, Berachot 13b), we can feel the force of the Shema, the power of our voice and of the voices of our partners in prayer.  In that gesture, which is repeated throughout times and places wherever there is a Jew, we unite with our brothers and sisters scattered all around the world.  At the same time, we can imagine ourselves in the intimacy of our homes, listening to the voices of our children and grandchildren, reaffirming their Jewish identity.  In that instant, when we feel fulfilled for having accomplished our legacy, seeing the flame of Judaism illuminating the new generations, we open our hearts to express our gratitude to God, whispering, BARUCH SHEM K’VOD MALCHUTO L’OLAM VAED, “Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom, forever and ever.”

Shabbat Shalom,

Gustavo