“Nishmat Kol Chai” According to Rabbanit Kanievsky and Its Connection to Kodesh Kodashim

“Nishmat Kol Chai” According to Rabbanit Kanievsky and Its Connection to Kodesh Kodashim

It is well known in the Jewish world how deeply Rabbanit Batsheva Kanievsky (zechuto yagen aleinu) cherished the prayer “Nishmat Kol Chai.” She began her day with it—making it part of her obligations—and also recited it when she went to sleep. It was her way of thanking the Almighty for all the kindness He had shown her throughout the day. When reciting the prayer, the Rabbanit would remember all the people who had come to her that day for berachot, each with their own problems. The Rabbanit greatly valued it when women who had been saved from danger or a difficult ordeal would pray “Nishmat Kol Chai” in her presence. How to Recite “Nishmat Kol Chai” Properly Her father-in-law, the Gaon Rav Steipler (zechuto yagen aleinu), encouraged people to pray “Nishmat Kol Chai.” He advised anyone facing danger or distress to recite this prayer: “First and foremost, pray, because nothing compares to the prayer of a sick person on his or her own behalf. In addition, take upon yourself, bli neder, that when you are delivered from the difficulty itself, you will recite “Nishmat Kol Chai”, including “Yishtabach” (“May He be praised”), up to the berachah.” Gaon Chaim Kanievsky (shlita) likewise taught how far one should recite the prayer: “Up to—but not including—the berachah at the end of Yishtabach.” In “Orchot Rabbeinu,” R. Avraham Horowitz writes that when they were taking the Steipler’s sick granddaughter to the hospital, he said to the family members: “Let us all take upon ourselves to recite ‘Nishmat’ when she returns home safely from the hospital.” The Gaon urged people suffering from troubles and yissurim to recite “Nishmat” when the Almighty sends salvation. His grandson, Rav Avraham Yeshaya Kanievsky, once traveled with him to northern Eretz Yisrael. When they got into the car, the Gaon Steipler told his grandson that they would recite “Nishmat” if they arrived safely at their destination. What Is the Gematria of “Nishmat Kol Chai”? The siddur “Shaar HaRachamim,” written by a disciple of the Vilna Gaon, states that the prayer “Nishmat Kol Chai” is “Kodesh Kodashim”—the Holy of Holies—and that the words “Nishmat Kol Chai”—נשמת כל חי—have the same gematria (858) as the words “Kodesh Kodashim”—קדש קדשים. The book “Chanukat HaTorah” (Kuntres Acharon, p. 50), citing Rabbi Yehoshua Heshel of Krakow—the teacher of Rav Shabtai HaKohen (the Shach)—writes about the great merit of promising to pray “Nishmat Kol Chai” when one encounters trials. (Based on the book “Rabbanit Kanievsky—A Legendary Mother to Everyone” by Naftali and Naomi Weinberger with Nina Indig)