Errors in Prayer

Errors in Prayer

Shlomo HaMelech writes in Mishlei: “The king’s lips are enchanted—for in judgment his tongue will not err.” (Mishlei 16:10) Rabbi Yehuda HaHasid offers an intriguing commentary on this verse in his book Sefer Hasidim, changing the conventional translation: “[As if enchanted are] the king’s lips—for in the Heavenly judgment, he is not judged for errors of the tongue.” He explains that sometimes a person mispronounces Hebrew words and thereby makes errors that often change their meaning. This raises the question: How can such a person be called to read from the Torah, lead the prayer service, or recite blessings? But the Almighty knows what is in a person’s heart, and to the Creator, what matters far more is the feeling that a person invests in the words he utters. If a person’s heart is turned toward the Almighty, but he does not know how to pronounce the words correctly, his prayer will be accepted as though he had said everything with absolute precision. Likewise, if someone sings the verses of the morning prayers loudly and beautifully, while making mistakes out of ignorance, his singing is received in Heaven like fragrant incense. The Almighty rejoices when He hears such a prayer and says: “How beautifully he sings before Me, to the best of his ability.” Rabbi Yehuda HaHasid then tells of a Kohen who had difficulty pronouncing the letter “reish” ר. Instead, he pronounced the letter “dalet” ד. Thus, in the Birkat Kohanim (the Priestly Blessing), he found it difficult to say: וישמרך “veyishmerecha” (and He will watch over you). Instead, he said: וישמדך “veyishmedecha” (and He will destroy you). Since his pronunciation conveyed the opposite meaning, one of the prominent members of the synagogue forbade this Kohen from continuing to bless the congregation. But soon he was shown from Heaven that if he did not rescind his decision, he would be punished. Many sages compare a Jew’s prayer containing mistakes—whether from ignorance or absentmindedness—to the babbling of an infant. The child cannot yet speak and is constantly asking for something, but the parents always understand their child.   (Based on the book “The Wisdom of Solomon” by Moshe Abramovich)