[Avodah] Lshem Yichud
Prof. Levine
llevine at stevens.edu
Wed May 16 05:51:42 PDT 2012
From http://torahmusings.com/2012/05/lshem-yichud/
It is interesting to note that historically, the
inclusion of lshem yichud in the liturgy had
been met with some fierce opposition. Rabbi
Yechezkel Landau waged a fierce battle to ban the
recitation of lshem yichud and to have it
removed from all texts. He also took great
personal issue with those who had the practice of
reciting it. As Rabbi Landau writes:[6] In my
opinion this is an evil sickness in our
generation.
[Those who recite it] are the
destroyers of the generation. Indeed, it is
recorded that Rabbi Landau would forbid anyone
who had the custom of reciting lshem yichud from
reciting a blessing over his personal lulav and etrog set on Sukkot.[7]
This fierce opposition to what seems to be a
completely innocuous and even praiseworthy
practice is difficult to digest. It is suggested
that Rabbi Landau may have believed that the
lshem yichud formula, with its strong mystical
connotations, was actually a creation of the
Shabtai Tzvi movement that led many Jews astray.
Some claim that Rabbi Landau retracted his
objection to the lshem yichud later in life. [8]
[6] Noda BYehuda, YD 93.
[7] Minhag Yisrael Torah, OC 8:1.
[8] Minhag Yisrael Torah, OC 8:1.
See the above URL for more. YL
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