Tehillim 107 and the 18th blessing in the Amidah
Tehillim 107 and the 18th blessing in the Amidah
Tehillim 107:22
-"Veyizbehu zivchei todah, visaperu ma'asav berinah" - (Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and joyfully recount His deeds).
The Midrash Tehillim (56) says: "All korbanot (offerings—sacrifices) will be abolished in the future, but the Korban Todah (thanksgiving offering) will not.".
Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld asks: Why did the Torah not list the Korban Todah along with the other offerings, but instead place it in the middle of the second chapter?
Rashi explains that four groups of Jews were required to bring this offering: those who traveled by sea, prisoners who had been released, those who recovered from life-threatening illness, and those who crossed the desert. The Miracle they experienced is the basis of their obligation.
But there is also a fifth group—the kohanim. By virtue of their work, they were constantly surrounded by an ongoing miracle, and therefore could bring a Korban Todah whenever their souls desired. By placing the section about the Korban Todah in the chapter addressed to the kohanim, the Torah emphasizes the preeminence of continual, hourly miracles over one-time miracles. Hence the halakhic principle: one who omits the insertion of "Al Ha-Nissim" (for the miracles) on Hanukkah and Purim does not repeat the entire prayer; but one who omits the 18th blessing, "for the daily miracles" in the Amidah, is considered not to have recited the prayer at all.
(Rav M. Gitik on Parashat Tzav)
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Tags: Amidah, Korban Todah, Rabbi Michael Gitik, Tehillim 107, The 18th Blessing of the Amidah
