Tehillim 86 – Ploni ben Plonit, or When the Mother's Name Is Mentioned During Prayer

Tehillim 86 – Ploni ben Plonit, or When the Mother's Name Is Mentioned During Prayer

Tehillim 86:16 - “P'nei eilai v'choneini, t'nah uz'cha l'avdecha v'hoshia l'ven amatecha” – (Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant Your strength to Your servant and save the son of Your maidservant). Chazal teach that Tehillim 86 reveals the secret of why we mention a mother's name during prayer. In the request for salvation: “save the son of Your maidservant” – David HaMelech calls himself his mother's son because when a person wants his prayer to be heard in Heaven, he should mention his name together with his mother's name. (Zohar 1:84a) The Talmud also recommends reciting prayers using the formula Ploni ben Plonit—that is, mentioning the mother's name. (Shabbat 66b) In the She'elot u-Teshuvot of the Chatam Sofer, this discussion of the custom of using the mother's name in prayer is continued. Several reasons are given for this custom: 1) The identity of the mother is usually known with certainty; (Zohar) 2) Women are generally less sinful than men, and it is therefore preferable to mention the mother, invoking her merits on behalf of the person for whom the prayer is being offered; (Ben Yehoyada on Berakhot 55b) 3) In physical terms, a person has a closer connection with his mother than with his father. This explains the custom of mentioning the father's name after a person's death, since on the spiritual level a person has a closer connection with his father. (Mekor Chesed on Sefer Hasidim, § 242) The Sephardic custom is to mention the mother's name after a person has passed away. (Gesher HaChaim, chapters 28 and 31) (Based on the book “Tehillim – The Book of Psalms,” edited by Rabbi Yosef B. Marcus)